Contro work
Job photos — not a catalog shoot. Only Natalie’s Contro floors. Captions sit under each image. Substrate first in every caption.
Case study · Coraopolis, PA
T/Sgt Vernon McGarity U.S. Army Reserve Center — General’s third-floor hallways. Prior vendor let stripper dry overnight. Natalie had just finished 80,000 sq ft of carpet at the same base a day early with a disability-employed crew, driven home, then turned around for the emergency recovery — Pioneer Eclipse 20-inch 225, Flash 55, OmniGuard, and on-the-spot training for the three vendors who got it wrong.
VCT classroom and corridor work from Natalie’s floor career — craft proof only, not a Contro Floor Revival LLC job. Institution not named.
Selected from Natalie’s record. Captions name the surface correctly — VCT is not labeled as terrazzo.
Selected from Natalie’s Contro Floor Revival photo record. Before conditions and finished shine — her work only.
Corridors, restrooms, and hard surfaces — selected unique shots from Natalie’s albums.
Pre-removal assessment and later prep work (address withheld). Carbondale polished-concrete emergency after previous-vendor damage. Unique keepers only.
Johnson City commercial slab (address withheld). After old tile came up, cutback adhesive left oil contamination in the concrete. Diamabrush work kept bringing oil to the surface — a true polish was not possible. Honest next step for a contaminated slab: oil-blocking primer, then overlay or a floor covering. Photos show residue, trowel ridges, machine path, and oil wicking at cracks.
Finished and in-process floor work at the Army Reserve Base.
Additional work photos from Natalie’s floor-work record. Job labels and substrate details are intentionally omitted.
Classroom, hallway, lobby, and corridor after refinish — plus equipment in use. Generic job-type captions only.
Recent VCT work, including a before-and-after of the same doorway (first two photos).
I refinish hardwood by hand, with patience, and I stay with every floor until it is right. One of the jobs below was stained; the others were left natural at the client’s request.
I spot-remove paint and black spray-paint overspray with a palm sander on a heavy grit, taking care not to clog the screen. I sand to 150 grit, and sometimes 180. Before any coating goes down, the floor is bone dry and tacked with mineral spirits.
I finish with Basic Coatings StreetShoe NXT, a waterborne finish used on gym floors. It is low odor and self-leveling, and it takes light foot traffic in 24 hours. I apply it from a watering can with a microfiber pad, never a roller, and I follow the manufacturer’s directions.
Before any finish, I wash the walls and ceiling and clean the whole room. I close the windows and doors, and no one goes in until the floor is dry. I check the leveling after about 20 minutes, then run a blower fan on its lowest setting, pointed up. I tie my hair back, wear brand-new socks and lint-roll my clothes before every coat.
I buy fresh finish direct from the manufacturer and mix only what I need. Used product never goes back into the jug. I wipe the jug lids so dried bits don’t fall in, and I clean and blow-dry my watering cans after every use.
Before I leave, I do a full inspection of the floor. I have never had a callback.
Muted dry-touch hallway clip — Contro mid-job on the slab.
In 20 years, I've never left a floor I wasn't proud of. I hold myself to a standard most contractors don't. Sometimes what's under the surface is out of my hands, and what I can guarantee is that I will find a solution to whatever problem we're dealing with. Every floor on this page was finished for a real facility that had to open on schedule.
