LGM & Associates Releases Latest Commercial Flooring Report
How Commercial Flooring Projects Have Changed
No longer are commercial flooring contractors expected to just install carpet and hard surface flooring materials of all types. Today, they are expected to be experts in concrete, moisture, mitigation, adhesive, and prep material – as well as any other type of flooring or substrate related issue.
Flooring contractors now install every type of flooring material there is, from broadloom carpet and carpet tile to hard surface vinyl, rubber, ceramic and stone, as well as polished and stained concrete. In addition, they must be aware of and be able to install a multitude of substrate preparation systems and know about every flooring material and flooring related product being offered by manufacturers.
They are literally inundated with new materials, products and information on a daily basis being offered by manufacturers of all kinds, many of whom know very little about the products themselves.
Schönox, HPS North America Announces New Renotex 3D System
A Floating Floor System Designed to be ÖN IT
New or remodeling projects, especially those in the multi-family and senior housing markets, can become challenging when critical substrates are damaged by use through years of use. What’s the advantage of renovating versus demolition on projects like this? Costs and labor can be mitigated when a load-bearing substrate can be rehabbed. Schönox is familiar with this scenario, so we designed an innovative solution with insulation, sound-dampening, and fire-resistance qualities in mind.
Schönox’s new Renotex® 3D System is designed not only to meet, but exceed, the material standards of these projects. This versatile and customizable system combines Renotex® 3D, a sound insulation sheet, Schönox RS 50 foam tape, and Schönox AP Rapid Plus to provide a fast and cost-effective subfloor renovation system. Once complete, you have a smooth, level, and long-lasting surface ready for installation of a variety of floor coverings, such as luxury vinyl tile or carpet tile.
The Schönox Renotex® 3D System is designed to create a new substrate for subsequent floor covering installations by offering professional flooring installers the opportunity to build up a true self-leveling, load-bearing, porous substrate suitable for wood or other flexible materials, such as luxury vinyl tile or carpet tile. Combined, the system is strong, versatile, and durable.
Learn More About the Renotex 3D System
Sunbelt Rentals and Niagara Machine Keep Contractors Grinding Away
No concrete flooring contractor likes to postpone or turn down jobs. But when equipment is tied up on a project – or down for repair – what are the options? Turn to the support of a leading equipment rental house and a concrete resurfacing specialist, Sunbelt® Rentals and Niagara Machine.
With 825 locations and more than ten thousand employees, Sunbelt® Rentals is one of the fastest growing tool and equipment rental businesses in North America. The company’s Flooring Solutions division is a go-to resource for all of the equipment and tooling required for any concrete resurfacing project, from grinders/polishers to diamond tooling to dust collection equipment. Sunbelt provides daily, weekly, monthly and long-term flooring equipment rental options, as well as training and tutorials, the latest models, and expert support.
Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solution’s partner in equipment rental and technical consultation is Niagara Machine, Inc., a leading concrete flooring and surface preparation specialist, and the worlds largest distributor of Lavina® concrete grinding and polishing machines and diamond tooling, Terrco® grinding machines, BlastPro® shot blasters and scrapers, and DiamaPro® HEPA dust extractors and air scrubbers. Niagara also offers and a full line of concrete repair, fillers and chemical products, including DiamaPro UV HS®.
In addition to handling top name lines of equipment, tooling, and chemical treatment products, Niagara is a sought-after resource for hands-on training and certification in concrete surface preparation, offering seminars at its warehouse/showroom locations in Charlotte, NC, Gloucester City, NJ, North Bergin, NJ and Orlando, FL. On-site consultations are also provided by company experts.
Jeff Hasty is the project manager of PaintSmiths of Missouri, a painting, coating, and floor treatment company that handles commercial, industrial and high-end residential projects. Recently, PaintSmiths was awarded a contract to refurbish a worn concrete floor at Moto Museum in St. Louis, a facility housing a collection of vintage motorcycles dating back to the turn of the twentieth century, including some of the most rare bikes still in existence. ““Our normal inventory of grinding and dust control equipment was wrapped up on other job sites, and we had a deadline we had to meet,” said Hasty. “So I gave my Sunbelt Rentals rep Dallas Hill a call. Sunbelt and Niagara became sources for the machines and tooling we needed on this job.”
Sunbelt Rentals representative Dallas Hill and Niagara technicians reviewed the project and recommended the ideal equipment and process for the Moto Museum floor. Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions provided PaintSmiths a BlastPro scraper to remove existing vinyl and luxury tile, carpeting, and adhesives, a Lavina 30-GTX propane-fueled, belt-driven planetary grinder, and a DiamaPro SVX3A HEPA dust extractor. The contractor was also supplied with diamond tooling ranging from 30 to 800-grit for the various phases of grinding and polishing. The Paintsmiths crew completed the 4,000 square Moto Museum repair, staining and polishing project in one week, including the downtime required for other trades to utilize the gallery floor during refurbishing.
“A contractor shouldn’t have to postpone or turn down jobs due to equipment shortage or unavailability,” says Hill. “Our goal at Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions and Niagara is to be sure these guys have the best machines and materials available to get their jobs done. It’s a win-win situation for them and for us. And for their customers, too.”