Here, nora discuss the importance of selecting the right floorcoverings in order to avoid creating a sick building.
The buildings in which we spend the majority of our time have a considerable effect on our health in the long term. There are significant differences in building materials, and it is important for the health, wellbeing and productivity of all who frequent buildings that the materials chosen do not cause emissions into the indoor air.
Modern buildings have more airtight shells than they used to, because more effective insulation is used for energy-saving purposes. Today, the exchange with outside air is ten times less than it used to be 10-15 years ago. A consequence of this is that the contamination of indoor air is now four times higher than that of fresh air. In other words, we protect the environment and the climate with modern buildings that are built or refurbished using energy-saving measures. However, without emission-tested internal building materials, we will create harmful pollutant cages. This is where nora floorcoverings come in as they are regularly emission tested by independent institutions.
Nowadays in the working environment, more and more consideration is given to how the chosen finishing materials will impact on the employees in the building. This impact can be felt in many ways. Optimised working conditions that promote greater creativity, more communication, contented, social employees and better performance are important factors in new or refurbished buildings. All nora rubber floor coverings are free of any pvc, plasticizers (phthalate) and halogens such as chlorine, they are also toxicologically safe in the event of fire – no hydrochloric acid, no dioxins and furans are given off.
Floors are not just important stylistic elements, they have to be hardwearing and they have to be convincing in their design and functionality. The extreme wear resistance and longevity of nora rubber floorcoverings, which still look practically new even after many years of intensive usage, make a decisive contribution to the sustainability of buildings.
As a solution provider, our products with their many creative possibilities, our comprehensive range of accessories and nora System Blue a new and environmentally-compatible range of primer, screed, adhesives and floorcoverings which has also attained the Blue Angel award assures the technical functional capability as well as low emissions of the whole flooring system. nora floorcoverings can be installed in tiles or rolls using solvent-free environmentally compatible adhesives. The nora stairtread system offers an all in one tread, nosing, riser available with DDA compliant safety strips. Install with nora stepfix for a time saving and solvent free solution. Advantages in cleaning and care; The extremely dense, closed surface allows easy, economic cleaning without the need for coatings.
When choosing the appropriate flooring for your building, a safe environment means more than good indoor air quality alone, other performance criteria may also need to be satisfied such as slip resistance, nora smooth resilient floors meet or exceed the required slip resistance standard making them a suitable choice for dry, commercial and public settings. Hygiene and infection control, acoustics, ergonomics and fire resistance are also factors that may need to be considered. nora® systems has the perfect solution for every requirement.
