Shower Stall

Situation

King’s Daughters Medical Centre in Kentucky had problems with the safety and sanitation of their shower stalls.

• The showers were tiled, a slip hazard in this wet environment.
• The grout was unsanitary, holding onto moisture and creating an environment where mould, bacteria and other germs could grow.
• The tile was easily damaged from hospital equipment. Once damaged, moisture seeped behind the tile causing the drywall to deteriorate allowing mould and bacteria to grow in the wall.

The hospital required a solution for the shower stalls that would provide:

• A seamless floor-wall-ceiling membrane.
• A slip resistant surface texture on the floors.
• Smooth and easily cleanable walls.
• An environment that would inhibit fungus and bacteria growth.
• A durable, long lasting solution.
• An aesthetically pleasing, uniform, colour application.

Procedure

Demolition, reconstruction and fixture removal must be done prior to starting the project. New green board was installed, and mud work was completed. Prep includes:

• Walls were cleaned carefully. Liquid was used sparingly or not at all to prevent the drywall and mud from absorbing the liquid.
• Walls were dry dusted.
• Floors, made of concrete with pebbles embedded, required grinding with a DA sander and 40- grit to remove soap scum. In some areas a hand grinder with a disc was used. This was followed with an acetone wipe.
• A basic urethane caulk was used to join the walls and the floor together so that spraying would create a seamless monolithic membrane.

The Franchise used an E-10 to complete the job. They used a flat tip to spray smooth walls and a round tip for the textured floor. The ASPART-X filled in some texture on the walls which was desirable, but on the floor they were careful to maintain skid resistance.

Each stall required 3-7 gallons of product, depending on the size of the stall.

Solution

The floor, walls and ceiling of the shower stalls were coated in white LINE-X XS-350 protective coating and top coated with white LINE-X ASPART-X.

Each stall was completed by two applicators in about 4-6 hours saving the hospital significant downtime over an epoxy coating they were using. The stalls ranged from about 80-300 square feet, including the floor, walls and ceiling.

Results

The hospital is extremely pleased with the commercial coating application. It met all their requirements and is expected to last a very long time with little to no maintenance.

LINE-X expects to be contracted to complete additional stalls once the new budgeting is approved. They are also likely to complete all the stalls that were “repaired” with epoxy.