FALL/WINTER 2009

Green Floor, Great Floor With Nox-Crete Products

When his clients expressed a desire for their new Mission AVEDA salon and spa to be as green as possible, Julian Bentley of Open Earth (www.openearthonline.com), Bradenton, Florida, knew that an exposed concrete floor would not only meet their desires to be environmentally conscious, but would also beautifully integrate with the other high-concept design elements they had chosen for the project.

According to Julian, his goal for the final finish on the floor not only called for embracing the natural beauty of the concrete, but also for enhancing it. The floor also needed to be protected to ensure that the natural elegance of the exposed concrete wasn’t marred by the chemical products used daily in the salon. The flooring products selected also had to be as green as possible while achieving the desired performance and aesthetic requirements. For this, Julian turned to Nox-Crete and our line of Green EngineeredTM flooring products. Green EngineeredTM products are manufactured using safer raw materials and include products that offer advantages like low VOC, low odor and water based formulations, making them not only an ideal choice for the environment, but also for applicators.

For deep sealing and protection, Julian treated the floor with Duro-Nox LS lithium silicate hardener. With Duro-Nox LS, no rinsing is required and the disposal of hazardous, highly alkaline rinse water is eliminated. Julian said that before application, the floor had “looked chalky”, but after the Duro-Nox LS application it had a much denser finish and the natural variations of the concrete surface were enhanced, giving the floor a slate-like appearance.

To protect the floor from staining and etching, Julian choose Nox-Crete’s Duro-Polish Plus ultra-high gloss floor finish with a stain-blocking additive. Julian selected Duro-Polish Plus because during his own testing using samples supplied by Nox-Crete, Duro-Polish Plus proved to be resistant to some of the most damaging products found in a salon, including hydrogen peroxide. The high-gloss of Duro-Polish Plus also added to the overall attractiveness of the floor.

Because he was so pleased with the ease of application and performance of the Nox-Crete products on this project, he has plans to use them on upcoming projects, including an office building and a private residence which is seeking LEED Platinum certification.

Open Earth has been in business since 2006 and specializes in interior floors, including concrete, terrazzo and natural stone.

The Mission AVEDA Salon & Spa opened in St. Petersburg, Florida, in November of 2008 and for their work on the project, general contractor Bay Breeze Enterprises of St. Petersburg received a First Place Tampa Bay Contractor of the Year Award in the Commercial Specialty category which was presented by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.www.nox-crete.com

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