Although this blog is written as “we” from a company perspective, it’s actually written by me, Laura (Hire & Sales Manager). As you may know, Concept Flooring Technology was founded in 2000 by my father John Hartley. Having a parent who is a director, salesman, labourer, fitter and admin administrator all rolled into one, undoubtedly is a tall order but one to be extremely proud of. However, joining the company was never part of my plan, yet in 2013 a role became available and my father and I felt it would be a good fit for me.
Aside from the fact that we have an extensive, although specialised fleet of machinery along with a brilliant workshop team; it’s always been important to me to be more than just another hire company. I wanted to start the blog to add another string to our bow, but to also be able to provide quick and easy to access to information, hints and tips for specific jobs that our customers experience.
The information provided in this blog is based on the 30+ years of experience in surface preparation, polished concrete and the hire industry. But this is also me, a wife, mum, wine lover, prolific nagger, and Pinterest enthusiast. A young woman, forever trying to reduce the stereotype that in fact women do have a place in construction.
20 Years. What a journey its been.
I’ve heard about “the good old days” more times than I care to remember. I’ve heard about the double shifts and about sleeping in the van in the middle of no where. I’ve heard about having to cobble things together to make it work, and the “oh my god do you remember that job?!”
This is a slightly different blog post to what I’m used to. I won’t be explaining the different finishing effects of scabblers with a 200mm drum as opposed to a 250mm drum, or why I would recommend one dust extractor over another when removing a specific floor covering. This post is to look at the life of a small family run business when the world went into lockdown …
Until the 1980’s, asbestos containing bitumen was often used as an adhesive for flooring in both domestic and commercial settings. Its popularity was due to its water resistance, fireproof properties and being largely inexpensive.
Not only is dust a major factor requiring control on site, it is hazardous and a real health issue when not treated correctly. Two of the biggest concerns are silica dust and asbestos contaminated material.
Sometimes flooring that goes down, must come up. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as soft strip demolition, change of design or even an adhesive or sub layer failure. This can become a one or two stage process which is completely dependent on a case by case basis.
Surface preparation denotes a broad spectrum, which we find is largely made up of scabbling and planing requirements.
Although the majority of our work is based around the industrial and commercial markets, polished concrete is becoming increasingly popular within residential projects.
