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Hospital wards: your complete technical system guide

Product information and best practice installation guidance at your fingertips. Simply click on the text or a point on the photo to find out more, including links to installation videos and other resources.

As with any public building, the type of floor you choose should be determined by a risk assessment. For general hospital wards, consider Altro Cantata. Our adhesive-free floors are ideal for areas where downtime needs to be kept to a minimum. They halve installation time as there’s no need for a DPM and, as there’s no adhesive, no waiting around, no tacky areas and no glue trafficked through the building. Altro adhesive-free floors hold as effectively as an Altro floor installed using adhesive: no rucks, no movement so ideal for wards experiencing medium to heavy duty traffic. For installation guidance, take a look at our video or you can find written guidance here.

Altro adhesive-free floor system approved installation tape is used to hold Altro adhesive-free floors in place while being installed. Ensure the subfloor is clean and free from dust before applying the tape. Absorbent surfaces should be primed with diluted pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive or diluted PVA and allowed to dry. The tape can also be used to form the coved upstand of the installation, if applicable, and should also be used across doorways or abutments with other floor finishes. This tape is supplied with each roll of Altro adhesive-free flooring.

We offer weld rods that match our flooring, plus training on this and every aspect of installing an Altro floor. The right prep is essential here – for more information, take a look at our blog.

For areas where there will be regular spillages, we recommend a moisture-tolerant adhesive. AltroFix A19 Plus is a two-part polyurethane adhesive that, once cured, is not affected by spillages of water and other liquids.

Remove any units that are not fixed while the floor is being installed. For those that cannot be removed, we recommend the area between unit and floor is coved (see point 11) to prevent moisture or debris being trapped under the unit.

For an area where hygiene is important, choose Altro Whiterock. Watertight and impervious, this fully bonded walls system gives bacteria and vermin nowhere to hide. Not only this but its smooth finish is easy to wipe, steam or power-wash clean. Altro Whiterock Satins is available in 27 satin finishes.

Altro Whiterock, which has up to 30-years’ guarantee, has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here.

Reduce the clinical feel of a ward by incorporating photographic images or vector art using Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom), a custom durable wall sheet. The sheet is made to order with just a 21-day lead time. To discuss design requirements, please get in touch. Please be aware that Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom) is not suitable for thermoforming (see point 21).
 
Altro Whiterock has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here

Altro Whiterock wall designs is a durable wall sheet, available in natural wood, stone, metal and linen designs.

Altro Whiterock, which has up to 30-years guarantee, has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here.

For areas subjected to knocks from beds and equipment, consider Altro Fortis Titanium wall protection, a wall sheet that is dense, impervious and resistant to impact damage. Featuring a lightly textured surface, which camouflages scuffs, it keeps the wall area looking better for longer.

Once the protective cover has been removed and ensuring that the joint is clean, seal the exposed edge of the Altro Fortis to the wall using AltroMastic in a coordinating colour.

Altro cove former is fitted at the junction of wall and floor before the flooring is installed. Use of this profile enables the flooring to be coved up the wall to the required height. Used in conjunction with the Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium, it will provide a hygienic watertight system. We recommend that the cove detail is fixed using a contact adhesive - please consult your preferred manufacturer for guidance.

The use of a concealed transition trim behind the Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium sheet, will provide a recess at the base of the wall panel which allows it to overlap the Altro flooring. To complete the detail, the wall sheet is then sealed where it meets the flooring, with AltroMastic.

Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium sheets can be hot welded, using a colour-coordinating weldrod. For full details on how to do this, we have a short video. Follow this by silicone-sealing all abutments and exposed edges.

We recommend using a combination of Altro adhesive and application tape to adhere Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium . The tape is positioned at the top, middle and bottom of the sheet to help support the weight of the wall sheet, until the adhesive has cured. The section of the substrate where the tape will be used should be primed using Altrofix 165 adhesive. See this installation step in action here.

