The 60,000-square-foot Stanton L. Young Biomedical Research Center is located in downtown Oklahoma City on the 15-block campus of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Opened in March 2005, this research facility is dedicated to animal sciences research. The facility’s basement required seamless surfaces so each lab room would not harbor potential contamination and viruses from lab animals (mice, rats and monkeys).

Having experienced past success with Tnemec’s advanced flooring line called StrataShield, the flooring contractor called the local Tnemec coating consultant. To protect the basement walls and ceilings, StrataShield’s Series 270 Stranlok, a fiberglass-reinforced polyamine epoxy, was specified along with a protective topcoat of Series 280 Tneme-Glaze, a polyamine epoxy.

For the flooring system, the specification included Series 222 Deco-Tread, a quartz-filled polyamine epoxy, and Series 295 Clear CRU, a chemical resistant clear polyurethane.

Industrial flooring specialist Tim Hicks with T.W. Hicks, Inc., Dallas, was called to apply the chosen StrataShield wall and floor coatings. After applying the fiberglass-reinforced Stranlok on all the lab walls and ceilings, Hicks then applied Deco-Tread at 1/8-inch dry film thickness to all the basement concrete floors and sealed them with Series 295. To assure seamless protection, Hicks built a 4-inch cove out of the Deco-Tread to integrate the flooring system with the walls.

Additionally, Hicks applied Series 245 Ultra-Tread S, a polyurethane modified concrete floor topping, in the cage wash area of the facility. Ultra-Tread withstands thermal shock due to hot liquids and aggressive cleaning procedures, making it ideal for the cage wash area.

“Tnemec coating systems are unmatched in the U.S. today," Hicks says.