Sustainability is the key feature of a new outdoor raised flooring installation in Centurion which is laid on recycled truck tyres and will harvest vast volumes of rainwater.  

KBAC Flooring’s Raised Flooring division supplied and installed the sustainable InstaCradle raised paving system at a new property development for M&T Development. The innovative application of InstaCradle rubber under-structure and raised paving around the public spaces on the ground floor of the building, and on its third-floor balcony, allows for the substrate to direct waterflow away from the building and be potentially reused as grey water elsewhere.

Guy Park, who heads the Raised Floor division of KBAC Flooring, says the property developer, M&T Development, approached KBAC for a solution that could deal with water runoff from the exterior extensions which, because of the site of the new building in Byls Bridge Office Park, could have posed major problems.

“A raised paving solution was opted for so that the sub-floor could be adequately waterproofed and designed in such a way that water is directed to collection drainage points beneath the floor void through slab undulations. By adjusting the InstaCradle system, KBAC’s installers ensured that although the sub-level deviated in a manner to control the water flow, the final paved areas on top were perfectly level,” Park explains.

The height of the raised paving system’s concrete paved slab varies from 90mm to 245mm under the concrete pavers. The flooring on ground level outside the building covers 1 406m2, while the system on the higher balcony – used as client entertainment area – is 163m2 in extent.

The InstaCradle system, which for this project was specified to promote sustainable objectives, is itself exceptionally environmentally-friendly. The innovative form of “green” raised flooring is supported by rubber crumb cradles made from recycled truck and car tyres.  The InstaCradle rubber cradles for this project totalled approximately 9.6 tons of recycled truck tyres - this is about 194 radial truck tyres that have been repurposed instead of landing up in a landfill. Concrete pavers 600mm x 600mm x 45mm thick were then loosely placed on a combination of InstaCradle rubber cradles and aluminium battens.

“Even the InstaCradle system’s rubber cradles are fully recyclable to provide a genuine ‘cradle-to-cradle’ product. The cradles have a 60-year guarantee and are loose-laid without the need for fixing to sub-floors,” Park adds.