Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

Wood Stock

From the Ground Up

By Megan Lhamon

Marcus Aven, President of Green Life Floors in San Diego, California, started in the hardwood ooring industry at the age of nine, working on commercial oor maintenance under the direction of his dad. By 18, he began installing for another ooring contractor, quickly picking up various skills and developing a passion for woodworking.

The hexagon-patterned wood floor was installed flush with the concrete in the newest location of Groundwork Coffee.

concrete to be poured into that would meet the nished height of the wood ooring and allow for a 1/2” of leveling compound to be poured to provide a ready surface. “ e challenge here was that our template had to match the nal layout and sizing of a product that we had not yet manufactured,” adds Aven. “ is layout touched multiple axis points, as hexagon wood tiles were exposed on up to ve sides in the layout.” A er the sub oor was properly prepared, it was time for installation. “We installed the ooring directly to the concrete usingWakol MS 260 Adhesive,” says Aven. “We nished the oor with Loba Transparent Impact Oil using a bu er.” “ is project was a new experience for us, having the opportunity to mill an entire oor from raw wood,” adds Aven. “It’s great to hear the positive feedback from those who’ve visited the co ee shop. Everyone is so enamored by the story of the wood taking on a rebirth from the forest re to now being used as a unique oor covering.” g “Everyone is so enamored by the story of the wood taking on a rebirth from the forest fire to now being used as a unique floor covering.”

A er working together on previous end grain oors, Wick Architecture knewGreen Life Floors was the right company for this unique job; a hexagon-pa erned wood oor installed ush with the concrete in the newest location of Groundwork Co ee. “We used mesquite (prosopis) found in the Southwestern United States andMexico, a localized plant that claims a lot of footballs with its large, sharp thorns,” says Aven. “We were fortunate to nd a supply of forest- re-reclaimed slabs of su cient thickness to mill into the size ooring that was needed. We shaped all of the wood from slab at approximately 4” thickness to 3.5” hexagons that were 1/2” thick.” e biggest challenge of this installation? Amonth before the scheduled installation, Aven and his crew had to set forms for the

All photos courtesy of Marcus Aven.

The team used mesquite (prosopis) found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

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