Flooring Renovation for Hospital Elevation - Memorial Hospital Miramar
Recognizing the importance of aesthetics in healthcare environments, Memorial Hospital Miramar began refreshing the flooring in its corridors to create modern, more inviting spaces for patients, visitors, and staff. Putting the project through its bid process, the hospital chose Keith Bensch, founder of South Florida’s FlorTech LLC to do the renovation. With decades of experience in the flooring industry, Bensch established FlorTech with a vision to deliver commercial flooring solutions tailored to meet the evolving and challenging needs of facility managers. Drawing upon his expertise and commitment to excellence, Bensch assembled a team of skilled installers and chose H.B. Fuller as his strategic partner for innovative installation products, known for providing labor efficiencies. FlorTech President Ananda Botello-Walker notes, “since 2018, we have made it our mission to deliver quality service with materials that perform beyond expectations. We understand the difficulties our clients face with their projects, so we help by supplying the finest materials available along with the most efficient installation methods to minimize disruption to client operations.”
FlorTech’s approach has helped it win flooring bids for many South Florida hospitals, including Memorial Hospital Miramar. They have successfully installed new hospital flooring that delivers the safety, desired aesthetics and durability to handle challenging hospital hygiene, equipment and foot traffic. For the recent hallway renovation, wood-look vinyl sheet flooring was chosen and installed on two floors. Impressed with the results, the hospital Facility Manager Abe Nagib wasted no time in extending the flooring update to 57 patient rooms off the renovated hallways. Nagib noted, “I’ve known Keith for many years now, and trusted him and his crew to do a great job installing floors without affecting our operations. The selected adhesives hold well, and there are no roller marks or indentations under the patient beds. I’m pleased with the results.”
FlorTech installed the new flooring in both hallways and the rooms methodically, at mostly low traffic times and using low / zero VOC installation materials. When taking up the existing floor, FlorTech had to work hard to scrape the old adhesive off the subfloor. Then to smooth and level the substrate before adhering the new vinyl sheeting, FlorTech’s foreman applied TEC® Feather Edge Skim Coat. This long-trusted skim coat provides exceptional performance and bond strength to effortlessly transition surface areas, skim coat, smooth and level substrate irregularities – especially important for demanding floor coverings like sheet vinyl. Feather Edge creates a surface from a featheredge up to 1/2” (12 mm) and sets in just 15 to 20 minutes. After prepping the surface, the installer was able to quickly start installing the new hospital room flooring.
FlorTech chose to use several H.B. Fuller adhesives to help achieve cost efficiencies for the hospital. For the most challenging areas, FlorTech enlisted H.B Fuller’s ultra-high-performance TEC® Flexera® 2K PSA Hybrid Adhesive. Flexera 2K PSA is designed to perform under extreme demands, such as under a heavy rolling or static hospital bed. This user-friendly adhesive offers easy PSA-method flooring installation with the durability and robust adhesion of epoxy without the fumes, curing and other challenges of epoxies. TEC Flexera 2K PSA has a long pot life of 10+ hours and an open time of 4 hours that FlorTech’s installation team appreciated for helping to fast-track the timetable. Bensch commented that “our crews find Flexera 2K PSA exceptionally easy to use and like the aggressive grab. I really like that it’s water-based, so safe for installers to use, even around people.” Its low volatile organic content (VOC) gave FlorTech the ability to work near occupied areas, expanding the times available for flooring work.
To address areas less exposed to challenging loads, FlorTech used H.B. Fuller’s Parabond® Fusion Series 5092 HT Universal Pressure Sensitive Adhesive. This versatile PSA delivers ultra-aggressive tack combined with high shear and peel strength, and high moisture tolerance. Though dry or wet-set installation can be used with 5092, FlorTech employed dry-set so that the floor was traffic-ready immediately after installation. Its suitability for flash coving further underscored its relevance in the hospital setting.
Even within the busy hospital environment, the Memorial Hospital Miramar’s flooring renovation proceeded seamlessly, thanks to FlorTech's expertise and the labor-saving benefits of TEC and Parabond installation products from H.B. Fuller. The project not only exceeded expectations for the aesthetics but also delivered on-time, on-budget results –showcasing the tangible impact of strategic partnerships and innovative solutions.
By prioritizing aesthetics, safety, and efficiency, the renovation project enhanced the hospital's appearance and helped facilitate the smooth delivery of quality care.
