10 CNR St. Louis Construction News and Review - www.stlouiscnr.com

By KERRY SMITH

Multitude of Flooring Options Offer

Spectrum of Colors, Branding, Character

The Voice for the St. Louis Construction Industry September – October ‘19 11

Terrazzo, resinous, luxury vinyl and wood flooring surfaces offer project owners, designers and contractors more color and texture choices than ever before.

TerrazzoTerrazzo, a composite material, can be poured in place or precast, and is commonly used for floors as well as wall treatments. Comprised of marble, quartz, glass and other recycled materials, set in cement or epoxy and given a high polish, terrazzo offers a myriad of color choices.

According to Missouri Terrazzo President and Owner Paul J. Berra III, whose company has been installing commercial flooring for 87 years, terrazzo is a popular choice for high-profile construction and revitalization projects looking to add signature flair. Among many other St. Louis-centric projects, Missouri Terrazzo installed more than 55,000 square feet of terrazzo at the Gateway Arch Museum and Visitor Center as part of the destination’s total $380 million makeover that was complete in mid-2018.

“That project is unique from a terrazzo perspective because it incorporates every aspect of the flooring material,” said Berra. “It’s known as a sand cushion cement terrazzo because underneath the beautiful surface is a sand bed cushion to tolerate a huge number of visitors. The cement-based product utilizes venetian aggregates.” Because the project owner and designers wanted to recognize and replicate the original designer’s vision, this type of terrazzo made sense, Berra said.

One level up from the visitor center’s terrazzo floor is a 4,200-square-foot, mezzanine-level epoxy terrazzo floor depicting a map of the U.S. detailing the Westward Expansion. “The mezzanine’s terrazzo is not cementitious but rather is epoxy terrazzo,” Berra said. “The beauty of it is that the epoxy can be made in any color imaginable.”

The epoxy terrazzo U.S. map contains more than 10 unique colors, he added, each representing a distinct shade of epoxy. “Colorful epoxy terrazzo has been popular on the coasts for a while now,” said Berra, “and that trend is now migrating to the Midwest. Architects love to specify epoxy terrazzo flooring because of the limitless color choices as well as its brilliance. More companies are incorporating logos and other branding identities into their flooring through this material.”

Epoxy flake and quartz floors are an additional flooring surface used on commercial projects Missouri Terrazzo completes in and around St. Louis. “Whether it’s in terrazzo or in resinous flooring material, organizations are seeking to create a distinct identity and make a brand statement through their flooring,” Berra said. “Epoxy flake flooring is one option, wherein chips of vinyl flake are mixed into the epoxy.”

Another option, according to Berra, is decorative quartz flooring, colored quartz sand that is broadcasted into the epoxy. Recycled glass, plastic and porcelain are also incorporated into terrazzo, creating a sustainable, eco-friendly option. “Translucence and color are great features of terrazzo that contains recycled ingredients,” he said.

Terrazzo is timeless, according to Berra. If properly maintained, he said, it will last a lifetime. The company is installing terrazzo flooring in several high-profile healthcare facility projects, including SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital currently under construction in Midtown St. Louis. Missouri Terrazzo is also the terrazzo flooring contractor for several Mercy Health campuses in Missouri and Arkansas.

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Wrapping terrazzo up the interior walls of commercial structures is another creative, durable use of this flooring type, according to Berra. “We’re working on a job right now where the contractor accidentally demolished an eight-foot wall of terrazzo,” he said. “We’re replicating that wall by vertically applying terrazzo.”

Creating breathtaking indoor water features – for example, a water fountain built from wood and wrapped in terrazzo – is another usage for the popular flooring material, according to Berra.

ResinousResinous flooring – such as decorative and industrial epoxy floors and wall systems – and dyed/polished and stained concrete flooring are other common commercial flooring options that also offer project owners a variety of color choices.

Luxury VinylLuxury vinyl is another product choice for commercial application. Alex Verseman, director of the Flooring Industry Council of Greater St. Louis and vice president of Missouri Flooring Co. Inc., said it is a simple but dependable product that tolerates heavy traffic.

Epoxy terrazzo flooring, as pictured above in the new Gateway Arch Museum and Visitor Center, offers resiliency, chemical resistance and tensile-compressive strengths not found in other floor systems. Missouri Terrazzo was the flooring contractor for the museum’s terrazzo, including the giant terrazzo floor map of the United States. This type of flooring is ideal for destinations like the Arch which attracts some four million visitors annually.

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13The Voice for the St. Louis Construction Industry September – October ‘19

“That said, wood is still a preferred choice for specialty flooring,” said Verseman. “We’re seeing a movement away from the 2 ¼-inch-wide planks and more and more patterns being incorporated into the flooring, such as herringbone and installing wood on an angle rather than in horizontal lines. We’re even seeing creative flooring patterns in sports facilities.”

Flooring Systems, Inc. is seeing the same trend of patterns being incorporated into commercial and institutional environments. Marketing Director Nancy Schnurbusch said hotel lobbies are one example of a commercial space that is melding a variety of flooring materials, shapes and sizes for a “wow” factor. The trend, which surfaced broadly in St. Louis during 2018 and 2019, is anticipated to continue through 2020, she said.

Flooring is no longer limited to floors, according to Verseman. “For instance, on the COCA (Center of Creative Arts) expansion and renovation in University City, we installed wood on the floors, up the walls and on the ceiling,” he said.

Grey is everywhere, Verseman added. “We used to see a lot of medium browns and taupe being used as neutral wood colors, but grey is today’s neutral. If commercial clients aren’t choosing grey, they’re going very dark, very light or opting for muted white flooring.”

A new flooring design trend Verseman and others are seeing in educational projects, learning stairs, provide an open layout of the stairway as a student-centered, social gathering place for individual students and small groups. “Utilizing longer, wider planks and larger treads and risers, these areas are

becoming comfortable spaces for students to sprawl out and do homework, read or study,” he said.

St. Louis’ Flooring Industry Council plays an active role in ensuring quality standards for floor layers, Verseman said. “We vet craftsmen through our INSTALL (International Standards & Training Alliance) program to help floorcovering buyers feel protected,” said Verseman, noting that INSTALL an initiative of the floorcovering arm of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

WoodNational Wood Flooring Association President and CEO Michael Martin said the organization is seeing an increase in the use of solid wood flooring for smaller specialty areas within new construction and renovation projects.

“We realize that in commercial spaces, especially those that are rented versus owned, utilizing wood throughout the entire office or location may not be cost effective,” Martin said. “However, we are still seeing an uptick in the use of wood for smaller spaces in a commercial building.”

Regarding long-term durability of commercial wood flooring, Martin said most wood floors now have scratch-resistant and water-resistant finishes to protect them. “We’re also seeing patterns and mixed colors being incorporated into designs to camouflage any imperfections in real wood,” he added. “Wire brush, natural, more rustic wood finishes are still very popular for all wood floor applications because they do hide any scratches and dents.”

Looking ahead to 2020, Martin said warmer wood tones are likely on the horizon. Also, there is a migration movement, he added, toward simpler looking floors – floors that are sleeker, pop out the grain in the woods and are somewhat more uniform in color. “These flooring options are less about showcasing the indentation and branches of the natural woods and more about creating consistency in the overall floor,” he said.

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< Missouri Floor Company recently incorporated maple flooring material into the walls and across the ceiling to accent spaces directly beyond the Center of Creative Arts (COCA)’s newly renovated and expanded studios.