Resin flooring can sometimes be more expensive in the short term than using other materials, this can be as a result of a potential increased cost of materials as well as the outlay for specialist trained resin contractors to install the product, but its durability alone makes it an extremely cost-effective option, as you won’t need to replace it for many years.

And, when you take into account other savings that you can generate as a result of selecting resin flooring, such as reduced maintenance, cleaning and energy costs, it makes sense that an investment now will continue to pay dividends in the long term too!

Of course! Simply get in touch with the Vebro team.

Or… if you happen to be in the London area, you can visit the Diespeker & Co showroom by appointment. There, you’ll find hundreds of terrazzo, marble and stone samples available for visitors to view, touch and feel housed within the company’s South East London studio – the Diespeker team will be on hand to discuss your requirements in more detail at any time.

The showroom is located at 132–136 Ormside Street, London SE15 1TF, United Kingdom and is open weekdays 9am – 5pm. Call 020 7358 0160 to book your visit!

Comfort floors should be installed by experienced applicators in the field of resin flooring systems. Any cracks in the substrate should be bandaged or a levelling screed should be used to ensure a smooth, level surface prior to the installation of polyurethane comfort flooring. Comfort resin floors act like a skim and will highlight any imperfections in the substrate when cured if preparation isn’t taken seriously.

The area needs to be sealed prior to installation, with all windows and doors firmly closed, as well as free from any moisture or dust particles. If underfloor heating is incorporated into the substrate, this should be switched on and set to roughly 22°C before installation can begin. Most resin comfort floors are two to three-layer systems and typically a day is recommended between each coat.

Sometimes, unlimited design options can seem overwhelming! To help simplify the process, we’ve broken the process of designing a bespoke Diespeker & Co from Vebro Polymers terrazzo floor into a handful of steps.

For more information on the steps below, download the Diespeker & Co from Vebro Polymers guide. Should you need any further advice, please don’t hesitate to contact the Vebro team!

1. Step one: Choose your aggregate blend from a vast range of stone, marble, mirror glass, granite… or even broken up beer bottles!
2. Step two: Choose your style — Classic, Venetian or Palladiana!
3. Step three: Choose your aggregate size to further customise the look
4. Step four: Choose your epoxy resin binder colour to tie everything together
5. Step five: Choose your finish… Gloss or matt with a custom slip resistance profile
6. Bonus step six: Complete the look with bespoke pre-cast elements such as bar tops, counters and stair treads

Slips and trips are one of the most common accidents that occur in the workplace, and one of the reasons for this can be unsuitable floor coverings. With a staff body to protect, it is important to consider this when choosing a floor finish, as well as the service criteria that a floor will be subject to.

For example, areas subject to either wet processes, frequent spillages or those that employ rigorous cleaning regimes such as steam cleaning or hot water wash downs should take particular care to ensure an anti-slip finish when replacing floor coverings or coatings.

Liquid-applied resin floor systems are great to custom build any safety features that you require from your floor within your workspace, surface profiles can be tailored to include quartz, aluminium oxide, glass spheres or silicon carbide in order to enhance the slip resistance profile of the floor finish.

Resins are seamless in nature and don’t include joints or grout lines, which are susceptible to harbouring dirt, grease, bacteria and stains in general. Dust and dirt can simply be swept, mopped or hoovered away and the floor cleaned according to manufacturer’s guidelines based on the surface profile of the floor.

Resin flooring is also extremely strong and durable, meaning that it has an extended service life compared to other floor coverings. Installed properly, and with the correct maintenance, it can last for years without cracking or peeling, meaning that you won’t have to replace the floor or carry out repairs as frequently than you would if using other materials.

Diespeker & Co is a specialist supplier of natural stone and man-made materials for use in tiles, cladding, worktops and treads used in commercial and residential settings.

The company was founded in Hamburg and expanded into London where it was one of the first of its kind to offer terrazzo and mosaic to the UK market.

Diespeker uses traditional handcasting skills to create bespoke designs and are able to match to existing materials for refurbishment and retrofit projects.

The company boasts the very latest in Italian cutting and polishing machinery alongside an impressive showroom in South East London housing a large number of bespoke designs.

Major benefits of resin comfort floors include the reduced risk of cracking due to the increased flexibility of the polyurethane resin and a reduction in noise transmission caused by footfall in multi-level spaces.

Resin comfort floors are also extremely hygienic and very easy to clean given their seamless and smooth finish – plus they come in a vast (virtually limitless) range of colours, decorative effects and unique motion patterns.

The durability of resin flooring makes it more cost-effective when compared with other flooring systems such as tiles, sheet vinyl and linoleum, it’s more resilient, prone to wear and tear and therefore generally lasts a lot longer.

Seamless resin terrazzo is ultra-hard wearing with exceptional durability, ideal for high trafficked areas and offering excellent lifecycle cost saving efficiencies as it is easy to clean, sanitise and maintain.

Epoxy based terrazzo offers more movement than traditional sand cement terrazzo and is less prone to cracking. What’s more, it offers excellent chemical and stain resistance, ensuring an attractive finish is maintained.

Diespeker & Co from Vebro Polymers’ seamless terrazzo flooring incorporates a low emission epoxy resin binder tested and certified by AgBB.

Not only can the Vebro Polymers epoxy resin binder be matched to any RAL colour or surrounding design schemes, users can choose their own aggregate and sizes ensuring complete design flexibility.

