Welcome to the 10^th Annual Installation Awards where we are celebrating the flooring installation industry’s talented craftsmen and women in both residential and commercial settings. Contestants were asked to share what makes their installations special and the challenges they encountered along the way. This year, we received double the entries, and each one tells a great story.

We are excited to share those stories, and we hope you walk away with ideas for your projects and inspiration to try new things after viewing these winning projects that are the product of experience, creativity and skill. Next year, our hope is that even more folks will submit their amazing work!

Challenges: My mother and I wanted to create a unique shower and decided to do a shower with a floral theme. The drawing of the vine came easy, but it was a challenge to figure out what colors to use for the mosaics in the shower floor and niche. I started with blue petals, but then decided that it didn't accent the vine as well. We laid out different colors on the floor until we found a good combination next to the greenery. The white petals were the best choice with a mix of teal, blue and periwinkle.

Another challenge was scribing the mosaics into the field tile on the side wall. I pre-mounted the vine mosaics onto sheet membrane using Mapei's Mapelastic Turbo. I placed the field tile onto the floor and traced the pre-mounted vine mosaics and a blue butterfly with a marker. I used a grinder, IQ table saw and cone bit to carefully grind out the areas where the mosaics were going to be installed.

The intricate details of the shower floor and niche required me to lay the mosaics individually. I started with the flowers and vinery and then filled in between with petals. For the back wall of the niche, I pre-mounted the mosaics to a piece of sheet membrane using Mapei's Mapelastic Turbo.

All of the outside corners were mitered to include the curb and niche. I used a grinder blade to get close to the edge and a 60-grit polishing pad to fine tune the edge. After installation, I decided to fill the miters with Tenax epoxy. This involved custom color matching the epoxy to the tile. Filling the miters was a challenge because it was my first experience with epoxy.

Unique Features: This project is special to me because it is something I was able to design with my mother. It has become more than a shower; it is a piece of artwork in her bathroom. The vine coming out of the drain and up the wall is like a metaphor of a seed that sprouted from the drain and grew into a beautiful vine from the shower floor up the wall. I thought of the petals as arrows pointing towards the drain and representing the flow of water. The vine on the shower floor has four tendrils with an aqua flower at the center of each spiral. I wanted the petals to appear to flow out of the spiral. I've been told by my peers that the petals give the shower a Van Gogh feel to it. After Googling his artwork I can see why people think that. My brother told me that the back wall of the niche is like looking out a window. Using custom mosaics in a shower can give it unique characteristics.

Challenges: Keeping the Milliken carpet pattern balanced and following the curve of the steps where its wide at the top and bottom and narrow in the middle. I had to make a template of the area using felt paper, allowing for the pattern to line up both ways. Transferring the carpet and cutting it off site was also challenging. Everything must be centered on the template.

Unique Features: What made this unique is the customer wanted no staples to be used on the steps. They also wanted the runner to follow the nose of the steps with no staples. I needed to think outside the box on how to achieve this. I came up with the idea to use Kool Glide tape and iron. Using this method extended the project time considerably; however, this resulted in a very happy customer.

Challenges: Making the client feel comfortable with us as their flooring contractor was my biggest challenge. This was an 8,000 square-foot residential installation; our largest one to date. Although I was highly recommended to my clients by their builder, they were hesitant and came into my showroom to ask about my process, products and installers. Talking about my business, my process, how I work and my crews along with my knowledge of the products I use and the confidence I have in them was easy because I believe in all of it.

I think my dedication to my craft and my confidence in my team ultimately convinced them to choose us. However, to quote our client on their acceptance email, “We are counting on you and your Team to take us to the Promised Land.” This was certainly a challenge. I am happy to say that they are extremely happy with the result, specifically, the quality of our work and our people and they look forward to future projects together.

Unique Features: We created a louvre pattern at the entrance, using Allegheny Mountain Hardwood flooring, that had to also go down a 40-foot hallway between the kitchen and great room. We installed that same pattern on the second level entrance to the balcony. Creating a louvre pattern for any room requires precise customization in order to make the pattern look perfect no matter the size of the area so to do this, we had to adjust the size of the pattern to the space in order for it to look perfect and to maintain an even layout.

Challenges: For this exterior mural project, J&R Tile's project manager Gus Tolleson and welder James Fierros engineered a temporary, modular structure from the building with metal framing. This metal framing has bolts where the tile assembly can be removed and moved to a different location at a later date if the University of Texas at San Antonio chooses. Fierros painted the metal framing to match the color of the painted back walls while tile was being made for a seamless look.

Another challenge was approval from the artist, Mark Hogenson, on the color samples of the porcelain tile before installation.

The 12"x12" custom porcelain tile had to be perfectly installed on a grid, and the layout to perfectly fit took major planning in J&R's structural development with the space given. Black coordinating ceramic and painted metal trim was used for a custom seamless look at finishing end pieces.

After approval, special scaffolding was put up and taken down every shift to work on this 600-square-foot mural.

The biggest challenge was fighting the over 100-degree San Antonio summer heat. The mortars kept flashing over and a new plan had to be made to overcome the challenges of product limitations and specifications. The installation team moved to hours of 11 pm to 7 am to ensure adhesives were properly applied and cured under 95 degree heat.

Exterior porcelain requires 95% mortar coverage, and the LED lights create "wall washing" accentuating the lippage at night. The installation team ensured substrates and tile were perfectly flat to overcome this challenge.

Unique Features: To provide the university flexibility for disassembly in the future, CAD drawings were created to where silicone movement joints were placed where tile panels could be removed at a later date, with the engineering done by Tolleson and Fierros.

