Nationwide Retailer: Averting Disaster

The architect for a major nationwide retailer contacted us with an urgent problem:  they had specified a wood floor from another manufacturer for a high-profile installation. 

Problem was, they had been told that the flooring was manufactured in Europe, and that it was available with a short lead-time of 5-6 weeks.  Then, when they placed the order for the flooring, they found that it was in fact made in China and would not be available for 12 weeks or longer. 

The architect, faced with losing face over delaying the project or having to switch the design for the space to utilize flooring that could be purchased off-the-shelf, called Thomas Benjamin.

The Result

• Three fully custom samples. 

• Collaborative design for form as well as function. 

• All in 5 days. 

From disaster, to disaster averted, That’s the TB difference!    

The timeline  

Monday morning, conference call 

The floor was verbally described to us, as photos and samples were not available.  The descriptions were a bit vague and imprecise, but there was enough to get started. 

The first Custom Sample was produced and shipped out by air that day, for delivery Tuesday. 

Tuesday morning conference call  

The first sample was received by the architect and evaluated.  Unsurprisingly, it was not exactly what was wanted, but now with a sample in-hand to discuss, conversations were more productive.  Verbal course corrections were given, and expected traffic, cleaning and maintenance capabilities were discussed so that an appropriate product, with a suitable texture and finish, could be designed. 

Custom Sample #2 was created and shipped out that day. 

Wednesday morning conference call 

The second sample was received and discussed.  TB management suggested an increased level of hand texturing, as this creates an elevated level of visual noise within the product which serves to hide the occasional bit of dirt and grime, and to disguise the inevitable minor damage that would occur in such a high-traffic environment.   

These suggestions were accepted, and Custom Sample #3 was shipped out. 

Thursday afternoon conference call 

Architect was pleased with Custom Sample #3 and sent it to the client for approval. 

Friday afternoon conference call 

Sample #3 was approved by the client’s Store Design department, with a minor change:  due to ADA requirements, maximum slope from the new floor to an existing floor dictated a maximum wood floor thickness of 7/16”, a non-standard dimension.  TB production personnel were consulted, and it was agreed that this was feasible, and no additional sample was required.  Dimension drawings were made and sent for approval, along with price quotes and a lead-time of 6 weeks (for 10,000 sq ft of 100% custom manufactured flooring).

And now, 8 years later?   

Over 1,000,000 square feet of this floor, and subsequent design iterations, installed for this client. 

Color Correction For Major Retailer - Dallas, TX

Moral of this story:

At Thomas Benjamin our client’s concerns are our concerns, and we are willing and capable of going the extra mile for our clients!

Disaster Averted in Dallas

European oil finishes have seen stellar growth in the US market the past few years, chiefly for the beautiful low-gloss look they give. One often-overlooked advantage of certain types of oil-finished floors is their ability to be easily re-coated and even color-corrected, and for one very important client this was the difference between a complete disaster and a successful project.

One of our clients, a large nation-wide retailer, ordered and installed about 6000 sq ft of a hand-distressed oil-finished white oak floor in a very light, natural color. The installation was directly adjoining an existing floor that had been in place several years and was stained a medium brown-red color. Then came the panicked phone call: The buyer had made a mistake; the new floor was supposed to have been ordered to match the existing floor. This area of the store was due to reopen in three weeks, and they were faced with tearing out, re-prepping and re-installing all 6000 sq ft. And we would be asked to make the custom-milled and custom-colored floor in about two weeks. All doable, but extremely costly and stressful.

New floor on top. Looks great, right? WRONG!

The wrong floor was ordered - it should have looked like the floor on the bottom!

Big Problem!

“Hold on”, we said, “There might be another solution. We think the floor can be re-oiled to nudge it to the correct color. Maybe not an exact match, but at least a coordinating color”. The client replied that an exact match wasn’t required, they’d be thrilled with a coordinating color.

This really was a great way to showcase the flexibility and re-coatability of oil-finished floors. We pulled a couple of planks of production retain (we keep retains for all production runs for three years), lightly abraded with a red pad, mixed up a custom batch of Rubio Monocoat Hardwax Oil and applied the oil to the planks.

We sent these samples to the client in Dallas, where they laid them on the existing floor and phoned us with a slight color-correction. That day we made another sample incorporating their suggestions and overnighted to them for approval. This was now the third day since the problem was discovered, and the client already had in their hands the second-generation samples for the proposed solution. The voice on the other end of the line this time was noticeably more relaxed: samples approved!

We sent a list of necessary supplies and equipment and personnel to the flooring contractor, and a date was set. Thomas Benjamin sent several liters of the custom oil mix out by FedEx Ground and Mark Summitt, the owner of Thomas Benjamin, flew to Dallas the next week to supervise the transformation. One of the difficulties in working partial-remodel projects in retail locations is that the jobsite is typically only available when the store is closed, in this case from 10pm until about 6am. All parties met at the store at 10pm.

Custom oil mix by Thomas Benjamin

The process was simple: lightly abrade with a low-speed floor buffer and a red pad, buff in the new oil with a white pad, and dry it off with terry towels under the white pad. By 5am we were all finished. Complete color transformation of 6000 sq ft in about 7 hours, including training and testing and without sanding and without any objectionable odors (very important in the middle of a functioning retail store). The floor was able to be walked on the next day and was fully cured a couple of days later.

Disaster averted!

Yet another example of why Thomas Benjamin Architectural Flooring is a rather unique wood flooring company.

We at Thomas Benjamin are part of your team.

Your concerns are our concerns.

Your problems are our problems.

Your success is our success!

Before

In process

After

After

After

Microsoft Access Floor

Thomas Benjamin Architectural Flooring is a rather unique wood flooring company. Large enough to have the manufacturing capability to produce nearly any size job, yet responsive and connected enough to be able to adapt, create and execute your project, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into a predetermined “box”. Our experience creating the Access Floor for the Microsoft Visitor Center is a perfect example.

The architect contacted us on behalf of Microsoft. The MS Visitor Center in Redmond, WA was being remodeled, and the decision had been made to install wood flooring to coordinate with existing flooring in an adjacent space.

The challenge was that 70% of the new floor needed to be installed as an “Access Floor”. An Access Floor is a raised floor that provides an elevated structural floor above a solid substrate (often a concrete slab) to create a hidden void for the passage of mechanical and electrical services. This is not commonly done with wood, as the tolerances are quite tight and all of the panels, which must be removable, have to fit nearly perfectly.

We partnered with the flooring contractor in Seattle, and together we figured out how to make it work. TB personnel spent several days in Seattle working with the contractor, developing the application and fitting process for applying the wood to the access panels, and refining the specification. Then the project was handed over to the TB factory, who was tasked with precision manufacturing the wood components, which were hand-distressed and custom-finished. The focus then passed back to the contractor, who adhered the wood to the panels and fitted them into place, along with crafting a rather tricky ramp area.

What’s more, this was all accomplished in a period of less than six weeks in order to meet the Visitor Center opening schedule.

This was not an easy project, but the results speak for themselves!

RESPONSIVE DESIGN - MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES - DEPENDABLY AMERICAN MADE

plank floor

Access Floor

Access Floor

Access Floor

Access Floor

Access Floor

the flooring was hand-distressed and custom finished ot match the clients’ design scheme

plank floor