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One of the advantages of installing both Altro safety flooring and hygienic wall cladding is that it creates a complete, impervious system. Because this protects against water ingress and there is nowhere for dirt or bacteria to hide, it is a popular choice for kitchens and wet environments.
For the system to work as it should, how the flooring and wall cladding join is VITAL. The right choice is either a concealed transition strip, which creates a nice curve and is often chosen for areas where looks are a factor, or a two-part transition. For anywhere that water will be present regularly, a concealed transition is a must; any other join may let water in!
When neither option is used, the flooring would be laid first, then the wall cladding installed. The wall cladding would be adhered to the flooring, where it would overlap the flooring by 50mm. If the flooring then needs repairing or replacing, it has to be cut away. The only way to finish the job would be to seal the two, which doesn’t look good, wouldn’t necessarily keep out water and other contaminants and could fail completely. Thankfully we’re seeing less of this but it does still happen!
Using a concealed transition is a simple way of preventing these issues and it looks good! It means that the flooring doesn’t need to be installed first. It makes the wall cladding ‘kick-out’ at the bottom so the flooring can go underneath and sit behind it. This means the wall cladding isn’t adhered to the flooring behind, so it’s easy to replace the flooring if needed. This type of transition means that any water runs down the wall and onto the flooring rather than hitting the join. After this, the transition is silicone-sealed to avoid water bouncing back up from the floor and getting into the joint detail, creating a watertight finish.
It was the case that the concealed transition would only be specified for showers and the two-part for anywhere else. Now, because the concealed transition looks so much better and guarantees an impervious system, it’s by far the better choice and definitely what I would recommend whatever the project.
