HPS Schönox Reveals Winners at Announcement Ceremony

January 31, 2018

The winners of the HPS Schönox Worst Subfloor Contest™ were announced today during a ceremony at the International Surfaces Event in Las Vegas, Nev.

HPS Schönox’s annual Worst Subfloor Contest seeks to answer the question, “What lies beneath?” Many installers face nightmare scenarios when they start a new project. They choose to partner with Schönox materials to tackle those extreme subflooring challenges. They are encouraged to take photos during the process and submit these photos along with description of Schönox products.

“We are always interested to see how our customers use our product line in their projects,” said Doug Young, Executive Vice President. “It is a great feeling knowing that our systems can be solutions to rough and ugly scenarios.”

HPS Schönox asked three well known people in the industry to serve as judges for the contest entries. The judges included Kimberly Oderkirk, Executive Vice President of The Flooring Contractor Association; Dean Thompson, President of Resilient Floor Covering Institute; and Peter Craig, Concrete Floor Specialist and Consultant with Concrete Construction.

All identifying information was removed from the entries and only project photos and notes were available so the judges could remain impartial. The judges were asked to evaluate the projects based on the severity of the original subfloor’s condition, the skill and attention to detail taken in executing the project, and the quality of the finished subfloor.

“It was an honor to be asked to judge HPS Schönox’s Worst Subfloor Contest,” said Oderkirk. “I have followed the contest proceedings each year, and was thrilled to have a chance to get involved in such a unique industry event put on by one of FCICA’s members.”

First, second, and third place winners were chosen and were awarded prizes including Schönox dollars, a trip to Las Vegas, Apple watches, and YETI coolers. The winning companies were as follows:

Iowa Wall Sawing won first prize with a renovation of a room in a 100-year-old building. “The floor was in seriously bad shape,” said Jamie Bonazza. “My first onsite visit I was unsure if we could do anything. The subfloor was completely breaking and crumbling.” The team used Schönox US on the 2200 sq. ft. space. The customer wanted to keep the floor an industrial look so after coating they sealed the floor.

Floorz Denver took second place with a careful restoration of an oncology level at a hospital. “We could not make any noise to remove the old adhesives,” said Kurt Bowers. “The hospital was very happy that we could proceed without noise of traditional full removal.” A combination of Schönox products were used including Schönox VD, AST, and SL. They primed with Schönox SHP, leveled with AP and skimmed with APF.

Tim Hogan’s Carpet – Lakeland gained third place with their repair on a multilevel home. They worked to cover existing plywood and concrete and trenching areas. Michael Barney commented, “We had a mess.” They repaired some of the holes in the slab with Schönox VD, RR and SL. Then primed the floor with Schönox VD and poured US. They did some final patching with Schönox SL before installing flooring.

First Honorable Mention was awarded to Floor to Ceiling Carpet One for their work on an extremely unlevel residence. “The entire lower level of the residence was unlevel concrete,” said Mark Lawrence Jensen. After beginning the project, they also found they had a moisture problem. After scraping off all existing tile and glue they used Schönox KH Fix to prime and then pumped ZM. “The floor looked fantastic and was very flat and smooth.”

Second Honorable Mention was achieved by Vortex Commercial Flooring for their efforts overhauling two levels of a school. There was tile removed by abatement and further abatement was required to remove old patch compound. Multiple Schönox products were used including SHP, KH-Fix, AP, APF, and Renotex. Bob Patrey remarked, “Finish product was easy to install once the floor was leveled. It was a great smooth installation.”

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in our annual Worst Subfloor Contest,” said HPS Schönox Principal Thomas Trissl. “We’re so proud that this contest was well- received for the fourth year in a row. Congratulations to all of our winners!”