Noah Johnson Daily Press The award gifted to The Carport and Drapery Shoppe in Escanaba sits on the front counter at the facility. The award was given to the shop for placing first in the commercial tile and stone category at the 11th Annual Floor Trends & Installation Awards.

ESCANABA – A local business recently won a national award for its work in a local church.

The Carpet and Drapery Shoppe in Escanaba placed first in the commercial tile and stone category at the 11th Annual Floor Trends & Installation Awards.

The awards celebrate flooring installation professionals from across the country, highlighting skilled craftsmen in residential and commercial categories.

There are eight categories, and The Carpet and Drapery Shoppe took home the first-place prize for their work at All Saints Church in Gladstone.

Owner Todd Gartland explained how the awards came about and what it meant to the company.

“We did this job at All Saints Church, and we sent it in. We usually send in just our tile ones. We sent it in, and we got a notice that we made the top five, which was a win for us because we’ve never ever been even recognized in the top five in the United States,” he said.

After making the top five, works are voted on by others in the industry. Gartland said he was thrilled just to be in the top five and didn’t expect they would take home first place.

“We got the notice (that) we were chosen as the number one tile job in the United States last year on that tile job by our peers. So we’ve never even been in the top five, so we were happy to get that, and then our whole industry voted, and we made number one. It’s huge,” Gartland said.

The material used was paramount amaranto in size 24×48 sourced from Herrgan Distributors.

The installers customized and cut the porcelain, bringing the floors of All Saints to life.

In an interview with Floor Trends & Installation, the installers described the work, saying the installers had to carefully place the tile over a hearing-impaired sound system grid that was underneath the tile.

They used several 1,000 square feet of tile, and most tiles had to be hand cut.

The company was able to complete the work in the 100-plus-year-old church, even with a tight deadline.

“It took us two months to do the job,” Gartland said.

“It was quick, but here’s what we did. We worked 14-hour days, and we even worked Christmas and New Year’s. So, we had to work like seven days a week to get this job done, including major holidays.”

The job was a three-person project, completed by Joe Gartland, Dana Lordson and Jon Lordson.

“We are very proud of our installers; they deserve it,” said Mike Gartland.

The entire staff and crew were ecstatic when they heard the news, and Gartland made sure his team felt celebrated.

“We took everybody everywhere for like a week and just celebrated, and it was just awesome,” he said.

The store received a trophy and recognition for their effort, and the installers won various tools from Floor Trends & Installation.

Gartland said he is extremely proud of his team for pulling off such a complex job in a short amount of time.

“We just want everybody to know that, hey, Upper (Peninsula) Michigan can stand up with the other 49 states in the country with quality of work. We’re just proud, proud of the guys. It’s hard work to get recognized by your peers,” he said.