Solid Wood Flooring Installation Evokes the Rugged Beauty of Telluride

Telluride. You hear the name. But what comes to mind?

Originally a mining town, Telluride, Colorado is widely is thought of as an all-season resort. It’s well-known that the Telluride Ski Resort is the region’s main attraction during winter months.

But when summer comes around, Telluride transforms itself into an outdoor recreation hot spot, with thousands of tourists mountain biking, hiking, river rafting, sightseeing, and more. In the summer there are film festivals, wine festivals, and music festivals almost every weekend.

A good place to enjoy life, whether one is a full-time or part-time resident, and a good place to invest one’s time and one’s money. It’s also a good place to invest the best of everything into a world-class condominium project. 

More specifically, a two-unit luxury condominium project, slated to be built on the top floor of an existing, classic Telluride building. The top floor of this structure was never developed until now. Architectural designs specified the best of the best building materials. These designs included 5"-, 6"- and 7"- wide, solid oak 3/4" planks to be installed in the living room, kitchen, hallway and master bedroom of both units.

Not surprisingly, high-quality Bostik installation materials were insisted upon for this project.

“This was a world-class project, which called for world-class construction products," says James M. Allred, territory sales manager for Bostik’s Consumer and Construction Business Unit. "When working with wood, whether it is solid or engineered, a major concern is moisture intrusion coming either from the ground (in this case from the concrete slab) or from the atmosphere." 

“That’s why Bostik’s GreenForce^® Wood Flooring Adhesive was an obvious choice. Not only does it offer the unsurpassed strength of urethane, it’s easy to clean and install, and it controls moisture vapor. GreenForce^® has been formulated with Bostik’s exclusive AXIOS^® Tri-Linking™ Technology, which means wood flooring will always be installed at optimal levels!”

AXIOS^® Tri-Linking™ Technology combines the tenacious bond strength of Bostik’s high-performance urethane chemistry with the remarkable ease-of-use experienced from today’s most advanced European, hybrid polymer systems. With moisture vapor protection equivalent to that of premium moisture mitigation coatings, it offers the ultimate installation protection and simplicity. When combined with Bostik’s patent-pending Thickness Control^™ Spacer Technology, its performance is actually equivalent to that of cork’s sound dampening properties.

Lew Nonay, owner of Yanon’s Classic Hardwood Floors & Construction LLC of Montrose, Co., said his company always has used other installation materials for years, but were open when its distributor, Intermountain Wood Flooring, mentioned GreenForce^®.

"When we first got involved with the Telluride condo project, we looked at the product’s specs, which we saw as being ‘bomb-proof," he Nonay says. "For this luxury condominium job, we needed an adhesive that was going to hold the solid wood flooring down (certainly right after installation, as it was then sanded onsite) and also, something that was very easy to clean."

Trying new options

Nonay says they have been in the hardwood floor covering business a long time, and for more than a decade, always used the "wide-brush" application method. "In other words, we use a lot of glue,” he says.

Nonay also says that because GreenForce^® is a one-step application process rather than a two-step, it saves his company time, labor and, ultimately, money. “This was a challenging installation, as there were a lot of borders going over the tubes of the floor warming system," he says. "GreenForce^® was ideal, as it works over a multitude of substrates as well as various floor warming components. This way, we can depend on one product for different sub-floors, and not spend valuable time selecting a different adhesive for each individual job.”

Brian Coleman, Outside Sales Representative of Intermountain Wood Flooring, says that the GreenForce^® selling points we presented to the installer are pretty amazing. "The product offers a lifetime moisture vapor guarantee, and a lifetime bond guarantee for wood flooring installed. Additionally for this project, the ‘ease of spread’ for such a large installation was obvious. So was the product’s new technology, which eliminates the installer having to conduct concrete moisture testing."

The product comes in smaller, four-gallon pails with a locking plastic lid. "This mades the product lighter," Coleman says. "Other adhesives are outfitted with metal lids and you can’t always get a good seal when closing it at the end of the day. The next day, a layer of the glue would have dried, and one would have to chip away at it.”

Coleman says that GreenForce^® also is great for engineered wood projects, especially during clean up time. “You can just wipe away without worrying about removing the finish.”

There are few who argue the fact that Telluride offers some of the most scenic overall visuals on this planet. Rooted in history, this bustling ski town and historic jewel, with its clapboard storefronts, omnipresent art galleries, old-time bars and restaurants galore, provides photo buffs a “Kodak moment” after just about every few steps they take. Although only a minute component of the Telluride visual feast, this 5,000 square foot custom installation of highest quality solid wood flooring offers the look and attributes that certainly belong in this one-of-a-kind town.