Education: A Closer Look - January 2008

By Brian Hamilton

The education market is really two distinct market segments with a common objective—educating students. It’s generally split into K-12 and higher education but there are as many differences between them as there are similarities. A public K-12 school district has almost nothing in common with a university in terms of its size, how it purchases flooring, and how much money it has to spend on each flooring project. All these factors have a significant impact on what kind of flooring will be used in any particular project. 

Education is a bright spot in the healthy commercial construction industry and spending is likely to remain robust because the demographics are favorable. Increased immigration and rising birth rates will force more schools to be built and upgraded. The General Accounting Office says that nearly one third of all schools are in need of extensive repair or replacement.

According to McGraw-Hill Construction, spending on all facets of education construction totaled $42.3 billion in 2006, up about 14% from the previous year, and it was projected to increase again in 2007 to $44.7 billion. By 2009 the total is expected to hit $48.8 billion. Educational spending accounted for 21% of all commercial and institutional construction in 2006.

Spending for K-12 projects dominates the industry. Total K-12 construction (including vocational schools) in 2007 was estimated at $34.6 billion, while spending at colleges and universities was estimated at $10.1 billion, or about 22% of the total. The percentage for college and university spending is expected to decline to about 21% by 2009.

Square foot costs have been rising and account for some of the difference in year-to-year total spending. In 2005, the overall cost per foot was $197, in 2006 it grew to $210 (6.5% increase), and in 2007 it was expected to hit $232 (10.5% increase). It’s also worth noting that the cost difference between the two sectors is significant. The per-foot cost for upper education in 2006 was $307 per foot, while the K-12 cost was $194.

The regional differences are also interesting. According to the American School & University annual construction report, the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, followed by the west coast will see most of the spending in K-12 construction spending through 2009, and together will make up roughly 65% of the total. However, the North Central states will account for 23% of higher education construction.

At colleges and universities, 42% of all construction projects involve new flooring, more than any improvement other than installation of mechanical systems, according to School Planning and Management Magazine.

Durability, green, in demand
Both segments gravitate to high-performance, durable flooring, capable of withstanding a wide variety of conditions, and both segments are increasingly demanding more green products. Resilient flooring and carpet dominate this arena, although it’s becoming more common to find rubber, decorative concrete, and even products like bamboo in small areas in K-12 projects. 

However, a lot more money per square foot is available for college and university projects, and that holds true for new flooring and upgrades. Here you’re more likely to find upper-end broadloom carpet and carpet tile, porcelain, stone, and other more expensive but fairly easy to maintain products. The K-12 level is dominated by resilient—especially vinyl composite tile—and carpet.

One of the biggest reasons for the discrepancy is simply how schools are funded. A public K-12 district has to rely on taxpayer approved bond money for construction and major renovation projects, which dictates the ultimate budget, and designers say these budgets are becoming increasingly restrictive. These budgets also vary widely by location. Rural or inner city districts often have less money than suburban schools. While a school might like to have a vibrant and durable textured carpet tile in classrooms or terrazzo in the corridors, it might be forced to use a less expensive VCT because these projects are usually about getting the most bang for the buck up front. Money for maintenance and regular replacement programs comes from the school’s operating budget. Consequently, maintenance costs often aren’t part of the equation when the initial purchase decision is made. Large school districts often create standard specifications for various kinds of flooring, which they will use for years.

“I think ‘indestructibility,’ ” said Kathleen Muffie-Witt of architecture and engineering firm L. Robert Kimball & Associates of Edensburg, Pennsylvania, which has designed hundreds of schools in the Northeast. “Durability and affordability are the key focus for us.” She said it’s not uncommon to deal with a school district that has been saving for years for a new school and has relatively little money to spend. “Fortunately, a lot of flooring manufacturers are making product at the lower end that is still exciting and interesting, and I think the design market has been demanding that.”

At the other end of the spectrum is the private university with generous alumni or a healthy endowment fund. Here, cost less of a factor, which gives designers a lot more options. These schools are also competing intensely for students, so they have an added incentive to build the most pleasing spaces they can in common areas, dorms, and other places where students spend a lot of time. Public universities are somewhere in between. While their public funds may be stretched, many still have other sources of funds for large projects.

Design is also becoming a much greater factor in flooring decisions for schools. It wasn’t long ago that a school carpet was a school carpet and not much thought went into selecting them, Muffie-Witt said. However, she said that’s not the case anymore. The proliferation of design information on the web and even cable television shows are creating more educated clients who want more for their schools, especially at the K-12 level. They want schools to be interesting and fun but not distracting, and understand that the floor is a major design element that can either encourage or stifle learning in subtle ways. Flooring manufacturers are designing products with these goals in mind specifically for this market.

