CVD Floored – at Kelvingrove Art Gallery

Scottish specialist concrete company’s Superfloor success.

Scottish specialist concrete cutting and drilling company, Clyde Valley Drilling, expect millions to people to walk all over their work – the new 4,000 sq meter Superfloor in the basement of the newly refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.

CVD, based in Eurocentral, worked with the Architects on this prestigious project from start to finish, including the design, materials, method of placement, compaction and finishing.

Although this flooring system is a new style of durable, cost effective and low maintenance flooring to the UK, it has been used extensively throughout Europe and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery project is the largest Superfloor project in the UK to date.

“We are delighted to be part of the refurbishment of such a magnificent landmark in Glasgow,” commented Managing Director of CVD, Owen Barrett. “The basement in Kelvingrove Art Gallery was previously used as a storage area and was not open to the public.

In fact, it was discovered during renovations that there was no floor in the basement – only a skin of cement on the earth!”

Superfloor was the ideal solution for this magnificent and historic building where visitor numbers are expected to run into millions!

This self finished, durable, attractive and low maintenance floor slab is suitable for commercial, industrial and domestic environments.

The process can be used on new or existing slabs, but tends to work best on new concrete slabs, particularly where appearance is important. This is because the concrete can be specified to suit the process.

Several factors can be specified to contribute to the finished appearance, including aggregate size, content and colour plus cement and sand colour. Slump, compaction, placing and finishing should also be specified to enable grinding works to produce an even finish and appearance.

The concrete placing contractor must be aware of all factors when pouring and finishing the concrete as any problems left at this stage will require excessive grinding and result in an uneven appearance in the finished slab.

The Superfloor grinding and polishing process involves coarse grinding to flatten the slab and expose the aggregate. This is followed by hardening and polishing steps. The slab should be initially ground at around five to seven days old and polished once the slab has achieved around 20n/mm2 strength.

Saw cutting of joints is carried out after the initial grind to ensure no damage is caused to the joint arrises.

The slab is protected between grinding and polishing to ensure there is no mechanical damage or contamination and the grinding contractor must be aware of the programme of works as the grinding and polishing works will dictate how other trades working in the area access and carry out their building schedules.

“Superfloor can be customised utilizing different components to provide colour, sparkle etc to complement the room or area,” said Owen Barett.

“The finishing in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum features natural gravel and is designed to complement the industrial theme of the basement area, emphasizing the natural brickwork of the walls.”

The CVD team trained in Sweden, where the technical equipment is manufactured and the company is now the leading name for Superfloor in the UK.

For further details on Superfloor, contact CVD on 0845 4501701 or visit the CVD Superfloor page>>