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Aurora, Ill. — April 20, 2015 — New York City’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 shelter 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, located off Central Park West between 66th and 67th streets, was 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,” according to 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-inch 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,” Archetypal said. “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.
For more information about TEC, visit tecspecialty.com.
