LAX - Tom Bradley International Terminal Renovation, Apron, and Concourse Modernization

Fuse Alliance – Toughest Site Conditions / Greatest Space Challenges Installing and removing floor covering in the nation's third busiest airport, Signature Flooring teamed with McCarthy Bldg. Companies and Clark Construction to provide Los Angeles World Airports' cornerstone, the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal, with new carpet and resilient floor covering in an occupied, complex and secure environment. All of Signature’s direct employees on the project worked with LAX’s Homeland Security Badge department to receive the proper fingerprint background checks and security badges to access necessary areas within the heightened security facility. Next up were logistical hurdles related to material deliveries, staging, acclimation, and bussing in installers from off-site parking locations. Once inside the byzantine structure first erected in 1984 for the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games, Signature navigated work areas over six levels while assessing floor preparation conditions. Our firm utilized Ardex MC Rapid, Feather Finish and K15 Self Level for a myriad of conditions of the existing and/or recently demo’ed floor covering. Quadrants which previously had terrazzo were demolished and found to contain high moisture vapor emissions while others were found to be in tolerance, but required cementious self-leveling up to 1 ½ inches. Tight contractual milestone turnovers to the owner, Los Angeles World Airports, necessitated efficient manpower and proper planning. Coordination with other typical MEP and construction trades were crucial and at times another obstacle for our firm to ensure a clean and cordoned off work space for the finish floor covering installation. Swing shift or night labor was needed in the busiest sectors. At a moment’s notice, the owner would request a temporary substrate or carpet tile with wall base on temporary barricades to service international passengers traversing the terminal. Among the finishes used on the project, Signature installed Fentress-specified Bentley Mills carpet tile with Roppe wall base and transitions at Customs and Border Protection offices. In areas such as the TSA Goods Screening sector, we utilized Roppe “SafeTcork” Rubber Tile for a space requiring extreme performance and durability. Level 2 of the Terminal in between Arrivals and Departures featured an Intransit Lounge and thoroughfare for passengers in between flights. Bentley’s “Euro Modern” carpet tile was selected here for its aesthetic appeal and design. This area featured a 200 linear foot uninterrupted walk way for installers to snap the perfect line for a monolithic installation. In Back of Houses regions, Armstrong’s cost effective and versatile Imperial Texture VCT was used along with Static Dissipative Tile in all server and telecom offices. As a premier City of Los Angeles public works project, Signature provided and submitted correct journeyman-to-apprentice ratios to supply the owner with full certified payroll reporting and prevailing wage documentation. Furthermore, the project received LEED sliver certification, in part, for post and pre consumer recycled materials and low VOC adhesives. In total the overall project, utilizing 4,500 yards of carpet tile and broadloom and 16,000 square feet of resilient flooring was completed in September of 2016 to substantially modernize LAX’s Tom Bradley Terminal.