Beast Barbecue Applies Metallic Flooring for Unique Aesthetic

Utilizing the “slow and low” cooking techniques found in the Southern United States, Minneapolis-based Beast Barbecue boasts a plethora of smoked meats, crafted sandwiches and sides, and a full menu of signature drinks to please every customer’s palate. Prior to its debut in early 2019, Beast Barbecue’s owners needed to renovate their building and freshen up the decor with spicier aesthetics to match their powerful menu. Beast Barbecue asked Sherwin-Williams to supply a flooring system that would be stain-resistant to food oils and acids and hold up to traffic patterns in commonly traveled paths, but that would also provide an eye-catching, smokey creative expression.

Beast Barbecue Flooring Solution
The installer, Andersen’s New Carpet Design, had used a comparable solution for years but switched to Sherwin-Williams in 2017 to take advantage of the proximity to a Sherwin-Williams store, local availability of product and local sales support. A Sherwin-Williams resinous flooring representative met with the owners and the installer pre-demolition to discuss the vision and the potential solutions for the floor. Because aesthetics were the biggest factor for Beast Barbecue, Sherwin-Williams and the installer worked together to create several flooring samples for testing, and the owners decided on a smokey, fiery pattern to run throughout the entire floor within the dining space. Sherwin-Williams Trafficote Metallic Flooring System was selected as the best solution to achieve that effect.

Trafficote combines select resins with metallic pigments that, when mixed with the clear resins, disperse into unique patterns and provide an iridescent and pearlescent look. Among its advantages are a seamless design, easily-maintained texture, resistance to wear, slips, chemicals and stains, and customizable color.

A careful preparation process was key on this project, as base floor demolition and repairs were necessary before a new coating could be applied, and concrete substrates were required to be free of imperfections prior to the coating application. After the tile was removed, the surface was mechanically profiled to eliminate contaminants. The imperfections were then filled in with Sherwin-Williams GP 3513 epoxy filler and primed with Sherwin-Williams GP 3579 epoxy primer and binder resin.

Color and Aesthetics
Sherwin-Williams GP 3746 resin with a metallic pigment system was then applied to the substrate with trowels and squeegees in the unique, requested pattern. To achieve the best results, the system cured for 12 hours. Finally, a high-wear urethane with additive was used as a topcoat over the system.

Perhaps the biggest advantage to Trafficote Metallic is that every metallic floor installation is designed, applied and cured differently, making each one the only of its kind. Beast Barbecue’s high-end, distinctive floor will never be reproduced anywhere else in the world.