Installation of the new wool carpet in the Missouri House chamber is wrapping up.
The carpet, which is red with gold accents and features state symbols such as Dogwood and Hawthorn flowers, is fully installed in the chamber and side galleries, but contracted crews are still working to lay it down in office areas and hallways behind the chamber. The same crews are installing a new green carpet in the House Lounge to match the newly painted ceiling. Both carpets were designed by state staff.
The legislators' 100-year-old desks, now fully restored, began returning to the chamber Tuesday.
House Administrator Dana Rademan Miller said Tuesday it will take a couple days to get desks fully placed and anchored to the floor. Audio and data connections are set to be up and running next week. Crews also still need to build a platform for the chamber's sound desk.
Miller said the carpet installation is going faster than expected, and Jefferson City-based contractor Allen Floors Inc. has reported minimal challenges.
"It's very satisfying to see all of the details we've worked on the past months come together," she said. "I'm especially impressed with how efficiently our staff and the staff at Allen Floors have been able to work together to get the carpet installed and all of the related infrastructure back into place so that the chamber will be ready to go for the 2023 legislative session."
The chamber's old synthetic carpets, which were in place for about a decade and caused electrical issues unless regularly sprayed with fabric softener to reduce static charge, were torn up shortly after lawmakers concluded the regular session in May.
While legislators were out for the summer, the House chamber received a new electronic vote board, and the 163 desks, which are original to the Capitol, were restored but not installed.
The chamber renovations were put on a hiatus when lawmakers returned to the Capitol for a special session in early September. Temporary tables and laptops were set up on the bare chamber floor for about a month while lawmakers were in session.
The Senate chamber is next in line for desk and carpet upgrades. Senate Administrator Patrick Baker said the work may be delayed until next spring because crews would be facing a tight deadline trying to complete the installation before lawmakers return for the next regular session in January.
Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: Victor Allen uses a microwave machine to seam together the border and the main floor carpet on the north side gallery of the floor of the House of Representatives. The microwave action bonds the adhesives to the carpet without using high heat that previously would have been used. In the course of his career, this is the third time that Allen, a second generation floor covering installer, has put carpet in this chamber. First in 1989, then in 2008 and in 2022. Working with Allen on this project is Tom Evers, at left,
Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: Installation of the new design of wool carpet in nearly complete in the House of Representatives chamber. Allen Floor Covering is doing the instalkation and had to wait until the conclusion of this fall's special legislative session before they could begin the work.