As part of the project, the double-volume entrance lobby was tiled with mixed sized, textured, full body porcelain tiles in a light concrete colour. TAL technical representative, Schalk Pelzer, states that the company supplied TAL Goldstar 6 for the floor and TAL Goldstar 12 for the wall tile installations.
"TAL Goldstar 6 is a rapid-setting, high-strength, grey powder adhesive ideal for fixing porcelain and dark-coloured granite, marble and natural stone tiles to walls and floors in interior and exterior installations. It is shrinkage compensated and allows traffic after six hours, depending on conditions. TAL Goldstar 12 boasts the same features, but is quick-setting rather than rapid-setting, allowing traffic after 12 hours, and is suitable for ceramic, porcelain and terrazzo tiles," he says.
Due to the fact that the interior of the building features limited-support steel structure staircases that can experience substantial deflection and vibration movement, TAL specified the use of a highly flexible adhesive system, namely TAL Goldflex mixed with TAL Bond, to ensure that the tile installations on the staircases are able to withstand the extreme conditions.
Pelzer points out that TAL Goldflex is a flexible, rapid-setting, high-strength grey cement-based adhesive specially formulated to absorb vibration and deflection of substrates. "When used in conjunction with TAL Goldflex Grout, a single part flexible rapid-setting grout, the tiled area could be subjected to full traffic six hours after installing the tiles," he continues.
The flexibility of the TAL Goldflex adhesive was further enhanced by the addition of TAL Bond, a modified latex additive designed to be used as a total water replacement in the mix, to enhance the
bond strength and flexibility of the adhesive and grout.
This highly-flexible adhesive system allows for increased movement, as is anticipated in the tiling to the screeded steel stair treads, landings and areas surrounding the staircases. "A suspended link bridge was also tiled using TAL Goldflex and TAL Bond, while tile panel movement joints were located at 1,8m intervals to accommodate movement," adds Pelzer.
Other features of the project included the installation of 300mm x 1,200mm timber effect porcelain tiles in the staff canteen using TAL Goldstar 6 and TAL Bond. 600mm x 600mm beige polished porcelain tiles were installed in the bathrooms and various sized porcelain tiles in the amphitheatre-type coffee shop leading off the main lobby, using the same adhesive products.
