TEC® Products Provide New Look for Historical Tavern on The Green

AURORA, Ill. - April 20, 2015 - PRLog -- New York’s iconic Tavern on The Green reopened in April 2014 with a design that evokes its pastoral past. A custom-made hardwood floor achieves a rustic yet elegant aesthetic, and TEC® WoodStrong® Premium Urethane Wood Flooring Adhesive meets the space’s demands for product performance and durability.

Tavern on the Green was built in 1870 to serve as shelter to the sheep that grazed in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow. The Victorian Gothic structure was converted into a restaurant during the Park’s 1934 renovations. In the years that followed, the Tavern transformed into a lavish space – complete with a dance floor, Tiffany-stained glass and ornate crystal chandeliers. From 2010 until 2012, it was used as a visitors center and gift shop. After extensive renovations led by owners Jim Caiolo and David Salama, it reopened as a restaurant on April 24, 2014. The restaurant’s new look hearkens back to the original building’s character.

During the space’s dramatic renovation, designers exposed an element of the original building: the wooden beams in its vaulted ceilings. To highlight this unique feature, a historic design institution – ABC Carpet and Home – contracted Archetypal Imagery to install a handcrafted reclaimed white oak wooden floor. Archetypal produced approximately 6,000-square-feet of custom-made, 56-inch antiqued wood French Versailles parquet panels for the space, and selected TEC® WoodStrong® wood flooring adhesive to install it.

“The floor plays a big role in this space. It’s an artistic work,” say Archetypal. “We thought TEC® WoodStrong® would be the best glue possible for this installation.”

Archetypal Imagery, winners of five consecutive Best Floor of the Year awards from the National Wood Flooring Association, sought a product that had the right balance of strength and flexibility to install both the plywood subfloor, comprised of 3/8” Baltic birch, and the parquet panels. They approved the TEC® wood flooring adhesive product after rigorous independent testing designed to assess its ability to hold up to spills and daily sanitary washing, as well as frequent temperature and humidity changes. Because these conditions cause wood to expand and contract, a flexible adhesive was essential.

Archetypal tested the glue in extreme humidity, dryness, heat and cold to ensure that all possible restaurant scenarios were addressed. They glued samples of Baltic birch plywood to ¾-inch-thick, solid wood flooring and placed them in a humidity chamber, an oven and a freezer for seven days. The tests revealed that while the Baltic wood experienced some distress, the adhesive held, so the stability of the installation was not compromised.

“The environmental conditions at Tavern on the Green are unique and complex, because the garden gates introduce sudden changes in humidity and temperature as they open in close, and the ovens run almost constantly,” says Archetypal. “Our testing ensured that the TEC® products would hold up in the demanding environment.”

Once cured, TEC® WoodStrong® develops a highly elastomeric bond that moves with the normal expansion and contraction characteristic of wood floors. This product is also freeze/thaw stable, has extended open time and is easy to handle.

“We are extremely happy with the product and extremely happy with the service. The product was needed immediately, and TEC® made sure it was there,” says a representative of Archetypal. “We worked closely with the TEC® representative throughout the project.”

With TEC® WoodStrong® wood flooring adhesive, Archetypal created a beautiful floor that hearkens back to the restaurant’s rustic past, but will last long into the future. The Tavern on the Green reopened in May 2014, and is located off Central Park West between 66th and 67th streets.

For more information about TEC® visit tecspecialty.com (http://www.tecspecialty.com/).

The TEC® brand is offered by H.B. Fuller Construction Products Inc. – a leading provider of technologically advanced construction materials and solutions to the commercial, industrial and residential construction industry. Headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, the company's recognized and trusted brands – TEC®, CHAPCO®, Grout Boost®, ProSpec®, Foster®, and others – are available through an extensive network of distributors and dealers, as well as home improvement retailers. For more information, visit www.hbfuller-cp.com.

TEC® and WoodStrong® are trademarks of H.B. Fuller Construction Products Inc.