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Blog
Easy, Durable & Dynamic – Introducing Duratred Ezy Aluminium Matting
Have you had to deal with delays, replacements, sizing concerns, manufacturing times, and other never-ending obstacles when trying to get an effective entry mat for your business? The exhausting process of getting templates made, cad drawings done, arranging site visits & measure ups, can now be eliminated easily. Taking forward our vision of providing an easy experience, we are very happy to introduce our smart, easy, and dynamic aluminium entrance matting – Duratred Ezy. The beauty of this new aluminium entrance matting range Duratred Ezy is that you can create a grand entrance that improves the aesthetic and safety of your area in only few minutes. The system is designed to be supplied in slat forms in standard lengths which can be cut to any size. This makes achieving any size or shape for the mat very easy. The mats are engineered for longevity and to maintain a healthy environment. With its dirt removing capacity and anti-slip surface, Duratred Ezy Mats make the entrance of education institutions, office areas, restaurants, shopping centres and sports facilities, attractive and cleaner. The customizable aluminium matting has outstanding cleaning and scrubbing action, making it perfect for high-traffic areas. So why wait for months when you can give a new look to any space in just few hours. Our Duratred Ezy Mats are available in Elite, Supreme & Scraper versions. Key Features of Duratred Ezy Mats to know: Anti-slip matting for high traffic spaces The aluminium mats pass all flammability standards. The engineered quality components ensure longevity in appearance and performance in even the highest traffic areas. All the mats are Australian Made, i.e., Manufactured locally. To work out how many slats your mat well will require measuring the mat’s walking direction or the front to back; put this into the Duratred Ezy Calculator. Get in touch with us on 1800 621 103 to know more about this new and easy aluminium entrance mat, Duratred Ezy! For a detailed assessment and consultation, fill in our contact form & we will get in touch with you. You can check out our range of Entrance Mats here.
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Disinfectant Mats Can Mitigate The Risk Of Foot And Mouth Disease
There are growing concerns over the potential of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia, as this contagious viral disease of livestock could have a significant impact on the agriculture industry. Therefore, it has become imperative to take preventative measures, particularly on farms and areas where food is processed. Eliminating any signs of virus transmission through shoes is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foot and mouth disease, since shoe soles can harbour a variety of pollutants. It is therefore crucial to effectively disinfect with a disinfectant mat. Our Boot Dip Mat made of Natural Rubber come with raised ramp edges that hold anti-germ or any liquid chemical for hygienic cleaning. Hundreds of rubber bristles in the mat encourage boot cleaning as the shoe bottoms are submerged in the disinfectant foot mat. The mat also has yellow edges to enable high visibility and safety. With a dispatch time of 2 to 3 days, our Boot Dip Mats make for an effective solution to help contain the risk of foot and mouth disease.To know more about how these mats can help your business, fill in our Contact form & we will get in touch with you. Do check our complete safety matting solutions here.