You have a choice of adhesive depending on the surface you are installing Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium onto. AltroFix W157 is recommended for clean, dry, absorbent walls only – if you use this adhesive over tiles, it will not set. For other surfaces, including ceramic tiles, there is AltroFix W139, a two-part water-resistant adhesive. For more information take a look at our walls installation guide.

Altro Whiterock should be installed on a surface that is sound, dry and free of contaminants. See our short video on setting out your wall sheet.

This is a quick and simple way to join both Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium wall sheets together in a way that cannot be removed once the sheet is fixed. Single-part trims are designed for hospitals, care homes and other areas where the trim could be removed and used to harm the individual or others. For a mental health ward, we recommend a single-part trim. Unlike with the two-part trim, a small chamfer is applied to the sheet to make it easier to fit the single-part trim. For wards where a single-part trim isn’t required for patient protection, another option is to weld the sheets together – to do this correctly, take a look at our short video.

Two-part trims are ideal for general purpose applications, outside of critical care and secure areas. Once fitted they overlap the exposed edges of adjacent wall, providing a neat and easily cleaned watertight finish.

A 2-3mm expansion gap should be left between the edge of the wall sheet and the ceiling. This can be filled with AltroMastic in a coordinating colour. Before doing this, ensure that the wall sheet has been cleaned first and that the protective cover has been removed.

Cutting and welding internal and external mitres.

Thermoformed corners look great and, because there is no break in the sheet, are a more hygienic way to fit around corners. We work on thermoforming technique in our Altro Whiterock training school. For a quick refresher, take a look at our two minute video.

The most attractive and hygienic way to fit Altro Whiterock around a window is to thermoform it into the reveal and leave 3mm short of the frame. Altro transition trims or hot weld should be used to join adjacent sections of the wall sheet above and below the window reveal. The expansion gap between the wall sheet and window frame should be filled using AltroMastic in a coordinating colour, as should the angles where horizontal and vertical sections of wall sheet are used to form the reveal meet. We work on thermoforming in our Altro Whiterock training school. For a quick refresher, two minute video.

Our doorsets are custom-made, hygienic, low-maintenance and meet the necessary fire standards for public buildings. They are available to match your chosen side of Altro Whiterock. To help protect staff, patients and visitors from accidents, we recommend choosing a vision panel. Opting for hinges which allow the door to open both ways is also recommended to accommodate wheeled beds and equipment. To reduce areas that harbour bacteria, we recommend push plates rather than door handles. If the installation area would benefit, it’s possible to have a doorset faced with Altro Whiterock on the clinical room side, and Altro Fortis Titanium on the corridor side. To discuss the type of door you require, please give us a call. We offer a straight-forward doors installation guide here.

Once the walls sheets have been installed, use AltroMastic, in a coordinating colour, to seal the small expansion gap between the wall sheet and the door frame.

Where possible light switches and plug sockets should be removed before installing the wall sheet. If this isn’t possible, simply measure the position of the socket or light, and transfer the measurements on to the wall sheet, leaving a 2-3 mm expansion gap around each one. Cut out the shapes using a jigsaw, following all health and safety guidelines. Once the wall sheet has been installed, fill the expansion gap using AltroMastic. For guidance on setting up your work station, see our video.

Simply measure where the rail needs to go screw the fixings into the Altro Whiterock wall sheet, ensuring there is a solid substrate behind, and following all recommended health and safety guidelines. For guidance on setting up your work station, see our video.
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1. Adhesive-free floors

As with any public building, the type of floor you choose should be determined by a risk assessment. For general hospital wards, consider Altro Cantata. Our adhesive-free floors are ideal for areas where downtime needs to be kept to a minimum. They halve installation time as there’s no need for a DPM and, as there’s no adhesive, no waiting around, no tacky areas and no glue trafficked through the building. Altro adhesive-free floors hold as effectively as an Altro floor installed using adhesive: no rucks, no movement so ideal for wards experiencing medium to heavy duty traffic. For installation guidance, take a look at our video or you can find written guidance here.

