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Concrete Decor - Index

Concrete Decor - Concrete Decor Magazine, The Journal for Decorative Concrete - Index

INTERIOR: SECOND PLACE
Architectural Polishing Inc., Tempe, Ariz., and Simi Valley, Calif., for
restoration of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District in Buda and Kyle, Texas.
IN THE WORDS OF: Jeff Abrahamson, general manager,
Architectural Polishing Inc.
Hays Consolidated Independent School District, just outside
of Austin, Texas, was looking to replace the fl ooring in three
schools totaling about 70,000 square feet. This work was to be
completed over the summer break of 2007. The existing fl oors
were vinyl composition tile that had developed several issues
over the years. Due to a moisture/vapor emission problem, the
tile was blistering and adhesive was wicking up through the tile
joints creating an unattractive fl oor — along with making maintenance
very diffi cult and costly. The goal was to remove the tile
and replace with a fl oor that would reduce maintenance costs
and enhance the overall appearance of the campuses.
The moisture/vapor emission problem in the slabs eliminated
the option of just reinstalling resilient fl ooring unless a vapor
barrier was installed. After researching many options, it was
decided that polished concrete was the best solution.
The vinyl composition tile was removed, revealing several layers
of adhesive along with varying thicknesses of patching materials.
All of this was removed using HTC diamond grinders. We
now had a clean palette to work with and began scoring patterns
and the “fl ying W” into the fl oor using the Engrave-A-Crete
Mongoose saw. The fl oor was then polished and dyes were
applied. Each campus had its own color scheme and in order to
match the decor of each school, three different brands of dyes
were used — DCI Ruby Red and Royal Blue, Brickform Deep
Walnut and Mission Brown, and AmeriPolish Patriot Blue and
Before
Black – to create the 3-D effect of the “fl ying W.” The colors were
then locked into the concrete by applying DCI Polish Guard.
Two of the campuses had large ramps separating different wings
of the schools. Originally rubber tile was specifi ed for these areas
to reduce the slip risk on a sloped surface. We ground the ramps
along with the rest of the fl oors to remove old adhesive. The
principals of each school loved the beautiful aggregate exposed
and liked the look of the decorative concrete so much that they
wanted to eliminate the rubber fl ooring and continue the fl ow of
the decorative concrete into these areas. The issue we had to
overcome was the slip-resistance factor. We originally considered
adding some type of abrasive to the sealer but feared creating a
diffi cult fl oor to maintain. Luckily we were very close to a Decorative
Concrete Supply branch in Buda, Texas, and they had a
ground PVC product that we added to their premium sealer and
created a fl oor that was slip resistant, fairly easy to maintain
and looked great while keeping our aesthetic theme through the
campuses.
After several conversations with the school district facilities and
maintenance departments, we have found that they are extremely
pleased with the polished concrete fl oors. We have not
only created beautiful fl oors, but have created a fl oor that has
reduced their maintenance costs along with (offering) the ecological
advantage of eliminating stripping and waxing of resilient
fl ooring.
˛ www.architecturalpolishinginc.com
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Dec. ’07/Jan. ’08 www.ConcreteDecor.net 13