MYER Shopping Centre, Cairns

The specification of 10,000m of timber flooring at Myer Cairns, a market leader in Australian retailing, required a guaranteed system to overcome the high moisture levels in the concrete slab.

ARDEX WPM 300, ARDEX K 15 and ARDEX E 25 provided the system.

A tight construction schedule, as is often the case with new shopping centres, did not allow for the natural drying of the concrete slab. In addition the air-conditioning could not be operational at the time of installation of the timber flooring (a recommendation of both Australian Standards and the flooring manufacturers).

Recognising that the concrete moisture content was over the allowable limit, the specification was written to install ARDEX WPM 300, topped with a 4mm layer of ARDEX K 15. The former, as the name suggests, prevents moisture in the slab from travelling to the floor covering and causing it to warp or delaminate. ARDEX K 15 provides a smooth flat porous surface for the conventional laying of floor-coverings and also protects the moisture barrier against damage.

A number of years and millions of footsteps later the timber flooring continues to look great, testimony that the system works.