2. Altro adhesive-free floor system approved installation tape

Altro adhesive-free floor system approved installation tape is used to hold Altro adhesive-free floors in place while being installed. Ensure the subfloor is clean and free from dust before applying the tape. Absorbent surfaces should be primed with diluted pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive or diluted PVA and allowed to dry. The tape can also be used to form the coved upstand of the installation, if applicable, and should also be used across doorways or abutments with other floor finishes. This tape is supplied with each roll of Altro adhesive-free flooring.

3. Floor weld

We offer weld rods that match our flooring, plus training on this and every aspect of installing an Altro floor. The right prep is essential here – for more information, take a look at our blog.

4. AltroFix A19 Plus solvent-free flooring adhesive

For areas where there will be regular spillages, we recommend a moisture-tolerant adhesive. AltroFix A19 Plus is a two-part polyurethane adhesive that, once cured, is not affected by spillages of water and other liquids.

5. Bedside units

Remove any units that are not fixed while the floor is being installed. For those that cannot be removed, we recommend the area between unit and floor is coved (see point 11) to prevent moisture or debris being trapped under the unit.

6. Altro Whiterock Satins hygienic walls system

For an area where hygiene is important, choose Altro Whiterock. Watertight and impervious, this fully bonded walls system gives bacteria and vermin nowhere to hide. Not only this but its smooth finish is easy to wipe, steam or power-wash clean. Altro Whiterock Satins is available in 27 satin finishes.

Altro Whiterock, which has up to 20-years’ guarantee, has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here.

7. Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom)

Reduce the clinical feel of a ward by incorporating photographic images or vector art using Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom), a custom durable wall sheet. The sheet is made to order with just a 21-day lead time. To discuss design requirements, please get in touch. Please be aware that Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom) is not suitable for thermoforming (see point 21).
 
Altro Whiterock has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here

8. Altro Whiterock wall designs

Altro Whiterock wall designs is a durable wall sheet, available in natural wood, stone, metal and linen designs.

Altro Whiterock, which has up to 20-years guarantee, has been designed to fit perfectly with Altro floors, forming a sealed, watertight system. Both Altro Whiterock and Altro floors can be hot welded with a colour coordinated welding rod. Jointing trims are available for Altro Whiterock as an alternative. Altro Whiterock is usually installed after the flooring so ensure the flooring is protected from mechanical damage, or adhesive spills during the subsequent installation of the wall sheets. You can find our downloadable installation guidance here.

9. Altro Fortis Titanium

For areas subjected to knocks from beds and equipment, consider Altro Fortis Titanium wall protection, a wall sheet that is dense, impervious and resistant to impact damage. Featuring a lightly textured surface, which camouflages scuffs, it keeps the wall area looking better for longer.

10. Silicone join

Once the protective cover has been removed and ensuring that the joint is clean, seal the exposed edge of the Altro Fortis to the wall using AltroMastic in a coordinating colour.

11. Cove former and contact adhesive

Altro cove former is fitted at the junction of wall and floor before the flooring is installed. Use of this profile enables the flooring to be coved up the wall to the required height. Used in conjunction with the Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium, it will provide a hygienic watertight system. We recommend that the cove detail is fixed using a contact adhesive - please consult your preferred manufacturer for guidance.

12. Concealed transition strip

The use of a concealed transition trim behind the Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium sheet, will provide a recess at the base of the wall panel which allows it to overlap the Altro flooring. To complete the detail, the wall sheet is then sealed where it meets the flooring, with AltroMastic.

13. Hot weld

Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium sheets can be hot welded, using a colour-coordinating weldrod. For full details on how to do this, we have a short video. Follow this by silicone-sealing all abutments and exposed edges.

14. Double-sided tape primer

We recommend using a combination of Altro adhesive and application tape to adhere Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium . The tape is positioned at the top, middle and bottom of the sheet to help support the weight of the wall sheet, until the adhesive has cured. The section of the substrate where the tape will be used should be primed using Altrofix 165 adhesive. See this installation step in action here.

