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BAL: holding everything together in airport expansion project

Major tiling work at London Southend Airport is being completed with the exclusive use of BAL adhesives and grouts. The tiling is being carried out within a signification expansion project, which has included a new control tower, new railway station, extended runway and new departure terminal.

The tiling is being carried out by a team of eight skilled fixers from Elite Tiling of Chelmsford.

The first phase of the development, the Departures Concourse, was finished last year. Work is continuing on Phase 2, which includes the ground and first floor of the Arrivals Concourse, catering zone, and the queuing and central search areas.

More than 5,500sq.m of floor tiles are to be laid throughout the extension, including the new departure lounge. The porcelain tiles have been supplied by Solus Ceramics, of Birmingham. The products specified for fixing these are BAL Supercover Rapid Flex adhesive, in grey, and BAL Superflex Wide Joint grout. The floor tiles are being laid onto power floated concrete, a hard-wearing substrate often specified for high-traffic areas. The fixers prepare the surface for tiling with BAL Prime APD.

A further 300sq.m of white gloss tiles are being supplied by Ceramic Tiles, of Ipswich. They have been specified for the walls of toilet facilities, both for customers and for airside staff. These are being fixed with BAL White Star plus ready-mixed adhesive and grouted with BAL Grout, in white. The team is also fixing both treads and risers on staircases.

Gary Bude, managing director of Elite Tiling, explains that BAL involvement in the project went well beyond supplying the adhesives and grouts. "BAL was more of a partner than a supplier," he says.

"BAL's Mark Dove was on site with me long before the start, examining the job and going through the requirements. Working with his colleagues in Stoke, he then delivered the full formal M40 specification for the job. He was back on site for the first day of the project and visited again while the work continued, just to make sure that there were no issues or concerns. We could not have asked for more. "Like most professionals, I have worked with BAL products for years and know that their performance can be trusted. It is always helpful when a single product has the versatility for use throughout a
project, as was the case here with both the adhesive and the grout."

T: 01782 591100

E: [email protected]
W: www.bal-adhesives.com

4th July 2014