What was the experience like the last time you were at a metro station? Wading through the hoards of passengers scurrying about, navigating through them quickly to get to work and other destinations? Making your everyday commute a breeze is more than just about the plan and properly marked platforms. Since the system takes so many visitors to and fro, it needs to be efficient and functional, all while maintaining an aesthetic.A big part of this heavily shared public space is the flooring. Such high traffic areas can put a lot of stress on tiles and lead to unique challenges that traditional methods aren’t capable of handling.
- These spaces could either be poorly constructed or use materials not designed to accommodate high traffic.Traditional methods of fixing such as sand-cement mixture are frequently associated with poor bonding strength and do not work well in areas where there is high pressure and impact, leading to popping and cracks in tiles.
- Often, there is a lack of quality control and the recommended mixing ratio of sand and cement is not followed so proper bonding goes for a toss. Further, if the right amount of mortar thickness isn’t maintained, the margin of error expands, and work slows down. As a result, uneven levels tend to be more common which can lead to breaking of tiles, aggravated by heavy movement.
- Significant temperature changes lead to contraction of tiles or differential thermal expansion, working up stress underneath them and leading to loss of adhesion.
Thereby traditional tile fixing methods do not work well with extremely busy environments.So when the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was coming up, MYK LATICRETE’s specially designed adhesives that could combat the specific challenges associated with high-traffic floors were used.
- The LATICRETE 111 Crete Filler Powder fortified with LATEX 73 Crete Admix was used to fix Australian tactiles. It’s high strength formula and shock resistance provides high flexibility and an extended usable life even in the most challenging areas.
- 4’x2’ Sadar Ali Grey slabs were installed with the LATICRETE®290 Premium thinset adhesive, a high-performance dry set adhesive that needed nothing more than water/latex to ensure a strong bond.Since it was easy to use, it enabled timely completion. The adhesive even bonds to a range of surfaces from concrete to natural stone.
- To ensure that the beautifully designed metro retained its visual appeal, the MYK LATICRETE SP-100 stain resistant, easy to clean joint filler was used between these tiles. A strong color fastness and the availability of a myriad of colors allowed for a superior finish overall.
MYK LATICRETE’s products perform well beyond high-traffic applications, trumping other alternatives in the market in terms of versatility. It aims to continue offering innovating products that can meet every challenge of modern architecture.
