New Haven, CT www.kmorganassociates.com 203-752-9237

Take It to the Limit

This elegant project taught the crew a lot of new techniques... on a tight deadline.

This project was a renovation of the 19th century Graduate Hotel in New Haven, CT. A big job in the best of circumstances, the crew was confronted with several design changes during the course of the project, including historic elements with faux finishes that needed to be repaired and blended. And there was the clock: tick… tick… tick… Project manager Mike Mikolinski told us they started already behind schedule due to issues with structural modifications and code compliance. But no one said, “That’s OK, just finish up late,” so they busted chops to keep pace with the originally scheduled tasks.

After the guest rooms were complete, it was time to move downstairs to “finish” up at the lower level. “These areas were already behind schedule. “In some cases we would finally get into a space and only have a one-day turnaround to complete for the next trade to move in,” said Mikolinski. This was tough from a mental standpoint as well, but Mikolinski reported that work was completed not just on schedule, but early, still with exceptional quality.

Included in the project were these work orders:

• Paint all interior and exterior elements – walls, ceilings, bathrooms, doors and frames, tin ceilings, stained trim and doors, floor sealers, elevator pit sealer, faux finished trim and embellishments at ground floor areas, interior/exterior windows, exterior bump outs and panels including some gold accented details.
• The Hotel Duncan sign in its antiquated condition/look. The hotel accepted Mikolinski's recommendation to seal the interior with an epoxy and seal the exterior with a matte finish.
• Strip off copper elements from the front canopy to reveal the original historic beams and other features. New copper elements, like beam covers and detail elements on the lighted glass scalloped feature, had to be patinated to match existing aged metal components.
• Replace wallpaper borders in all guest rooms due to some misspellings on the original owner-supplied borders. Wallpaper floor and ceilings with a heavily embossed paper, then paint to make it ready for another company to install faux finishes.

Mikolinski is proud of his crew, including Foreman Eddie Hook who he worked with closely throughout the project.. “The project was challenging but turned out to be equally rewarding, as this was a great job to show all of our capabilities. I was able to stretch the guys in the field to do things they had never done before.”

Lobby at the Graduate Hotel.   Walls and ceilings were wallpapered with embossed wallcoverings and painted.

Key Products

• Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane, SuperPaint, Duration Home and ProMar 200
• ML Campbell stains and finishes