Tec's WoodStrong Premium Urethane Wood Flooring Adhesive was used to help renovate New York's Tavern on the Green.

New York’s Tavern on the Green reopened in April 2014 with a design that evokes its pastoral past and a custom-made hardwood floor, made with Tec's WoodStrong Premium Urethane Wood Flooring Adhesive, achieves a rustic yet elegant aesthetic.

Tavern on the Green was built in 1870 to serve as shelter to the 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 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 renovation, designers exposed an element of the original building: the wooden beams in its vaulted ceilings. To highlight this unique feature, 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's WoodStrong wood flooring adhesive to install it.

“The floor plays a big role in this space. It’s an artistic work,” said an Archetypal representative. “We thought Tec WoodStrong would be the best glue possible for this installation.”

According to Archetypal, Tec's wood flooring adhesive product was approved 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.

Archetypal tested the glue in extreme humidity, dryness, heat and cold to ensure that all possible restaurant scenarios were addressed. It 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 and close, and the ovens run almost constantly,” said an Archetypal representative. “Our testing ensured that the Tec products would hold up in the demanding environment.”

For more information, visit tecspecialty.com.