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Tips on How to Install Your Floor Coverings to Suit Stair Nosing
August has come and gone in the wink of an eye it seems, but it has been an exciting month for the team as we manufactured and packed up hundreds of square metres of Aluminium Matting, sent cupcakes all over Australia, introduced some new temporary floor protection products to our range, and much much more. Read on to see what else we have been up to… Tips on How to Install Your Floor Coverings to Suit Stair Nosing One of the main issues associated with installing stair nosing on stairs when a floor covering has already been laid, is a raw edge being exposed due to the nosing only partially covering the floor covering. Coverings commonly affected are timber flooring, vinyl, tiles and carpet tiles where our Carpex carpet system cannot be used. Although a 20-30mm lip on the nosing will cover any exposed edge, Australian Standard AS1428.1-2009 states that “Where the luminance contrasting strip is not set back from the front of the nosing then any area of luminance contrast shall not extend down the riser more than 10mm.” Sterling Supplies recommends when installing floor coverings, care should be taken to install the covering so that the covering on the tread butts into the covering on the riser. The nosing will not only cover the raw edge of the covering but it will assist in clamping the covering in position. Issues can also arise when stair nosing are installed on broadloom carpet. We recommend our Carpex Broadloom Stair Nosing which has a ribbed underside that is designed to grip into the carpet. Sterling Supplies always recommends that underlay is not placed beneath the carpet as this results in extra compression and movement beneath the stair nosing. The following can happen: Fasteners will become loose in the substrate. Head of the fastener will pull through the countersunk hole in the aluminium. Head of the fastener will either lift or pierce the insert that hides the fasteners. Nosing will have extra movement underfoot which can create a trip hazard. The primary purpose of underlay is to provide extra comfort underfoot. By placing stair nosing on the stairs it defeats the purpose of underlay as the nosing extends 85mm into the tread and takes the brunt of the foot. Get in touch if you would like any further info in regards to the installation of stair nosing. WAREHOUSE NEWS Flashback – 2 years ago we supplied these 3 x 900mm x 50m rolls of Industrial Mat 825 really showcasing the custom work that we can achieve – nothing is too hard it seems for our warehouse team. Amazon Warehouse – these pallets, the largest one being over 4m long, consist of 15 of our Duratred Elite Aluminium Entrance Mats packed and ready for despatch to the brand new Amazon Warehouse facility in Western Sydney when the lockdown eases. Safety Matting – We all know safety is first in our workplaces and we recently supplied 25 x 1000mm x 4500mm custom-size Engineers Mat 115 safety mats to John Holland’s project office in Waterloo, Sydney. FEEDBACK FROM YOU – OUR VALUED CLIENTS Please send in photos of goods we have supplied that have satisfied the brief, or any point of interest that you wish to share with us and we will include it in our next edition of our blog. For this month, we picked a couple of photos from customers who enjoyed some morning tea on us… Richard with a cupcake and a thumbs up! Thanks for sending this in, Richard. Glad you and your team enjoyed these. Mark also enjoying his cupcake with his coffee. What more could you ask for? Thanks for sharing with us, Mark.
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Tactile Installation
Welcome to the first edition of our blog. Exciting huh! Check out what we have been up to this month and we have included some info that isn’t necessarily common knowledge but is important to get it right so you can save costs on re-work. If there is anything you want to know more about, just simply shoot us an email at sales@sterlingsupplies.com.au and we will be in touch. Did you know? TACTILE INSTALLATION Installing tactiles whether this be Peel & Stick Pads or Individual Buttons has long been an area of some intrigue! Some companies won’t touch it because there seem to be too many unknowns and from a compliance point of view, some people find it easier to leave it to the experts. Both points are true but with a little education and attention to a few details, some of the mystery and confusion can be eliminated. Let’s talk about Peel & Stick Pads. These have an extremely aggressive adhesive backing that will bond to a lot of surfaces and permanently, but there are a few surfaces to watch out for: Exposed aggregate. While you can put peel & stick on this surface, there are so many variables and associated problems it is better to use a more rigid tactile that is screwed down and does not rely on just the adhesive. Or you could use individual drilled in tactiles, but just be aware that the nature of exposed aggregate is such that the raised points can deflect a drill bit and cause inconsistent spacing. Green or uncured concrete. This can be a problem as the moisture coming out of the concrete will affect the bond and, in some cases, make the tile lift off completely. The answer is to ensure the concrete has cured for several weeks before applying tactiles. The other way to overcome this is to use a primer to seal the concrete. In fact, to eliminate moisture problems that can arise, we would recommend using a primer for all porous surfaces. The other problem with green concrete is that if this is drilled too early, the concrete can blow out around the hole damaging the visible surface of the concrete. One other trick for beginners is to check what’s happening under the drilling template when you first begin drilling as the holes can be blowing out and you won’t see this until the template is lifted off. With Individual Stainless or Plastic tactiles, you drill into the substrate and then a pressure fit tactile is tapped into the hole. It is best to use drilling templates to ensure even spacing and consistency. If doing a long section of tactiles, don’t just rely on linking all the templates together, use a straight edge or stringline to set a datum. If installing drilled in tactiles into porcelain, ceramic, bluestone or similar surfaces, the drilling needs to be done with wet diamond drills. If you prefer not to drill these surfaces, individual tactiles are available with a peel and stick backing in both plastic and stainless types. These are very good but not totally fail proof. In high traffic areas and particularly areas that have shopping trolley traffic, these can pop off. What’s been happening at Sterling? TEAM TALK July has been a busy month and we are very thankful to still be operating in these difficult times but we are wanting to make your day easier by providing a service that helps you get what you need in a timely manner. We are still shipping our products all around Australia and our site teams are still operating in both Melbourne and Brisbane as Government regulations permit. Many will possibly already be aware that we moved into a new warehouse at the start of 2021 in Campbellfield, Melbourne and this has been an ever-growing experience for our team and we have added a new staff member to our Melbourne team so we can better meet your demands as they come. A little sneak peak into what’s to come for August;– Watch out for an email from us on Monday 2nd August with an exciting gift attached! That’s a wrap for July. Next edition August 31st.
