Junckers 10-year Warranty

Amber Floors Maintenance are full members of The Junckers Approved Maintenance Contractor Scheme and Junckers, Europe’s leading manufacturer of solid hardwood flooring, now offer an extended 10 year warranty to your existing Junckers floor under the JunckersCare scheme.

Why have the Junckers Approved Maintenance Contractor Scheme?

This innovative new concept was developed by Junckers Ltd in response to a growing number of requests from customers for professional flooring contractors whose work is of such high quality and reliablility that it can be guaranteed.

To qualify for the extended 10 year warranty, we ask that you enter into an agreement with Amber Floors Maintenance Ltd to carry out the long term maintenance work. This agreement is based on the the following schedule of works which we will price accordingly:

• 6 month inspection and deep cleaning using Junckers Neutraliser and Cleaner to prevent the floor becoming slippery;
• Every 12 to 18 months screen mesh abrade the surface and apply 1 coat of the most suitable Junckers polyurethane seal. This will prolong the life of any line markings;
• Every 7 to 10 years carry out minor surface repairs and sand the floor back to bare wood before applying a suitable Junckers 3 to 4 coat polyurethane sealing system. Line markings to be re applied between the last 2 coats of seal.

What does this mean for you?

Reassurance and total peace of mind in the care of your flooring.

We are very keen to ensure that your Junckers floor remains in both a good serviceable condition and maintains its beautiful finish. This is not only for aesthetic reasons but for heatlh and safety ones too.

As long as the above schedule of works is followed, Junckers undertakes the full warranty for the manufacture and performance of the Junckers floor, and associated undercarriage floor system for 10 years from the date of the refurbishment.

Junckers warrant that with the product specifications and instructions in force at the time of delivery and installation and in accordance with the design information given to Junckers Ltd, that the floor has sufficient strength and durability to resist common loads for a further 10 years.

How are members selected?

Every single member has been carefully chosen for the quality of their workmanship, technical knowledge and experience, loyalty, reliability, financial status and above all excellent customer service.

The Code of Practice — for more than just a good job

Every member has signed a binding agreement with Junckers to abide by a code of practice, set out to ensure that the highest standards are maintained and met in every aspect of their business practice. In other words in addition to quality workmanship, you can be sure that all members will give you a fair and competive price, will be honest in their dealings with you, will carry adequate insurance cover, will respect your building, and will comply with any relevant health and safety or building regulations.

Junckers is confident that you will be more than satisfied with the work of Amber Floors Maintenance Ltd, which is why we are approving and recommending them.

Please also feel free to contact us directly at Junckers Ltd regarding the maintenance or any other aspects of the floor.

Junckers Ltd
1a Wheaton Road
Witham
Essex
CM8 3UJ

Tel: 01376 534 700

2011 Basketball Court Markings

On the 1st October 2010 a new line markings standard for Basketball courts was introduced by the sport’s governing body, FIBA.

These apply for Level 1 competitions (main FIBA official competitions: ie. Olympic Tournaments, World Championships for Men and Women, U19 and U17 World Championships for Men and Women and Zone/Continental Championships for Men and Women).

They also apply to Level 2 competitions (ie. all other FIBA official competitions and the high level competitions of the national federations). However, all the national basketball federations are encouraged to apply the new court markings, if possible, especially for their senior men/women competitions.

Amber Floors Maintenance Ltd are, of course, deploying the new standard court markings as required.

For further information, please refer to FIBA’s Official Website.

You can download a PDF document illustrating the new court markings here (664KB PDF).

Health & Safety: Risk Assessment / Method Statement

On some projects, particularly new builds, there is a H&S requirement that all electrical machinery operate on 110v rather than the UK mains standard of 240v. The reason for this is simple: 110v won’t kill you if you come into contact with a live component – 240v can!

However, our sanding machinery operates on 240v. In this post, we’ll explain why and address some of the H&S issues this raises.

Classification: A Professional Sanding machine is not classified as “Hand Operated Equipment” (i.e. Portable Tool such as drill, angle grinder, breaker) but is in fact classified as “Hand Guided equipment” with a weight in excess of 79kgs & the operator is positioned behind the machine and merely guides the direction of it and correcting the walking speed at which it travels, as it moves & rests on its own wheels. The operator during operation is at no time exposed to the risk of any moving mechanical parts, or any debris or dust generated as it is removed by its own incorporated extraction facility.

