Solid Gains

Hawaii builders add project value with 2020 flooring and foundation materials

These days, the best floors and foundations don’t just support Hawaii structures— they support solid profit margins as well. The Straub Pearlridge Expansion, for example, is expediting build-out by installing 5,000 square feet of CEMCO’s 200S SureBoard floor panels. “By using a dense cementitious floor sheathing product on an existing floor slab, this creates an extremely durable surface where poured floors are not an option,” says Akira Usami, CEMCO field sales manager for the Hawaii/Pacific region. “The framing space underneath the 200S panels

BY BRETT ALEXANDER-ESTES

allows for data cables and other MEP conduits to feed under the floor. With no curing time, the project can move forward by allowing other trades to work on the floor immediately after installation.” Wood is adding luster to 2020 flooring, too, says Scott Loomer, president Akira Usami of Truss Systems Hawaii Inc. on Maui and former two-term (2017-2018) president of the Hawaii Lumber and Products Association (HLPA). Currently, the

Data and other MEP conduits can be fed through CEMCO 200S SureBoard framing space. PHOTO COURTESY CREATIVE PARTITION SYSTEMS

(top) In 2021, HPM will offer premium XL EZ Fit Flooring in colors like Irish Coffee (shown) and Espresso Grande at its Hawaii Island locations. PHOTO COURTESY XL FLOORING

most efficient wood foundation and floor and deck framing in Hawaii, Loomer says, is done with dimensional lumber, engineered solutions, floor trusses Scott Loomer and I-joists. At the Kulamalu Commercial project on Maui, he says, Truss Systems’ pre-engineered wood floor trusses provide “many benefits including design flexibility, a reduced construction time period (and) superior strength.”

Moss is also using DalTile Cove Creek at The Element. PHOTO COURTESY MOSS

Truss Systems Hawaii is installing preengineered wood floor trusses at the Kulamalu Commercial project on Maui. PHOTO COURTESY TRUSS SYSTEMS HAWAII INC.

Moss, general contractor for The Element, a new 318-unit West Oahu residential project, is adding value and saving time by installing 128,000 square feet of Metroflor and Gibralter vinyl plank.

“Gibralter Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring provides an extremely durable finished product with a 30-year residential warranty,” says Anthony Musielak, Moss senior project manager. “This floating floor system can be installed quickly over cementi-

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Kailua Kona (808) 326-2477 / Honolulu (808) 832-1155 / www.BondedMaterials.net tious surfaces (gypcrete and slabs), making it perfect for multistory apartment complexes.”

Other residential projects are using vinyl tiles. At HPM Anthony Musielak Building Supply, XL’s laminate vinyl tiles “are a hit with our customers,” says Bill Brooks, HPM purchasing director-commodities. HPM Homes also feature these luxury vinyl floor coverings, he says.

Brooks says HPM is introducing

Cut Moisture in Concrete

LOGIK and Arisfor, two top sellers at OK Hardware & Construction Supply Inc., are cutting moisture both in and atop concrete, says Kimo Scott, the firm’s president. LOGIK, a concrete admixture, offers Kimo Scott superior resistance to Hawaii’s high humidity, Scott says. With LOGIK, “we will warrant 0 to 25 pounds of moisture using the Calcium Chloride Test Method,” he says, “and cover 0 to 100 percent relative humidity with the Humidity Test Method.”

Arisfor, a sealant for vertical and horizontal concrete surfaces, recently sealed the 56,000-squarefoot Halawa Corporation Yard, Scott says, and is being used at many other major Hawaii public sector projects.

NewTechWood, offered at HPM, “excels at producing the most natural-looking composite deck on the market,” says Bill Brooks, HPM purchasing director-commodities. PHOTO COURTESY NEWTECHWOOD

“new premium flooring products from the XL Flooring line to our homes and kitchen and bath packages.” These include XL’s Flexiplank and EZ Fit styles. EZ Fit tiles, he notes, “have Bill Brooks a unique backing that makes them easy to install, comfortable to walk on and excellent at sound absorption.”

For composite decks, HPM’s top products this year are NewTechWood and Moisture Shield. “Composite and wood are very equal in popularity,” Brooks says, “and it’s easy to see why. Wood decks have natural good looks

Terrific Treads

Stairs can do more than link floors. At Keali‘i, Gentry’s new luxury single-family community in Kapolei, “the entry is dramatic,” says Rick Hobson, Gentry Homes’ vice president of sales and marketing.

A crisp white staircase is the star. Black iron inserts flank the stairs and fixed windows highlight each change in elevation.

“As you walk into this home, the staircase creates the ‘wow’ factor, and is accented by two unique lighting fixtures,” Hobson says. “Your eyes go up immediately, trying to figure out where it all ends up.”

From this point on, he says, most prospective buyers “are hooked.”

A two-story wrap-around staircase at Gentry’s new Keali‘I community in Kapolei PHOTO COURTESY GENTRY HOMES

and can be a great cost-effective option.”

That’s especially true right now, says John Heideman, Mendocino Forest Products Hawaii Distribution Center general manager and HLPA’s immediate past president. “Mendocino Forest Products, whose lumber can be found at The Home Depot stores in Hawaii,” he says, “is seeing an increase in all lumber products sales this year.” Since 2019, ground contact treated lumber sales have risen 79 percent, Heideman says, and Redwood lumber product sales John Heideman in Hawaii have risen 75 percent. All-heart Redwood, which is naturally resistant to termites and decay, also has architectural appeal, he says,

Redwood decks and fencing are naturally resistant to termites and decay. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN HEIDEMAN

and is being used as a structural component and a finish in fencing, latticework, pergolas, planters and decking.

Offering striking good looks, improved performance, time savings and lower construction costs, today’s flooring products are expanding Hawaii builders’ options—and their bottom lines.