The design team for Upper Iowa University wanted a flooring option which achieved the same look as coated acid stained floor without the maintenance the coating requires. When approached by the construction management firm with the clients wants and needs, Bomanite Licensed Contractor, Concrete Arts offered polished and dyed concrete floors as the option with all the answers.

Together it was decided that the Patene Teres level two polished concrete system from Bomanite would be used. A custom blend of Bomanite Warm Honey and Bomanite Malt Brown Concrete Dyes were used to create a stained patina look, with Turquoise accents. Concrete Arts provided continuity to the stair treads and landings with architectural precast polished concrete for that entity. The University was enthralled with the ability to create a monolithic stair tread and riser system which would match the look of the floor and grant the same performance and durability as the low maintenance polished concrete offers.

To cast the stairs and landings, Concrete Arts chose Lifetime Floors’ Quicktops mix due to its polymer-modified and fiber-reinforced traits. The tread and riser system was cast using a corresponding integral colorant to compliment the flooring, and were polished and honed for durability. A traction strip was sandblasted in after the polishing process to provide slip-resistance.

Upper Iowa University was so thrilled with the look of the floor it decided to utilize it in the new Student Book Store and Liberal Arts Center it was building. The book store incorporated a similar polished floor look and had Concrete Arts provide concrete counter tops for the bar in the Student Center. And the Liberal Arts building utilized precast stair treads with an open-riser look as well to create even more continuity from space to space.

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