For the Flemish Media Company, Glansbeton installed a concrete floor in the covered garden of the former Big Brother house. JIM TV transformed this special space into a studio. A beautiful assignment in which our experience with residential concrete was given a very different purpose.
A concrete floor in a special location
The assignment came from the Flemish Media Company, the group behind VTM and JIM at the time. The youth channel was to move into the former Big Brother house in September 2007. The covered garden was given a new function as a studio. For Glansbeton, this was a special application of a floor finish that we also carry out in residences.
The preparation was part of the same contract as the placement and power-trowelling: foil, reinforcement, and then concrete. The footage clearly shows how the work area was set up inside the existing building.
Concrete placement on 27 August 2007
On 27 August, we installed the membrane, reinforcement, and concrete. Afterwards, the floor was polished. The site photo shows this execution phase in the covered garden, before the space was furnished as a television studio.
Concrete delivery and finishing in pictures
The mixer and concrete pump were positioned outside, while inside the concrete was distributed and finished flat. This combination of delivery, accessibility and finishing is an important part of placing a concrete floor in an existing building. The site photos show both the setup outside and the fresh floor surface inside.
These images were taken during execution. Therefore, the gloss and colour of a fresh floor are not separate proof of the later final result after drying and commissioning.
Cutting contraction joints on 28 August
The next day, on 28 August 2007, we cut the contraction joints in the floor. This sawing followed the placement and power-trowelling of the concrete.
The photos below show how we cut the joints in the floor. This way, even this final execution phase of the project is documented.
That date describes this execution. The correct sawing time for another concrete floor must be adjusted to the conditions of that floor; the schedule of this site is not a fixed waiting time for every contract.
From covered garden to television studio
The former Big Brother house was given a new purpose with JIM TV. For the floor, this meant the application of polished concrete in a space that felt both indoors and outdoors: the covered garden became part of the television set.
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Concrete floor for JIM TV in the former Big Brother house