Recommendations
Expansion Joints
Any expansion joint employed must:
- Provide smooth transit for the users of the building particularly those with disabilities and those recuperating from illness or surgery. Vexcolt’s jointing systems have been designed meet current European and USA Disability Legislation (ADA).
- Expansion joint systems must be hygienic and easy to clean. Vexcolt’s metal and seal-based system have a flush surface for cleanability and employ antimicrobial and antifungal agents within the seal compound.
- The variety of trolleys and equipment that can pass across a hospital floor mean that should be considered when specifying expansion joints. It is recommended that a load value of 750KPa (approximately 7.5kg per cm2) be used to define loading. For a four-wheeled trolley with a wheel contact area of 5cm x 5cm this means that an expansion joint system should be able to support a trolley with a gross load 750kg.
Control Joints
Where smaller control joints are required, we strongly recommend that the narrowest system possible is used to limit the potential for damage and contamination. Control joints in such environments should have metal side plates to support the vulnerable edges of finishes.
Vexcolt’s Micratec-SE range is only 3mm wide and comprises a stainless-steel envelope which encapsulates a central seal which has been impregnated with antimicrobial and antifungal agents.
