Temporary Surface Protection

Temporary surface protection boards, rolls and covers

The right covering follows the surface being protected and the traffic that will cross it, and the range is grouped below by the job each type does.

Floor protection boards

Rigid board spreads the load of wheels and feet across the floor and takes the impact of dropped tools before the finish does. The corrugated plastic protection board is the general-purpose sheet for floors, walls, doors and stairs, and its translucent version leaves the surface visible for layout and inspection. Projects with recycled-content targets can use the recycled floor protection board, or the large format protection board where open floor areas need covering with fewer sheets. The corrugated cardboard protection board keeps plastic off the job altogether, and the door-size translucent protection board covers a standard door in a single sheet.

Floor protection rolls

A floor protection roll of corrugated polypropylene covers corridors, hallways and large indoor or outdoor areas in continuous lengths.

Protection fleece

Fleece is the soft, conforming layer for delicate finishes such as hardwood, marble and freshly laid floors. The floor protection fleece rolls out and stays in place without tape, takes spills and knocks, and comes in standard, premium, breathable and flame-retardant grades. The self-adhesive protection fleece wraps walls, desks and fixtures as well as floors, and it lifts off without leaving residue.

Self-adhesive protection films

Film is the thinnest layer in the range, and it goes down quickly over finishes that need guarding against paint, plaster, dust and foot traffic. The carpet protection film sticks directly to carpet and is wound either standard or reverse to suit how it is applied. Hard surface protection film does the same job on vinyl, tile, marble and finished wood, and window protection film is a low-tack film that keeps paint splatter and plaster off glass, frames and glazed panels.

Door and door frame protection

Doors and frames take knocks from every delivery and trade that passes through, and covering them once they are hung avoids refinishing at turnover. The door protection sleeves slide over a hung door without fixings, while the tabbed door protector holds with built-in tabs and leaves handles and hinges accessible. For doors moving between shop and site, the padded quilted door cover straps on with hook-and-loop closures. Self-gripping foam door jamb protectors guard the frame edges that carts and long materials catch most often.

Toilet, sink, tub and range covers

Fixture covers are fluted polypropylene shells that fold around plumbing fixtures and appliances once they are installed, so porcelain and enamel stay clean through the trades that follow. The toilet protector shields the toilet during the works, and packs of toilet seat covers go on after the final clean to hold the finish until turnover. Basins take either the sink and pedestal protector or sink covers sold in bulk packs, and tubs take a translucent bathtub protector. In kitchens, the range and cooktop protector folds over ovens and cooktops until final sign-off.

Handrail, corner and scaffold tube protectors

Foam profiles absorb impact at the rails and edges that are hit most often on a busy floor. Foam handrail protectors grip onto handrails of different diameters without fixings, and foam corner guards protect wall corners, drywall edges and the corners of stair treads. Bright yellow high-visibility scaffold tube protectors slip over exposed scaffold tubes, so workers and the public see the tube and are cushioned if they walk into it.

Poly sheeting and canvas drop cloths

Loose-laid sheets cover furniture, fixtures and floors during painting and dusty work, and plastic sheeting also hangs as a temporary dust wall. Clear poly sheeting is waterproof and reusable and comes in grades from light to heavy duty. Canvas drop cloths in cotton twill lie flat without fixings and wash for reuse, and the range includes a stair runner and a waterproof poly-backed cloth.

Dirt trap mats

Adhesive mats at the entrance to a clean zone lift dust and grit off boots before they reach finished floors. Tacky dirt trap mats come as standard and heavy duty pads of peel-away sheets, and a reusable frame holds them on floors the backing will not stick to.

Tarps, burlap and temporary downspouts

Exterior protection keeps weather off unfinished work and stored materials. Heavy duty tarps in laminated polypropylene tie down through reinforced eyelets over roofs, material stacks and vehicles. Burlap curing cloth is breathable jute laid over new concrete, mortar and masonry against frost in winter and drying out in summer, and a temporary downspout of flexible poly tubing carries roof water from the gutter away from the building before the permanent downspouts are installed.

Temporary construction protection by type of project

Commercial buildouts and new construction

On a buildout, floors and fixtures are often finished weeks before the last trades leave, so the protection has to survive repeated traffic over a long schedule and still come up cleanly for the punch list. Boards and rolls go down along corridors and main routes as each area is finished, and door and fixture covers stay on until the final clean.

Remodeling in occupied homes and offices

When people live or work beside the job, the priority is keeping dust inside the work area and keeping a clean route to it. A sheeted dust wall closes off the room, tacky mats sit at its doorway, and carpet film or fleece covers the walkway from the entrance, while furniture that stays in place goes under drop cloths or sheeting.

Healthcare, airports and other occupied buildings

Hospitals, clinics, airports and commercial buildings that stay open during the works put the public next to the jobsite. Where the owner calls for flame-rated protection, the flame-retardant grades of board, sheeting and film replace the standard ones, and the anti-slip flame-retardant carpet film suits carpeted routes the public still walks.

Concrete, masonry and exterior work

Outside, protection is timed to the curing period: covers go on as soon as concrete is placed or masonry is laid, and they stay until the work has gained strength. In hot, dry weather burlap is kept damp to hold moisture against the surface, and in cold weather a tarp laid over the burlap adds a weathertight layer.

Accessories for dust walls and protection film

Dust containment poles and zip doors

A dust wall is poly sheeting held from floor to ceiling, with a sealed way through it. Adjustable dust containment poles in aluminum twist-lock to room height and press the sheeting against the ceiling with non-marking ends. Adhesive zipper doors stick to the sheeting and are cut through to make a doorway that opens from either side.

Protection film applicators

A protection film applicator holds a roll of carpet or window film and lays it in a straight, even run, which speeds up large installs.

Window protection tape and suction cups

Board, fleece or film on glass is fixed with low-tack window protection tape, which is UV protected, works indoors and outside and removes without residue. Reusable window suction cups push through the sheet and press onto the glass with no tape at all.