Casework, Phenolic Work Surfaces and Welded Tables for a Third Teaching Laboratory: Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
Weber State University was fitting out a third teaching and research laboratory on its Ogden, Utah campus and wanted it to match the two labs already in service. Labs USA supplied the casework run, phenolic resin work surfaces, sink and fixtures, wall mounted adjustable shelving and a set of welded steel laboratory tables, with installation, working with our partner Lab Design.
The Situation
Weber State University in Ogden, Utah was equipping another teaching and research laboratory, and this one was the third in a sequence rather than a one off room. That single fact shaped the whole order. When a campus has already put two labs into service, the goal for the next one is not to design something new, it is to reproduce what already works so that faculty, students and facilities staff meet the same bench, the same storage and the same fixtures wherever they teach.
Teaching labs carry a workload that research labs do not. Sections rotate through the room all day, every student touches the bench, and the surface takes reagent spills, heat, marker, tape and repeated cleaning from people who are still learning to be careful. Whatever goes into the room has to survive that pattern for years without being babied, and it has to be repairable in parts rather than replaceable in whole.
The room also had to serve both wet and dry work. Part of the bench run needed a sink, water and drainage for rinsing and sample preparation. The rest needed clear, uninterrupted work surface for instruments and hands on exercises, with storage close enough that students are not walking across the room for glassware in the middle of a procedure.
Finally, the project was phased. The casework and work surfaces were ordered first and the laboratory tables were added on a later purchase order once the room layout was settled, with a small follow up order after that for additional support hardware and a notched shelf. A supplier relationship that can take a phased order without resetting the specification each time is worth more than a slightly cheaper first quote.
The Solution
Labs USA supplied a complete fitted bench run with painted steel base cabinets, phenolic resin work surfaces, a sink station with laboratory fixtures, wall mounted adjustable shelving and accessories, plus a set of welded steel laboratory tables on a later phase. Installation was included in the scope, and the equipment was specified to match the two laboratories already in use on campus.
Corners are where a bench run is won or lost. A plain cabinet in a corner creates a deep void that nothing comes back out of, so this run used hinged door corner base units fitted with rotating shelves, with matching front and side base fillers and angle cut work surface joints so the counter turns the corner as one continuous surface. The result is that corner storage is reachable by a student in a hurry rather than being a place where equipment goes to be forgotten.
The base run combined two door and two drawer base units for general storage, a sink base unit and the corner units, all in painted steel. Painted steel is the default for teaching labs because it takes abuse, cleans easily, and can be repainted or have a single unit swapped out years later without disturbing the run around it.
Work surfaces are phenolic resin, one inch thick with an applied back curb in black. Phenolic resin was chosen over laminate because it is a solid material throughout rather than a decorative face over a core, so it tolerates moisture, common laboratory chemicals and repeated cleaning without swelling or delaminating at the edges. The applied curb at the back keeps spilled liquid on the counter and out of the gap behind the cabinets, which is the failure point that quietly ruins a wall in a teaching room. Matching laboratory casework and work surface specifications across three labs also means one maintenance standard rather than three.
The wet station received an epoxy resin drop in sink with a resin outlet and strainer, a deck mounted mixing faucet with a gooseneck spout, and a separate pure water faucet for applications where tap water would contaminate the sample. A stainless steel drip trough with a hose drain was added for draining glassware, and service hole cutouts were made in the work surface so fixtures land where the work happens instead of wherever the plumbing was easiest.
Above the bench, the room uses double slotted wall standards with brackets and phenolic resin shelves rather than fixed casework. Adjustable laboratory shelving lets an instructor change shelf heights between course sections instead of living with a shelf spacing chosen years earlier by somebody else, and phenolic shelves resist the same spills the counters do. A phenolic pegboard with pegs was included for tools and glassware that should hang rather than stack.
The later phase added welded steel laboratory tables with phenolic tops and backsplashes. Welded tables are one rigid piece, so they do not develop the wobble that bolted frames acquire after a few semesters of being dragged around a classroom, and they give the room open, freestanding work positions that are not tied to the perimeter bench.
Features
Advantage
The advantage on this project is standardization across a campus. Buying a third laboratory to the same specification as the first two means students do not relearn the room, facilities staff carry one set of spare parts, and a damaged door or shelf is a part number rather than an investigation. That is only possible if the supplier can reproduce a specification from an earlier phase accurately, which is why the same vendor quote family carried through the follow on orders here.
