Case Study Seven Oaks School Division / Ecole Templeton

The Secret to Weathering Winter Track-In Unlocked by Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg

“A lot of our schools were built in the 1980s and 1990s. There was a lot of vinyl composite tile (VCT) throughout the division. That type of flooring requires ongoing maintenance. You have to seal the floor, apply finish to the floor, then burnish the floor, and eventually strip the floor to maintain it,” explains Tony Campos, assistant director of operations at Seven Oaks School Division, “A number of years ago, we started moving into sheet vinyl. Again, that also would require an application of finish. It wasn't until the first year that Armstrong Flooring’s Diamond 10 [Technology] finish came out – about 2013 – our local rep brought it to my attention, and I thought ‘well let me give this a go’. To this day, that first job we did still looks like it was the first year it was laid down – so we've had good results with the Diamond 10 [Technology] finish.”

What is Diamond 10 Technology? It’s a patented protective innovation that uses cultured diamonds to provide enhanced scratch, stain, scuff, and slip resistance, delivering heightened performance and durability. Diamonds outperform all other common competitive flooring finishes on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, which characterizes the scratch resistance of various materials. Armstrong Flooring’s technology scores a perfect 10 on the scale — the “10” in Diamond 10 Technology.

“(Armstrong with Diamond 10) was first installed in Edmund Partridge School. We decided to put it in the hallway there, and it worked out well. There was only positive feedback from the custodial staff regarding how the floor was holding up, especially through the winter,” he says. That is the ultimate test, for a school district in Winnipeg, Canada, comprised of 30 facilities serving K-12, as well as a few Adult Learning Centers. Winters are especially challenging in such a cold climate that endures five to six months of wintery conditions a year. Students are regularly tracking in ice, water, salt, and sludge – elements that can contribute to a faster wear when it comes to flooring. The difference Diamond 10 Technology has proved to mitigate such wear has made a massive impact on the division and its facilities and operations.

In addition to handling the winter weather, the division realized further benefits over time.
"One of the things we’ve noticed (with the Diamond 10 Technology) is simply washing the floor with an auto scrubber would generally lift a lot of the heel marks, and black marks you see in floor care, without having to mechanically remove them as you typically do by buffing or burnishing. Sometimes even burnishing doesn’t quite get them out. It’s saved us significant time and money,” Campos points out.

Due to these realized benefits, as new renovation opportunities and new construction opportunities present themselves within the division, Campos tries to raise his voice in favor of Diamond 10 Technology, which is available on a wide array of Armstrong Flooring collections, from sheet to LVT.

One such case is École Templeton, a newly constructed French immersion school within the division, which was designed and built to serve K-5 and meet increased population demand.

Opened in September 2020, the $17.5 million dollar project was designed to accommodate up to 600 students in 55,300 sq. ft. of space. Aiming to achieve LEED Silver certification, the school features a double height academic commons and associated support space core. From there, the school is organized into three ‘houses’, each containing five classrooms and related breakout space that supports informal project-based group work and study.  

“So, your competitor is usually in (the spec) as well,” Campos says of the spec process that occurred in development of École Templeton. “But we did make a pitch for going with the Diamond 10 Technology product – and it was successful.” In the end, École Templeton selected Medintone & Medintech with Diamond 10 Technology to cover the new school, two complementary homogenous sheet collections that entirely eliminate the need for polish. “(Ecole Templeton) ended up turning out really well and the floor, to this day, looks like it was day one – even though it’s been over a year since opening the doors,” he shares.

Recently, Campos was asked by a peer just starting out their journey in floor selection for their school division, what his advice would be regarding most important considerations. The advice he gave was this: “There are three considerations that you need to take into account when selecting your floors: one is the durability. Will it hold up to the wear and tear, especially with the winters that we have? Number two, the price of the floor. What are you looking at per square foot? That is a consideration, as well as the ease of maintenance for the floor. So, the durability, the price, and the ease of maintenance.”

Of these three however, Campos distinguished that durability reigns number one. “What good is putting a less expensive product in when it just doesn't hold up to the wear and tear that you would find in a school? Flooring is one of those products that if you if you lay down a good product. You should get a good 30 years out of it,” he says.

“We wanted a no-wax floor to save that time and money, so we could dedicate it to other things within the school. If I was to summarize Armstrong Flooring, I would say I think it's been proven that the Diamond 10 Technology does work and it is a durable finish, and we're quite pleased with the end product, even after years of being used.”

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