Archives

Dallas Theological Seminary Chapel & Life Center

In the heart of Dallas, Texas, the new Chapel & Life Center at Dallas Theological Seminary stands as a testament to the beauty and durability of polished concrete.  Designed by GFF Architects and constructed by Hill & Wilkinson, this 12,760-square-foot project was completed in the second quarter of 2021.  Texas Bomanite, the licensed contractor, was tasked with installing a high-quality polished concrete floor using the Bomanite Custom Polishing System, VitraFlor, Stabilizer Pro, and Vitra Finish products.

The primary objective of the project was to create a polished concrete floor that would complement the warm, inviting atmosphere of the Chapel & Life Center.  With no dye added, the natural beauty of the concrete was left to shine through, achieving a refined, sophisticated look. The design team opted for warm tones that harmonized with the building’s overall aesthetic, pairing the natural concrete with warm wood elements for a cohesive and calming environment.

To achieve the desired look, the installation process involved an initial grinding phase that took place before the walls were built, followed by final polishing after the drywall was in place.  This careful sequencing ensured the concrete’s surface was smooth and even, with large aggregate exposure being a standout feature.  The process of grinding to expose the large aggregate, while time-consuming and messy, was crucial to creating the desired texture and finish.

The results were outstanding, with the Chapel & Life Center featuring beautifully polished, large aggregate concrete floors that exceeded expectations.  The high-quality finish not only enhanced the visual appeal of the space but also showcased the craftsmanship involved.  The project has garnered positive feedback and could potentially earn industry recognition for the exceptional work in polished concrete.

Despite the challenges of timing and the extensive work required to expose the large aggregate early in the construction process, the project was delivered successfully, thanks to the strong collaboration between Hill & Wilkinson, the concrete contractor, and Texas Bomanite.

In terms of longevity, the Bomanite VitraFlor system is known for its durability, making it a low-maintenance solution that will stand the test of time.  The polished concrete floors are designed to handle heavy foot traffic while maintaining their pristine appearance for years to come.

The Dallas Theological Seminary Chapel & Life Center is a perfect example of how polished concrete can combine durability with elegance, enhancing both the functionality and the aesthetic appeal of a space.

Chase Oaks Church

Chase Oaks Church is a non-denominational Bible church with 4 campuses in far north Dallas Forth Worth area, the newest being the Fairview campus.  The Fairview campus is nestled against a creek, with large windows exposing the view.  The 36,000 square foot building is composed of 4 major areas: auditorium (which seats 500), the Kid Zone, administration and a youth center.  The décor is warm and inviting, accented by natural elements such as wood, steel and stone.

To complement the natural theme, Texas Bomanite used the Bomanite Custom Polishing System VitraFlor to polish 16,950 square feet of concrete, exposing very large black aggregates.  The aggregate was all locally sourced and contrasts nicely with the tan of the concrete, contributing to the warmth of the interior decoration.

The General Contractor on this project was MEDCO Construction.  For more information about MEDCO, visit their website at www.medcoconstruction.com.  For more information about Chase Oaks Church, visit their website at www.chaseoaks.org.

Brothers Marketplace

Brothers Marketplace is a family-owned business that has expanded into local communities bringing an innovative approach to food with unique offerings. With five locations and counting, the neighborhood market offers customers a one-stop grocery shopping and dining experience with a carefully curated selection of fresh foods, local and specialty products, delicious prepared meals, and grocery essentials. Recently a new Brothers Marketplace opened in Waltham, MA that showcases a newly finished sustainable polished concrete floor.

Designed by BHDP in collaboration with the owners, Roche Bros. the location for the Waltham Brothers Marketplace was the first to be placed in a residential building. The mixed-use structure features the Brothers Marketplace on the first floor and four floors of apartments sit above, delivering on the brand’s promise “Eat. Drink. Be Local.”

With the market emphasizing local producers and vendors, reaching out to local Bomanite Licensee, Premier Concrete Construction, was appropriate. Premier Concrete worked with the designer and owners to establish the perfect floor not only to accommodate patrons but equipment as well; shopping carts, hand trucks, utility carts and adjustable shelving. Unlike traditional floor finishes, such as carpet or vinyl tile, polished concrete does not require extensive maintenance procedures such as waxing, burnishing or wet vacuuming, a benefit the owners appreciated.