All types and brands of Professional Belt Sanding Machines are manufactured world wide in 230V single phase or 440v three phase, it is IMPOSSIBLE to achieve the rpm and power required for operating
this type of equipment using a 110v motor, to sand a wooden floor to a professional standard.

Trailing cables: Trained operators will clear a safe path in order to operate the equipment, ensuring that they avoid other operators and are working a safe distance apart.

Blue Cable & 230v 16a Blue sockets are used where possible; clearly identifying them apart from 110v yellow cables, if necessary signs are posted notifying other trades that 230v machinery is in use.

Preparation of Working Area: Due to the processes involved in sanding and finishing a wooden floor, the area involved will need to be cleaned of debris, clear of any obstacles, with no other trades working in the immediate area or on the floor being sanded, in the event a trailing cable were to be run over and damaged, installed “RCD”s would protect the operator and equipment.

RCD: If equipment operating at 230 volts or higher is used, an RCD (residual current device) provides additional safety. An RCD is a device, which detects faults in the electrical system and rapidly switches off the power supply. RCD is built into the main switchboard or close to the socket-outlet, as this means that the supply cables to the equipment are permanently protected for the safety of the operator & equipment.

EC Conformity: All LÄGLER equipment display the CE symbol, which indicates that the manufactured equipment conforms to EC Directives, a copy of this certificate is on the rear of each individual machine and in the instruction manual. Also contained in each manual are technical specifications.

Machine Vibration Measurements: The results of vibration measurements at final inspection of all new equipment, covering all LÄGLER machine types, does not exceed the EU Vibration Guideline 2002/44/EG given release value for Hand-Arm-Oscillations of 2,5m/s ².

Machine Dust emissions: All LÄGLER equipment dose not exceed 2mg/m³ (0.024gr. /cu/yd.) however employees are provided with P3 Dust masks should conditions on site require them.

Machine Noise Emissions:
As quoted from the manufacturers Instruction Manual

• Lägler Hummel 76db(A)
• Lägler Trio 80db(A)
• Lägler Elan 89db(A)
• Lägler Flip 82db(A)
• Lägler Unico 77db(A)

Employees are provided with ear defenders or earplugs at personal preference with suitable db reduction rating.

Members of The Guild of Master Craftsmen

We’re very proud to announce that we have been certified as members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen.

Dust Free Sanding

There are a lot of companies out there claiming that they can carry out dust free sanding but this is often interpreted incorrectly. Whenever someone handles or refurbishes wood the result is sawdust or dust. Anyone who sands their wood floor runs the risk of spreading dust around their home.

Many factors affect the volume of dust produced: the species of wood, the machinery that is being used and the steps put in place just before work takes place. The more dense the species of your wood floor is, the less dust it produces.  Exceptions to this rule are teak and Granwood, which – no matter how many precautions are taken – give off a lot of dust!

So when you come across the term “dust free sanding” you should not take it literally. Dust is, of course, produced by the sanding process. However, a good sanding machine will have a dust extraction system fitted to it, and these are surprisingly effective. Once the sanding is complete a professional contractor will take the time to vacuum up any residual dust and complete any other clean-up as necessary. The result – dust free sanding!

NOTE: Some dust produced by the process will become airborne and may take a few days to settle.

At Amber Floors Maintenance Ltd, we use Lägler machines for our sanding and also on our maintenance contracts. These machines were specifically designed to maximise dust collection. (If you’re interested there’s a note at the end about Eugen Lägler and the machines he’s created). We also believe that taking time to prepare a site prior to sanding goes a long way towards minimising the spread of dust. When we’re working in your home we ensure that doors to adjoining rooms are kept closed where possible. If we’re sanding in a kitchen then we’ll seal doors and cupboards with masking tape and cover your worktops and appliances with sheets. If we are sanding a hallway then we lay dust sheets up your stairs. In short, we always take the time to seal off our work area as effectively as we possibly can. Furthermore, we always clean our way out of your home so that you don’t have to clean up after us.

Eugen Lägler

Born in Frauenzimmern and trained as a mechanical engineer, Eugen Lägler recognised in the fifties the significance of automation in parquet sanding. He called this first belt sander the “HUMMEL” due to its humming drive noise – without foreseeing that this name would soon become a synonym for perfect parquet sanding. The Hummel is used to sand the main area of a floor. Outstanding build quality and years of fine tuning of Eugene Lägler’s original 1970’s design means the Hummel is often copied but never equalled. Lägler (the company) say, “the Lägler Hummel is the best known floor sanding machine in the world with long life technology for perfect sanding results.”

