Criminal Justice Center Chooses Seamless System to Eliminate Routine Damage of Kitchen Floors

The El Paso County Criminal Justice Center (CJC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, opened in 1988 and houses individuals arrested on misdemeanor and felony charges. It is also a contract holding facility for several state and federal agencies. The facility can house more than 1,700 inmates and its kitchen serves approximately 4,200 meals every day. The kitchen floors experience high traffic, spills, water intrusion and more. In fact, The El Paso County Jail has had to replace several areas of flooring since its opening.

A criminal justice center can be a tough environment, and this extends to its kitchen floors. With kettle liquid temperatures consistently reaching 240 degrees, the county jail’s tile floor was failing. The tile and grout floor could not meet the demands of the commercial equipment or consistent high traffic. In addition, a record rainfall and leaky roof caused the kitchen ceiling to collapse. The water intrusion further damaged the grout work and low floor areas caused puddling, otherwise known as “bird bath” areas. The El Paso County Jail knew they could not continue to repair and replace floors, only to have them repeatedly give way under these challenging conditions. They decided to combine the roof repair and floor repair into one construction project and began researching their options.

Wendy Habert, Fiscal & Compliance Services Manager for The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office  explained, “With our history of problems with tile and grout, we decided it was time to look at other options.” A lieutenant on staff took on the project and extensively researched possible solutions. His search led him to Stonhard, manufacturer and installer of seamless floors.

Stonhard’s local Territory Manager met with the facility’s staff and architect and together they reached the decision to convert the kitchen to a seamless floor system. The result would be a considerably more level floor without odor, bacteria and dirt-trapping grout lines. Stonhard’s recommendation was a complete polyurethane system.

First, Stonset TG6, a moisture-tolerant, polyurethane-based grout designed for permanent repairs to concrete floors and specially formulated for the food and beverage industry, was used to level out the low areas and improve drainage. Next, Stonclad UT was installed to provide a slip-resistant surface and protection from water, impact, abrasion, chemical spills, thermal shock, and thermal cycling. The Stonhard advantage of this total polyurethane system was an ideal solution for the correctional facility’s kitchen floor. No longer would they be forced to disrupt operations in order to replace disbonded tiles.

To continue their operations during the floor installation, the El Paso County Jail rented mobile kitchen equipment. Several refrigerated and dry storage containers and kitchen cook trailers were situated inside the secured, fenced perimeter and inmates who normally worked inside the kitchen were diverted to the secured mobile kitchen operations outside.

In order to save costs, the county removed the old tile floor and two layers of weak, cementitious grout. Stonclad UT was installed in order to withstand water and temperatures, along with Stonset TG6, a urethane grout to level out the low areas and improve drainage. This also improved the safety and ease of moving carts and equipment throughout the kitchen.

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