Maximum Commercial Uptime

Modern retailing requires solutions that ensure maximum commercial uptime. Arboritec recently helped a busy coffeehouse in Pleasanton CA add beauty and protection to their wood floors without turning away a single customer.

Together with some of the top flooring professionals in the Northern California region, we met this challenge using a system of top-coatable Miracle Oil finish in conjunction with our ceramic-fortified, instantly-cured finish UVElite. This commercial system is only available from Arboritec. 

Project Timing 

Saturday - November 16, 2013

Here Rose Fall, project designer, glues the final mesquite panel into place on the coffeehouse floor.

This beautiful and unique floor was created from individual end-grain mesquite panels furnished by wood block flooring supplier David Old.  

They were all glued down on a concrete slab that was sealed one day and installed on the next.

Sunday - November 17, 2013 - Sanding

Jose Luis Gonzalez of Albini Hardwood Flooring in Richmond CA contributed his years of expertise and talent to the job. His flawless sanding job concluded Sunday evening.

Monday - November 18, 2013 - Penetrating Oil Finish

Early Monday morning, the floor was screened, vacuumed and tacked. Miracle Oil penetrating finish was then applied to begin to bring the rich tones of the end-grain mesquite to life and add an initial layer of protection.

Tuesday - November 19, 2013 - Instant Cure Finish

Morning - Even without additional topcoats, this floor was protected and ready to welcome and wow rested baristas with initial results. Miracle Oil brought out the character of the mesquite end-grain blocks very nicely. 

That morning, furniture was then reset and the coffeehouse was able to continue normal daily operation without interruption. Regular customers that stopped in for a cup were already floored by the transformation.  

Night - After closing for the evening, the floor was spot-cleaned with Arboritec Wood Floor Cleaner where necessary. We then applied 1 coat of Arboritec’s Avenue 20 ceramic-fortified finish, followed by 2 coats of UVElite. Luis again showed us his expert wood flooring professional skills. He laid down finish about as efficiently as we’ve seen. The total time to apply 3 top coats of Arboritec’s commercial system was 4 hours, from 10 pm to 2 am!

The floor was ready to be cured with a UV light machine at 3:15 am once moisture levels had returned to acceptable limits.

Challenge: The Milkman Cometh

One notable challenge of this project was to be able to accept the normal flow of goods and supplies needed for the next day’s customers, while the curing process was underway. UVElite’s photo-initiators allowed us to simply cure a path of floor to the kitchen using UV light so that crates of fresh milk and baked goods could be delivered to shift manager Michelle and her busy team.

Challenge: Rain, Rain, Go Away

As it turned out, the timing of this project coincided with one of the rainiest days so far this year for the Bay Area. Humidity, and other moisture related challenges were fairly significant.

Thankfully, this Arboritec commercial system is built to adapt to these situations. The deep penetrating aspect of the Miracle Oil allows the wood to expand and contract more slowly with moisture, minimizing the stress to the adhesion and integrity of the finish system.

Curing the heavy-traffic counter area

Miracle Oil’s onboard hardener helps ensure adhesion to the wood, despite extra moisture, as well as the adhesion of the UV top coats. Finally, the instant-cure UV finish eliminates the early use damage concerns of conventional finishes.

Resetting furniture while curing process still underway

Summary

Arboritec protected and cured this floor quickly at night with one of our most durable commercial finish systems - allowing the business of this upscale coffeehouse to continue without interruption. While this coffeehouse was closed for the evening, Miracle Oil delivered end-grain beauty one night, and UVElite served up ceramic-fortified lasting protection the next. Arboritec's instant-cure, UV finish systems for wood floors quickly deliver commercial grade protection to high-traffic retail environments.  

Ready for business!