West Career & Technical Academy in Las Vegas is the newest technical academy in the Clark County School District, opening for students in time for the 2010–11 school year. The school district’s architect had specified a pigmented color stain for the floors similar to those used in other district schools, but the floors were not holding up to the wear and tear.
Touting its durability and finished look, Architectural Stains Inc. (ASI), the decorative division of Stewart & Sundell Concrete in North Las Vegas, recommended to the general contractor and the school district that they use a polished concrete floor. ASI submitted samples and did mockups onsite in the gymnasium, which was under construction. Five different colors were to be used in eight different buildings, totalling more than 50,000 square feet.
A crew of eight worked on the project for eight weeks and used L.M. Scofield’s Formula One system for both the dyes and the polished floor. Areas that were polished ranged in size from 5000 to 11,000 square feet in the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was a particular challenge, since the polishing contractor wanted to ensure that the finished polish and color were consistent. In preparing the floors, workers used a terrazzo grout for joint filler to ensure a smooth working surface. Some of the floors had oil stains that were not visible until after the dyes were applied. The crew worked a color stain into the surface to blend into the oil stains to make them less noticeable.
The school district was so pleased with the final result, it is creating a polished concrete spec for future projects.
For more information, visit www.stewart-sundell.com and www.scofield.com.