The custom porcelain tile mural was designed by local artist Mark Hogenson. Located in San Antonio's City Center, across from City Hall and San Fernando Courtyard (the 2022 Commercial Tile & Stone Project of the Year), the art piece will be seen by millions of people who visit downtown San Antonio every year. It is located in the city center, across from San Antonio City Hall and the San Fernando Courtyard

Challenges: The Flint Hills are a unique tallgrass prairie ecosystem in which grasses can grow up to 10 feet tall and have a root system that can grow up to 15 feet deep to reach limited groundwater. The Flint Hills Discovery Center is located in the northern portion of the Flint Hills in Manhattan, Kansas. The learning center was built to educate and inspire the next generation of land stewards. In 2022, the remodeled second floor of the Discovery Center, was funded 100% by the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, with no city tax dollars spent. The new second floor is now called Prairie Playscape.

The flooring layout was conceived as an abstracted topographical map and has curved geometrics that echo the terrazzo floor geometry featured in the main atrium space. Bold colors were intentionally chosen to coordinate with Discovery Center branding and to create moments of color intensity at different interactive exhibits. Mohawk carpet tile was chosen for the bright colors in the patterns Color Balance and Color Beat. Each of the three color areas corresponds with an educational theme. Exploring the Land, represented in blue, is where kids can identify prairie flowers, see live animals, and explore wind on the prairie. Working the Land, represented in red and brown, is an area where visitors can learn how people have adapted to the land with skills like stone fence building and cattle ranching. Sharing the Land, represented in green, is an area where you can see how the food we eat is produced on the prairie and transported across the country and around the world.

Determining how to exactly replicate the curves of the topography drawing into the carpet was a challenge. Each curve and each color section had to fit within and around the equipment. Some changes needed to be determined and made by the installers during the installation to adjust for the size of the furniture and equipment going into the space. Our installers took the care and the time to make sure the carpet pattern flowed correctly in the actual space while also adhering to the architectural drawings.

Unique Features: Installers cut 12"x36" carpet tiles into shapes that represent a topography map.

Challenges: Over the course of 13 months on-site, the crew encountered various challenges during this elementary school floor renovation. They had to work within a tight timeline to finish the installation before the school's fall opening, covering over 46,000 square feet with resilient and carpet flooring. The resilient flooring presented a unique hurdle with its offset staggered pattern, requiring careful planning to achieve both an appealing look and a perfect fit for the space. Aligning the long lines of colored resilient with the painted soffits demanded precision.

To ensure flawless alignment, the installers diligently self-leveled every square foot of flooring before laying down the resilient and carpet tiles. The phased installation required consistency, so the same skilled installers were deployed for each stage to maintain quality and continuity. Despite these challenges, the crew's expertise and dedication prevailed, resulting in a successful project completion that met the school's requirements.

Unique Features: One outstanding feature is the use of multiple colors in a block pattern for the resilient flooring. This creative design choice added a striking visual appeal to the space, making it stand out from conventional installations.

By incorporating multiple colors in a block pattern, the installation achieved a vibrant and dynamic look that enhanced the overall aesthetics of the area. The interplay of colors not only created a visually engaging environment but also helped define different sections and zones within the school.

Challenges: This large-scale extended-stay hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, showcases 44 apartments filled with high-end Danish design and quality finishes. Despite the flooring arriving late in the process, the installers managed to carry out the installation perfectly within the confines of the timeline. Due to the nature of these hotel apartments, where families with children and pets stay for weeks or months at a time, the floor needed to be sturdy, long-lasting and waterproof. The installers managed all those expectations due to the hardened wood flooring’s advanced floor-locking.

“We believe we have achieved something that is perfect,” said Kristian Vöttrup, Charlottehaven’s operations manager. “We want to use quality products and the floor fits our long-term plans very well.”

All the interior design choices had already been made when the floor was chosen, and the kitchen cabinetry had already been installed. The installers had to make some adjustments to the end joints, in terms of how close or tight they had to be to the already installed panels, bu once they figured this out, they said the installation went perfectly.

Unique Features: The flooring was selected near the end of the 44-apartment renovation. The floors are installed throughout each space, including the kitchen, hallway and next to the sliding balcony doors where there might be spills or wet shoes.

Installers managed to create a leakproof flooring experience without any extra waterproofing. The installer praised the leakproof mechanical floor locking system, 5G Dry, that is incorporated into the floors, and said that “it was a pleasure to work with.”

Challenges: In the magical world of Walt Disney World, dreams come to life, imagination knows no bounds and the magic never stops. Maintaining the schedule with the park open every day to thousands of guests created unique challenges for material delivery, employee access to work areas and sound control.

The team poured over 47,000 square feet of Durabella at the Club Cool, Creations Shop and Connections Cafe locations at Epcot in many different designs without the use of transition pieces required with traditional terrazzo to create seamless designs. The certified installation crew also used 3D models to create unique patterns on the floor to help with wayfinding and also created outlines for areas of shopping, gathering and dining.

The bio-based terrazzo was also selected for the staircases, display cases, and planters so our team had to create molds for these areas to install them vertically.

The job was delayed for several weeks due to factors unrelated to the flooring, so our team brought in additional resources and was able to install double the flooring per day than what is standard to keep the project on schedule for the General Contractor.

Unique Features: The Gamma project at Epcot is a shining example of Walt Disney World's unwavering commitment to excellence and a dedication to pushing the boundaries of innovation with the selection of Duracryl's Durabella bio-based, seamless terrazzo.

In the Club Cool space, our flooring artisans created the flooring design featuring three color changes without the use of any transition pieces. A similar design was used in the Creations Shop but this area included four colors and the use of 3D inlays were used to create unique star patterns on the floor.

At the Connections Cafe and Eatery, our experienced team was able to utilize 3D inlays to incorporate the original layout that Walt Disney had for Epcot, as well as create vertical applications of the bio-based terrazzo.