Because of the nature of seamless epoxy terrazzo, the system retains warmth effectively, ideal for use over underfloor heating pipes.

The Vebro team recommends that Diespeker & Co from Vebro Polymers terrazzo flooring is laid on a suitable cementitious levelling screed from the vebroscreed range.

The most suitable substrate will depend on site conditions as well as intended use and performance criteria of the overall floor build up.

Of course, there are a number of other considerations to factor in… There may be some substrate repair and crack bandaging required, as well as added underfloor heating.

Vebro Polymers is on hand to support with the full package of flooring from the terrazzo topping and all that lies beneath.

To discuss your requirements, or arrange a site visit from one of our team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Resin comfort flooring is made up of layers of flexible polyurethane resin that is liquid-applied onto a primed concrete substrate or alternatively a rubber mat, rubber crumb or cork underlay.

Resin comfort flooring is also frequently referred to as liquid-vinyl or cushioned resin flooring. All of these terms; ‘comfort’, ‘cushioned’, ‘vinyl’ – make reference to the floors’ somewhat unique properties of providing a cushioning effect underfoot…this quite literally makes these floors more comfortable, warmer and surprisingly soft underfoot for those using them to walk and work on.

Proprietary quick / fast drying semi-dry screeds, such as v-Screed Fast and v-screed Rapid, are suitable to be installed in the following types of installation…

Bonded

The screed is laid onto a mechanically prepared and suitably primed substrate using a priming adhesive such as PVA (polyvinyl acetate), SBR (styrene butadiene rubber), epoxy resin, or as a slurry combination (using PVA or SBR suitably mixed with cement with the intention of maximising potential physical / chemical bond).

Unbonded

The screed is intentionally separated from the substrate by the use of a membrane (usually a plastic sheet, building paper / house wrap, or a cavity drain).

Floating

The screed is laid on thin sheet acoustic insulation, rigid thermal insulation or a void former with a separating membrane placed onto the rigid thermal insulation or void former.

With correct care and maintenance, resin comfort floors can last well in excess of 10, 15, 20 years, even longer still with the routine refurbishment of the topcoat. At the end of their lifespan, resin comfort floors can simply be overlaid whereas with sheet vinyl or linoleum this typically needs to be removed and disposed of.

Resin comfort floors have a very cost-effective life-cycle profile in comparison to alternative floor coverings, albeit a higher square metre rate install cost, reduced maintenance and energy costs over time combined with a longer lifespan makes resin comfort floors the economical choice over the footprint of its service life.

What is a semi-dry, sand & cement screed?

A traditional semi-dry screed essentially consists of sand & cement, mixed at a ratio of between 3 to 5 parts sand & 1 part cement. In the majority of cases 4 to 1 is sufficient.

In the past, reinforcement was achieved by using hex wire (chicken wire) or D49 mesh. However, in the early 1990’s polypropylene fibres (PPF) started to become very popular, and today PPF is the most common used reinforcement used for traditional floor screeds.

By definition, a screed relies on water being one of the principal components added, and with watering involved the screed can shrink. To avoid shrinkage cracking occurring throughout the screed, appropriate polypropylene fibres can be added. Other additives, such as those with water reducing and strength gaining properties, can also be added to make the screed dry more quickly.

Traditional semi-dry screed drying times vary according to the weather conditions, humidity level and depth, as well as any admixtures that have been incorporated into the screed. Traditional semi-dry screeds generally dry at a rate of 1.0 mm/day for the first 40.0 mm, and 0.5 mm thereafter after the screed has been cured for 7 days.

Semi-dry floor screed systems are the only reasonable method to achieve a floor in a wet room type areas laid to falls.

What is a proprietary fast / quick drying, sand & cement screed?

Screed mixes generally contain more water in them than is required to hydrate the cement. Around 40–50% of the water added to a screed mix is used to hydrate the cement, whilst the remaining 50–60% takes up the role of making the screed workable in terms of ease of application.

A proprietary or fast / quick drying semi-dry screed (whilst being based on the same sand & cement ratio as a traditional semi-dry sand & cement screed) differs by the additional inclusion of either a liquid or powdered additive to quickly reduce the level of retained moisture within the screed. These types of additives allow for floor coverings or resin coatings to be laid over the screed much earlier than would be possible with semi-dry traditional screeds.

Additionally, the incorporation of such additives promotes quicker physical strength gain, facilitating early access to follow-on trades. The reduced water demand in these types of additive-incorporated screeds also reduces shrinkage compared with traditional sand & cement screeds.

Resin comfort floors have become increasingly popular in institutional facilities over the last few years including schools, colleges, healthcare, medical-care and public leisure facilities.

Whilst being tough and durable, resin comfort floors are also easy to clean which makes them a great choice in these sectors. Resin comfort floors provides the ideal solution for all areas including; entrance foyers, service corridors, classrooms, hospital wards, recreation areas and laboratories.

Including a rubber mat within the build-up of comfort resin floors simply enhances all of the major benefits offered by this type of flooring.

The inclusion of a soft rubber mat makes the floor even more comfortable to walk and work on and also significantly improves acoustics – particularly between floors – deadening unpleasant noise transfer (think of that horrendous screeching noise when the bell rings and you’ve got 35 kids pushing their chairs under their desks right above you!)