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Luxury Property Sets New Record with ARDEX Natural Stone System
As one of the world’s most important capital cities London boasts a wealth of luxury properties, but even in comparison to some of the most lavish residential examples, the recent sale of a 3,250sqft “super prime” apartment in central London achieved a record price per square foot, for the area in which it is located.
The exclusive development by R & G Construction offered a beautifully appointed property with many sumptuous features, the most striking of which was the considerable use of marble, one of nature's most beautiful stones. Working in conjunction with R & G Construction, Mega Marble Limited, specialists in the design, preparation and installation of natural stone products, specifically sourced beautiful Arebescato Oroboico Grigio marble from the Italian region of Carrara, near Rome. The marble was cut to size from a single block for installation within various areas including the surround for the spa bath in the master bathroom, plus three further bathrooms and a cloakroom, all of which featured bespoke marble rectangular basins and 18ct gold taps! In addition, marble provided the flooring and skirting in the hall and kitchen.
To ensure that its beauty will last for generations it is imperative to install marble with premium quality natural stone fixing products. Since the completion of their very first installation, ARDEX UK’s range of high performance natural stone fixing products have been widely specified throughout numerous prestigious projects. The key benefits of ARDEX natural stone adhesives and grouts is that they incorporate the ARDEX ‘Rapidry Formula’ technology which binds the mix water within the adhesive or grout, virtually eliminating the risk of water staining to natural stone tiles.
The marble, which had thicknesses of between 10 and 20mm, was measured and prepared in order to minimise the number of joints. ARDEX S 20 W white rapid drying and hardening natural stone adhesive was used to fix the marble. As a result of constant research and development, ARDEX S 20 W offers high performance and is particularly ideal for fixing uncalibrated marble and other natural stones due to it being suitable for bed thicknesses from 5 to 20mm. The rapid drying properties of ARDEX S 20 W ensured the marble could be walked on and grouted after only 3 hours. Also crucial to this project was the fact that it was suitable for use with the underfloor heating system installed under the marble.
To ensure a perfect finish, the marble was grouted with ARDEX MG grout. Available in a variety of colours, ARDEX MG is a unique rapid drying marble and natural stone grout which is suitable for use with heated sub-floors and also features reduced risk of water staining at the tile edges due to the ‘Rapidry Formula’ technology. The rapid drying properties of ARDEX MG enabled the tiles to be walked on only 90 minutes after application.
“Marble of this beauty provides a truly breathtaking vision and it was vital that we installed it with a compatible range of adhesives and grouts. ARDEX products are renowned for ensuring reliability, security and outstanding performance, we were completely confident that their innovative natural stone system would step up to the challenge with ease”, commented Rafi Mimoni, Director of Mega Marble.
October
2006
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