What a healthcare resurfacing project actually looks like
Resurface Wraps refinished the office doors, casework and ceiling beams at AdventHealth in Orlando, Florida in dark walnut and light beige architectural film, saving $150,000 and 3 to 4 months against the replacement alternative scoped for that project, with no closure and no interruption to daily operations.
| Project | AdventHealth offices, Orlando, Florida |
| Scope | Office doors, casework, ceiling beams |
| Finishes | Dark walnut, light beige |
| Cost saving vs replacement | $150,000, that project measured against its own replacement scope |
| Time saved | 3 to 4 months |
| Closure required | None |
Two things to read into that figure before you use it for budgeting. The work was in office areas rather than patient care areas, operating suites or sterile processing, which is a materially easier environment than an inpatient unit. And the saving is one project's number measured against that project's own replacement scope, not a rate per square foot. A different substrate condition, a stricter infection control precaution class or a patient care location produces different numbers, which is why we scope before we price. The full account of what was difficult, including the code and cleaning constraints, is in the AdventHealth Orlando case study.
What decides whether film belongs on a given healthcare surface
Three questions decide it, and they are worth asking in this order before a finish is specified.
What occupancy is the space? NFPA 101 sets interior finish class by occupancy classification, and one campus routinely contains an inpatient tower, an outpatient suite and an administrative building governed by three different chapters. New health care occupancies start at Class A wall and ceiling finish under 18.3.3, existing at Class A or B under 19.3.3, while ambulatory health care and business occupancies require Class A or B in exits and exit access corridors and permit Class A, B or C elsewhere. Section 10.2.8.1 then permits Class B where Class A is required in sprinklered space, other than for textile materials.
What does environmental services wipe it with? 3M's technical data sheet for DI-NOC Architectural Finishes, revision T of June 2024, excludes ammonia, chlorine, strong organic based cleaning products and detergents below pH 3 or above pH 11. Any surface on a routine chlorine based disinfection round is the wrong place for this material, whatever its fire rating.
Is the substrate sound? Water damaged gypsum, delaminating veneer, corroded metal, failed casework joints and doors that no longer close and latch are structural problems wearing a cosmetic disguise. Film over any of them fails visibly, and in a healthcare building that is worse than the dated finish it replaced.
Where the answers are business or existing health care occupancy, detergent cleaning, and sound substrates, resurfacing is usually the better economics by a wide margin. Where they are not, we will say so rather than sell into it.
Surfaces we resurface in healthcare buildings
Resurface Wraps refinishes commercial doors, casework and millwork, walls and corridors, ceilings and ceiling elements and elevator car interiors across administrative, back of house and public areas of healthcare buildings. Two exclusions we state up front rather than at the end of a proposal: a labeled fire door receives film only under a listing that covers that specific door construction with that specific product, which we set out in the Best Western Spokane door program, and elevator hoistway entrance assemblies at a landing are labeled rated assemblies treated the same way. Elevator car interiors are governed separately by ASME A17.1 rather than by the building interior finish table, covered in the DHL Plantation elevator and interior program.
Send us a floor plan and a finish schedule and we will scope it, including the parts we would tell you not to do. Get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Can a hospital be resurfaced without closing the area?
Resurfacing with architectural film is routinely carried out in occupied healthcare buildings, and at AdventHealth in Orlando, Florida the office doors, casework and ceiling beams were refinished with no closure and no interruption to daily operations. Applying film to a sound existing substrate is a low dust operation compared with demolishing and replacing casework, which is why it can proceed in occupied areas where a replacement project could not. The facility's infection prevention team still sets the class of precaution through an infection control risk assessment, and the barriers, containment or after hours scheduling it requires belong in the schedule and the price from the start.
Which healthcare surfaces are suitable for architectural film and which are not?
Architectural film suits commercial doors, casework and millwork, walls and corridors, ceilings and ceiling elements, and elevator car interiors across administrative, back of house and public areas of healthcare buildings, provided the substrate is sound and the surface is cleaned with detergent rather than a chlorine based disinfectant. Film is not suitable on a labeled fire door except under a listing covering that specific door construction with that specific product, nor on elevator hoistway entrance assemblies at a landing, which are labeled rated assemblies. Film is also the wrong answer over water damaged gypsum, delaminating veneer, corroded metal, failed casework joints or doors that no longer close and latch, because those are substrate problems and a finish will not fix them.
What fire rating does wall finish need in a healthcare building?
NFPA 101 sets interior finish class by the occupancy classification of the space, not by the building's name. New health care occupancies start at Class A wall and ceiling finish under section 18.3.3, with Class A or B allowed in individual rooms of not more than four person capacity and on corridor wall finish in the lower half of the wall up to 48 inches. Existing health care occupancies allow Class A or B throughout under 19.3.3. Ambulatory health care and business occupancies require Class A or B in exits and exit access corridors and allow Class A, B or C elsewhere. Section 10.2.8.1 permits Class B where Class A is required in sprinklered space, other than for textile materials. Confirm the adopted edition and the acceptance of that reduction with your authority having jurisdiction.
How do hospital cleaning protocols affect the choice of surface finish?
Cleaning chemistry decides where architectural film can go, and it is usually settled before anyone asks the finish question. 3M's technical data sheet for DI-NOC Architectural Finishes, revision T of June 2024, calls for mild detergent and water and excludes ammonia, chlorine, strong organic based cleaning products, and detergents below pH 3 or above pH 11. Administrative offices, conference rooms, back of house corridors and non clinical casework are typically cleaned with detergent, which matches the data sheet. A surface on a routine chlorine based high touch disinfection round does not, whatever its fire rating. Get the answer from the infection prevention team in writing rather than from the design team, because the two do not always hold the same picture of the cleaning schedule.
How much can a healthcare facility save by refinishing rather than replacing?
Refinishing the office doors, casework and ceiling beams at AdventHealth in Orlando, Florida came in $150,000 and 3 to 4 months below the replacement alternative scoped for that project, with no closure of the space. That figure is one project's saving measured against its own replacement scope in office areas, and it is a worked example rather than a rate card. We are not aware of a published independent benchmark comparing healthcare casework replacement cost and downtime against refinishing. A different substrate condition, a stricter infection control precaution class or a patient care location produces different numbers, which is why Resurface Wraps scopes a project before pricing it.