Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Polished Floors, Right on Schedule

  • 08/01/14

Students and faculty at the Southridge Elementary School in Casper, Wyoming were a bit shocked when they were informed that their brand new school would not be ready for the August 19 start of the school year. Many construction delays were encountered during the project, including the polished concrete floors in the school that were deemed unacceptable by the architect.

The building was 100-percent complete when the decision was made to completely repolish the entire school. Cove base was in place, walls were painted, carpet was laid and cabinets were set. The building was virtually ready to be occupied when the decision was made. A well-known concrete consulting company was hired to assess the situation. Their 20-page report indicated that the floor did not meet the standards of the specification and should be repolished and dyed to the architect’s specification.

Freddie Gwynn, owner of Polished Concrete of Wyoming sat down with the contracting superintendent of the project and discussed the potential remedy. “It’s not going to be cheap, but it will be right” Freddie told him. A rigid timetable to complete the work was laid out. In order to pull this off, Freddie brought in another highly qualified FGS Permashine Contractor, Shawn Weaver of Concrete Floor Systems based in Denver, Colorado.

Plastic was put into place floor to ceiling in order to minimize dust contamination and damaging the finished painted walls. The edging was perhaps the biggest task to tackle. Crews spent countless hours hand grinding and polishing right up to in place carpeting.

Care was taken to densify to complete rejection to ensure that the dye was properly locked in. Final polishing and further densification brought the entire building up to the specified 1500-grit level. What does the school think? “We are very pleased with our floors and with the two contractors,” exclaims Principal Rick Skatula.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • University of Rhode Island, Gilbane Partner for Three New Residence Halls

    The University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I., recently announced a public-private partnership with construction development firm Gilbane, according to a news release. Gilbane will soon start construction on three new residence halls with a total of 1,100 beds: two with apartment-style suites in northwest campus, and a reconstruction of the Graduate Village Apartments for graduate students.

  • Countway Library at Harvard Medical School

    From Shadows to Sanctuary: The Transformation of Light at Countway Library

    The renovation of Countway Library at Harvard Medical School demonstrates how biophilic design and advanced lighting strategies transformed a formerly dark, insular space into a vibrant, welcoming hub that supports wellness, learning, and community engagement.