This wealth of information is also helping spur the grassroots green movement in schools. Education is becoming much more focused on green products and it’s right behind the healthcare market in terms of its influence on green construction practices. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed an advocacy and education website, buildgreenschools.org. Its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program for schools encompasses such issues such as classroom acoustics, mold abatement, indoor air quality, recycled content and the ability to recycle materials at the end of their lifetime. Schools are also increasingly asking for information about the green business practices of manufacturers. These concerns are all being addressed by flooring manufacturers. As of November 2007, 68 K-12 and higher education buildings had earned LEED certification, just a drop in the bucket. Green products, however, are generally more expensive than base grade, but they are becoming more widely available and less expensive.

“We’re at the beginning, just the tip of the iceberg in terms of beginning to address what we’re doing to the environment,” said Dale Greenwald, principal of the New York office of Cannon Design, one of the largest education design firms in the country.

Designers say they’ll specify green flooring whenever they can make it fit into a budget and satisfy the requirements of the project, simply because they think it is the responsible thing to do. Muffie-Witt said, for example, that she will almost always specify linoleum—one of the greenest floors around—unless it’s clear the project can’t afford it.

The federal government is also starting to take notice. A new Green Schools Caucus, an advocacy and policy group, was formed in October in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

High performance required
Floors in any school will take a tremendous beating, far more regularly and for a much longer time than a typical corporate installation. Kids, teachers and staff not only walk on the floors, but furniture and equipment gets moved, drinks gets spilled, and dirt and winter time salt gets dragged in from outside. The floors also have to last as long as possible. As Greenwald of Cannon Design said, the decisions aren’t “lease-based.” Flooring won’t be replaced at the end of a lease, or when a new tenant moves in.

Flooring decisions are affected by everything from the kind of furniture that will be in the room, to how quiet a room has to be. For instance, folding chairs and tables that are set up and taken down frequently can present a huge problem. Protective caps can come off the legs and puncture or scratch the floor. 

The challenge is to find flooring that has the right performance attributes for the way a room will be used, and provides the right aesthetics. But there are no absolutes. Carpet and resilient flooring, including linoleum, can all be used effectively in nearly every area of a school. You find them all in classrooms, corridors, and cafeterias. But aside from cost differences, there are advantages and disadvantages to every kind of flooring choice. For example, carpet’s acoustical properties make it ideal in one way for a K-12 cafeteria, where decibel levels can be high, but maintenance can be an issue when lunches land on the floor regularly. However, resilient flooring may be easier to keep clean in a cafeteria, but its sound absorption is minimal compared to carpet.

In reality, what often drives the choice is what a school district is used to maintaining. If it already has the equipment and training to handle vinyl products, it’s not necessarily easy to turn the ship and get those schools to install more carpet, which requires an entirely different kind of maintenance. Another factor is how well its current products have performed. If a school has had a good experience with carpet, for example, it’s much more likely to choose carpet again.

Performance and durability are also highly desired characteristics in higher education settings but budget considerations generally aren’t so strict and competition for students is fierce. And that leaves a lot of room for higher end products, such as textured carpet tile or broadloom in dormitories, common areas, and even classrooms. “Twenty years ago it was all VCT” in those areas, Greenwald said. “There’s a trend toward taking a hospitality approach toward dorms, creating someplace cool to be, so there’s a lot more broadloom being used, which can be cleaned with all kinds of products and maintain its color and look longer. We see carpet tile in public spaces. In classrooms there’s much more carpet and carpet tile. Carpet tile today is greatly improved, there are multi dimensional heights, the patterning is richer and deeper, and even in the printed products you have visual depth. There’s a lot going on that makes a tile not look like a tile.”

Carpet
Although carpet has roughly a 61% marketshare in education, according to Santo Torcivia of Market Insights, it appears to be losing ground to hard surfaces, especially in Sun Belt states where ceramic tile is a popular regional alternative. It also often loses out, especially in K-12 districts, to VCT, when an inexpensive durable alternative is needed. In fact, Cannon Design said its typical K-12 project uses less than 10% carpet, although Kimball & Associates sees a higher percentage than that.

Generally speaking, in K-12 settings, the use of carpet decreases as the kids get older, partly because older kids tend to sit on the floor less. But after they leave high school and move on to college, they’re likely to see a lot more carpet again, because designers turn to high-end carpet in high visibility areas.

Tandus, Milliken, InterfaceFlor, Bentley Prince Street, and Mannington are all key players in some or all of the education market. In general, carpet backing needs to be moisture proof because of influences from below and above. A perennial problem in schools is underestimating how much moisture will migrate from the concrete slab below. Elementary schools tend to use more welded seams than high schools, mostly because of the higher potential for spills. Performance and longevity are also key attributes and cushioned backed carpet will last and keep its appearance the longest. Designers say that if carpet is maintained well it can last ten years, but seven years is more typical because of poor maintenance habits. However, much of the carpet being installed in schools today has a warranty of 20 to 30 years.

The use of carpet tile in schools at both levels is growing, although probably more at the university level because it is more expensive than roll carpet. It’s extraordinarily durable, can be easily repaired by school staff, and offers a wide range of design options. In addition to having many typical green attributes such as high recycled content, it also generates far less waste than roll carpet.