15. AltroFix W139 adhesive or
AltroFix W157 for absorbent walls, eg. plaster board

You have a choice of adhesive depending on the surface you are installing Altro Whiterock or Altro Fortis Titanium onto. AltroFix W157 is recommended for clean, dry, absorbent walls only – if you use this adhesive over tiles, it will not set. For other surfaces, including ceramic tiles, there is AltroFix W139, a two-part water-resistant adhesive. For more information take a look at our walls installation guide.

16. Setting out

Altro Whiterock should be installed on a surface that is sound, dry and free of contaminants. See our short video on setting out your wall sheet.

17. Single-part trim

This is a quick and simple way to join both Altro Whiterock and Altro Fortis Titanium wall sheets together in a way that cannot be removed once the sheet is fixed. Single-part trims are designed for hospitals, care homes and other areas where the trim could be removed and used to harm the individual or others. For a mental health ward, we recommend a single-part trim. Unlike with the two-part trim, a small chamfer is applied to the sheet to make it easier to fit the single-part trim. For wards where a single-part trim isn’t required for patient protection, another option is to weld the sheets together – to do this correctly, take a look at our short video.

18. Two-part trim

Two-part trims are ideal for general purpose applications, outside of critical care and secure areas. Once fitted they overlap the exposed edges of adjacent wall, providing a neat and easily cleaned watertight finish.

19. Silicone join to ceiling

A 2-3mm expansion gap should be left between the edge of the wall sheet and the ceiling. This can be filled with AltroMastic in a coordinating colour. Before doing this, ensure that the wall sheet has been cleaned first and that the protective cover has been removed.

20. Internal and external mitres

Cutting and welding internal and external mitres.

21. Thermoformed corner

Thermoformed corners look great and, because there is no break in the sheet, are a more hygienic way to fit around corners. We work on thermoforming technique in our Altro Whiterock training school. For a quick refresher, take a look at our two minute video.

22. Thermoformed Altro Whiterock into window frame

The most attractive and hygienic way to fit Altro Whiterock around a window is to thermoform it into the reveal and leave 3mm short of the frame. Altro transition trims or hot weld should be used to join adjacent sections of the wall sheet above and below the window reveal. The expansion gap between the wall sheet and window frame should be filled using AltroMastic in a coordinating colour, as should the angles where horizontal and vertical sections of wall sheet are used to form the reveal meet. We work on thermoforming in our Altro Whiterock training school. For a quick refresher, two minute video.

23. Altro Whiterock hygienic doorsets

Our doorsets are custom-made, hygienic, low-maintenance and meet the necessary fire standards for public buildings. They are available to match your chosen side of Altro Whiterock. To help protect staff, patients and visitors from accidents, we recommend choosing a vision panel. Opting for hinges which allow the door to open both ways is also recommended to accommodate wheeled beds and equipment. To reduce areas that harbour bacteria, we recommend push plates rather than door handles. If the installation area would benefit, it’s possible to have a doorset faced with Altro Whiterock on the clinical room side, and Altro Fortis Titanium on the corridor side. To discuss the type of door you require, please give us a call. We offer a straight-forward doors installation guide here.

24. Fitting Altro Whiterock up to a door frame

Once the walls sheets have been installed, use AltroMastic, in a coordinating colour, to seal the small expansion gap between the wall sheet and the door frame.

25. Fitting light switches/sockets

Where possible light switches and plug sockets should be removed before installing the wall sheet. If this isn’t possible, simply measure the position of the socket or light, and transfer the measurements on to the wall sheet, leaving a 2-3 mm expansion gap around each one. Cut out the shapes using a jigsaw, following all health and safety guidelines. Once the wall sheet has been installed, fill the expansion gap using AltroMastic. For guidance on setting up your work station, see our video.

26. Fitting curtain rail into Altro Whiterock

Simply measure where the rail needs to go screw the fixings into the Altro Whiterock wall sheet, ensuring there is a solid substrate behind, and following all recommended health and safety guidelines. For guidance on setting up your work station, see our video.