171st St. in Queens, New York is the locale for yet another Drytek success story. A high profile, mega-addition at St. John's University took the form of the Taffner Field House, new home to the NCAA Division I basketball team's practice facility and training center.
Each year brings new additions to the men's and women's basketball teams at this landmark institution. However, at the beginning of this season, along with the recruits, the school also welcomed the addition of the Taffner Field House to its basketball program.
The 43,000 square foot Field House, which opened in September, cost approximately $16 million to construct. The facility is named for Donald and Eleanor Taffner, the primary donors for the construction of the building.
It houses four full-sized basketball courts, two of which are available to campus recreation for student use while the other two are devoted solely to the men's and woman's teams. Along with the requisite courts, the facility also houses the bulk of the basketball program. Located within the Field House are a training room equipped with custom-made weight training machinery specifically for the athletes, professional locker rooms for both the men's and women's teams, and office space for the coaches and other administrative personnel. There is also a small locker room for students who use the front courts.
Practice facilities in Carnesecca Arena were out of date and did not allow the teams to recruit as competitively as they needed in the expanded Big East conference, which added Louisville (a Final Four participant last year), Cincinnati, South Florida, DePaul and Marquette. That's why St. Johns decided to create more space for its basketball program and be considered attractive to top incoming talent.
Skanska General Contracting Corp. was called in to plan and oversee the new field house. Time was of the essence as the facility had to be opened prior to the new school year. And this job required special planning and execution. Skanska, a multinational building, engineering and construction firm is a well known and trusted name in the New York area, having been involved in all types of projects including everything from new construction of elevated rail line to general building construction and renovation. In other words, they were a natural choice for this new monument at the well-known campus.
And because the bar was set so high, St. John's and Skanska, in turn, called upon Drytek Flooring Solutions to meet the challenge of making certain the flooring in this 43,000 square foot Fieldhouse Of Dreams came out right and on time. And it all started with a good substrate. 
The large concrete slab was poured on grade and installation specifications called out for a minimum of 60 days curing. But this was too much time. Something had to be done and fast. That's where Drytek came in. A series of tests were expediently performed by Drytek representatives to determine if the slab moisture was within tolerance for application of the Drytek leveling system. The number 60 days was actually irrelevant in real terms as it doesn't take jobsite conditions such as external moisture (rain, humidity), temperature and limiting construction design into account. It is just considered a general guideline. What is relevant is the amount of moisture in the concrete slab. This is most accurately measured by probing deeply into the slab by using ASTM method F2170. The testing revealed a relative humidity measurement of 90%. Passing score for application of Drytek. Drytek can be applied on substrates with levels as high as 98%. This level would never be accepted by competitive products.
The second challenge was the physical condition of the concrete. It had been steel-trowel finished, creating a rock hard and extremely dense surface. Customarily, this would call for additional preparation in the way of shotblasting, scarifying or grinding in order to achieve an open surface which would provide a good mechanical bond with topping layers. However; thanks to Drytek's unique ability to grip to almost anything, this job required only a sweep and vacuum of the cast-iron slab, a coat of primer, and it's away we go. Think of the savings of both time and money!
The entire 43,000 square foot area was leveled, smoothed and ready for various floor coverings, including wood, vct, ceramic tile and carpet, all within 24 hours. Now that's Drytek's idea of a Field (house) of Dreams...
If you get a chance, stop by the St. John's Campus and have a look for yourself.
-CS
Portions of this article are adapted from The Torch, a student publication at St. John's University
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