One area of a property that is always involved in high activity is the floor. As a rule, it is this part of the building that must be cared for. The floor bears the brunt of furniture, machines and foot traffic so it is easily damaged and cracked. There is a way to make your floor tidy and fresh-looking as well as add to its longevity by improving its durability.

To strengthen your floor, the use of floor paints and coatings is highly recommended. Two of the most commonly used are epoxy floor paint and latex floor paint which differ in both quality and material.

Epoxy floor paint is tough and sturdy, and it lengthens the durability and value of your floor. With a powerful adhesive capacity, it has more resistance to heat, oil, water, and chemicals. It is often found in large establishments and factories. In the office, the best areas to apply epoxy floor paint are high-traffic floors, roofing and bathrooms.

Latex floor paint uses the suspension of rubber or plastic polymer particles in producing adhesives, emulsion paints and other products. Latex floor paint is less odorous and toxic compared to epoxy floor paint, and its gives more glossy finish to most surfaces. 

Each type of paint has different results when used as protective coating to the floor in your building. Decisions are based on the usage of the building.  Call Champion Coatings to help you decide the best protective solution for you.

Some decisions are easy while others are difficult to make. Have you wondered how the differences between hard tile or carpet can influence a decision?

An interesting result of a survey made by Professor Joan Meyers-Levy of the Marketing department at University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and author of the well-known study on ceiling height, came up with this result: the ground where people stand can greatly influence how they judge products.

This astounding result was published in the Journal of Consumer Research (June 2010). Conducted by co-authors, Joan Meyers-Levy and Juliet Zhu and Lan Jiang of the University of British Columbia, they analyzed the experience brought about by the two most common flooring types sold on retail outlets: hard vinyl tile and carpet. Professor Meyers-Levy discovered that people standing on carpets feel comfortable, however, they have the tendency to judge products that are close to them as less comforting.

The authors did the following procedures:

1. The first result showed that carpeting really gives a greater sense of physical comfort than tiled flooring. They then proceeded to deal with more practical and tricky questions such as - Would these bodily sensations elicited by the flooring transfer to people's assessments of products that they observe while shopping?

2. Some participants were made to stand on soft pile carpet and others on hard tile. They were required to look at products that were close and also placed further away. It was observed that when products were further away, the participants assessed them by the sensations of their bodies, without any conscious efforts at all. For instance, while standing on soft carpet and watching a far-off product, they would judge the item as more comfortable. But when they examined products that were close by, they judged them as less comfortable. According to Professor Meyers-Levy, it was because when objects are close by, the bodily sensations elicited by the flooring are more likely to be used as a comparison standard, but not as a frame for interpretation.

Just how much would implications of these findings affect all brick and mortar retailers and service providers? It is a fact that interior décor, like flooring, is a more important element than function or style. Directly affecting how consumers perceive products, it can determine whether or not the consumers buy the goods. Analyzing the attitude of consumers has always been important, as shown in the result of this study that even where consumers stand can make a difference in making a sale or failure to close the deal.  Let Champion Coatings help you determine what flooring your property needs to make your consumers feel at home. 

For complete report on this study, read the article in the Journal of Consumer Research of June 2010. It is written by Joan Meyers-Levy of the Holden-Werlich School-Wide Professor of Marketing at the Carlson School. She has been researching the effect of verbal and visual communication, memory, information processing, gender and individual difference on the behavior of consumers.

 A tenant improvement project is a tedious job: you have to find the right contractor to handle the many moving pieces and do a good job at the right price.

The tasks in tenant improvement can be daunting.  You have to hire an interior designer, possibly an architect and apply for permits for structural changes.  You have to choose new paint, new carpet or flooring options.  You have to hire a contractor for construction. You have to make sure he has foreman on the job every second.  You have to buy new sinks or toilets. You have to hire a painter and a flooring installer. You have to find crews that are willing to work on weekends and after business hours. You have to hire a security team. You have to hire a mover and temporary storage facilities.  You have to create a schedule for moving your employees around the building in coordination with where construction will be starting and ending.  You have to buy fans so your employees don't have to smell the carpet glue. You have to create a schedule to get the furniture moved, the construction crew in, the painter in, the flooring installer in, and everyone back out again without anyone stepping on eachothers' toes.

The list goes on.  You need a full-service Tenant Improvement Contractor with proven relationships with all the different service providers that go into setting up tenant improvement jobs. You need a contractor that will bring these relationships to the table, set up schedules for you, and solve problems inherent in large tenant projects.

Let us help you make your tenant improvement project into an organized and exciting event for everyone.

Champion Coatings has been in the business for more than 15 years and can offer quality service.  We have successfully completed jobs in private corporations as well as military bases.  Contact us for any of your contracting needs.

If you have inferior waterproofing your basement will be continuously damp which can lead to potential structural rot and insect infestation. There are basic methods that can be applied to keep gutter water from entering the basement. Be aware that some leaks are caused by water on the floor surface and some are underground. Sometimes leaks are due to continuous dampness that encourages rot to multiply and invites wood boring insects to move in. Concrete waterproofing is one of the basic processes in foundation building for any structure.

It is typical for basements to be damp or wet during periods of heavy rain.  In the event that the water does not naturally drain you have solutions:

• Regularly check gutters for clogged areas or leaky spots.  If you find them, take care of the problem as soon as possible.
  

• Check for cracks in your foundation and make a note of them. This may be a source of leakage. Show them to a professional who can assess the situation.
  

Whatever the problem is, a solution is possible. The first step is to find the cause of water leakage. This will give you an idea of the amount of work that is required and the amount of money it will take.

A professional can determine where the dampness or water is coming from and tell you how serious the problem is. You will need an expert to find a creative solution to a tough waterproofing job. Different issues require different fixes. Sometimes large jobs require excavation of the ground on the outside of the building. On occasion a whole piping system must be implemented to direct water away from the building, or create sloping ground for runoff. Some buildings require thick fiber wrapping. Other times it can simply be taken care of by a coating on the interior and exterior walls.

Every year a multitude of building owners lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in resale value due to leaky foundations and basements. Every year employees get sick from mold issues born from leaks in their company building's foundation.  Do not allow this problem to go unsolved.

Even if the water seepage is happening only once in a while, it is better to fix the situation before it gets serious.

Don't wait for it to happen. Waterproofing your basement now can save you money in the long run.  Getting a professional waterproofing provider will give you peace of mind that it is done properly.