He Made the Right Call - You really have to check this article out. What took place in NY recently was just shy of impossible and every bit amazing…I really mean that. It goes like this…
A Drytek guy gets a call from a good contact at 10:30 on Thursday morning. He’s asked to come over to look at a project on W 34th Street as soon as he can. The contact’s in a bind and needs help with a nasty floor situation ; fast. That’s why he calls Drytek.
By 12:30 p.m. a couple Drytek guys pull up to the West-Side headquarters of a high-end handbag maker and head up to the 11th floor. After shaking hands they were shown around the job site. “Disaster area”, explains the contactor. Twenty thousand square feet of lightweight concrete substrate, old as heck, chipped up, porous as #@#@!. Looked like pumice stone or coral or something but definitely not a suitable substrate for a 2” thick, glued-down, very high-end block wood floor.
Another remedy had already been tried but it cracked and fell off the floor. Had to be scraped up with shovels. Nasty.
“We have to have this floor installed by Monday morning. It doesn’t seem like anything will stick to it. What can we do?”
After performing tests on several areas throughout the job site, the Drytek guys requested a model scale installation be performed on the crappy substrate. This was to include all components which were to be included in the final flooring system; Drytek primer, Drytek Low-Alkali rehab leveling cement and the block wood flooring glued down onto the Drytek cement.
The Drytek rehab cement was applied in an area approximately 4’ x 4’ over what was considered by consensus at the site to be the worst case scenario, as regards the substrate. Six hours later the Drytek cement layer was hard as a rock and locked down, solid. The old hammer test was then conducted by the GC. This means banging, pounding and scraping; basically trying to get the Drytek off the substrate. It didn’t budge. Good, so far. 
The wood floor was then applied over the Drytek with a very strong urethane adhesive. Let me tell you, this stuff has a lot of pull when it dries and that was the big concern. Everything had to stay locked down to the less than ideal substrate. That was the big challenge. Then the waiting began. Had to wait over night until the glue set and dried. What would happen? Would this stuff pull up, too?
On Friday afternoon the mockup was checked. Everything held in place and was in order. It was a go. The Drytek pour would be done on Saturday and the wood flooring would be installed on Sunday. Everything would be ready by Monday. It was simple. Right?
However, there were just two small details that needed attention. Who was going to install the Drytek and how in the heck would any distributor get material to the jobsite on time?
First, you need a contractor to apply the Drytek, right? Someone who can come in and start on a 20,000 square foot floor at the spur of the moment on a Friday afternoon. This was about 3 hours away… Yikes!
And then material. Who could possibly get a truckload of Drytek cement delivered into the 11th floor of a building in busy Mid-Town Manhattan in the middle of rush hour with two hour’s notice?
Heads were scratched and cell phones whipped out.
By 4:00 p.m.a deal had been made with Concrete Concepts, a reputable subcontractor located just over the other side of the George Washington Bridge. They would send people over right away to start prepping the substrate. The job would get done on time.
Sure…Sounds like wishful thinking, doesn’t it?
Well it wasn’t. These guys weren’t fooling around. They meant business.
Amadeo Cilli and Jimmy Barrata from Concrete Concepts mobilized a team of mechanics and equipment and sent them on their way.
At about the same time, Shane Devlin from Celtic Building Supplies loaded up a truck of Drytek rehab cement, gave his driver a thumbs up and went into his office to pray. This would be a close call. But if we can pull it off, our reputation will grow in the market and so will our business, thought Shane. This is important.
Pouring of the Drytek rehab cement commenced on Saturday morning and by the time evening rolled around the entire 20,000 square feet surface looked like a newly made ice rink, ready to be skated on. Trades were already moving around on the new surface and the flooring contractor’s crew was preparing for their installation.
One down, one to go…
The flooring was installed on Sunday without a hitch by Trada Wood Flooring. This was quite a feat considering the sheer mass of what was to be applied. This stuff is 2” thick hardwood and is not light in weight! To get this down the proper way and on time required a tremendous effort. Can you imagine the logistics? Wow…Thanks Eric Herman from Trada. He made it happen.
Now, fast-forward…
On Monday afternoon, Tom Granato from Micron Construction, the general contractor, stood wide-eyed and satisfied on his solidly constructed high-style wood floor, reflecting on what had taken place over the weekend. Pictures flashed into his mind, images of one heck of a mess. And for a moment he felt the sharp pain of fear in his stomach, the pain he had on Friday morning before he decided to take action.
But now that pain was gone. His mission had been completed. The job was done and it looked and felt great! All in just 3 days…
In the end, Tom received praise from his boss who in turn received praise from the building owners. He was able to turn a nearly impossible situation into what arguably could be considered one of the greatest clutch plays ever to be pulled off in NYC flooring industry history. He did the right thing. He called Drytek.
-TL |
