Only with passion and pride can a higher level be achieved

In May, Kees Isings was approached by the architect responsible for designing and building four beautiful loft apartments in former office premises designed by architect Hoogstad near the VOPAK office, with a wonderful view of the Nieuwe Maas. The apartments, which come with a decent price tag, are characterised by their high level of finish, and given the location, the architect decided to design the floors of the terraces like a ship’s deck. In response to the question as to how they came across him in the first place, the answer won’t come as a surprise. The ancient method of word of mouth had done its job well. Because Kees isn’t a complete unknown in the world of ship interior construction. 

For over 25 years, 20 years of which as his own boss, he has had rather a lot of ship’s decks in his experienced hands. During the preliminary stage of this task, Kees contacted Sven Westerholt, Account Manager at Bijlard International. Following a number of discussions, Kees decided to use adhesive joint Bijlard polymer CS60 black. The adhesive joint needs to be able to hold a fair amount, especially because it needs to be able to span a width of at least 12 mm, as well as appearing sleek and strong.

 

The fact that a task such as this is unusual even for Kees Isings, is expressed through the passion and pride with which he explains how he reached the end result. When it came to choosing the wood, he opted for tropical hardwood: Iroko. Sawn and cut in such a way that the pieces don’t lie flush against each other, due to the warping of the wood. The cross-cut edges are cut out using a template and processed using degreasing agent and primer so that the adhesive joint adheres without any problems. It’s a very precise design because each piece that hasn’t been treated properly will be apparent straight away, as the CS 60 won`t join properly.

A 12-mm tape is affixed at the bottom of the joint to allow the CS 60 to adhere just to the sides and thereby put as little strain on it as possible, as well as giving the CS 60 the opportunity to bulge when the wood warps (swells when it becomes wet), so it also becomes an anti-slip profile when the weather is wet.

 

The almost 500 tubes of CS 60 were then sprayed in the joints at high pressure, not too much but not too little pressure either, and daughter Sietske Isings then helped her father to affix the tape and cut off the excess adhesive. The wood and the adhesive were then rubbed down using a coarse grain, and Kees noticed that the CS 60 adhered fantastically. What’s more, post-sanding using a finer grain didn’t cause any damage either. The terraces were then finished with Owatrol oil, often used for finishing ships’ decks.

 

All in all, Kees has been working on the project as a whole for almost two months and is very pleased with the end result, partly thanks to the use of high-quality materials that guarantee a high level of finish.