We use the Hummel for the main surface area. Maximum dust emissions are a tiny 2mg per cubic meter (which equates to around a cap full of dust per bin liner, so tiny an amount, it’s barely worth taking down the pictures in your home). We use the Lägler Flip for edge sanding, which gets to all the areas the Hummel can’t reach. Again, Lägler’s combination of high build quality and constant innovation led the design of the Flip, an extremely effective edge sander with enormous suction power. Max dust emissions are 0.5mg per cubic meter. We finish with the TRIO Finishing Sander is the ultimate dust free sanding machine, designed to fine sand your floors to perfection. Only then do we think about applying your chosen surface product.

Important Information for the Bar / Restaurant Trade

Almost daily there are reports of accidents in the workplace arising from slips, trips and falls. Many of these accidents lead to investigations and subsequent compensation claims totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.

Many of these claims, particularly injuries from slip are avoidable by ensuring reasonable precautions are taken to prevent risk to staff and clientele.

The Health and Safety Executive has decreed along with the Slip Resistant standards committees that all floors that are exposed to liquid spillages must have a surface finish which will fall into the Low or Extremely Low Potential for slip category.

References:

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Workplace (HSW) Regulations 1992

This has already been put into effect by many local authorities and retail and leisure groups who insist that all new and refurbished floors meet both wet and dry slip resistance standards in order to reduce the risk of injury and subsequent claims. Failure to do so in some local authorities can mean that trading licences will not be issued until compliant.

In order to ensure floors meet these standards it is strongly recommended that floors are installed/ treated with a coating that meets both wet (B.S.7976-2: 2002) and dry standards.

Until recently coatings for timber floors which meet wet
slip standards have not been available.

This has now changed with the introduction of the new HP Friction + lacquer from Junckers Ltd.

This product has been designed and tested to meet TM2002: 1999 (B.S.7976-2: 2002) for wet slip resistance and can be applied on both new and existing timber floors, immediately reducing the risks to both staff and users.

This product is quick drying (1 hour) and curing (95% after 12 hours) and is fully water based and VOC compliant therefore minimising closure times on existing premises.

A Busy Easter

Well the Easter break seems to have spanned out over almost 5 weeks this year and we still have 1 week to go. So far, we have completed a host of floor refurbishments and also maintenance contracts to schools, village halls, sports centres and domestic floors. In many cases, we have returned to site to carry out refresher training for the ongoing care and maintenance of the floors (we’ll soon be posting photos of our most recently completed work, so watch this space).

Now that these floors are back on the right track we’ll continue to offer the right level of nagging encouragement and support to their owners — to ensure that ongoing maintenance is correct. Advice is free — so phone us, pick our brains and we’ll help you to keep your floor looking beautiful for as long as possible.

We are almost fully booked for Spring Bank and are already taking bookings for the 6–week school summer holiday period. A note to schools and other floor owners who work to the academic calendar: don’t rest on your laurels, get your dates secured as soon as possible.

Final Thought: If you think the cost of maintenance is expensive — try the cost of neglect!

Junckers HP SportsLine Launched

Junckers have been working very hard on a new generation of sports line paint that will give extra benefits over existing line marking paints on the market today. They have acknowledged the current issues with slow drying and that pour opacity sometimes requires more than two coats in some cases to achieve a good solid colour. They have also had complaints that some paints were not compatible with their HP Sport lacquer causing delamination.

With all this in mind they have launched a new line marking paint named HP Sportsline.

This product is a two-part water based product available in 6 colours which can be mixed to achieve other colours if required. HP SportsLine comes in either 2.2 ltr or 0.72 ltr containers and is available, by special request, from Amber Floors Maintenance.

Full technical details are available on this downloadable PDF: HP SportLine Technical Documentation

Welcome to our new weblog

Hello World! Welcome to a whole new Amber Floors website and, a first for us, our very own Amber Blog.

Cool. So what are you going to do with it?

We’re going to keep a diary, of sorts. We’re planning to report on the all cool stuff that happens in our day-to-day working life. We’ll post a few photo’s (oh yeah, we have a really neat flickr gallery – which will be feeding images through to this site), we’ll post the odd video (yikes – that could be scary) and we’ll write about anything interesting that we come across (and it probably won’t all be floor related!)

So, welcome aboard. Subscribe to our RSS feed or keep checking back here so see what we’ve been up to. We hope you enjoy the ride.

Stay tuned…