The winners of the HPS Schönox Worst Subfloor Contest™ were announced last week
during a ceremony at TISE West in Las Vegas, Nev.
HPS Schönox’s annual Worst Subfloor Contest seeks to answer the question, “What
lies beneath?” Many installers face nightmare scenarios when they start a new project.
They choose to partner with Schönox materials to tackle those extreme subflooring
challenges. They are encouraged to take photos during the process and submit these
photos along with description of Schönox products.
“We are always interested to see how our customers use our product line in their
projects,” said Doug Young, Executive Vice President. “It is a great feeling knowing that
our systems can be solutions to rough and ugly scenarios.”
HPS Schönox asked three well-known people in the industry to serve as judges for the
contest entries. The judges included Kimberly Oderkirk, Executive Vice President of The
Flooring Contractor Association; Dean Thompson, President of Resilient Floor Covering
Institute; and Peter Craig, Concrete Floor Specialist and Consultant with Concrete
Construction.
All identifying information was removed from the entries and only project photos and
notes were available so the judges could remain impartial. The judges were asked to
evaluate the projects based on the severity of the original subfloor’s condition, the skill
and attention to detail taken in executing the project, and the quality of the finished
subfloor.
“It was an honor to be asked to judge HPS Schönox’s Worst Subfloor Contest,” said
Oderkirk. “I have followed the contest proceedings each year, and was thrilled to have
a chance to get involved in such a unique industry event put on by one of FCICA’s
members.”
First, second, and third place winners were chosen and were awarded prizes including
Schönox dollars, a trip to Las Vegas, Apple watches, and YETI coolers. The winning
companies were as follows:
Brian Prevost of HiLine, Inc. with
HPS Schönox Executive VP, Doug Young
Iowa Wall Sawing won first prize with a renovation of a room in a 100-year-old building.
“The floor was in seriously bad shape,” said Jamie Bonazza. “My first onsite visit I was
unsure if we could do anything. The subfloor was completely breaking and crumbling.” The
team used Schönox US on the 2,200 sq. ft. space. The customer wanted to keep the floor
an industrial look so after coating they sealed the floor.
Accepting on behalf of Floorz Denver –
Jim Yates of Midwest Floor Covering. with
HPS Schönox Executive VP, Doug Young
Floorz Denver took second place with a careful restoration of an oncology level at a hospital.“We could not make any noise to remove the old adhesives,” said Kurt Bowers. “The hospital was very happy that we could proceed without noise of traditional full removal.” A combination of Schönox products were used including Schönox VD, AST, and SL. They primed with Schönox SHP, leveled with AP and skimmed with APF.
Accepting on behalf of Tim Hogan’s Carpet is Mac Dutcher of Adleta Corp. with
HPS Schönox Executive VP, Doug Young
Tim Hogan’s Carpet – Lakeland gained third place with their repair on a multilevel home.
They worked to cover existing plywood and concrete and trenching areas. Michael Barney
commented, “We had a mess.” They repaired some of the holes in the slab with Schönox
VD, RR and SL. Then primed the floor with Schönox VD and poured US. They did some
final patching with Schönox SL before installing flooring.
First Honorable Mention was awarded to Floor to Ceiling Carpet One for their work on an
extremely unlevel residence. “The entire lower level of the residence was unlevel concrete,” said Mark Lawrence Jensen. After beginning the project, they also found they had a moisture problem. After scraping off all existing tile and glue they used Schönox KH Fix to prime and then pumped ZM. “The floor looked fantastic and was very flat and smooth.”
Second Honorable Mention was achieved by Vortex Commercial Flooring for their efforts
overhauling two levels of a school. There was tile removed by abatement and further
abatement was required to remove old patch compound. Multiple Schönox products were
used including SHP, KH-Fix, AP, APF, and Renotex. Bob Patrey remarked, “Finish product
was easy to install once the floor was leveled. It was a great smooth installation.”
“We would like to thank everyone who participated in our annual Worst Subfloor Contest,”
said HPS Schönox Principal Thomas Trissl. “We’re so proud that this contest was well-received for the fourth year in a row. Congratulations to all of our winners!”
Editorial Director and Senior Writer for TileLetter and TileLetter ARTISAN
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
