An East Anglian factory that is changing the future of farming forever has called Kemtile, a division of Stonhard, to lay the foundations for its cutting-edge fresh food production facility.
The Kemtile team using Stonhard high-performance flooring systems found the ideal solution for this quality-conscious customer - a revolutionary vertical farming site that has been set up to provide quality fresh food. A bio-secure and closed loop system prevents chemical run-off and soil degradation whilst using less water - meaning the process can be more sustainable.
Vertical farming is emerging as an increasingly popular means of modern agriculture - with many similar sites planned across the UK. This was the second time Kemtile had been appointed to work in the facility having already completed flooring works in the company's Harvesting Area.
With this new project, Kemtile was asked to survey the area, which was a raised concrete as mezzanine concrete was being turned into a new germination room.
The Kemtile team surveyed the area and found the new concrete had a very weak and friable surface that needed to be removed. The concrete had also cracked along the lines of the support beams underneath the floor.
Kemtile proposed two systems and the customer chose the solution that would provide long-term performance in such a critical area operating with extremely high humidity. The thin, weak, friable layer was removed and to mitigate any future cracking Stonproof RH7 a crack-bridging fibreglass-reinforced flexible membrane was installed across the whole floor.
Due to the unique Stonhard materials and how they can be married to other systems, the Stonproof RH7 membrane was overlaid directly with Stonlad GS - a power-trowelled high-performance epoxy screed system. Finished with a Texture Two surface this provided an ideal, slip-resistant, hygienic, easily cleaned and hard-wearing finish for this important area of the factory.
Stonproof RH7 is designed for use on horizontal areas where waterproofing and crack bridging are required. It is flexible yet reinforced to handle substrate movement that would normally cause overlayment failure.
Stonclad GS is a power-trowelled, high-performance epoxy mortar system which cures to an extremely hard, impact-resistant mortar. This means excellent resistance against abrasion, wear and chemicals - and it can be used anywhere an epoxy mortar is required, such as in this instance.
