Dolly's Uptown Laundry
Flooring Systems — Pennsylvania
Overview
Dolly’s Uptown Laundry is a busy laundromat in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The facility’s existing 10-year-old vinyl composition tile floor was showing a lot of wear and tear including scrapes, divots and bumps. The Dolly’s team was struggling to keep it clean, so they turned to the Houck team to help determine the best solution for a new floor.
Details
Our Resinous Flooring Solution
Project estimator Kyle Felpel met with the owner to determine their needs and develop a solution that would withstand the heavy traffic at the facility but still have an aesthetically pleasing appearance. “It was important to design a system that was extremely durable, but had a faster curing time,” explained Felpel. “The laundromat’s busiest days were on the weekends, so we needed to be able to complete the entire project during the week and be ready for business at the end of the week.”
Felpel recommended a Dur-a-flex® seamless, resin floor that is extremely durable while also providing a pleasing appearance using decorative vinyl flakes. The multiple shades of the flakes complemented the existing colors inside the laundromat while also serving to hide some of the imperfections in the floor.
The Installation Process
The Houck team prepared the inside of the laundromat by protecting the washers, dryers and other electronic equipment with plastic to protect them from dust generated by the removal of the existing floor. “We removed the existing floor using an industrial scraper,” said Felpel. “We found another floor underneath it so that required us to install a skim coat in some areas and in transition points.”
Once the floor was prepped, Poly-Crete®, a cementitious urethane base coat, was applied to the 2200-square-foot floor area. An epoxy film was applied that acted as the bonding agent for the vinyl flakes which were broadcast onto the floor and allowed to settle. By Friday the floor was ready for its top coat, which cured quickly, to allow the laundromat to reopen in time for the weekend crowd.
The industrial washing machines were bolted to the floor because they experienced significant vibration while in use. “We had to work around the machines and take care to install a sealant joint where the floor meets the base of the machine,” explained Felpel. “We needed to allow for the movement of the machine and create the joint that be able to handle the movement. The joint would also prevent water or spills from running under the machine.”
The Houck Advantage
The Dolly’s Laundry flooring project demonstrates the Houck team’s ability to be flexible and work to meet the unique needs of each customer. “We are specialty contractors,” said Felpel. “We do a lot of the harder projects that other contractors don’t want to do.”
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