Project Profile: Form, Function are Central Elements in Upgrading Southwest Houston Hilton Hotel’s Main Entrance to Stay Safe, Stylish
Form, Function Central Elements in Upgrading Southwest Houston Hilton Hotel’s Main Entrance to Stay Safe, Stylish
Background: Situated in the middle of a major tourist destination, a Hilton Hotel in Southwest Houston receives a significant amount of traffic. Yet despite the beauty of the city and many attractions, a constant challenge to local businesses are the environmental conditions, namely the humidity, which has contributed to a constant slip factor in the high traffic area of the hotel. Specifically, through the rainy season, instances of slip/fall situations among guests getting out of vehicles and walking into the main lobby are of major concern. Management needed a way to reduce the ongoing risk, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the effects of humidity. The solution? A wood-look ¼” concrete overlay system that would not only be functional and help maintain safety, but also have a classy and down-home feel for which Houston is known.
Installer: Kamden Contracting
The Challenge: To improve the look of the hotel’s main entrance while reducing the slip/fall liability.
The Solution: The Super-Krete ¼” Stamp Overlay System was used to resurface the existing concrete. The selection of the boardwalk plank stamp pattern was intentional as it helped achieve the unique look of wood, while adding the necessary texture to aid in slip resistance. A high-gloss solvent-based sealer was needed to protect the area which experiences heavy vehicular traffic, but was not necessarily the best solution for aiding against slip/fall accidents. To seal the surface and maintain the highest levels of safety, a very heavy broadcast of 90 grit sand was added into the final sealer coat. Hotel management did not want the visibility of the sand, so the colors selected helped blend the materials together to make them less obvious.
The appropriate surface profile was achieved and the concrete was cleaned with S-12000 Heavy Duty Degreaser™. The concrete was then treated with S-1300 Pene-Krete®. S-1801 Super-Stamp® White was installed at ¼” using a gage rake and the material was screeded out over the area. The overlay was then stamped using the boardwalk planks stamp set.
Once dry, the joints were tooled out and the surface was cleaned with a solution of S-200 Super-Scrub™ to remove any lingering Liquid Release Agent or other surface residues.
The stamped area was then colored in multiple shades of S-9500 Color Stain™. The water-based color stain was then applied in two colors — a base color of Baja Red and a highlight color of Walnut. The surface was then sealed with a two-part urethane sealer and a heavy broadcast of #90 sand was added to the final coat of sealer.
