Zarlengo Tile (Silt, Colorado) recently partnered with Daltile of Grand Junction, Colorado, and MAPEI to help complete a facelift at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colorado. Trained in the traditional methods of tile and stone installation, Tony Zarlengo’s company is one of the few in the Aspen Valley who have the expertise to work on exterior installations that call for a mud pack. Zarlengo’s competence and reputation for excellent work helped him win the bid to renovate the exterior courtyard at the St. Regis as part of a $40 million revamp of the hotel and ski resort.

The courtyard was originally constructed over an underground parking garage. Over time, leaks had begun to appear in the garage roof. Zarlengo was challenged with waterproofing the courtyard surface to stop the leaks and then tiling the entire courtyard, installing a red and black granite labyrinth in the center along with a circular tiled pool.

Zarlengo first consulted with his Daltile representative in Grand Junction, who pointed him toward MAPEI’s Mapelastic™ AquaDefense waterproofing membrane, which could be roller-applied without the use of mesh fabric. This less labor-intensive solution increased productivity on the job while delivering a superior waterproof barrier between the courtyard and the parking garage. “Some of the AquaDefense was exposed for almost three months before the stone work was complete, so it did a great job of waterproofing,” Zarlengo said.

The local Daltile reps, with help from their architectural support team in Dallas, designed the labyrinth project in CAD and printed it out onto cut sheets for the installers to use. The black granite for the courtyard came from China, and the red granite was ordered from India. Daltile recommended that Zarlengo use MAPEI’s Granirapid® mortar system and Ultracolor® Plus grout due to their rapid setting qualities. The Granirapid also had excellent freeze-thaw characteristics, which proved to be an important bonus because the St. Regis is located at the base of the Aspen Mountain. The work was done from May to November, so the installers used a 50-foot diameter tent to protect the work on the labyrinth from snowfall in the autumn months.

In addition, the red and black granite tiles were used throughout the rest of the courtyard. The circular pool was custom cut two-inch thick granite in black, laser cut for the round. The radius stairs approaching the courtyard, the straight stair nosings, and spa capstone were 2” thick. The flat work tile was 3/4” thick, and all of it was set with Granirapid and grouted with Ultracolor Plus. When the project was complete, it looked very nice, and it held up through the winter extremely well, with no more leaking into the garage.

“This project only happened with a great amount of teamwork from Daltile, MAPEI, and our Zarlengo Tile crew. Everyone constantly worked together, with all of us supporting each other,” Zarlengo said. The result was a destination that appeals to all who visit Aspen.