Flooring Stands up to Harsh Conditions

hallway flooring

nora flooring has proven its ability to stand up to high traffic volume and harsh winters at Syracuse University.

Founded in 1870, Syracuse University in New York educates a student body of approximately 21,000 each year. With 70 percent of students living in the school’s 22 residence halls, the team overseeing housing has much to consider as they work to keep dormitories comfortable, safe and up-to-date.

Searching for a floor covering that could stand up to high-volume traffic and the brutal Syracuse winters, while offering a streamlined maintenance routine, the team selected nora rubber flooring to cover dorm entrance areas, corridors, common spaces and stairwells. Over the past seven years, the floor has outperformed expectations. “The versatility of nora lends itself to many different spaces,” says Robert J. Spagnoletti, manager of maintenance.

Spagnoletti offers an example of the transformation that has taken place in dorm stairwells. “The stairwells were previously concrete with a tread,” he says. “The way the nora all-in-one stair tread piece fits over the existing steps was just perfect. Installation was simple and easy, dealing with one piece. The stairs don’t look industrial any longer; they just look nice, and the rubber adds an element of safety.”

The floor’s easy maintenance regimen, which eliminates the use of coatings and wax, played a key role in the selection of rubber flooring. “That was a main driving factor,” says Spagnoletti. “We found a good product that we don’t have to wax and strip.” Since its installation, the nonporous rubber flooring has proven it can stand up to anything and deliver on performance.

“Our biggest challenge is the winters and dealing with the snow and salt, keeping the salt down outside, but minimizing the trailing effect inside,” Spagnoletti shares. The flooring has performed so efficiently that the maintenance team is using spare tiles of nora as walk-off pads for elevators during the winter.

“We’re getting strong support from all of our directors. They see the areas where nora has been installed and are happy with how it’s worked,” Spagnoletti says.

nora.com/us

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • Image courtesy of Kahler Slater

    UW–Madison Announces Completion of Morgridge Hall

    The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently announced that construction is complete on Morgridge Hall, a new academic building, according to a news release. The facility opened September 3 at the start of the fall semester, consolidating the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences into a single facility for the first time.

  • Houston K–12 District Opens New Elementary School

    The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) recently announced the completion of a new elementary school in a western suburb of Houston, Texas, according to a news release. Haygood Elementary School measures in at 110,000 square feet, has the capacity for 854 students, and is the first of three new schools scheduled to be built in the Cross Creek West community.