H.J. Martin and Son had two winning projects – one commercial, one residential – for the second straight year in the annual Floor Covering Installer magazine Installation Awards. It also marked the fifth year in the past seven that the company has had an award-worthy project.

In the Commercial Project-Resilient category, a team from H.J. Martin and Son was honored for its work on the HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital Pediatric Emergency Center. The company and installer Josh Carlson also were recognized in the Residential Project-Ceramic Tile/Stone category for a New Construction Master Bathroom Shower. For Carlson, it was the second straight year he turned in award-winning work on a residential ceramic project.

“We strongly believe that our installers are craftsmen in the truest sense of the word,” says Edward Martin, president and CEO of H.J. Martin and Son. “Having their work recognized by the readership of Floor Covering Installer on multiple occasions affirms that our people are among the best in the business.

“The St. Vincent pediatric center is eye-catching work that has made a real impact on the community. The work of Josh Carlson on residential shower projects continues to impress.”

The HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital Pediatric Emergency Center project was a renovation of an existing 2,500-square-foot space into a new area with a spacious waiting room, six patient rooms specifically designed for children, and a large play area with interactive games. The refreshed facility was intended to put families at ease, utilizing forest murals at the head of each bed and a Northwoods theme throughout.

The flooring was used to create spaces that look like a forest pathway with large, pebble-like insets and green sheet vinyl to represent grass, complementing the overall nature theme. The floor pattern follows the shape of a few wall graphics in order to extend the pathway visually.

Len Nygren was the lead flooring installer for H.J. Martin and Son on the five-month, phased project. He was joined by Randall Baril, Randy Basten, Sam Pazdera, James White, Dave Cornette and Mike Robenhorst.

“This was a pretty unique project due to the patterns, colors and design,” says Nygren. “It was quite creative because there were no dimensions placed on the (blue)prints. There was just a drawing of a suggestion of what they kind of expected things to look like.

“They gave me all the freedom that I needed and wanted to be creative on my part and to make sure that everything lined up and worked out well.”

A challenge successfully met by the H.J. Martin and Son team was the unique pattern cutting and ensuring that pattern lines lined up to wall graphics. To illustrate, there is a path cut into the hallway that meets up to a path in the tree graphic on the wall; these line up to create Trompe l’oeil.

Nygren reflects on the project and shares who gave him a high-five for his work in the Floor Covering Installer video below.

Carlson completed the New Construction Master Bathroom Shower in two phases over a 10-day period. The finished product delivered to the client of H.J. Martin and Son had a spa-like feel with luxury features that included steamers, benches and spaciousness.

“The complexities of this project were the large chairs that were in it,” explains Carlson. “That’s something we don’t see a whole lot of.”

According to Carlson, the shower was perfectly centered down the middle, with everything flowing out from there. The two large, lounge benches were the identical size and needed to look exactly the same.

The perfect installation was achieved by the installer starting in the center and wrapping the tile products all around.

Local supplier Bay Area Granite and Marble (BAGM) fabricated the quartz for the top of the benches. After Carlson prepped the shower, BAGM templated the tops/seats, a process that took roughly one week.

Carlson returned to the home to assist Bay Area Granite and Marble with placement of the seats/benches. He then spent seven days to tile and grout the shower.

He is most honored that the FCI Installation Award is chosen by his peers. “It means a lot that people who see a lot of these and understand what goes into them – how much work it really is (voted it the winner),” says Carlson. “The details are what makes a good installation.”

Carlson highlights and details the winning project in the Floor Covering Installer video below.

Previous individual winners of the Floor Covering Installer Installation Awards from H.J. Martin and Son are installers Josh Carlson, in 2019 for his work on a Master Bathroom Shower project in De Pere, Wis.; Rob Pomeroy, in 2017 for his work at Camera Corner Connecting Point in Green Bay, Wis.; John Lancor, in 2016 for his work on the Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology Center in Appleton, Wis.; and Nick Mooren, in 2014 for his work at the Madison (Wis.) Central Public Library.

A prior team winner was in 2019, on the Florence Middle/High School Addition and Remodel in Florence, Wis.