November 14, 2016
PENETRON Flooring Helps Student Health at Cornell University
When Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, needed to install new flooring for over 25,000 square feet (2,330 m2) of concrete in their new Cornell Health facility, they asked PENETRON Specialty Products (PSP) for a durable solution to withstand this high traffic environment. The first phase of construction was finished in October.
PENETRON goes to college: PENETRON flooring technology masters high Rh test results on more than 25,000 sq. feet of flooring.
Designed by Chiang O'Brien Architects, Cornell University's new health center — Cornell Health – is an update and expansion of the previous Gannett building. Begun in April 2015, the $55 million renovation and expansion project has now completed Phase 1 of construction – expanding the current building. The new healthcare facility is due to officially open in time for the start of the 2017-18 school year.
The expansion more than doubles the space of the Gannett building from 25,000 to 52,000 square feet. With over 100,000 visits every school year and home to more than 200 healthcare professionals, the facility also sees a lot of traffic and that demanded a correspondingly durable flooring solution.
In addition, the project was unexpectedly put on hold when tests of the concrete floors in the new building showed high relative humidity (RH) readings. A quick resolution to the situation was needed to keep the project on track, as the high RH results would hinder any proper installation (or warranty) of the finished flooring.
Chaing O'Brien Architects then reached out to Ben Giamichael, Commercial Contract Specialist with NRF Distributors, for answers. One of the largest flooring products distributors in the Northeast, NRF is also one of PENETRON Specialty Products’ key clients. Working with the architects, NRF and PSP helped keep the project on schedule by specifying PENETRON’s moisture vapor reduction system: VB 225, PRIMER STX 100 and SURFIX FEP (feather edge patch). The finished flooring, installed by Jeff Osman for D&R Jones Construction, included vinyl enhanced tile, carpet tile, and resilient sheet goods, and are now all warrantable thanks to the PENETRON system.
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