ICO Case History - Hyatt Hotel, Long Beach, CA

BACKGROUND

Like many hotels, the Hyatt Hotels have historically used quarry tile for their kitchen floors. The advantages of quarry tile are well known: they are attractive and remain so for many years, they have excellent thermal shock resistance and are easy to keep clean. There are several disadvantages, however, including high initial cost, difficulty in maintaining (particularly if the wrong grout has been used), slippery when wet, and subjected to cracking under impact or concrete movements. More importantly, if liquids seep beneath the tile, the floor can become a breeding ground for bacteria and mold.

Because of some of these disadvantages the Hyatt Long Beach, under the direction of their Chief Engineer, had previously installed a monolithic epoxy floor in their main kitchen. While the majority of this floor was still intact, it had been repeatedly patched, especially under the hot kettles, and had shown signs of pitting around the fryers. In addition, the floor was judged too slippery for kitchen operations. Initially, we were asked to patch objectionable areas, with the longer term objective of resurfacing the entire floor and coves to improve the overall appearance and safety of the kitchen.

DISCUSSION

Kitchen floors present a particularly severe challenge to flooring materials, with a combination of chemical cleaners, heavy wear, thermal shock from hot steam kettles, safety concerns, and lack of downtime to accomplish the repairs. Fortunately, adequate downtime was to be provided during their slower holiday period. However, other criteria that Allen set forth included: a five year warranty, an aesthetically pleasing floor that would be easy to clean but also be safe for employees and an integral cove base.

Based on the customer requirements, we specified our Guard 51 seamless flooring, applied at ¼” thickness. This product was selected because of its lack of odor, impermeability to liquid penetration, chemical attack, and excellent thermal shock characteristics. With the added concern of overall appearance, safety and ease of cleaning, the slurry/broadcast system with red color quartz aggregate was selected since it yields a flat, uniform appearance with better color retention. The topcoat of ICO Guard Coating would improve the cleanability of the floor and to further hide dirt and grit, a final clear coat of ICO Sealer was applied at about 10 mils thickness, leaving a fine texture for traction control.

Because the 160 SF area under the hot kettles and adjacent steamers could see direct flames, it was decided to install quarry tile over our ICO Lastic membrane and over ICO Grout BL epoxy bedding material. For better high temperature resistance, ICO Hi Grout TS was specified for filling the joints.

INSTALLATION

Installation of the 6000 SF floor occurred, over a seven day shutdown period. The contractor first degreased the old floor followed by diamond grinding the floor and well adhering quarry tile coves. Any loose flooring was completely removed and patched with ICO Guard 51. Loose quarry tile cove pieces were removed completely, a cement board backer installed, and then our ICO Guard coving base installed over it. All metal was ground and keyways cut around metal legs, metal pipes and termination points.

The ICO Guard liquid resin was applied at about 35-40 SF/gallon and seeded with silica sand. After allowing to dry, excess sand was vacuumed off, the floor screened to remove high points, and then the Guard resin was again applied as a slurry, at the same coverage as before, but this time seeded with a red color quartz to refusal. After allowing to dry, the floor was vacuumed, screened and then coated with ICO Guard Coating at about 80 SF/gallon. For enhanced cleanup, a top coat of clear ICO Sealer was applied at about 10 mils thick. Expansion joints were recut, filled with a closed cell backer rod and topped off with ICO Lastic Gun Grade caulk. Quarry tile coves received two coats of the Guard Coating and the clear top coat.

RESULTS

The 6000 SF project was completed within the seven day shutdown period. The customer was very pleased with the results, particularly the absence of odor of the material and the ability of the contractor to minimize dust during preparation. After viewing the performance of the floor for several months, a second “tide” kitchen was resurfaced in a similar fashion. After almost a year of use, the floor has held up well and has provided the safety and appearance desired by the customer.

INSTALLER

C&L Coatings, Bakersfield, CA