Setcrete Exterior is the perfect partner when upgrading outdoor spaces.
Last year’s spring/summer lockdown created a surge in demand for home improvement products, particularly exterior ones, as people were spending more time at home and making the most of the fine weather in their gardens. The quest to improve domestic surroundings coincided with a trend to create interior quality finishes for outside and semi outside spaces. Setcrete Exterior – an advanced floor levelling compound for outdoor areas – found a sudden upsurge in popularity as homeowners looked to upgrade the hard areas of their gardens; especially patios and barbeque areas.
A major driver for this demand has been a corresponding rise in popularity of using porcelain tiles for patio flooring; especially over areas adjoining kitchen/diners with bifold doors to create an unbroken flooring style from the inside to the outside.
To achieve this look effectively and optimise the aesthetic appearance, the external floor needs to be at the same height as the internal floor and be as smooth and level as possible. Internally, job-specific levelling compounds are used to create a smooth finish over the sand/cement subfloor screed before a floor covering is installed. The same methodology is required for external areas, but requires an exterior grade levelling compound, which is why Setcrete Exterior was developed.
Speed and integrity
Given the cost of porcelain tiles, builders want a quick, worry-free way of achieving a perfect base that gives them the foundation on which to create a superb finish. It is the speed of preparation and drying, combined with the integrity of the levelling compound when set and cured that underlies Setcrete Exterior’s popularity.
It’s water-mix formulation makes the product quick and easy to apply, using a smoothing hand trowel, to produce an ultra-smooth and level surface that is ‘walk on hard’ from two hours after application. When set and cured, it is unaffected by rain or frost.
It can be applied at thicknesses of between 5mm and 15mm and deeper holes or depressions can be repaired using an aggregate-filled mix up to 50mm. The levelling compound is ready to receive an exterior floor covering or coating after 24 hours.
Wearing surface
The product can also be left uncovered and used as an exterior standalone wearing surface or painted over with a suitable floor paint, for example, in converting a garage into a gym or just to create a smarter appearance for a garage floor.
If it is left uncovered, especially outside, a scratch coat can be applied to the surface and brush finished to a textured profile to create a more natural look and reduce the potential for the surface becoming slippery when wet.
By reducing the amount of water in the mix by a prescribed amount, thereby making the levelling compound mixture slightly more viscous to reduce its flow properties, it can even be applied to slight gradients.
Commenting on the product’s increasing popularity, Setcrete Brand Manager Peter Wilson said: “It’s clear that people have been motivated to upgrade and improve their outside spaces during the lockdown period, as well as looking at how they can optimise their use of semi-external areas such as garages.
“Setcrete Exterior is ideal for these types of projects, being an easy-to-use floor levelling compound that delivers an ultra-smooth finish in a short timescale and, importantly, designed to withstand the varying climatic changes we experience throughout the year.
“Once builders have used the product, they instantly see its benefits and also the possibilities of using it in other applications, such as preparing walkways for the installation of resin paths and creating a smooth, sound base before laying artificial grass.”
With ongoing travel restrictions and limited leisure opportunities likely to be with us for some time to come, and household mixing resuming on an outside basis as the first and preferred option, external home improvements are likely to still be high up the agenda for many people this year. Healthy competition with their neighbours and friends to create that ‘wow factor’ outdoor space will see more people demand ultra-chic finishes for their outdoor entertainment areas, along with the products required to achieve them.
For further information on Setcrete Exterior visit https://www.setcrete.co.uk/product/exterior/
