Welcome to the Carpenters Center, Local 2168!

Floorcoverers/Carpenters Local 2168 has moved its office space from Adams Street in Dorchester to the Carpenters Center.

The Floorcoverers’ new office is located on the third floor of the Carpenters Center, along with offices for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program, Shop and Millmen Local 51, Piledrivers Local 56 and Carpenters Local 723.

Please note, while the mailing address for Local 2168 has changed, their phone and fax numbers remain the same:

Floorcoverers/Carpenters Local 2168

750 Dorchester Ave., Suite 3033

Boston, MA 02125

Phone: 617-825-6141

Fax: 617-282-5047

First and third floors complete

Volunteer members from Local 2168 have been installing wood flooring on the second floor.

Before floor installation began, crews working for Allegheny Contract Flooring completed preparatory work on the existing concrete floor (see past post and video).

Floorlayers working for Pavilion Floors have completed installation of carpet in the office spaces, vinyl flooring in storage rooms, and cork flooring in break rooms. Walnut wood flooring is currently being installed by Local 2168 volunteers in the main lobby, corridors and the communicating stair connecting the second floor to the first floor.



Final touch-up painting is scheduled for completion on the first floor later today. While that is going on, crews with Pavilion Floor are completing the vinyl base board work.

With the first floor painting complete, the crew will move up to the second floor to complete the final coat and touch up work. As on the first floor, Pavilion Floor will then install the vinyl baseboard. Baseboard is a functional feature that covers the joint between the wall surface (drywall) and the floor.

In areas where there is wood flooring, wood baseboard will be installed by carpenters working for Archer Corporation. The wood baseboard was manufactured by carpenters at the Millwork One factory located in Rhode Island.

By the end of the work day today, the first and third floors will be complete. The second floor is expected to be complete by the end of next week.

Floorcoverers work on second floor

On the second floor of the building a unique project is ongoing with a crew of floorlayers from Local 2168 working for Allegheny Contract Flooring. The second floor of the building, while flat, was not level, due to the quantity of drains throughout the floor from the laundry facility that used to be housed in the building.

A process called Flooding is being implemented throughout the second floor to level the floor in preparation for flooring installation that will happen in the coming months.

The crew working for Allegheny Contract will see this process through from start to finish. First, the floor is prepped using a diamatic grinder (seen below). A bonding agent primer is painted on the prepped floor. The primer bonds to the existing floor and the new self leveling cement that will be poured on top.



Crews then begin the intricate process of determining the measurements necessary to level the floor. First, they strike a grid chalk line in four or three foot squares, depending on the size of the room. They are given a benchmark, which tells them where the zero mark lies for the elevation of the floor. Orange tabs are placed along the grid system and are later cut to the necessary lengths to reach that zero mark.



Using the leveler (seen below), a reading is given to determine how high up the floor needs to be to reach the zero mark. The worker seen here takes that measurement and writes it on the ground next to the orange tab. Each tab is then cut to the correct height, which will later help determine how much cement needs to be poured over a particular section of the floor.



The pallets of portland-based cement mix can be seen below. On this particular day, Allegheny Contract was working on an 8,000 square foot area that would require around 18 pallets of Portland cement mixture.


The crew works simultaneously to flood the floor. Workers pour cement into the mixer, which then runs through a hose into another room where the floor is flooded.



The floor will be dry enough to walk across within approximately 4 hours. While the floor won’t immediately be able to handle point loads, crews will be able to work in areas where the floor has been poured within 24 hours, as long as they protect the floors and use ladders.

What We Do - Floorcovering

Installing carpeting, hardwood flooring and soft tiles and "linoleum-type" products made of vinyl and rubbers is the work of floorlayers. They install a wide range of decorative floor covering in commercial buildings, hotels, homes and churches. Union contractors and members are also available to install specialty flooring for hospitals, labs and computer environments.

A few years ago, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters worked with flooring contractors and major manufacturers of flooring products to develop a certification process for flooring installation. The INSTALL program (International Standards & Training Alliance) was designed to show that certified flooring installers were capable of the high quality work demanded by end users.

Every member who graduates from Local 2168's apprenticeship program is INSTALL certified and the leadership of the local is suggesting all members increase work opportunities by becoming INSTALL certified.