Stonhard Responds to the Call of the Valley Hill Fire Station with Floors That Perform and Impress

The Valley Hill squad, under the leadership of Battalion Chief Tim Garren, gives special care to their facility and equipment. Vehicles must be ready to respond to any emergency at a moment’s notice. The facility is kept in top condition in order to ensure a safe and efficient working environment.

The Valley Hill fire command also wants to showcase their firehouse by providing a contemporary, clean, beautifully-designed and maintained facility for the staff and the community. Their effort to achieve this goal begins from the floors up. The existing concrete floors in the station were damaged and in worn condition. The apparatus bay floors were stained by oil and dirt that had built up over time.

As a result, the floors appeared unclean despite four hours of rigorous scrubbing on a weekly basis. The Valley Hill decision makers required floors that are durable, attractive and low maintenance. They also needed floors that stand up to continuous foot and vehicle traffic while still making a design statement. Stonhard answered the call of the Valley Hill Fire Department. Stonhard’s local Territory Manager worked with the station to meet the criterion.

Preparations for these areas began by stripping the existing concrete of all oil and dirt using shot blasting equipment. This process cleans and abrades the concrete and creates a porous, laitance free surface. Next, an epoxy primer was applied to maximize bonding. A Stonclad GS flooring system was chosen for the station house and maintenance garages. This seamless, epoxy resin system with polished aggregate is impact, abrasion and chemical resistant. A seamless cove base provided a smooth transition between the floor and wall.

Stonshield SLT, a decorative and textured floor was installed in the kitchens of the firehouse. Stonblend GSI, a durable and artistically-designed system was chosen for the heavily traveled lobby area. Together these products met the needs of the firehouse providing durability, long-lasting performance, easy maintenance and a striking appearance.

All three Valley Hill fire stations have Stonhard floors producing a uniform theme between stations. Color played an important role in the design of the floors. Red represents the tradition of firehouses throughout the world, while the gray drive-through bays and white lines in the apparatus bays present a clean and contemporary finished result. The kitchens and lobby area were done in coordinating color blends to flow with the color scheme of the rest of the facility.

The preparation and installation schedule needed to accommodate the round-the-clock fire and rescue obligations of Valley Hill firehouse. The coordination and planning of the installation involved Stonhard’s project management expertise. Stonhard’s team of sales, project and construction management staff delivered the floors in the schedule set forth by the Valley Hill Fire Department, without disruption to the house’s primary responsibility – saving lives.

The Valley Hill Firehouse has become a standard for excellence for area firehouses based on not only the skills and reputation of the firefighters, but also the design and maintenance of their showcase facility.

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