hornerflooring

Apr 04 2024

How to Fundraise for your New Horner Floor

How to Fundraise

Is your school looking to purchase and install a new gym floor? Are you lacking the funds to pull it off? Let us help you with fundraising for a new athletic floor.

First, form a fundraising committee specifically for this project. Sharing the financial responsibility with a group of people will add accountability and reduce stress for those working hard to make the dream a reality.

Second, remember there is no irrelevant fundraising effort. Every little bit helps and every contributor can feel pride in the new gym floor – regardless of how much they were able to donate. Here are a few tried-and-true suggestions for fundraising…

Floor Advertising

Horner is here to help you raise money for your new athletic floor in any way we can. One of the common ways we are able to raise money for you is by displaying logos of local businesses on your new hardwood floor.

This is a practice we’ve done for Boys & Girls Clubs around the country, for faith-based organizations, and even for the NBA!

To see what your options are, contact us.

How to Fundraise With A Penny Jar

Consider putting penny jars in your classrooms.

The new gym floor will be for the children – why not invite them to help make it a reality so they can feel involved?
Kids generally like to help, especially when an incentive is in place (such as an ice cream party for the classroom that raises the most money per month).

You might also consider a virtual penny jar by setting up an online contribution page on a service like Give-Send-Go, or other like services

A Book Fair

Consider having a used book fair at your school, where all of the proceeds go toward the new project. What better way to raise money than encourage students to read new-to-them books for a low price?

Ask families and community members to donate books that may be sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

How to Fundraise Using Walk-A-Thon

Rather than running a 5K, consider hosting a community Walk-A-Thon to raise funds for your new court! Participants can collect pledge money from sponsors and celebrate the grand total on the big day. These events are a great way to grow support for a project. They open up plenty of additional opportunities for business donations in exchange for advertising.

Business Donations

Consider writing to local companies, restaurants, or businesses asking for donations.

Offer to have a sponsor plaque that will hang in your gym above the new floor with donor names or donor banners. Or, as mentioned previously, offer to advertise the business on the back of a t-shirt during other fundraising events.

Remember, this doesn’t have to be a monetary donation – perhaps they can donate snacks or drinks to fundraising events.

How to Rundraise With Restaurant Fundraisers

Ask businesses or restaurants to create their own fundraising efforts for your cause:

10% of every order on Friday will go toward the fundraising efforts
5% of the daily revenue, etc.

This will help to

Promote the business’s reputation within the community
Potentially increase their own sales
Increase your fundraising total

For their donation to the fundraising effort, consider hanging a plaque for them or their banner/logo in the gym.

Contact Horner Sports FLooring

Mar 27 2024

10 Best Questions to Ask when Considering a New Floor

What Are the 10 Best Questions to Ask?

1. What activities will take place on the floor?

Different sports and activities require different surfaces. At Horner, we know that your biggest investment is in your athlete. We aim to provide the best-fitting resources to help them compete at the highest level. When considering a new floor, be sure to identify WHO will be using the floor. From basketball to dance, we provide systems for every need.

Another important consideration is the kind of equipment that will be used on the floor. Equipment includes bleachers, backstops, portable hoops, media tables, and more. Knowing your intended level of wear-and-tear will help us hand-pick the best flooring options for you. This also tells us what maintenance you will require in the future. Horner doesn’t just deliver a product…we are a service. This means that we are here to help you through the entirety of the floor’s life. Contact us to learn more about our Cleaning and Maintenance Program.

2. What subfloor system will best suit the activities?

By identifying possible activities that will take place on your new floor, we can steer you in the right direction of the best system. Here are some trends we’ve noticed…

Basketball: The most common sub-floor is the 2-panel system. Some things to consider are levels of fatigue and stress on the court, consistent ball-bounce, and vibration.
Volleyball: With the same general wear-and-tear, we promote systems similar to that of basketball. In addition to the flooring characteristics we look at for basketball courts, we identify ways to maximize players’ verticals while minimizing injury that occurs more often on harder surfaces. We do this using different padding, which affects the hardness of the floor.
Racquetball: These courts tend to be a mix of components of both basketball and volleyball courts. Because there is less space to stop momentum, it’s important to achieve the right level of traction for these surfaces. This is done through the application of a finish to increase friction, reduce slipperiness, and increase overall performance.

3. What type of environment will the gym be in?

What amount of moisture will the floor encounter? Depending on the geographic location and air quality control, there could be substantial differences in relative humidity.

Floors are installed to account for these changes as the maple expands and contracts from the humidity level.

Building architects are expected to provide MFMA-approved conditions for wood floors by looking at existing conditions and the possibility of future moisture problems. If post-consumer recycled materials, sustainably harvested hardwood, and plywood are necessary for your new floor, make sure the gym floor contractor is aware.

