Schönox Announces Winners of its Worst Subfloor Contest™

Contest Highlights Excellence in Subfloor Preparation

Las Vegas, NV – January 22, 2016

In a ceremony today at the TISE – Surfaces trade show in Las Vegas, the winners of the Schönox Worst Subfloor Contest™ were announced. “The response to the Contest in this our second year for the event has been outstanding with many more entries than last year and such strong support from the flooring industry,” commented Thomas Trissl, HPS Schönox Principal. “I am really impressed by the expertise and dedication demonstrated by all of the installation teams represented in the Contest entries.”

Tom Jennings (Vice President of Member Services, WFCA,) Dean Thompson (President & CEO, RFCI,) and Robert Varden (Executive Director, CFI) judged the contest entries in an impartial manner that included having all identifying information removed from the entries with only the photos and project notes provided for their review. “As I worked through the more than 900 photos from the various Contest entries and studied the project notes for each, I was struck by how we can all be surprised by the varied challenges that subfloors can present,” explained Tom Jennings, one of the judge’s for the Contest. “In order to tackle these tough subfloor problems, it is imperative to have done your research and fully understand how to fully utilize subfloor solutions like those from Schönox.”

The Schönox Worst Subfloor Contest™ is an opportunity for any company charged with making a damaged subfloor smooth and sound to show the tough subfloor conditions that they encountered and how they renovated them using Schönox products. The Contest entries were independently judged with first, second, and third place winners awarded Schönox dollars 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. Beginning this year, three installation team members from each of the winning entries also received prizes ranging from weekend trips to BBQ grills and Yeti coolers. “My 35 years of experience in the flooring installation industry allowed me to put myself into the shoes of the installers and contractors represented in the Contest,” commented Robert Varden, one of the Contest judges. “I enjoyed the process of judging the Contest seeing what these talented and dedicated installation teams did in the field.”

The winning companies were as follows:

Three installation team members from each of the winning companies were also recognized at the event:

In addition to the winners that were selected, participation was so strong for the Contest and the competition so tight, that the judges asked that the following companies be commended with an honorable mention for their outstanding entries:

This was the second year for the Contest beginning with the fundamental question, Is your company working on a project that has what might be the worst subfloor of the year? Those entering the Contest were asked to photograph the subfloor conditions before and after the subfloor renovation project and submit the photos, along with detailed project information. “Through my work with RFCI, I can certainly attest to the critical importance of smooth, strong subfloors,” explained Dean Thompson, one of the Contest judges. “The Schönox Worst Subfloor Contest is a great platform to increase industry knowledge and raise awareness of the part that subfloors play in successful flooring projects.”

Right Touch Interiors from Greensboro, NC won first prize in the Contest with a subfloor project involving a 7500 square foot, 40-year-old concrete slab where a recent attempt at subfloor renovation by another organization had failed. Right Touch was called in to save the project using Schönox US, cement based self-leveling compound, to level the multiple substrates across the subfloor area completing the work in just three days putting the project back on track. “This was a challenging project that was truly a team effort between David Vaughn, our senior project manager, Kevin Fearer with William M. Bird who supplied the Schönox products and consulted on the project, and my coworkers here at Right Touch who are so strong in what they do,” explained Tommy Adams, owner, Right Touch Interiors. “Winning the Contest is a win for our entire team; we are really excited.”

River City Flooring based in Hudsonville, MI took home second prize in the Contest for their work on a distressed subfloor with many voids and irregular areas spread across 14,000 square feet at Grand Valley State University’s fieldhouse. Like many tough subfloor projects, there was evidence and the residual effects present from prior efforts to address the subfloor in prior years. Schönox VD, universal acrylic primer, and Schönox AP, synthetic gypsum self- leveling compound, were used to prepare and level the challenging subfloor project for a VCT floor covering to come. Nate Pasma from River City Flooring led the successful project and was on hand for the Contest ceremony at the Surfaces show.

Popp Enterprises earned third prize for an extensive project completed to renovate the subfloors in 54 multifamily units containing broken gypcrete throughout with residual materials from multiple floor coverings as well as voids in the subfloor and old adhesive. Combinations of six Schönox subfloor products were used in concert to bring the subfloor back to a strong surface ready for floor covering. Jeff Popp and David Goaslind, from Popp Enterprises, and Jared Corpuz of Midwest Floor Covering, who supplied the Schönox products, accepted the award at the Contest ceremony.

“The Contest is a great way for Schönox to see the very worst subfloor conditions across the country and how installers are successfully addressing them,” commented Doug Young, HPS Schönox Executive Vice President. “Our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the Contest; the input from the installer community directly impacts our development of products to support the important work they do in the field.”