The Bomanite Custom Polishing VitraFlor system can be utilized on existing or new uncolored concrete. Bomanite VitraFlor utilizes select un-colored concrete that is placed and finished to standards required for decorative polished concrete flooring. The concrete is ground to expose the desired amount of aggregate, then polished to the required gloss level and treated with a Bomanite stain resist.  Samples of differing gloss and aggregate exposures were reviewed. The decision was made to install 12,000 sq ft of the Bomanite VitraFlor system with a Class B Fine aggregate exposure, with little or no medium aggregate at random locations known as a salt and pepper finish. The floor was then polished to a Level 3, which typically produces a medium-high sheen level with a 50-60 Gloss reading.  The primary benefit to Bomanite VitraFlor is the simplicity of installation and durability of the finished floor, lending to its low-maintenance and long-term sustainable features.

Brothers Marketplace was a concept born from second-generation siblings Rick and Ed Roche of the well distinguished Massachusetts supermarket, Roche Bros. In launching the Brothers Marketplace concept, they wanted to be sure that they kept within their mission of providing their customers with the highest quality products and outstanding customer service.  Bomanite VitraFlor is just one of the quality decorative concrete products and systems offered by Bomanite and its licensed installers, perfect sustainable flooring for grocery stores, retail shops, industrial warehouses and more.

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum

The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is a brand-new, LEED Certified state-of-the-art facility located on two blocks in the historic West End District of Downtown Dallas. Originally founded in 1984 by a group of Dallas area Holocaust Survivors, the museum is dedicated to teaching the history of the Holocaust and advancing human rights to combat prejudice, hatred and indifference. Their now permanent location is comprised of over 55,000 square feet built with rich history, awareness and education and three permanent exhibitions. These include the Holocaust/Shoah Wing, the Human Rights Wing, and the Pivot to America Wing. The museum also encompasses traveling exhibition space, a performing arts auditorium, community lobby, reflection space, education spaces, library archives, administration offices, and a public plaza.

Designer, Dallas-based Omniplan wanted a clean, modern and progressive feel for the flooring surface that would maximize the space and be cohesive with the overall design. The Bomanite VitraFlor Polished Concrete System was selected for its industrial modernity, sustainable design and LEED qualities. Bomanite Licensee, Texas Bomanite provided the Bomanite decorative concrete flooring completing approximately 28,000 square feet on several levels. The VitraFlor system consists of initial grinding of the original concrete slab to standards letting the natural aggregate color to shine. Zero VOC products to chemically harden such as Bomanite Stabilizer Pro, and Bomanite VitraFinish to hone and polish for final protection and stain resist finish the application. Bomanite VitraFlor allows for flexibility in design with different exposure of aggregates. The main lobby and walkways used a Class D large aggregate exposure with a level 3-1500 Grit Polish with some areas using a Polyurea Joint Filler in the color Gauntlet Gray. The Exhibit Hall polished surface was given a slightly different treatment with a Class B salt and pepper aggregate exposure and a level 3-1500 Grit Polish.

Bomanite VitraFlor provided a cost effective and low-maintenance polished concrete floor that is ideal for high traffic conditions. With over 80,000 visitors in 2018 in their previous location, the newly built facility will be able to handle even more guests as well as equipment for moving or changing of exhibits. Contributing to additional LEED accrual points for Optimized Energy Performance, Bomanite VitraFlor can reduce maintenance costs by as much as 80% over conventional flooring system such as carpet or VCT. Dramatically improving light reflectivity which reduces the amount of lighting required and therefore energy consumed was an intentional design attribute with the entrance floor to ceiling windows lending to its long-term sustainable features.

The Museum is one of just a few Holocaust-related museums or centers in the United States and the only Holocaust museum serving North Central Texas, as well as the adjacent states of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. It has been recognized for its compelling and creative programming, internationally recognized exhibits, and world-class speakers. The new – modern, immersive and interactive technology captivates and educates visitors of all ages. To fully experience the designers plan visit https://www.omniplan.com/tangent/2020/03/behind-the-design-of-the-dallas-holocaust-and-human-rights-museum.html

Texas Bomanite earned the 2019 Best Bomanite Custom Polishing Project Honorable Mention Award for their precise application of the Bomanite VitraFlor System. Along with the floor installation, they also created the outdoor courtyard decorative sculpture base and walls showing their extreme craftsmanship in the Decorative Concrete Industry.