You can often get a quality sustainable product and make eco-friendly choices even without a LEED certified floor. Also, when evaluating green choices, consider a water-based finish to reduce the BOC content. Some state and local laws limit BOC amounts.

4. How important are sustainability and green building?

In the field of sports flooring, a critical design decision brought to the forefront by Horner and USGC is to choose wood material harvested from sustainable forest land – but another critical sustainability question comes into play when specifying a particular cut of maple.

At Horner we believe the intention of sustainable design is to “eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful, sensitive design”. (see Wikipedia) To us this means choosing a sports maple design which consumes the least amount of trees possible while maximizing the maple trees resource to the greatest benefit of both design professional and owner. Subfloors can be made in part with post-consumer recycled materials, combined with sustainably harvested hardwood and plywood.

5. What grade of maple should be specified?

Choosing a grade of maple is based solely on aesthetic appearance. It has no effect on playability.

First grade maple is the lightest in color with a clean, consistent look.
Second grade maple is a bit darker with a few more imperfections (such as knots or mineral stains). This is the most common grade used for gym floors.
Third grade maple is the darkest color and has more knots and mineral stains.

If you ask any manufacturer, they will tell you the quality will be the same whether you get first, second or third grade maple. They will all perform equally, so it is simply for your aesthetic preferences.

6. What kind of finish should be specified?

The finishing choice depends on personal preference

Oil-based finishes: color will amber as the floor ages
Water-based finishes: maintain a clearer shade

The MFMA has a list of approved sealers and finishes. Be sure to consider the regulations of your area in the country, particularly for VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) content. Oil-based finishes are higher in VOC content than water-based finishes. Finishes with lower or zero VOC content are better for the environment, but ultimately, the choice depends on your needs.

7. When should game lines and graphics be considered?

Game lines and graphics should be considered right away. They are an essential part of choosing and making a new hardwood floor, because they will determine the future uses of the floor. Here’s our quick tips:

The best time to apply game lines is during the installation of the floor
Taping a floor can pose injury to athletes if it creates a slippery area, and can also damage the floor finish upon removal
It is important to remember that there are different game markings for NBA, college, and high school basketball

8. What are the terms of maintenance?

Maintaining a floor is crucial and will essentially protect the investment in the floor. Daily dust mopping is highly recommended, along with regular cleanings with an approved solution. As weather changes, watch for leakage, and ensure that proper heating/cooling systems are in place. If you live in an especially humid area, we will help you pick the proper system to allow for extra expansion.

On a yearly basis, the floor should be screened and recoated. Approximately every seven to ten years, depending on the usage, the floor will need to be sanded down, resealed, repainted, and refinished. Contact us with any questions about taking care of your Horner floor.

9. Who should install the floor?

The MFMA has a list of accredited installers on their webpage. Each of these installers and flooring manufacturers are evaluated every two years. These tests ensure that the installation recommendations are being followed.

10. Can the performance of the floor be assured?

There are multiple sets of flooring standards and guidelines.

At Horner, we have several DIN floors known as our Performance Systems. DIN standards measure the following performance characteristics:

Shock absorption
Vertical deflection
Deflective indentation
Ball bounce
Friction
Rolling load

Quality assurance is always a priority. Contact us with any questions regarding our warranty or DIN-compliant floors.

Contact Horner Sports FLooring

Sep 07 2023

Horner Dance Studio Flooring

Dance Studio Flooring and The Performing Arts

Dance studio flooring for the performing arts often requires the same level of performance as professional sports. For decades, Horner Sports Flooring has supplied the needs of the performing arts. We can tune our resilient floor systems to be as soft or firm as you like. From studios to performance hall stages, Horner’s dance studio flooring has protected artists and allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their career.

Choosing the correct flooring for your dance studio does not need to be difficult. Contact Horner Sports Flooring and speak with one of our flooring specialists. They will ask you a few questions about the studio’s environment, things like humidity and temperature and if this is a new studio or an existing one. Then, we’ll help you understand the benefits of the various systems we offer for your use case.

We strive to make the process fun and educational. If you are working with an architect or builder, please include them in the call, or have them call us direct as they will have all the information we need to make sure you get exactly the floor you need and want.

If you are renovating or building a new performance hall and need a world class surface for your stage, Horner Flooring can provide it. Our installers have experience in the nuances of installing a stage surface.

Whatever your needs are in the area of performing arts surfaces, you can count on Horner’s decades of experience to get you the perfect floor for the perfect perfomance.

Additional information can be found here.

Contact Horner Sports Flooring