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Municipal officials last week approved a contract for carpet removal and vinyl flooring installation in a heavily used town building.
The Lapham Center in Waveny has “had issues with their carpet, so they want to replace it with vinyl flooring,” according to Superintendent of Buildings William Oestmann.
The project will include replacing the carpet on the first floor and the coffee area with vinyls, and replacing the flooring in the kitchen, Oestmann told members of the Board of Selectmen during their July 8 meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.
According to Oestmann, Berlin-based M. Frank Higgins & Co. offered $49,922 with a 10% contingency for $54,914 for the flooring and kitchen construction. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with
“It’s a tricky project because the Lapham Center is an old building, and underneath the carpet on the first floor is a little unknown,” he said. “In the kitchen, I have to remove all the appliances to redo the floor.”
Oestmann said the reinstallations will be more user-friendly for elderly and people with sight and hearing issues.
“We may use some sheathing to create a smooth surface so that the carpet is easier for people who are on canes and is more wheelchair friendly,” he said.
The committee from Lapham “picked out a nice flooring pattern where it won’t look so busy because that can be problematic if you have sight issues.”
The new flooring will also feature acoustic backing, which is expected to help those with hearing aids, and the kitchen renovation will reduce falls that resulted from it being slippery and wet.
The old carpet was installed around nine years ago and stains easily, Oestmann said.
“I’m hopeful the new flooring will last 10 or 15 years,” he said. “The Lapham Center is the busiest building we have. There are over 30,000 people walking through that building, which is huge,”
There will also be a maintenance program making sure residents clean up their coffee spills to reduce stains and smells, Oestmann said.
Karl voiced concerns over how difficult it would be to remove tiles if they are damaged after installation.
“We use a tack to install the flooring that can pull it up,” Oestmann said. “When you buy carpet tiles, whatever leftover tiles aren’t used gets chopped up and sent to us. That’s what we call attic stock. If you can’t replace a broken tile, we can use the attic stock to repair it.”
Renovations will begin after Christmas when there are less people using the Lapham center, he said.