Project Strategy
Pods Swimming, a premiere state-of-the-art aquatics education center, opened it's new facility in January 2017. The 11,000 square foot facility houses two swimming pools, locker and family changing rooms, as well as a snack bar. It was designed to give the parents and students assurance that the swim environment and water quality were best in its class. In May 2018, Team Ruggieri received a call from an architect that explained one of their clients was having issues with people tripping and falling in their facility and asked us to review the situation with the owner and provide feedback. During multiple visits to see the issues first-hand and from collaborating with the owner and staff, Team Ruggieri learned that patrons were constantly slipping. The existing epoxy floor was apparently not handing the usage, as water was puddling excessively, there was very little pitch from the epoxy floor to the drains causing this to happen. The original epoxy contractor had tried to fix once by inserting brims to help, but they were cumbersome, not appealing, and become another trip hazard. The owner discussed her stress everyday coming to work worried about the floors, and the buzz about her clients slipping and not being safe. She covered everything with rubber mats as a temporary fix but needed a permanent solution. Team Ruggieri suggested Protect-All Vinyl Slip Retardant 5’ x 8’ panels glued with urethane epoxy and rapid welded to waterproof and seal the seams. After a site visit to another job that used Protect-All and an actual mock-up done in the Pods facility, the owners agreed to proceed with the Protect-All installation. Since the job has been completed, there hasn’t been one slip or fall, and the owners and patron's can’t be any happier.
Unique Installation Challenge Strategy
Pods Swimming had so many unique situations:
1.) Trying to find out why patrons were falling, when the epoxy installation was solid, but also determining how to handle with water that kept puddling
2.) Coordinating a site visit to another project Ruggieri completed (At the Superbowl champions New England Patriots Facility) with Protect-all a couple years before, so the owner and staff could run in it with flip flops and puddled up water
3.) Installation of a mock-up within the existing facility so they owner and staff can do further slip testing and how to maintain the product, as this was very important to management to make a final decision
4.) After the owner had a bad taste with another flooring contractor who did the existing epoxy, it was a challenge to get the owner to trust and work with Team Ruggieri, without backing up every detail of what we were doing.
5.) Time constraints, The majority of the work needed to be completed in 2 days because management did not want to lose any further revenues. Team Ruggieri developed the best approach to repair existing floors to pitch better to the existing drains. They also needed the best approach to install a fast setting patch/leveler that cured quick enough because new linear drains were being installed to help as well with the water build-up, during the only two day shut-down.
6.) Working with Protect-all in the best ways to adhere to the existing epoxy, because removing it was not an option.