Nishimine Dental Office

The Nishimine Dental Office located in Fresno, CA wanted to renovate their office to make it more modern and comfortable for patients and employees. They met with the project designer Suzanne Byrnes of Facility Designs for the overall look. After visiting with the local Bomanite Licensed Contractor, Heritage Bomanite, the flooring that was chosen was the Bomanite Custom Polishing System VitraFlor. Polished concrete met the criteria for the overhaul for it’s functionality and style; even gray concrete can be stunning!

Bomanite VitraFlor utilizes select un-colored concrete that is placed and finished to standards required for decorative polished concrete flooring. The concrete is ground to expose the desired amount of aggregate, then polished to the required gloss level and treated with a Bomanite stain resist. The primary benefit to Bomanite VitraFlor is the simplicity of installation and durability of the finished floor, lending to its low-maintenance and long-term sustainable features.

Bomanite VitraFlor is the most cost effective of all the Bomanite Custom Polishing systems. Heritage Bomanite installed approximately 1,000 square feet of the VitraFlor system, polishing up to 3,000 grit and finishing with the Bomanite VitraFinish floor sealer. The dental offices, hallways and conference room were all given the polished treatment for that extra durability and modern vibe.

Cypress Waters Building Lobby

Cypress Waters is the newest 1,000-acre master-planned community to rise up in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Just five minutes from the DFW International airport, Cypress Waters is centered around a serene 300-acre lake, that entails office, multi-family and retail waterfront developments. The owners, Billingsley Co, wanted Cypress Waters to infuse waterfront living with the design principles of new urbanism and sustainable design. Their goal was to emphasize the benefits of a live / work community, and interconnect over 4.5 million square feet of office space with retail, parks, trails, and a lakeside town center.

Bomanite Licensee, Texas Bomanite was brought in by the General Contractor, Adolfson & Peterson Construction to polish and seal 4,500 square feet of interior concrete flooring in the lobby of the 225,000 square foot office building at 9111 Cypress Waters Blvd.  Designed by GFF Architects, Texas Bomanite lended to the modern, sustainable design of the architecture by polishing the concrete to a 1,500 grit with a salt and pepper finish. Texas Bomanite utilized the Bomanite Custom Polishing VitraFlor system; which consisted of grinding, chemical hardening with Bomanite Stabilizer Pro, and honing and polishing with Bomanite VitraFinish.

Prior to the final installation of the project Texas Bomanite also provided a 100 square foot mock-up, which allowed the architects and General Contractors a solid idea of exactly what the finished product would look like.  Even the results on plain concrete can be stunning. The Bomanite Custom Polishing VitraFlor system can be utilized on existing or new uncolored concrete.

Bomanite VitraFlor utilizes select un-colored concrete that is placed and finished to standards required for decorative polished concrete flooring. The concrete is ground to expose the desired amount of aggregate, then polished to the required gloss level and treated with a Bomanite stain resist. The primary benefit to Bomanite VitraFlor is the simplicity of installation and durability of the finished floor, lending to its low-maintenance and long-term sustainable features.

Texas Bomanite received the 2018 Honorable Mention Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems Award for their outstanding decorative concrete work on the 9111 Cypress Waters Blvd. Business Complex.

Denver International Airport South Terminal Expansion

The Denver International Airport South Terminal Expansion project includes a new train terminal for the light rail to come and go from the airport and a new on-location hotel for the airport. With this expansion, a new plaza acts as the gateway for transit passengers as well as hotel guests. The 25,000 square foot plaza engages the space and livens the front of the airport. The designers designed the space not only to circulate high volumes of people, but also be a location for events and special exhibitions. Unique concrete benches within the plaza created some challenging construction problem solving.

Due to the unique design, the design team, general contractor and Colorado Hardscapes debated the constructability of the benches through pre-cast methods versus cast-in-place. Design elements such as a significant reverse batter, bullnosed edges and polished tops made the process challenging. To make it even more complex, some of the benches had a slight radius while others had heavy-duty electrical boxes and wiring integrated in the structure for special events. For on-grade construction, these would be challenging, but these benches sat on an elevated deck with large glass canopies spanning around them, creating one more challenge of getting ready-mix concrete to the benches. Despite these challenges, Bomanite Licensee, Colorado Hardscapes agreed with the general contractor to cast and finish the benches in place.