Tandus sells mostly six foot goods and tile, and occasionally 12’ broadloom. Its cushioned Powerbond is its most popular offering (see sidebar on page 67 about the company’s $83 million contract with the Los Angeles Community College District). Tandus has many installations that have lasted 30 years or more. Its carpet sells better in fast growing areas west of the Mississippi, and especially in California, where it’s more fashionable to consider the whole learning environment, including acoustics and comfort.

After the last commercial downturn in 2001, InterfaceFlor made the decision to diversify its commercial customer base, which was 75% in the office market. It began marketing its Entropy tile to schools, which has since become its fastest growing segment. Interface initially concentrated on higher education, which often used many of the same designers involved in its office work, but has since expanded into the K-12 market. Along the way, Entropy has inspired other designs and it now has eight recommended products for each segment.

Bentley Prince Street, Interface’s other flooring division, primarily sells to higher education with both broadloom and tile products, and that segment accounts for about 10% of its overall business. It also does about $2 million annually in K-12 schools, mostly private schools where funds can be more plentiful. Roughly 40% of its sales are tile. Its Chakra, Charles River, and Magna Carta lines all offer subtle patterned carpet in various colorways.

Milliken primarily sells high-performance cushion backed modular carpet and education is a significant part of its commercial business. With Cannon Design it developed its Theory line specifically for education. The tiles are larger than usual at 36”, which creates fewer seams and reduces wear. In the same vein, Stimulus, a new 36” tile line with sophisticated random designs, made its debut last summer and interest has been high. Both lines have a number of unique designs created with a school atmosphere in mind.

Mannington is also a player in all levels of education, and its products are highlighted on its website at edu.mannington.com. In general it’s selling more carpet—both tile and broadloom with high-performance backings—to higher education, and more resilient to K-12 projects. Its Gametime and Halftime lines with high-performance Integra backing are popular. Most of the carpet in colleges and universities ends up in libraries and high-end student housing. In the K-12 market, its carpet is used in theaters, music rooms, offices and special events centers.

Resilient
VCT is widely seen as the most economical flooring for school use, especially its installed cost. But long term the maintenance costs can add up, to the tune of about $1.50 per square foot per year after it’s stripped and resurfaced. However, it’s durable, it lasts a long time—manufacturers say as long as 30 years—and individual tiles can be easily replaced. A step up in initial price are sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl tile and linoleum. Some manufacturers also offer a vinyl enhanced tile, which contains more vinyl for added durability. It can also handle heavier loads without denting. Some resilient flooring can mimic terrazzo and other more durable flooring.

VCT and other vinyl products account for about 90% of the hard surface flooring that Cannon Design specifies in the K-12 market. Much of the rest is quartzite tile, which costs more per foot, but is very durable and easy to maintain.

There are some other niche products that are starting to show up. Decorative concrete, because of its low cost, durability, looks, and easy maintenance, offers one alternative, especially in K-12 schools. Expanko also makes a rubber/cork combination tile flooring that offers both durability and exceptional green characteristics.

Mannington, Forbo and Armstrong are some of the major suppliers of more traditional resilient flooring to schools.

Mannington sells its Essentials and Designs VCT lines, and Nature’s Path LVT, into the education segment, most of it in K-12.

Forbo positions its Marmoleum, a linseed oil-based linoleum, as the “first step up” for an alternative to VCT. In addition, it’s one of the greenest floorcoverings available. It’s biodegradable, has low emissions, and inhibits MRSA bacteria, among other characteristics. Marmoleum can be used in nearly every room of a school. It’s stronger and quieter than vinyl, and its ease of maintenance will make it less expensive than vinyl over the life of the floor, Forbo says, because it doesn’t have to be waxed. But it’s more expensive than vinyl up front. Forbo first sold Marmoleum into the higher education market and it has been widely used in dorms, as well as corridors and classrooms.

Armstrong sells both vinyl tile and sheet products and linoleum, and its Imperial Texture VCT is its most widely used product. At GreenBuild last year it introduced its Migrations bio-based tile, in which corn contributes 13% of its content by weight. It will be available early this year. It will be comparably priced to VCT and will be twice as dent resistant, five times as resistant to impact, and less likely to crack from uneven subfloors. It also has the same maintenance characteristics as VCT. The company believes there will be a lot of potential interest from education.

A Unique Hybrid
Lees markets one of the most unusual products for schools called NeoFloor, which it positions as a hard surface alternative for high traffic areas. It’s a sheet vinyl that also comes in tiles, but it contains flocked nylon 6,6 for a soft surface. Each square yard contains 70 million fiber ends. The result is a product that has some of the acoustical, softness, appearance, and warmth properties of carpet but easier maintenance and repair characteristics. The product has been in use in Europe for decades but Lees has been selling it for eight years under a license agreement with manufacturer Bonar Floors.

Copyright 2008 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Coverings, Mohawk Industries, Mannington Mills, Interface, Armstrong Flooring