Work, build, create is the motto for Dezer Properties in New York, one of the largest full service commercial and manufacturing real estate companies in the Chelsea and Flatiron neighborhoods. Dezer owns all of the buildings it manages, which makes Dezer responsible for maintenance, upgrades, renovations, and repairs.
When Rich Angle, Dezer’s director of property management, needed a flooring solution for one of the company’s New York office buildings, he consulted with Düraamen, which has a reputation for knowing how to work, build, and create exemplary commercial and industrial floors. Düraamen is a leader in installing, maintaining, enhancing, and, when necessary, replacing floors in these kind of facilities.
The challenge for Düraamen was the Dezer Properties’ floor was covered with vinyl commercial tile or VCT. Installers often use glue to secure these tiles, making it difficult to remove when tiles crack or become discolored. Additionally the glue used for VCT contains asbestos encapsulant, a product that seals the asbestos so a floor does not have to be removed.
Asbestos was originally lauded because of its versatility, strength, heat resistance, and insulation capabilities. Asbestos and asbestos containing material have been used for everything ranging from home construction to vests for firefighters. It is woven into fabric, and or mixed with cement. It is also highly toxic.
So rather than remove the VCT and dispose of the asbestos containing material, Düraamen offered the perfect solution: install a concrete overlay directly on top of the existing VCT using Skraffino, a cement-based product that provides a grainer concrete surface. It works like an asbestos encapsulate so that the VCT can remain intact. It is a fast, cost-effective solution for resurfacing microtopping and skim coats.
Before moving forward with Skraffino, Düraamen installers resurfaced two floors in the Dezer office building to test the product. Installers applied two coats of regular Skraffino, then a final coat of Skraffino Fine. Next, Skraffino colored the floor using Colorfast Iron Mountain, then applied a semi gloss polyurethane topcoat to protect it. Angle and colleagues loved the results.
Now the Dezer-owned building has not just two, but 12 concrete overlay floors. Dezer decided to have two floors resurfaced each quarter. The Dezer office building now has beautiful, high-end tough floor—without the expense of removing and disposing the VCT or the asbestos containing material.
Düraamen’s use of Skraffino concrete overlay saved Dezer time and money, and increased the value and longevity of the floor. If you have a VCT floor in need of repair, consult with a Düraamen representative to determine the best solution.
