Story at a glance:
- Resilient floor renovation doesn’t mean you have to replace the flooring surface.
- Explore real-world examples of an efficient, sustainable, and budget-friendly system to transform resilient floors.
Renovating an existing flooring surface—as opposed to tearing out and replacing with new material—is an innovative option that’s becoming more popular. Choosing to renovate an existing flooring surface comes with many benefits, including a minimized environmental impact, reduced downtime, and the end result of having an attractive floor even on a tight budget.
Facilities are choosing to renew their flooring, regardless of whether the end goal is to update a space or transform it. Facility managers, owners, and designers are discovering that the Bona Commercial System Resilient Floor Solution can profoundly reduce downtime and allow businesses to resume daily operations within a few hours or a days, depending on the amount of flooring being renovated.
The renewal process begins with stripping the floor to remove all polish. This is the last time the floor will ever need stripping—a detail that has a positive impact on the indoor air quality and overall environment. After stripping, the team makes any needed repairs, adds a new color and chip design (if desired), and follows with two quick finish coats.
The two-component, waterborne polyurethane, high durability finish—along with proper maintenance—helps to extend the life of the floor for years to come. A variety of aesthetically pleasing design possibilities are available through the selection of base color and chips.
With proper training from the Bona Facility Solutions floor experts and use of high-quality products, the renewal process is simple, quick, and much easier on the budget (and the environment) than a complete floor tear-out and replacement.
Here are practical examples from facilities that achieved beautiful outcomes and durable floors, all while managing tight budgets with little room for downtime.
1. Hospital Operating Room Floor Transformation for Centennial Hills
Photo courtesy of Bona
The labor and delivery room floor at Centennial Hills Hospital in Las Vegas was well-worn after years of heavy foot traffic, shifting and moving of equipment, and the various chemicals used to clean the 500-square-foot sheet vinyl surface. Several employees even had slip and fall incidents on slick areas of the floor.
Replacing the floor would mean three days of downtime in this busy labor and delivery area. Bona teamed up with Centennial Hills to offer a faster, more sustainable solution than replacement: renewal of the existing surface with a resilient flooring product solution.
Resilient flooring is a popular material used by health care facilities because it is efficient to install, easy to clean, and safe for those who utilize it. This renewal option also means minimal disturbance to patients and staff in nearby areas of the facility.
“[Bona’s new resilient products] are simple, versatile, and durable, and they allow us to provide solutions in areas where we previously could not,” says Taylor Weston with Brady Industries, the hospital’s flooring project team.
The hospital team, as well as Brady Industries, were pleased with the results, which included:
- A brilliant and colorful flooring surface. The hospital administrators chose a combination of three-color chips to give extra design and texture to the floor.
- Safe surfaces for employees to work on. The floor was finished with a mixture that included an anti-slip additive for increased durability and protection against slips and falls. The medical team noticed a distinct difference in the grip of the floor.
- Minimal downtime and more flexibility to treat patients. The hospital staff was back to work in the room within 18 hours (which included only five project labor hours) instead of the three-day timeframe expected with replacing the surface. The hospital realized a 75% labor savings and avoided losing thousands of dollars from closing the room for several days.
Centennial Hills was respectful to the environment, its patients, and staff, and its budget, by choosing to renew the floor instead of replacing it.
2. High School Sports Floor Renewal for Bishop Walsh
Photo courtesy of Bona
The vinyl sports floor at Bishop Walsh Catholic School in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England was extremely worn, showing scars from numerous repairs over the years. Faced with the choice of tearing out the floor and purchasing an expensive new sports floor, or working with an expert renewal team, the school’s administrators chose Biddle Sport to refinish the surface.
Biddle Sport, a specialist sports flooring company trained in the use of Bona’s floor care program for all types of resilient floors, was up for the task. The Biddle team began by making more than 20 repairs to the surface, and then applied the Bona Power Remove solution to release built-up dirt. The team proceeded with the renewal process, including coating it with a brilliant blue color and accenting with a red perimeter and sports markings before sealing it.
Completed in just five days and at half the cost of replacing the floor, the school is proud to host sporting events on its strikingly-beautiful and sustainable sports floor.
3. Renewing a Brand-New Floor for Oslo National Museum
In June 2022 the new National Museum will open in Oslo. This modern art, architecture, and design museum is the Nordic Region’s largest museum and is being constructed as a vibrant urban space for visitors to convene, view and learn.
During the museum’s construction, the new vinyl flooring was severely damaged. Rather than replacing the new flooring, the facility tapped Bona’s Resilient Solution. In addition to considerable cost savings, the renewal was eco-friendly. By renewing rather than replacing the flooring surface, Bona and the Oslo National Museum prevented nearly 63,000 pounds (30 tons) of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the environment.
Flooring contactor Norsk Gulvservice delivered a beautiful, undamaged, and extra durable new floor with the following steps:
- Dry sanding and repair. Dry sanding the floor with Bona Diamond Abrasive paper (240 grit). Because the flooring material was new, it only needed spot sanding rather than an extended sanding series that typically occurs with older or worn flooring. After dry sanding was complete, the vinyl was repaired with Bona PU Filler, a two-part polyurethane filler and adhesive designed for quick and durable repair of resilient floors. The area was then sanded a final time with a handheld sanding machine.
- Apply coatings. Next, Bona Pure Colour RAL 9005 (Deep Black) was applied to give a flat shine. The product provided a fast application process and heavy pigmentation to ensure full and complete coverage. Next, Bona Pure Colour RAL 7038 (Agate Grey) was applied to the remaining areas. Finally, two coats of Bona Pure was applied. This 2K waterborne, clear, and non-yellowing hard-elastic finish offers long-term surface protection for heavily trafficked floors.
4. Havasu Regional Medical Center Revolutionizes its Flooring
Photo courtesy of Bona
Arizona-based Havasu Regional Medical Center turned to Bona for an upgrade to its old, worn resilient flooring. The medical facility sought a cost-effective solution to revitalize the flooring and keep it in compliance for safety. Instead of replacing the flooring, the facilities team chose to renew with the Bona Commercial System Resilient Floor Solution and saved $20,000 (in addition to labor cost savings). The entire renovation project took 18 hours versus the expected 72+ hours for new floor installation.
“I think this product is going to revolutionize the way hospitals manage and maintain their floors,” says Mark Mayberry, security and emergency management coordinator at Lifepoint Health, owner and operator of the Havasu facility.
5. Sunnyside Welcomes Students Back with Renewed Flooring
Sunnyside Unified School District in Arizona saved more than $40,000 by having the floors renovated versus implementing a full floor replacement. The district achieved an aesthetically pleasing, cohesive design able to withstand heavy foot traffic from students and staff. The process began with preparing the existing resilient flooring by stripping it, applying a floor repair to fill cracks where needed, abrading, and cleaning the surface, and then applying a base color and color chips across the entire surface. Finally, a clear-coat sealant was applied.
These are just a few of the facilities managers and owners who’ve embraced a convenient renewal option with the Bona Commercial System Resilient Floor Solution, instead of choosing to replace the floors. Renewal offers a durable floor in a short timeframe, and on a budget.
