A Mapei resilient floor system, featuring EMICODE: EC1 Plus formulations, has been used to complete an extensive vinyl and carpet tile installation at the new Whitley Bay High School in North Tyneside. Managed and funded by the Department for Education, the redevelopment project at Whitley Bay forms part of the first phase of a national School Rebuilding Programme to redevelop post-war schools. The new school campus was designed by Ryder Architects, with planning consultancy support from Lichfields, and delivered by Bam Construction Ltd. The floor installation was carried out by Active Flooring Solutions and features designs from Forbo, Tarkett and Burmatex®.

The Whitley Bay redevelopment spans three storeys and includes a wide range of zoned departments around a central landscaped area; they include a large hall, sports hall and studios, sixth form facilities, specialist spaces, teaching rooms, and designated areas for students with special needs. Passive design has been utilised to drive down carbon emissions and ensure that Whitley Bay is efficient and highly sustainable over the longer term, with features including air source heat pumps and photovoltaic canopies. The new building is also future proofed against the risks of climate change and will achieve Net Zero Carbon in operation.

Mapei levelling compound, surface membranes and adhesives specified supported the sustainable design and featured very low VOC formulations, with EMICODE: EC1 Plus certification. The floor specification included six different resilient finishes: Forbo Safestep Safety Vinyl R10 and R11, Forbo Sphera Energetic vinyl, Tarkett Primo Safe T, Desso Essence Carpet Tile and Burmatex® grimebuster entrance matting.

During preparation works, subfloors were pre-smoothed with Mapei Latexplan Trade low odour levelling and smoothing compound and primed with Mapeproof Primer – a one-component, rapid drying ready-to-use waterproof surface membrane. Single coat damp proof membrane, Mapeproof One Coat, was also used throughout the ground floor. The adhesive specification included Ultrabond ECO V4 Evolution all-in-one universal adhesive, used to install vinyl and Ultrabond ECO Tack TX+ acrylic-adhesive carpet tile tackifier in water dispersion for carpet tiles and matting.

For more information about the project and Mapei specification, please contact: info@mapei.co.uk or visit www.mapei.co.uk