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Furniture, flooring and equipment purchases and university guidelines compliance

Furniture, flooring and equipment purchases and university guidelines compliance

Sent: January 4, 2023 2:41 pm

Jan. 4, 2023

To all College Department Chairs, Faculty and Staff:

Please note that all furniture, flooring, paint and equipment purchases should be reviewed by my office for compliance with the University Guidelines. Further review from UNC Planning and Design may be required. Please see this link for reference: University Design Guidelines.

Highlights include:

  • Furniture:
    • All furniture purchases made on behalf of UNC-Chapel Hill should leverage State of North Carolina or UNC-Chapel Hill Procurement-approved contracted rates.
    • Performance criteria for case goods (laminate top with laminate edge)
    • Performance criteria for labs (no less than phenolic tops, no laminate surfaces)
    • All electrical components are required to be UL listed and approved
    • No furniture should be purchased from Ikea, Amazon or Wayfair.
  • Seating:
    • Task chairs shall be high-performance, long-use ergonomic chairs that meet or exceed all ANSI –BIFMA standards. When specifying, consider the following features:
      • Fully adjustable arms
      • Mesh back
      • Pneumatic height adjustment
      • Adjustable lumbar
      • Separate seat and back
      • Synchronized tilt or 3-point pivot mechanism
      • Greenguard, SCS or BIFMA FES certified
      • Industry standard warranty or better on parts (meaning 10 years of daily round-the-clock use)
    • Guest seating
      • Bariatric seating shall be included in any waiting room or reception area. Consider seat width, arms/no arms when specifying seating.
    • Textiles
      Wool textiles shall not be used. Seating textiles should be a minimum 50,000 double rubs with a soil- resistant finish.
  • Blinds:
    • Specification or purchase of window blinds should comply with NCDOA guidelines at a minimum.
  • Paint:
    • UNC standard is Sherwin Williams
    • Gypsum board – Walls: Flat, Eggshell or Satin
    • Gypsum board – Ceilings: Flat (typical), or Eggshell (wet locations)
    • CMU: Semi-gloss
    • Metal doors and frames: Semi-gloss
  • Flooring:
    • No broadloom carpet should be specified.
    • Carpet tile with a minimum 3.0 Heavy TARR rating. High-traffic and heavy-use areas should be constructed with a type 6.6 nylon fiber. No fill pieces shall terminate in doorways. Solution-dyed carpet fibers are preferred. Recyclable carpet is preferred.
    • Specify rubber base with field-cut wrapped inside/outside corners. Do not use preformed corners. New construction should use 4” cove base unless matching existing.
    • Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) shall conform to ASTM F1700 Class III printed film with a minimum wear layer thickness 0.50 mm. Both Type A smooth and Type B embossed, with a factory-protective finish that enhances cleanability and durability, can be specified.
    • VCT must be approved by Facilities due to life cycle cost with stripping.
  • Electrical:
    • Products shall be UL listed and meet all applicable codes as well as UNC electrical requirements.
    • Use of products containing proprietary electrical components is not permitted.
    • Connectrac or similar products should be avoided in path-of-travel locations.
    • Halogen lamps are not permitted.
    • Lamp color temperature to be coordinated with UNC electrical engineers and match buildings’ existing lamp color temperatures where applicable.
    • LED lighting should be used where possible for energy efficiency. Refer to UNC Electrical Guidelines and Engineering Memorandum 10-2018 “Powered Modular Partition Walls and Powered Office Furnishings” for more information.
  • Signage:
    • Interior and exterior signs identifying permanent rooms and spaces shall have both the name and number in raised letters and Braille that complies with the current accessibility codes.
  • Audio-Visual Protrusion:
    • Should comply with the current versions of the North Carolina State Building Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. Note: The University requires some elements that exceed these codes.

Please contact me with any questions.

Powell Marshall

pmarshal@email.unc.edu

919.962.1165

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