In an effort to increase its capacity for a growing number of clients and students, the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine set out to build a new facility that would include a new teaching hospital, an education center, and im-proved patient care for both large and small animals. The new offsite 300,000 sq. ft. facility would also include several key equipment upgrades including new LED surgery lighting, advanced medical imaging systems and high-performance coat-ing systems from Tnemec.
“The facility needed an interior coating system that could stand up to the phys-ical and chemical abuse typical of veterinary facilities,” explained Dean Drehoff, coating consultant with Tnemec. “The owners wanted something that was going to still look good after consistent abrasion from the animals and the constant nec-essary washdowns.”
CMU in the large animal areas received a Level IV Spec-Finish system, starting with a prime coat of Series 215 Surfacing Epoxy, a 100% solids epoxy filler and surfacer for concrete. Following Series 215, the walls received an intermediate coat of Series 27WB Typoxy, followed by a fiberglass mat, applied to the lower 60” of the wall for increase performance and abrasion-resistance. This system received a finish coat of Series 297 Enviro-Glaze, a low odor and low VOC water-borne polyurethane that provides color stability and stain resistance.
“The large animal holding areas were the greatest concern, because they required a high-build, abrasion- and stain-resistant system,” commented Dustin Hodges, Project Superintendent for Turner Construction Company, the general contractor for this project. “Goodman Painting, who applied all the systems, was familiar with the Tnemec coatings and finished the large animal areas without any serious problems.”
In the small animal holding areas, a Level III Spec-Finish coating system began with Series 130 Envirofill applied to CMU. An intermediate coat of Series 27WB was then applied before a finish coat of Series 114 H.B. Tneme-Tufcoat, a high-build, low odor water-based acrylic epoxy, was roller-applied at 4.0-6.0 mils dry film thickness (DFT).
Gypsum board in the operating rooms received a prime coat using Tnemec’s pene-trating epoxy primer, Series 151-1051 Elasto-Grip FC. The prime coat was followed by two coats of Series 297 for extended color and gloss.
“Each building contained certain areas for large and small animals,” said Hodges. “The coating systems in all areas seem to be holding up as expected and are already being regularly cleaned without issue.”
The new facility opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 13, 2015 and all hospital operations were moved to the new location by late March. According to the Medical Center’s website, the new hospital is more than double the size of the old facility and holds inside it many top-of-the-line upgrades to improve functional-ity. This project is currently registered with the certification goal of LEED Platinum.