We talk about our animal projects a LOT! It’s because we love animals. Let me tell you about one of our most unique and challenging floor coatings projects to date: Stay Pet Resort. Located near the BWI airport in Hanover, MD, this canine facility challenged us like no other animal facility project so far.
Challenge #1 – Determining 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 also knew that 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 (Read Extend the Life of Your Commercial Floor Coatings for more information on cleaning commercial floor coatings). The only thing she didn’t know was what coating system 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.). Upon 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, created four sample pads – each approximately 4’ by 4’. The pads varied by chemical composition and also the amount & type of non-skid materials in the top coat. 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 repeatedly 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 three days of testing, we had our solution for the roughly 16,500 square feet of the Hanover facility. Jodi had chosen STRONGHOLD FLOORS for her project (we beat out several competitors, including a larger, commercial coatings company!)
Descriptions of the installed coating systems are available in the project portfolio.
Challenge #2 – Ensuring the coatings sealed the transitions from floor to walls
Given the need to clean often and not allow water and other “fluids” to penetrate the wall seams, Jodi needed us to transition the coating up each wall. The coatings also had to help “push” the fluids away from the wall.
On the outside block walls, several long stretches had a considerable gap between the concrete pad and the block wall itself.
Solution #2 - Install almost 2,000 linear feet of 6” cove base
A team from our Baltimore operations applied pre-formed 6” polymer cove base to all internal walls. While application to the interior drywall was straightforward, it took a little more effort to bond to the concrete block and deal with the mortar joints.
When we coated all areas of the ~16,500 square foot facility, the coatings went from the top of the cove base down onto the floor. This created a transition which was easy to clean.
Challenge #3 – Making the walls scrub-able
We all know some dogs like to lift their leg. Jodi wanted to ensure all walls could easily be disinfected and hold up to repeated cleanings. Normal wall paints would not suffice. Using FRP panels would still leave a transition to the cove base we had already applied. Epoxy coatings came to the rescue in this situation.
Solution #3 - Apply epoxy coatings vertically up 4’ of the walls
While we don't regularly coat large vertical surfaces, we thought we could help here. After a test, we determined the proper viscosity of epoxy to use, and the teams coated the concrete block and drywall up four feet in all suites, including the laundry, grooming, and wash rooms.
The Rest of the Story
The other two challenges we experienced at Stay Pet Resort are discussed in Part 2.
To Learn More about Stay Pet Resort
The Project Portfolio: Epoxy Coatings in Maryland Pet Resort
Our Facebook Photo Gallery: Stay Pet Resort album
Customers Website: www.StayPetResort.com
