13/03/2019

By Mark Ingram, Area Flooring Manager, Schönox

When two worlds collide, there is always a chance something special will happen. And so it is with Sika’s SCHÖNOX H-levelling compound range. This hybrid screed contains ActiveDry Technology, an innovative ingredient that combines the versatility of synthetic gypsum and the speed of fast-curing cement. The result is a quantum leap in flooring technology that is delivering screeds with dynamic speed and performance.

SCHÖNOX HS 50, the latest addition to Sika’s H-levelling compound range, provides the perfect showcase for the superlative benefits of ActiveDry Technology. It not only provides the product’s fast-drying properties, it allows the screed to be pumped at an impressive thickness – from 3mm to 50mm. ActiveDry Technology is unaffected by high humidity or low temperature, making Schönox HS 50 an ideal solution for winter works.

REASSURANCE

The use of specially-designed,  self-levelling screeds, primers, DPM’s and adhesives such as those available from Sika® Schönox, eliminate substrate concerns whilst providing reassurance to the professional floor layer and the end user that the floor will take any dynamic loading placed upon it, without adverse effects furtherdown the line. As with other solutions in Sika’s H-levelling compound range - Schönox HS 10; Schönox HS 10 F - Schönox HS 50 is alow-tension calcium sulphate-based levelling compound with the fast-drying capabilities of a cementitious system. Despite its exceptional two-to-three hour curing time, Schönox HS 50 – which can be overlaid after 48 hours - has very low shrinkage, making it the perfect base for all types of floor coverings and parquet. In terms of industry accreditation, Schönox HS 50 is marked as EC 1PLUS R and fulfils the Blue Angel criteriafor its environmentally-friendly credentials. It is also classified to EN 13813 as CA-C35-F10.   

FLAWLESS FLOORS

The availability of high-performance, cost-effective, self-levelling products such as Schönox HS 50 has helped simplify the installation process without compromise to performance. However, durable flooring requires more than first-class materials; it takes careful planning and a keen eye to scrutinise even the most minor detail to produce a surface that stands the test of time. Get the basics right, and a flawless floor is there for the making.

Having extolled the qualities of ActiveDry Technology, the process involved in its creation would certainly be worth highlighting. However, our competitors would be just as keen to know the genesis of this ingenious system. We are able to reveal that Sika’s research and development team based at our Customer Technology Centre in Germany continues to assess the Schönox system’s capabilities in order to further advance its development and cement its position as the industry’s superior self-levelling screed.