Part of the agreement came from producing a mock-up section of the bench to ensure the crew could indeed cast these benches in place, and to receive approval of the bench finishes prior to any on-site construction. The mockup incorporated the specialty features of the batter, the electrical box, bullnose and polishing. Once Colorado Hardscapes identified the means and methods of construction and the design team approved the mock-up, the on-site construction proved successful. Colorado Hardscapes had custom-made Styrofoam forms made to create the significant reverse batter and the bullnose edge. They created large blockouts for the electrical boxes and used pumps and buggies to get the concrete to each bench. The true art-form came in the polishing process. Colorado Hardscapes worked with a local supplier to find special polishing equipment in order to polish the bullnose, edges and tops of each bench with the Bomanite Custom Polishing VitraFlor System. With the high standards, attention to detail and persistence of the crew, the benches became a remarkable reality.

Bass Pro Shop – Miami

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/INFORMATION

Project Description:

Intermountain Concrete Polishing created a walkway and interior space to match the colors of the Florida Keys by using a the Bomanite Patene Artectura System in a combination of Bomanite Blue Concrete Dye and Bomanite Chemical Stains in Auburn and Pine. To contrast the dramatic color of the walkways that run through the Bass Pro Shop retail area, the remaining areas of the concrete base floor used the Bomanite VitraFlor System and were polished at 800 grit and sealed with Bomanite StainGuard providing a sleek finished look.

Bomanite defines polished concrete as having sand exposure in the concrete surface at a minimum, the concrete is treated twice with chemically hardening compounds (once to harden the weaker paste surrounding the aggregates and once to finish hardening while improving stain resistance) and polished in successive steps in a manner similar to a granite countertop or floor. The process uses successively finer diamonds to produce a tight, durable finish that maximizes the strongest part of concrete – the aggregates. The Bomanite process is much closer to highly durable Terrazzo than to chemically hardened cement paste. Capitalizing on the hard aggregate is what makes a Bomanite polished floor superior to other systems both in retention of gloss and durability

iProspect Office

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/INFORMATION

Description:

Founded in 1996, iProspect is a global leader in digital marketing services.Today iProspect employs over 850 people and 39 offices in 27 global markets.Because of its dog-friendly, family-oriented and employee-morale based culture, the Fort Worth office of iProspect was ranked by Texas Monthly magazine as the #2 Best Place to Work in Texas in February of 2012.iProspect’s client list includes Neiman Marcus, Gap, Inc., Staples, Estee Lauder, The Container Store and Sears.

Bomanite Licensee, Texas Bomanite was called on by Fort Construction to provide polished concrete flooring in the new office space for iProspect: a renovated warehouse in the popular 7th Street District in Fort Worth.The vision for the new space was to create a contemporary workspace with a retro twist, exuding a warm and inviting feel.To help achieve this look, Texas Bomanite renovated over 19,580 SF of concrete using the Bomanite VitraFlor Polished Concrete System. The floor was diamond polished with a 1,500 grit finish and utilized over 1,120 linear feet of joint filler. iProspect’s new Fort Worth office was completed in May 2012.For more information on iProspect, visit www. iprospect.com.

Line 28 at LoHi Apartments

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/INFORMATION

Project Description:

A mixed-use building located on Boulder Street, a block from the Highland Bridge, connects downtown Denver to the Highlands. The owner and designer wanted high-end finishes to coordinate with their design for this upscale building as well as providing a  durable finish.

Bomanite Licensee, Colorado Hardscapes worked with Holland Partners and Sprocket to select a decorative concrete product appropriate for the exterior entrance of the leasing office and a high-traffic solution for the interior communal spaces.

Colorado Hardscapes placed colored Sandscape with decorative sawcuts for exterior entrance to the leasing office. Sprocket chose the Bomanite Custom Polishing System for the interior spaces; kitchen, offices, lobby, hallways, and the elevator room. They chose the VitraFlor polished concrete system due to its durability for high traffic areas.

Skillfully polished concrete neutrally colored with rich luminosity and deep undertones to complete the design of the interior space while providing a low maintenance floor which can withstand high traffic conditions. Sandscape concrete complements the exterior entrance and gives a foretaste of the material pallet chosen for the interior.