Out In The Cold
Some of you may remember that back in the halcyon days of early summer, I wrote a guide to storing and using two part adhesives in hot weather.
Callers to the Altro technical hotline complained that two part adhesives were curing too quickly in the summer heat. As a consequence, some fitters were struggling to use a full mix of adhesive as they found it was setting in the tub before they could get it out and onto the floor.
Well, as we face a long cold winter, we’ve already had a couple of calls from fitters having problems with two part adhesives due to the cold, so I thought I’d compile some helpful hints that may help when the chips are down - or frozen as the case may be.
Of course, you could always demand better site conditions - more heat, sufficient light, bacon sandwiches etc – and, in some cases, you might be successful. But as most flooring installations are completed within a few days of arrival on site, the conditions prevalent at the time of arrival won’t have changed much when you’re packing your tools at the end of the job.
For some strange reason, the trade of floorlaying in this country and its practitioners are not given the same consideration as most of our counterparts in other parts of Western Europe.
Abroad, sites are cleared of most other trades to enable a floorlayer sufficient time and in most cases the right conditions to carry out the installation - something almost unheard of on this side of the channel, despite the best efforts of the contractor flooring association and all manufacturers of contemporary floorcoverings.
As usual I’ve gone off on a tangent, as I was originally saying, a few tricks of the trade can be a great help when your back is against the wall, so here is the unofficial Altro guide to the use of two part adhesives from now until the next heatwave.
- Try to store the adhesive at a decent temperature for at least 24 hours prior to its use - this does not mean overnight in the van at -5°C!
- If that fails, have a unit or two in the foot well of your vehicle and turn the heater on as you drive to the site to begin work.
- Only mix the adhesive at the precise moment you intend to use it.
- Pour out a small amount at a time, as the more product on the floor the more difficult it is to spread.
- Pretend you’ve left your trowel on the last job and get your mate to do the spreading (worth a try but it’s never worked for me!)
Seriously though, two part adhesives can be more difficult to use than conventional flour and water mixes but there are many advantages to their use in the right area and at least in my very humble opinion, they have become a real asset to our industry.
So until next time, tote that barge, lift that bale and spread that adhesive.
This article first appeared in the December 2006 edition of the CFJ.