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Author Topic: Auditorium Floors
Don Anderson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 312
From: West Bend, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 06-20-2001 09:13 PM      Profile for Don Anderson   Email Don Anderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Question for anyone running/owning/managing an older movie theatre. I would like to know how you have treated your flooring in your auditoriums. I work for a small circuit, our 3 screener was once a cool single screener built in the late 20s. The original floors seem to look like concrete that was treated/sealed. Some moron in the 70s decided to paint the entire floors with a latex, yes latex floor paint. Needless to say, it looks like crap. I would like to strip it down to the original surface, that is, if possible. I have been doing touch up work on the areas that the paint has lifted, but as you know the paint will not adhere to the old surface for any length of time. I'd like to get it looking great again. The owners suggested pulling out the seats and putting down tile flooring, that is, if I'm up to a major job like that. We ocassionally get complaints that the floors seem sticky. Its not spilled sodas, but actually their shoes sticking to latex floor paint. Any ideas? I wouldn't mind removing the seats, but then they should replace them with something other than the old seats.

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-21-2001 02:38 AM      Profile for William Hooper   Author's Homepage   Email William Hooper   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Talk to your local paint supply company (NOT the Home Depot or whatever guys, but that big Devoe paint center place or whatever there is where you are). They'll give you the best solutions for your problems.

FYI, before you go: The only paint with useful longevity on heavy traffic concrete floors is 2-part epoxy paint. Surface preparation must be scrupulous, it must be scrubbed with muriatic acid, the 2 parts of the paint must by mixed & applied (by brush, roller, or sprayer) on site within about 15 minutes of mixing the parts. But when it's on, it's bulletproof stuff.

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Christopher Duvall
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 500
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 06-21-2001 04:56 AM      Profile for Christopher Duvall   Email Christopher Duvall   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I have to agree with William on the epoxy paint, however there is one draw back. When some idiot spills a drink on the floor, it gets real slick and it will be time to call the lawyers. If you live in a really humid area, during the summer it can get slick as well from condensation when the AC is cranked. Tiled floor can be just as dangerous as well but from what I have dealt with, it is not as slick. On top of that, you have to keep it real clean, because it will show every bit of dirt.

Now my favorite floor setup has been plain ole' raw cement that has been sealed. Not as pretty to look at, but it doesn't need to be waxed or scrubbed and it doesn't get very slippery as the other options. All it needs is a simple mopping whenever something is spilled on it. I think as the floor is concerned, simplicity is the key as well as cost effectiveness. That's my 2 cents worth...

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Chris Duvall
General Manager
Regal Cinemas Colonnade14
Las Vegas, NV


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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000


 - posted 06-21-2001 06:15 AM      Profile for Jerry Chase   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'll second the sealed raw cement option. I've dealt with most types of floors in auditoriums and it is the best surface by far. Coloring concrete during construction is possible, but for it to look goood the contractor can't skimp on the coloring agent. If it is done properly, the concrete is evenly and densely colored, can be sealed, and looks fine.

In my experience, painted floors always end up looking bad. Some managers I oversaw used to have their floors painted about once every nine months to a year. Within three or four months they would begin to show wear again. Eventually, the floors would get to the point of peeling in sheets, which looked even worse. By that time, the expense and time in stripping things properly was too much to consider in a budget concious circuit.

Tile floors can have edges and tiles work up or develop filth in the cracks, which is why you'll rarely see plain tile in a food prep area of a restaurant. I've been in some theatres with tile floors and usually felt the places were dirty, especially around the seat standards.

The only auditorium floor that looked great all the time was a concrete floor coated with Kurowax, which was a heavily colored thick goopy wax. The stuff was murder when wet though and I can't imagine it being used today. People used to slip and slide all the time on the stuff, and the only reason they didn't fall down was the narrow width of the aisles.

Terrazzo is the ultimate answer for high traffic floors. This is small stones mixed in a grout that becomes truely indestructable. While it is too expensive for auditorium floors, it is great for lobbies and walkways. I'd never seen the stuff used in theatres before moving to Florida, but some of the older theatres here had it and it looked great, with no signs of wear after decades of use. It can be laid with custom multi-colored patterns, brasswork and insignias that never wear off.

Terrazzo can be slippery if not cared for properly, but there are anti-slip coatings for it that can give more gripping power wet than dry. Some supermarkets use a form of less expensive terrazzo.

Anyway, strip the floor, powerblast it, etch it well and seal it. You may not like the look, but it is the safest and cleanest floor you'll get without spending big bucks.

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 06-21-2001 09:38 AM      Profile for Evans A Criswell   Author's Homepage   Email Evans A Criswell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It sounds like the 2-layer epoxy paint for concrete floors is what skating rinks often use. The skating rink I used to hang out in (back in the early 80s) had such a floor (painted concrete). The stuff was very durable, and withstood years of skaters, but I can certainly testify that condensation is a problem and the floor got extremely slippery when moisture was present or when something was spilled. When wear does begin to occur, the paint tends to come off in chunks, creating a rough surface where the peeling occurred. The mixture of stuff used to clean it can cause problems in some people (various types of mild allergic reactions). My mother always had problems and her doctor told her about the cleaning of that type of floor and the problems it could cause. Now I'm curious and am going to notice what types of floors are in the auditoirums of the local theatres. I know that Carmike 8 in Decatur, in the Fairlane/Litchfield auditoriums, floor tiles were used, and many of them have come up.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Info Site

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Andy Bergstrom
Film Handler

Posts: 44
From: St. Cloud, MN
Registered: Feb 2000


 - posted 06-22-2001 10:57 AM      Profile for Andy Bergstrom   Email Andy Bergstrom   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Sometimes the soap used and quanity of soap used will have an effect on the floor being sticky. Try using 3M's neutral cleaner. Avoid using any type of degreaser style soap. There isn't enough grease on auditorium floors for the degreaser to react with so it builds up and becomes sticky.
I would suggest painting your floors and then putting a water-based sealer over them. The alternative is to paint them and then put a non-slip floor wax over the paint. The wax just makes it harder to touch up later. Good luck!

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