A complete system of Mapei products has been specified in the flooring build up of new public concourses within Birmingham’s New Street Station. The £600m redevelopment scheme will include a new concourse, exterior façade and entrances. On behalf of principal contractor - Mace – Grants of Shoreditch and UKS Group Ltd prepared and installed 20,000m2 of new flooring. A series of Mapei systems were chosen to enable fast installation and provide a surface suitable for exceptionally high levels of foot traffic. Phase 1 refurbishment was completed in April 2013, with overall project completion in 2015, along with further Mapei specifications.
Birmingham New Street is the busiest interchange station outside London, with an average of 31.2 million passenger entries and exits each year. Initially, Grants installed a screed containing Mapei’s Topcem binder; the high performance, fast-drying screed which reduces installation time to 24 hours for ceramic and two days for stone tiling. Mapei’s fast setting flexible S1 adhesive - Keraquick – was then used to install the new granite tiling, finishing off with Mapei Ultracolor Plus; a fast setting and drying flexible grout, featuring anti-efflorescence, water-repellent and anti-mould properties.
Within service access and temporary flooring within main station areas, UKS Group Ltd laid approx. 500m2 of Mapei’s resin and cementitious flooring products: Mapei’s two component, solvent free Primer SN provided a key for Ultratop Industrial – a fast setting, smoothing, high abrasion-resistant floor covering. The surface was then finished using Mapecoat I 600 W and Mapecoat I 620 W. Both epoxy finishing systems provide an opaque anti-dust and oil resistant surface, without altering the natural colour of the floor. The Mapecoat I 620 W was also used for the lift pits in RAL 3016, which were installed by Birse Rail.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes UKS Group Ltd used Mapei’s chemical and abrasion-resistant Mapefloor I 350 SL, installed by Prestec Ltd, to create service tunnels for contractor access.
“The station demanded hard wearing flooring capable of dealing with the 140,000 passengers every day; the owners Network Rail wanted a floor that kept within the vision and aesthetic qualities of a modern, vibrant station. A combination of Grants and UKS Group Ltd installation – and a system of high quality Mapei products - ensured both criteria were met,” commented Steve Price, Building Products Manager at Mapei UK Ltd.