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Installation Service
Sterling Supplies supply and fit matting, tactile indicators, stair nosing and carpark safety products in most capital cities in Australia. We perform the complete process from measure through to install to suit your requirements. With over 30 years of experience in the flooring field, we strive to make the process as seamless as possible. I guess most people with the necessary tools and some experience could install the products we supply and install, but where it all gets a bit tricky is the compliance area. While there are plenty of suppliers of stair nosing and tactile indicators for instance, some of these do not comply. Due to changes in legislation in the last few years there are some companies left with product that does not actually comply to the current building code which they are keen to get rid of! The other issue is that there are still products appearing in specifications that are non-compliant, and, in some areas, it does depend very much on the building surveyor as to whether he will allow or reject the product. Due to the fact that the installation cost is a fair percentage of the total installed product cost nobody wants to be replacing stair nosing or tactiles indicators after they have been installed. While none of this is rocket science there is also the issue of luminous contrast and the recommended difference between the item being installed and the substrate. The other little point that can cause issues is that in an outdoor environment moisture can change the luminous contrast considerably so a Dry and Wet contrast value is required. In some cases finding a balance between a good looking installation which still has a compliant contrast and what the architect envisaged originally can be a challenge but with our wide range of products we can normally find a solution to keep everybody happy. In any building the longevity of the installation is a key factor and there are certain things that will influence this, one being the quality of the product being installed, the surface it is being installed on and then the other obvious one is the installation process. If we take stair nosing as a starting point we have found over the years that while some of our stair nosing are of a heavier gauge than our competitors, this has certain advantages. If the stair nosing can twist and distort with the weight of traffic on it this can lead to the loosening of the fixings and or adhesive and eventually lead to the nosing coming loose and being more of a hazard than no nosing. We recently had some new installers come to work for us who had been in the trade for many years, they both made the comment that our stair nosing, matting and accessories were of superior quality and heavier duty than anything they had installed previously which made them easier to install and ensured there were no call backs for defects. One of the very good points of using experienced installers for tactile indicators, stair nosing and carpark safety products apart from getting a professional installation, is the fact that they can often save the builder/owner money as they will often pick up areas where less tactiles need to be used that may not have been realized in the design phase.
