2019
Anniston, Alabama
CRISIS ADVERTED AT FEMA'S NOBLE FACILITY
As part of the Center for Domestic Preparedness, FEMA’s Noble Training Facility in Anniston, Alabama provides training for hospitals and healthcare workers on how to deal with the unexpected. In fact, it is the only hospital facility in the United States that trains these workers in disaster preparedness and response, including tragedies like acts of terrorism and manmade disasters.
While certainly not a major civilian emergency, Speegle Construction, Inc. of Niceville, Florida found themselves facing an unexpected crisis during a recent commercial kitchen renovation and expansion at the Noble Training Facility. They removed the old 3,000 square foot kitchen quarry tile floor and were shocked at what they found underneath. The tile was on top of a 60-year-old concrete substrate over a crawl space, and the cap of the concrete had deteriorated, exposing rebar and chickenwire. “It looked like a crater on the moon,” remarked Jeff Page, vice president at Speegle. “We looked at each other and said, ‘now what?’”
The original flooring contractor quickly walked away from the project, so Speegle scrambled to find a replacement flooring contractor. “We had a lot of people come to look at the floor, but no one had a good solution,” Page stated. “Concrete was not an option due to the weight and thickness ranges. Then we called SikaFlooring and they said they had just the right product for us –SikaQuick® 1000.”
SikaQuick 1000 is a one-component, rapid hardening, early strength gaining, cementitious, patching mortar for concrete. SikaQuickis especially well-suited for warmer weather applications when extended working time is required, and its epoxy coatings can be applied as early as 6 hours at 73°F (23°C). It is also freeze and thaw resistant.
Project:
FEMA Noble Training Facility
Anniston, AL
Flooring Contractor:
Extreme IFC, LLC
Cumming, GA
General Contractor:
Speegle Construction, Inc.
Niceville, FL
Project Size:
5,000 square feet
Completed:
February, 2019
Flooring Systems:
An Extreme Solution for an Extreme Situation
Kelly Otts, the local Technical Sales Representative for Sika Flooring, worked with Speegle and suggested several Sikafloor partners with the experience and craftsmanship needed to resolve the substrate issues and provide a finished floor, including contractors Extreme IFC. (Industrial FlooringContractor).
“We are an Elite Level Sikafloor Installer, and when we saw the job, we knew we could take care of it using Sikafloor products,” said Will Gleeson, chief administration officer at Extreme IFC.
Extreme IFC shot blasted the area and then used SikaQuick and gravel to infill, level and slope the renovation side of the kitchen.“Usually, we use epoxy grout, but in this instance, SikaQuick not only was ideal for the job, but it was 30 to 35 percent cheaper,” stated Edwin Gleeson, Extreme’s chief operating officer.
Will Gleeson added, “The epoxy grout would’ve required more steps and additional coatings. But SikaQuick seals the area right away and lets other trades get in there sooner.”
“Extreme IFC was great,” Page commented. “When they first came in and leveled the floor no one understood how the SikaQuick would work. But Extreme IFC said, ‘we got this,’ and came back with a grinder and made everything nice and smooth.”
A Heavy Duty, Low Maintenance System
After the other trades installed walls, freezers, coolers, hoods, and door frames Extreme IFC returned to install a SikafloorPurCem® polyurethane cement flooring system on both the old floor and on the new 2,000 square foot floor that was part of the kitchen expansion. Sikafloor PurCem is an ultra-heavy duty performance flooring system that easily meets FDA Food Code2009 specifying food establishments must have floors that are“smooth, durable, and easily cleanable,” providing compliance with new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules.
“The Noble Training Facility wanted a floor that was low maintenance – one where spilled grease can just be hosed off,” Page explained. “They did consider another quarry tile floor, but grout joints get very dirty after a short time. A PurCem system After shot blasting and diamond grinding Extreme IFC used Sikafloor Epo-Rok® mortar to install a 6” integral cove base on all GMP/CMU surfaces and 45-degree cants on metal surfaces. The Sikafloor Mortar was also used to transition the new floor to the old floor, which ended up being higher than expected.
After the cove was completed, a Sikafloor-22 NA PurCem self-leveling broadcast system was installed at 1/4” thick. Once prepped the floor was coated with 16 mils of Sikaflor-31 NAPurCem as a protective topcoat.
Twenty-four hours later Extreme IFC installed plastic and ram board floor protection to protect the floor from remaining construction. Because of their professionalism and attention to detail, Extreme IFC had zero punch list items at the end of the project.
“We love working with Sika Flooring because they have great products,” Will Gleeson remarked. “They offer quality and durability – once we walk off the job we don’t worry about it failing. Plus Sika Flooring has resources to support you – when you need them, they are there.”
Crisis Averted
The new floor is performing well and looks great, Page said.“The floor is beautiful and everyone is very, very, pleased. We recently had a six-month walkthrough and the floor looks as good now as the day it was installed.”
When asked about using Sika’s SikaQuick and PurCem products again, Edwin Gleeson said, “Definitely! Sika is one of our top favorites – we use their products every week.”
Page added that he recommends Sika Flooring products as well.“It makes a big difference when you have the right product.”
Thanks to the right products and the right contractors at the right time, the Noble Training Facility was able to avoid a costly flooring crisis and now has an attractive, low maintenance, fully renovated and expanded kitchen.