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Poured Gypsum Concrete Instrumental In Creating Smooth Level Floors In Hotel Restoration
Wichita, Kansas began in 1887 when entrepreneur John Carey built the magnificent Hotel Carey on the corner of Douglas and Fourth Street for $100,000, providing the grandest lodging accommodations available east of Denver. The hotel was made famous in December of 1900, when a prohibitionist zealot by the name of Carry Nation entered the lounge hurling rocks and metal pieces. She destroyed crystal glasses, decanters, mirrors and the pride of the establishment, a mural of Cleopatra at the Bath, which depicted good times endangered by alcohol.
 Shortly thereafter, the property was sold to Ben Eaton. The renamed Eaton Hotel existed for over 80 years changing hands many times, while still catering to the evolving commerce of Kansas. But age and suburban migration took their toll, contributing to the decline of the city’s downtown retail commerce and the deterioration of the splendid architecture that has graced the city for over 100 years.
After purchasing the historic Eaton Hotel and surrounding properties for $365,000 in 1997, the City of Wichita and Key Construction, Inc. undertook a $15.5 million dollar rehabilitation and redevelopment effort to revitalize Eaton Square and the Eaton Hotel. Dynamic Drywall, Inc. a licensed applicator of Hacker Floor Underlayments, was awarded responsibility over the entire assembly, from installing structural framing, floor and roof joists, insulation, drywall and plywood subfloors, to finishing off the project by pouring 28,200 square feet of FIRM-FILL Gypsum Concrete. FIRM-FILL created the smooth, level floors necessary for the installation of finished floor goods.
 Roger Roper, owner of Dynamic Drywall, Inc., feels they were chosen for this project based on their access to Hacker Floor Underlayments, and their ability to take on multiple tasks in the renovation, allowing control over the schedule for a timely project completion.
FIRM-FILL Gypsum Concrete is a cementitious floor underlayment designed for use in residential and commercial projects to satisfy acoustical ratings and fire codes, making it the perfect choice for this renovation project. With excellent STC and IIC ratings and over 50 UL listings, FIRM-FILL Gypsum Concrete is one of five superlative gypsum concrete floor underlayments supplied by Hacker Industries. For use over wood subfloors, precast or cast-in-place concrete, oriented strand board, waferboard, radiant tubes and polystyrene, Hacker Floor Underlayments are installed quickly and can be walked on in 90 minutes.
With completion of this ambitious restoration in sight, the end result will be 115 completely unique and prestigious apartments with over 40 different floor plans, which will double the residential population of Old Town Wichita, while adding 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The desire to link Old Town with downtown Wichita, while concurrently paying homage to the city’s history, is an urban success story that will no doubt set a precedent to other cities across America, who just need to wipe away the dust and rediscover their existing treasures.
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