With so many customers, I rarely get to visit their homes to see our epoxy floor coatings after they are in everyday use. This past weekend, Steve and I had the pleasure of visiting a home in Lancaster County that really captured the benefits of a Metallic Epoxy floor and effectively coupled it with the architectural period of the home.

Elements of a Mid-Century Modern Home

This home’s owner was gracious enough to show us around the home so we could take in all the elements that make Mid-Century Modern homes so unique.  The home, sometimes called a “California Ranch”, features many mid-century modern (MCM) architectural elements including expansive windows, nine foot cedar tongue and groove ceilings throughout, exposed structural laminated beams, a Tennessee sandstone fireplace and exterior accents, and indoor/outdoor living options.    

In Part 1, we discussed 3 of the 5 challenges we faced on this coatings project near BWI airport.  They were:

We talk about our animal projects a LOT! It’s because we love animals. Let me tell you about one of our most unique, challenging projects to date - Stay Pet Resort. Located very near the BWI airport in Hanover, this canine facility challenged us like no other animal facility project so far.

Challenge #1 – Determine the proper coatings

When we first met with Stay Pet Resort’s owner, Jodi, she had a vision. She was going to bring the high end, ultra-modern dog hotel and salon to the Baltimore Area.  She knew she wanted epoxy coatings to seal the concrete and enhance the look.   She knew she wanted floor surfaces that would mop up easily and allow her to use her walk behind, auto-scrubber multiple times a day without issue.  The only thing she didn’t know was what coating would meet all of her needs.

Dave and I really clicked with Jodi. Both of us love dogs.  Our company has a good amount of experience coating animal facilities (boarding kennels, animal hospitals, feline hospices, adoption kennels, etc.).  Talking with Jodi, we realized that we needed to do more than just quote an epoxy system.  We needed to create large sample pads to allow her team to conduct realistic wear and cleaning tests.

Solution #1 – Create large Test Pads of different Epoxy & Urethane Systems

Jason, our Maryland Operations Manager, quickly came in and created 4 samples pads – each approximately 4’ by 4’. The pads varied by chemical composition and also the amount & type of non-skid materials in the topcoat.   Some samples had larger grit to increase wet & dry slip resistance and some had higher amounts of tabular aluminum to create extremely scratch resistant surfaces.

Jodi and her staff put them through the paces. They dumped coffee on the samples. They put different cleaners on the samples. They repeated ran their auto scrubber and vacuum over the samples. We even caught Jodi rubbing a steel screw across the high-wear urethane sample pads to see how they would hold up.

After about 3 days of testing, we had our solution for roughly 16,500 square feet of the Hanover facility and Jodi had chosen Stronghold Floors for her project (we beat out several competitors, including a larger, commercial coatings company – Yay!).

Descriptions of the installed coating systems are available in our Project Portfolio section.

A Project Close to Home

Back in 2012, we were asked if we had any flooring solutions that might work for the new Mechanicsburg Area School District’s Environmental Learning Center building.   We had recently worked with the main contractor, Farinelli Construction, on a polished concrete project and they wanted to know if we could do the same flooring solution in this new facility.

Spring has finally beat-out the Polar Vortex and color is returning to our backyard in Dillsburg. With this change outdoors and the upcoming Easter holiday, color is front and center.  Seems only to appropriate to announce this year’s color of the year.

Drumroll please… This year’s color choice by Sherwin-Williams is Exclusive Plum.   Described as “a balance of cool blue and feisty red with a splash of gray”, it seems very well suited to a variety of rooms.