Kirklees Council

Background:

Kirklees Active Leisure operates 13 sport and leisure facilities on behalf of Kirklees Council. Its flagship site, Huddersfield Leisure Centre, is a £36m new-build that opened its doors to the public in 2015 and features a family leisure pool, a 1000m2 gym, two multi-sports halls and climbing walls.

The Challenge:

In the free weights area of the gym, exercisers were dropping heavy dumbbells on the floor, as well as performing Olympic lifting techniques with loads in excess of 100kg. The original floor in this area was a raised access pedestal system overlaid with 25mm screw-fixed plywood and finished with 20mm rubber matting. Approximately 12 months after opening, parts of the system were fracturing and the floor was visibly damaged. Kirklees Active Leisure approached TVS for help.

TVS Solution:

From the outset, it was evident that the original floor system was not robust enough to withstand the high impact collisions in the free weights area of the gym. The floor was too rigid. After some on-site testing and further explorative work, a decision was made to completely remove approximately 400m2 of the original flooring materials. Once removed, the structural slab was levelled using a self-levelling compound. TVS then installed 70mm-thick, impact protection tiles throughout the free weights area. On top of these, TVS T40 heavy-duty rubber tiles were installed and interconnected together with plastic dowels. The open edge of the free weights area was then finished to provide a safe transition to the other areas of the gym.

Result:

The new floor system provides a safe and stable training surface for exercisers to perform weightlifting activities and the structural slab is protected from heavy impacts. The transmission of noise and vibration was also reduced and there’s no ongoing disruption to club operations as a result of patch repair works to the floor in this area.

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