How to Fast Track School Renovations
It’s August, which means one thing for commercial contractors: school renovations. These renovations have a hard deadline (after all, the school year will start as scheduled, whether you’re ready or not). And as you know, school districts often have a hard budget, and can’t afford for your flooring installation to take longer than expected. Follow these steps to keep your school installation on schedule.
1. Efficient moisture mitigation: Moisture testing is best practice for any flooring installation — from carpet to resilient. The ASTM F-2170 test is an accurate and efficient test. It provides a relatively rapid reading, so you can make mitigation decisions almost immediately.
If mitigation is required and you want to finish your school flooring installation as efficiently as possible, use TEC® LiquiDam™, which exceeds the ASTM standard for moisture vapor barriers and is designed to reduce the MVER to less than 3 lbs. per 1000 ft² per 24 hours, or correct elevated Relative Humidity readings as high as 100% RH. Its one-step, single-coat application does not require shot blasting over clean, sound concrete. You can install carpet after as few as five hours, to keep time-sensitive projects on track.
2. Immediate post-trenching mitigation: If simultaneous renovations are happening at the school, or if you’re working on a new build, other trades are probably performing trenching. Trenching is the act of encasing plumbing, gas or electrical lines within concrete. The cement that surrounds plumbing, gas or electrical lines typically takes a minimum of 28 days per 1” deep to cure. However, TEC LiquiDam can be applied as early as three-to-four days from the initial day of cement placement to accelerate your school flooring installation.
3. Rapid leveling: Any floor covering used in a school — from carpet to vinyl — will look and perform better if the surface is properly prepared. TEC Level Set® 500 HF is fast curing, walkable in 2-3 hours, ready to install for ceramic tile in 2-3 hours and moisture sensitive floor covering in 15 hours.
Similarly, TEC Fast-Set Deep Patch is aptly named. This product cures to a walkable hardness in 60 minutes and is ready for most floor coverings in 60-90 minutes.
Curing to walkable hardness rapidly is essential for school renovations, which often involve other trades. You don't want to leave your installation unattended only to find out your hard work on surface preparation has been marred.
4. Fast-drying adhesives: Fast-curing adhesives are available for both floor covering products and tile.
For floor covering installation, TEC Flexera® High Tack has aggressive grab to prevent the tiles from sliding when introduced to other trade traffic during the construction phase. If installing following the PSA method, allow the adhesive to dry 30-60 minutes before installing. If following the semi-wet method, allow the adhesive to dry 10-15 minutes before installing.
For tile, opt for a fast-setting mortar. TEC Fast Set Ultimate Large Tile Mortar cures and is ready for grout in just three-to-four hours. TEC Power Grout can then be applied, and you can open your school installation to foot traffic in four hours.
Questions? Contact our Technical Support Team for help on your next TEC® installation job. You can also call 1-800-832-9023, Mon-Fri 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. CST.
