Nick Mooren, a commercial flooring installer at H.J. Martin since 2003, is one of five recipients nationally of the first Floor Covering Installer Awards.  Mooren’s efforts on the Children’s Reading Room at the Madison (Wis.) Central Public Library were recognized by FCI in the Commercial Resilient category.

FCI in 2014 created an awards program “that celebrates installers’ achievements with some of the best and most creative installations of the year in a wide range of materials.”

Mooren’s work was highlighted in the October/November 2014 issue of Floor Covering Installer.  He also receives an award plaque and a pair of custom-fitted kneepads from contest sponsor ProKnee.

Noticeable in H.J. Martin’s award-winning work on the Children’s Reading Room at the Madison Public Library is the vibrantly colored flooring, evoking images of an open meadow, and three cheerfully decorated reading nooks within the walls which light up when a child enters them.

“This project required some thought and some struggles,” Mooren told FCI editor Michael Chmielecki.  “We used Forbo Marmoleum on the floors, the walls and the ceiling.  Getting it to stick on the ceiling was probably the biggest challenge for us – we had to have three or four guys hold the piece against the ceiling and then make braces for the wall until the glue set up.

“Working on the ceiling was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Mooren continued.  “It’s nice to be noticed, especially when it’s a project we’re extremely proud of.”

Nick Mooren installs colored sheet vinyl in the reading nooks of the Children’s Reading Room at the Madison Central Public Library in May 2013

Additional flooring products utilized included Flexco, Interface, Shaw Contract and Bentley, along with installation materials from Ardex/The W.W. Henry Co. and Schluter metal transitions.

“We believe our installers are among the finest craftsmen in the commercial flooring industry,” says H.J. Martin CEO Edward Martin.  “It’s wonderful to see that acknowledged on a national level by FCI and for Nick’s creative work to be honored.  We are very proud of the entire installation team which worked on the Madison Public Library.”

Joining Mooren on the Madison Public Library project were Josh Charles, Jake Greenwald, Dwayne Burleson, Andy Jurczykowski, Randy Basten, David Stevenson, Kevin Vandenbush and Pete Herman.

Forbo Associate Mechanic is one of multiple certifications held by the Commercial Flooring division of H.J. Martin.