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Court
marking for all sports floors
We apply painted court markings
on almost all sports surfaces and for all sports and other specialist
markings. We apply
- Court markings on wood,
polyurethane and vinyl floors
- Court markings on external
tarmac, concrete and rubber surfaces
- Court painting/block painting
on tarmac for tennis, netball, basketball and five a side
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Wood
sports floors and dance floors
We install wood sports floors
for squash courts, dance studios, gymnasia and sports halls, for refurbishes,
upgrades or new builds.
- Solid and laminate sprung
wood floors
- Squash court floors
- Dance floors
- Latex screeds
- Epoxy damp proof membranes
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OG
Technical - Selecting sports floors
Main
types of sports floor
- Solid
eg wood laid direct to sub floor, composite or carpet
- Area
elastic eg wood or composite laid on a sprung batten system
- Point
elastic eg polyurethane and cushioned vinyl
- Multilastic
eg polyurethane and cushioned vinyl laid on a sprung batten system
Factors
influencing choice
- Initial
cost
- Additional
costs - see below
- Cleaning/maintenance
costs
- Repair
costs
- Longevity/life
expectancy
- Range
of activities eg basketball, badminton, netball, five a side, volleyball,
hockey, tennis, cricket, exams and assemblies, community functions,
dance/disco, aerobics, rollerskating or multi-use
- Standards
of activities eg International/competition, County/club or recreational
- Aesthetics/colours
- Performance
qualities eg required for a particular sport or multi-use - see next
Performance
qualities of sports floors
- Stability
- a floor should form a continuous surface without joints that affect
playing performance or create a hazard
- Rebound
resilience (ball to surface) - represents the ratio of energy returned
when a ball bounces and therefore the height and speed of rebound. Different
sports have different requirements but it should be even over the area
- Rebound
resilience (person to surface) - represents the "spring"
in a floor. Too little will be tiring, too much will be comparable with
a gymnastic floor area or trampoline and feel unnatural
- Stiffness
- most important for minimising injuries as a softer surface is more
forgiving but also more tiring. For wheelchair sports or rollerskating/blading
a stiffer floor that will reduce rolling resistance might be preferred
but for basketball a more forgiving surface would be more suitable
- Friction
- a surface needs to have sufficient friction to provide traction and
prevent accidental slipping but not too much to restrict sliding or
turning or cause friction burns
- Rolling
resistance - a surface should be even and consistent for the required
sports or games eg a hard surface might be excellent for wheelchair
users but not for bowls
- Spin
(ball to surface) - for sports such as tennis and cricket the surface
friction and stiffness will influence ball spin which is critical to
the game
- Recovery
from impact - a surface should return to its original level after
point impact especially as a result of equipment such as seating being
set out
- Load
bearing - all sports surfaces should be designed to withstand a
5kN/m2 load to comply with BS6399
- Wear
resistance - a surface should resist wear from normal use and be
chosen to resist wear from intended non sporting activities
- Safety/physical
injury - physical injury may occur through impact causing bruises,
friction burns, muscle fatigue or bone fractures. A surface should have
the stiffness, roughness, resilience and friction appropriate for the
type of user
- Physical
properties - a surface should conform with toxicity and fire regulations
- Environmental
- a surface needs to work within the existing building or local conditions
eg humidity, temperature, risk of flood
- Visual
- a surface should have sufficient reflectance for the required sports
and colour to make an attractive environment
- Other
- a surface should provide adequate sound deadening, heat insulation
and light reflection for the particular installation
Additional
factors (potential costs) to consider
- The sub
floor must have a level finish. Most floors require a surface levelled
to +/-2mm over a 2m area
- The receiving
substrate must not have excessive moisture content. Most floors will
require a relative humidity reading not exceeding 75% (or moisture not
exceeding 5%) (for new buildings there may not be sufficient time allowed
for the slab to dry naturally so a surface DPM may be required)
- Floor
materials are bulky and may need special secure storage facilities on
site. Wood floors in particular generally need time to acclimatise to
the site conditions prior to installation
- Unfinished
wood floors will require sanding and probably sealing after installation
and the dust created during the sanding process will need to be cleaned
after (if the area cannot be sealed off the dust will travel)
- Different
floors have different finished heights from the sub floor. For new builds
the floor needs to be chosen early in the design. For refurbishes any
raising or lowering of levels needs to allowed for in budgets
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