Achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is now required for new school construction in Florida, which is why specifications for the new Anclote High School included a trio of low-VOC (volatile organic compound) coatings from Tnemec Company Inc. “They wanted a high performance coating system that would give them very good long-term color and gloss retention, while meeting LEED requirements,” according to Tnemec coating consultant Mike Stensrud. “The architect was very excited to learn that a high performance coating system was available that would help them meet their LEED requirements.”
Interior door frames and exterior exposed steel received a prime coat of Series 27WB Typoxy, an advanced generation, high solids water-based epoxy. This innovative coating is thinned with potable water for ease of application and offers nearly 100 percent solids by volume. “This product has all of the high performance characteristics of traditional epoxies, but with the ability to use water as a thinner and for clean-up,” Stensrud noted. “It is also low VOC and low odors, which is a major issue for architects.”
The topcoat consisted of Series 740 UVX, a polyfunctional, aliphatic urethane, which was brush- and roller-applied. “Series 740 is extremely hard, abrasion resistant and ideal for use on door frames, handrails, bike racks and high traffic areas in schools that are easily scratched by a ring, a key or a belt buckle,” Stensrud explained. “It meets low-VOC requirements and offers superior color and gloss retention.”
“Aesthetics are very important to this architect,” Stensrud added. “They have a very keen eye for detail and hold all of the finish contractors to a very high standard of quality. The coating contractor was able to meet those standards easily with the use of these products. Already, there is another school under construction in Pasco County using the same Series 27WB and Series 740 coating system.”
Florida has adopted a law which declares that buildings built and financed by the state be designed and constructed to comply with LEED or other green building rating systems. Today, there are more than 1,000 schools across the U.S. that are LEED certified or pursuing certification.