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AUGUST 2018 | 39 Hardwood Flooring Schotten & Hansen's guiding vision is to protect and value human health, and therefore uses only natural materials for staining and protecting hardwood floor- ing – the kind of materials that are found in food or in natural body care products. While creating bespoke colours for over 30 years, Torben Hansen, the artistic visionary of Schotten & Hansen, has developed a system that enables the company to produce a wide range of custom colours in subtle variations. Torben Hansen Custom Colours library was created as a tool for interior designers for finding the right colour tone in a large number of available choices and to simplify the sam- pling and decision-making process. Schotten & Hansen delivers co-ordinated colour and texture on hardwood flooring as well as other interior decor elements such as stairs, acoustical wall panels, millwork veneers, doors and furniture. Each of the custom-made unique pieces matures with time, becoming richer through the traces of everyday use and developing a highly unique character that will remain for future generations. The surfaces of Schotten & Hansen flooring and interior products are highly durable due to their unique finishing, and are regener- ated through care and cleaning. There is no need to polish or replace them. S O U N D C O N T R O L Maxxon, the makers of Gyp-Crete, has developed a new kind of sound control mat ideal for multifamily renovations and concrete multifamily construction. Acousti- Top, made of a patented blend of acoustical fibres, is less than 1⁄16-inch thick and is compatible with a range of flooring materials and adhesives. Perfectly suited for carpet to hard surface conversions, Acousti-Top delivers reliable sound reduc- tion without adding to the height of the floor system. "Acousti-Top helps reduce telegraphing of imperfections through LVT and does not produce plasticizer migration," says Tara Crooker, marketing services. "It is rated high performance for crack isolation and will not support mould growth. Acousti-Top has been tested with some of the leading wet lay and pressure-sensitive adhesives avail- able on the market, but can also be loose laid with floating floor coverings." Each roll covers 708 square feet but weighs only 45 pounds, making it easy to carry and install. Exceptional durability makes it resistant to breach, which ensures its sound performance is not compromised prior to flooring installation. Acousti-Top is backed by Maxxon's industry-leading product support. A D H E S I V E S To ensure the hardwood flooring is secure, Mapei offers the Ultrabond ECO 997, a fast-setting, 100 percent solids, one-component, moisture- cured urethane adhesive specifically designed for the installation of domestic solid and engineered wood flooring. "Ultrabond ECO 977 can also be used in elevated subfloor mois- ture conditions of up to 12 lbs. [5,44 kg] MVER and 95 percent relative humidity when a specific installation method and trowel notch configu- rations are used," says Jeff Johnson, business manager, Floor Covering Installation Systems. Bostik Inc. has developed Ultra-Set SingleStep2 wood flooring adhesive using the company's Axios Tri- Linking polymer technology. Ultra-Set SingleStep2 combines high-strength adhesive, moisture barrier, and sound abatement underlayment technologies. Ultra-Set SingleStep2 also contains Bostik's patent-pending Thickness Control Spacer Technology, a proprietary feature ensuring the ideal membrane thickness between the substrate and hardwood flooring is maintained. "Ultra-Set SingleStep2 represents the highest feature set of any Bostik hard- wood adhesive," says Eric Kurtz, Bostik market manager. "The Thickness Control Spacer Technology helps ensure the required membrane thickness for moisture control and sound abatement is maintained, even if installers walk on the flooring before the adhesive has cured." He adds Axios technology is a revolutionary, breakthrough science. "It offers exceptional value to owners, architects and designers, general contractors, dis- tributors, and floor covering installers. Projects are completed faster with less risk, higher durability and lower overall project cost." A Ultrabond ECO 977 from Mapei Inc.

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