AURORA, IL  Ronald McDonald House Charities aims to provide a “home-away-from-home” for families with seriously ill or injured children. Athletes, designers, flooring contractors and builders worked together to help the Kansas City Ronald McDonald House accomplish that goal – using TEC® products to renovate the house and create a cheerful environment.

For more than 30 years, the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City has supported families going through difficult times by providing a place for them to stay and unwind while their children receive medical care in nearby hospitals. On an average night, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City serves 67 families. For families supporting their kids in uncertain and sometimes scary health situations, a place to recharge provides comfort and joy. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City (RMHC-KC) strives to cultivate a warm, welcoming environment and promote a sense of community.

To provide additional space for its guests, Sporting Kansas City – a Major League Soccer team – partnered with MLS WORKS to sponsor the Ronald McDonald House renovation. Jennifer Bertrand, the season three winner of HGTV’s “Design Star” whose family has received services from a Ronald McDonald House in New York, designed the space. Drawing from her own experiences as a designer, a mother and a guest of a Ronald McDonald House, Bertrand used thoughtful planning and atmospheric details like lighting, finishes and seating area arrangements to create a loving and supportive environment. Using donated materials, labor and furnishings, the space was converted from an outdated storage area to a unique place of respite and entertainment for visiting families, with cheerful decorations, televisions and video game systems.

Flooring contractor Interior Surface donated time to renovate two bathrooms at the Ronald McDonald House, where they used TEC® products to install brightly-colored 1-by-1 inch mosaic tiles. The tiles, in blues, creams and browns that match Sporting Kansas City’s uniforms, stick to the restrooms’ walls, ceilings and floors with TEC® Full Flex® mortar. Full Flex® has easy-to-use characteristics – including one-step mixing and smooth and easy spreadability – that helped installers secure the hundreds of tiles used in the bathrooms. 

“We were happy with the TEC® products we used throughout this special installation,” says Don Planinshek, tile division project manager for Interior Surface. “We transformed the restrooms from dull and outdated to cheerful and bright – helping create a positive space for the families of the Ronald McDonald House.” 

TEC® products helped installers stay on a strict schedule so that the renovation would be ready to reveal to project sponsors Sporting Kansas City after the team played an important soccer match. TEC® Power Grout® Ultimate Performance Grout is ready for foot traffic in just four hours—great for a busy jobsite like the Ronald McDonald house. Its fast-curing universal formula was used on both the walls and floors of the bathrooms – saving on mixing time. In addition, it never requires sealing, which cut down on labor hours. When members of the soccer team visited the Ronald McDonald House after their victory, the tile installation was complete, in part because of the rapid setting time and labor-saving characteristics of Power Grout®.

“This project had a quick turnaround. Since Power Grout® does not require sealing and cures quickly, we were able to save labor hours and make sure the space was ready for its grand opening,” says Planinshek.

With more than 5,000 families expected to use the space, the Ronald McDonald House required high-performance setting materials. Both Full Flex® and Power Grout® are rated for residential to heavy commercial applications, and the highly stain-resistant formula of Power Grout® also resists cracking, shrinking, mold and mildew – even in wet conditions like those in restrooms. The installation was capped off with TEC® AccuColor® Siliconized Unsanded Acrylic Caulk, which forms a tough, flexible, water-resistant seal over the mosaic installation to protect it from moisture. TEC® products helped achieve a tough installation, perfect for the important guests of the Ronald McDonald House. 

The renovation was unveiled on December 5, 2013. Jennifer Bertrand designed the space. Other project team members include sponsors MLS WORKS and Sporting Kansas City and general contractor JE Dunn Construction, Kansas City, who donated their time. Interior Surfaces, Olathe, KS, completed the tile installation free of charge.

For more information about TEC® visit tecspecialty.com. 

The TEC® brand is offered by H.B. Fuller Construction Products Inc. – a leading provider of technologically advanced construction materials and solutions to the commercial, industrial and residential construction industry. Headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, the company’s recognized and trusted brands – TEC®, CHAPCO®, Grout Boost®, Foster®, AIM™ and others – are available through an extensive network of distributors and dealers, as well as home improvement retailers. For more information, visit www.hbfuller-cp.com.