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5 Important reasons for creating effective entrance matting
Nine years ago, I joined Sterling Supplies and thought mats are mats and if you have seen one, you’ve seen them all… With a company full of matting gurus and decades of experience, I quickly learned that there is much more to matting and now I can bore people to death with conversations about compliance, fire ratings, polypropylene, needle punch, nylon pile, low profile nosing, rubber backing and all kinds of technical details. To me, the most interesting thing about matting is that it seems so simple that it is often overlooked or an afterthought and yet it is so significant to a clean, safe and healthy environment. A commercial entrance matting system helps businesses of all kinds provide a safer, healthier and more attractive environment for their employees, customers, patients, students, tenants, guests and visitors. From indoor air quality improvement to interior flooring protection, there are many features and details of a proper entrance matting system to consider. 1. Safety The best and most effective entrance matting systems consists of a variety of products, each with a specific job, aggressively scraping off dirt, removing additional debris and moisture, and drying any remaining moisture to effectively clean the bottom of shoes before reaching the interior flooring. All of the products work together to improve safety and reduce the risk of liability from potential slip and fall accidents. Inferior matting products curl at the edges or slide on the floor which can result in a tripping hazard and work against the safety benefit. Durable matting products with quality backing and edging will ensure that mats remain flat and securely in place. 2. Interior Floor Protection Terrazzo, ceramic tile, marble, granite, and hardwood are popular floor coverings used in commercial buildings and a valuable investment for building owners and managers. Tracked in dirt and moisture can cause scratches, scuff marks and staining on interior flooring surfaces. Entrance matting can eliminate damaging particles from the bottoms of shoes before reaching interior flooring and will help prolong its new appearance. 3. Reduce Interior Maintenance Studies have shown that 80% and more of the dirt and debris in a building are tracked in on the bottom of shoes. With just 4.0m of matting, 75% of dirt, dust and moisture can be contained at the entrance to help reduce interior maintenance. If space allows, installing 8.0 – 9.0m of matting will ensure that each foot makes contact with the matting approximately 6 times to remove nearly all of the dirt. This allows for most of the cleaning to occur in one convenient location and less dusting, mopping and vacuuming around the building. 4. Clean First Impressions Choosing the right mix of products will influence the effectiveness of the entrance system and the first impression of your building. Matting with slats are best for scraping off dirt and keeping it out of view for a clean image at the entrance. Some fiber matting products are better than others at hiding the dirt but even when it can’t be seen, daily vacuuming of commercial entrance matting is important to make room to capture more dirt. 5. Indoor Air Quality People track in all sorts of dirt, moisture, chemicals and other pollutants on their shoes. An entrance system that is at least 4.0m will reduce exposure to hazardous particulates and chemical pollutants. Keep in mind 8.0 – 9.0m is the recommended amount of matting for the best results and will help maximize the impact it will have on improved indoor air quality. So with all of these important contributions to a clean, safe and healthy environment, there is a little more to matting than you thought, isn’t there? What problems is your matting causing?
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Thinking outside of the box… Umm, rectangle
It’s interesting that one of the last elements to go into a building’s interior design is one of the first things a person sees when they enter. Commercial entrance matting is often excluded from the design process. So when it’s time to turn over the building, the facilities manager will contact their matting supplier? Surf the internet? Contact their local flooring dealer? Call Sterling Supplies? If the interior designer doesn’t incorporate the entrance matting system or matting in the design someone else will. While it is critically important that the entrance matting lives up to its performance responsibilities, it is also essential that it fits in with its surroundings. Pattern, style and color are obvious determining factors for matting to aesthetically conform to the design. And of course, quality and size matter. What about shape? When a rectangular box shaped mat suits the entrance, that’s easy. When it’s time to think outside of the box, that’s Sterling Supplies. (Don’t get me wrong, we do boxes too.) For an entrance to look its best, rectangular may not be the right fit. Consider revolving doors, interiors with unique contours or lobbies with immediate access to stairways. We encourage interior designers to continue the creative process into the entrance matting with the superior quality products you can depend on for long-lasting beauty and exceptional performance from Sterling Supplies.
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What is the recommended size for an entrance matting system?
Mat size is critical… People entering a building don’t often stop to wipe their feet so it’s important that an entrance mat is deep enough to ensure there are enough contacts between the entry matting and the soles of shoes to minimise the amount of dirt carried into the building. The Australian Building Code’s recommendation is that a mat should have a minimum dimension of 1.8m from front to back which allows for 2 contacts from each foot. However studies* have proven that fitting an entrance with 6 metres of an effective entrance matting system can stop 94% of all walked in dirt and moisture. *TUV Rheinland.
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