School is Back in Session – Universities across the nation have opened their doors to the incoming class of 2019. While seniors enter in the home stretch, the fresh out of high school students are just beginning their college experience. As freshman get over their jitters about being independent for the first time, they will also have to get adjust to calling this place “home” for the next 4 years. New places, new faces, and new experiences are the joys of being a freshman, especially at Towson University.
With more than 22,000 students in attendance, Towson has been named the second the largest public university in Maryland, according to usanews.com. In addition, TU is celebrating their 150th year anniversary of academic excellence and student success – incredible! Between 19 NCAA athletic teams, a wide range of baccalaureate and graduate programs, TigerFest, and Campus Activities Board programs…it’s safe to assume that this university has a lot to offer!
But what about the food? Students are constantly in and out of classes, practices, and student events throughout the year, so of course there will be places to eat. In fact, Towson has 19 dining venues for students to choose from, with West Village and Newell Dining Hall being the two most popular places to eat on campus. Both dining halls are all you can eat, which means all you can eat pasta, ice cream and pizza!
These dining halls are great places to grab a meal in between classes, to escape during finals or all-nighters, to meet up with friends, and unfortunately, it’s the place to blame when freshman gain their “15” – you know what I’m talking about. Not to mention, well-known celebrities, athletes and political figures, such as Amy Schumer, Jermon Bushrod, Katie O’Malley, Mike Rowe and even Elmo, have once eaten at these dining halls when they were Tigers.
But before Towson opened the doors to their students, they asked SurfaceLink to take on two major countertop repair projects at Newell Dining Hall and West Village. After many years in operation and a countless number of students enjoying these facilities, these Towson dining hall countertops were in pretty bad shape with countertop cracks, chips, burns and seam separations. So, we sent 2 of our best (and closest) certified technicians, Rob and Steve, back to college!
Take a look at the before and after photos!
Project 1 – West Village Commons
Countertop – Silestone (Quartz Countetops) in Bamboo
Project Details – SurfaceLink repaired multiple countertop cracks and seam separations throughout each of the dining hall stations. Almost all the cracks and seam separations originated from the hot wells or the cold bars. In addition, SurfaceLink not only repaired the cracks and seam separations, we also insulated the countertops for extra protection against extreme temperatures and future failures!
- Overall View of West Village
- Overall View of the Pizza Bar
- Before: Overall Seam Separation at the Front of the Pizza Bar
- After: Seam Separation was Repaired
- Overall View of the Grill Station
- Before: Crack Originating at the Front of the Hot Wells of the Grill Station
- After: The Crack was Successfully Repaired
- Before: Crack at the Back of the Grill Station
- After: Repaired Crack – Can’t even tell it was there to begin with!
- Overall View of the Salad Bar
- Another Overall View of the Salad Bar
- Before: Seam Separation towards the Middle of the Salad Bar
- After: Overall View of the Salad Bar Seam Separation Repair: A+ in our books!
- Before: Seam Separation near the Hot Wells
- After: Close up of the Seam Separation Repair near the Hot Well
Project 2 – Newell Dining Hall
Countertop – DuPont Corian (Solid Surface Countertops) in Moss, Gravel and Macadam
Project Details – SurfaceLink repaired multiple countertop cracks and countertop seam separations that were located near the hot wells, cold bars, grill stations and waffle maker areas. Each station experienced some type of failure, mainly due to direct exposure to extreme temperatures and also the constant use of these stations by thousands of students and faculty each day.
- Overall View of Newell Dining Hall
- Overall View of Newell Dining Hall
- Before: An overall view of the Cracked Waffle Maker Station
- Before- Towson University – Newell Dining Hall: Multiple Hairline Cracks on the Waffle Maker Station Countertop
- After: Cracks were Repaired to an Inconspicuous State
- After: In Addition to the Repairs, SurfaceLink Installed a Cutting Board for Extra Protection Against Heat…Afterall, this is a Waffle Maker Station!
- Before: Large Seam Separation Near the Hot Wells
- After: Overall View of the Repair
- Overall View of the Center Island Grill Station
- Overall Back View of the Grill Station with 4 Visible Cracks and Seam Separations
- Before: First Seam separation on the Grill Station Countertops
- After: First Seam Separation Repaired
- Before: A Seam Separation at the Grill Station Countertops
- After: Seam Separation Repaired
- Before: Crack at the Edge of Hot Well of the Grill Station
- After: Crack was Succesfully Repaired
- Before: Edge of the Countertop had Broken Off
- Before: Close up of the Broken Edge of the Countertop
- After: Edge was Successfully Repaired
SurfaceLink is quite the expert when it comes to countertops! In addition to working on the dining hall countertops at Towson University, we’ve also worked in the dining halls of Harvard University, American University, and Howard University…just to name a few. Contact us today if you have a similar project or check out our Commercial Page for more information!