Stonhard Resolves Leaky Floor Problems at Hyatt Regency Chicago
Leaking Kitchen Floors Threaten Hotel's Operations and Guest Experience
The Hyatt Regency Chicago, with over 2,000 guest rooms, is one of the largest hotels in the United States, outside of Las Vegas. It has seven large kitchens to handle the massive food preparation and catering needs of its guests, 7 on-site restaurants and numerous conferences and ballroom activities.
All of the kitchens are run 24 hours a day/7 days a week, with thousands of meals served daily. Built in 1974, all seven kitchens were operating with the original quarry tile floors. 30 years of operational wear and tear revealed a patchwork of different colored tiles throughout the various kitchens, along with an even bigger problem – water leaking from kitchen floors into lower level exhibit spaces. Leaking floors were causing not only sanitation and maintenance predicaments, but serious complications for the hotel staff and its guests.
It is common for hotels to have kitchens on various floors of the facility, with many hotel kitchens located on the top floor and/or in penthouses. Any leak, whether major or minor, will cause problems with maintenance, sanitation, structural integrity of the building and aesthetics. Most importantly, these problems can adversely affect guests’ experiences and negatively impact the reputation of the hotel.
To temporarily correct the leaking cracks in the existing quarry tile in Hyatt’s kitchens, the hotel’s Facilities Engineering Department had been continuously replacing old tiles. Problem areas were typically found near steam kettles, stock pots, ice machines, cook lines and dishwashers.
Stonhard replaced Hyatt’s problematic tile floors with Stonclad UT, resulting in a seamless, easy to maintain floor.
Stonhard Delivers Durable, Cost-Effective Flooring Solution
After an initial floor evaluation, Stonhard approached the Engineering Department to discuss a permanent solution for the problem. The hotel’s primary concerns were shutting down and budgetary costraints. Stonhard provided a solution that addressed both the shut-down time and financial restrictions.
After numerous discussions, and with an endorsement from the Hyatt in Atlanta, Stonhard was given an opportunity to repair 400 sq. ft. of floor under the steam kettles. This area, which was constantly subjected to thermal shock, exhibited the worst cracking. The tile, along with the grout bed, was removed and replaced with Stonset TG6, a quick-setting grout, and Stonclad UT, a textured mortar system. This solution was put into service and effectively solved the problem.
Due to this success, Stonhard was contacted to examine the floor under the cook lines and ice makers and proposed replacing the floor in the entire kitchen instead of segmented areas every year. Again, Hyatt hesitated to close their high-volume, high-revenue kitchen for any length of time. To ease their concerns, Stonhard proposed a detailed and concise installation schedule to remove the tile and grout.
Concrete was proposed to meet the budgetary concerns regarding the use of Stonset TG6. Hyatt’s management team, including facility engineers, corporate management and chefs, were involved in the entire decision-making process. The poor aesthetics and disturbance of patrons due to the conference room’s leaky ceiling justified the time, cost and inconvenience of shutting down the kitchen for almost three weeks.
The project was scheduled during the month of January – the least busy month of the year for the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Equipment was removed by Hyatt Regency’s engineering staff and all meals scheduled for preparation in the main kitchen were distributed among the other six kitchens. Stonhard’s crew removed all existing tile and grout.
A sub-contracted concrete company cut out and reset the drains and then poured fresh concrete to rebuild the height and pitch of the original floor. After a seven day cure, the concrete was blasted and 7,200 square feet of Stonhard’s Stonclad UT was installed.
From demolition to completed floor installation, the project took 23 days. The coordinated efforts of Hyatt and Stonhard enabled an efficient and cost-effective installation, which put an end to the repeated shut downs for repairs that had created loss of service and interruption of guest activities throughout the years. Because of this project’s overwhelming success, plans are underway to replace all six of the remaining kitchens at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Each remaining kitchen floor will be replaced on an annual schedule in the years ahead.
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