Creating an Impression with Mapei- Dubai Mall Dubai

Also known as the second largest mall in the world, the Dubai Mall includes over 1,200 outlets and is proudly part of a $20 billion development project called Downtown Dubai. The Dubai Fountains, Burj Khalifa View, an Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, and the bone of a 155 million-year-old Diplodocus dinosaur are just a few of the major attractions in the Dubai Mall. Emaar Malls announced Phase 1 of this development in March 2018, with the opening of Fashion Avenue, a new extension dedicated to fashion and luxury shopping. The flooring of this ultra-luxurious avenue required marbles that surpassed the beauty standards. This 60,000 m2 area of statuarietto marble was installed by Deemah Stone and Al Jedar floors.

Mapei’s Contribution to the Dubai Mall

Mapei was more than eager to add Dubai Mall to its ever-growing list of successful projects. Deemah Stone, one of the best natural stone companies in the region, was chosen to install the natural stone in the major lobby spaces and restrooms. Since Mapei already had a strong relationship with Deemah, they preferred us for the installation. 

The Mapei products used for this project were: 

KERAFLEX and KERAPOXY for adhesives for the lobby flooring, common areas and bathroom. It supplied the project with the ideal solution for its diverse and difficult grouting requirements, which included the use of epoxy grouts for polishing and the necessity for a smooth level with minimal colour and discolouration fluctuations.

Mapei adhesives (such as Keraflex Maxi for the lobby flooring, common areas and bathrooms) & our extensive grout range (like Kerapoxy) provided the project with the perfect solution for its varied & complex grouting needs which required the use of epoxy grouts for polishing purpose and the requirement of a seamless level with less changes in color and discoloration.

KERAFLEX MAXI was used as another adhesive for installing large sized stones in the main areas of the mall. This was site-tested in order to avoid discoloration or staining the stone. 

One of the biggest challenges the application faced was installing large sized stones on the mall main areas. The stone used was sensitive to moisture and therefore various stain testing were done in Mapei labs to insure no future stain or discoloration arise. Mapei performed various pull-off tests on site using Keraflex Maxi for this application to showcase its flexibility & high-performance properties.

TOPCEM screed was used to ensure that the stone had proper mechanical strength. Various drop hammer tests were carried out to understand the same. 

Furthermore, we performed various drop hammer test to the installed unbounded Topcem screed to insure a proper mechanical strength prior to the installation of the stone. Nonetheless, all sections were inspected carefully to insure cracks, joints are perfectly treated before the stone application. 

It is safe to say that Mapei was the best person for this job because of the high-quality work that was required and the accuracy needed to finish it quickly.