The second advantage is material honesty. A teaching bench can be built from laminate over a core and it will look identical on day one. The difference shows up at year three, at the sink, at the edges and wherever somebody left a beaker of something on the counter overnight. Phenolic resin costs more at purchase and less over the life of the room. The same logic applies to welded rather than bolted table frames and to steel rather than composite cabinet bodies.
The third is a fitted room rather than a furniture delivery. Sink cutouts, service holes, angle cut corner joints, fillers and adhesive joints between tops were all part of the supplied scope with installation included, so the room arrived as a working laboratory instead of as a pallet of parts that a facilities crew has to reconcile with a drawing.
Benefits
- A third teaching lab that matches the two already in service, down to the fixtures
- Work surfaces that survive student traffic, spills and daily cleaning
- Corner storage that is genuinely reachable rather than a deep void
- Wet and dry work supported in one bench run, with a dedicated pure water tap
- Shelf heights that instructors can change between course sections
- Individually replaceable cabinets, shelves and fixtures instead of whole run replacement
Welded steel laboratory tables with phenolic tops and backsplashes were added on a later phase, giving the room freestanding work positions away from the perimeter bench. Representative photo.
Return on Investment
The first return is service life. Teaching laboratories are replaced when the work surface fails, not when the cabinets do. Specifying solid phenolic surfaces with a back curb at the wall pushes that date out by years, and the cabinets underneath outlast several generations of student cohorts.
The second is repairability. Because the room is assembled from standard cabinet units, standard shelf brackets and standard fixtures, damage is repaired at the part level. A single replacement door or shelf keeps a room in service where a built in millwork solution would need a carpenter and a closed lab.
The third is scheduling. The tables were added on a later purchase order against the same specification, and a further small order followed for support hardware and an extra shelf. Phasing a fit out that way lets a university spend against the fiscal year it actually has, without ending up with mismatched equipment.
Project Process
Match the Existing Labs
Start from the specification already in service on campus so the third room matches the first two.
Separate Wet From Dry
Place the sink station, water, drainage and drip trough where the wet work happens and keep the rest of the run clear.
Solve the Corners
Specify corner base units with rotating shelves, fillers and angle cut tops before the layout is frozen.
Choose Surfaces for the Workload
Select phenolic resin and painted steel for chemical exposure, cleaning frequency and student traffic.
Phase the Order
Release casework first and add tables and accessories on later purchase orders against the same specification.
Install and Hand Over
Deliver and install the run, set fixtures and cutouts, and leave a working laboratory.
Laboratory Casework for Ogden and Northern Utah
Ogden and the Northern Utah corridor carry an unusual amount of laboratory work for the population: university teaching and research labs at Weber State, aerospace and defense manufacturing along the Hill Air Force Base corridor, medical device and diagnostics firms, food and agricultural testing, and environmental laboratories serving the Wasatch Front. Most of those rooms sit inside existing buildings, which means the casework has to be planned around walls, services and ceiling heights that are already fixed.
Labs USA is based in Salt Lake City, so Ogden projects are a short drive rather than a freight problem. That matters on a fitted room: site measurements can be confirmed before release, deliveries can be scheduled around a semester, and an installer is not flying in for a punch list item. We supply laboratory casework throughout Utah, along with laboratory tables and workstations and laboratory shelving for campuses, clinics, testing labs and manufacturers across the state.
To plan a teaching lab, a research lab or a phased fit out in Ogden, Layton, Logan or anywhere else in Northern Utah, call (801) 855-8560.
Shop Laboratory Storage Cabinets Online
Related in-stock laboratory storage from our online store. These all-welded steel cabinets are not equivalent to the painted steel casework, phenolic work surfaces and fixtures supplied on this project. Request a quote for casework.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why phenolic resin work surfaces instead of laminate in a teaching lab?
Phenolic resin is solid material all the way through, so moisture, common laboratory chemicals and constant cleaning do not lift or swell an edge the way they do with laminate over a core. In a teaching lab, where every student uses the bench, that difference decides how long the room lasts.
What does the applied back curb on the countertop do?
It is a raised lip along the back of the work surface that keeps spilled liquid on the counter instead of running into the gap between the cabinets and the wall. That gap is the usual place a bench run starts to fail.
Why use corner base units with rotating shelves?
A standard cabinet in a corner leaves a deep space that is awkward to reach into, so it stops being used. A hinged door corner unit with a rotating shelf brings the contents out to the user, which keeps the corner as real storage.
What is the separate pure water faucet for?
Ordinary tap water carries dissolved minerals and treatment chemicals that can interfere with sample preparation and glassware rinsing. A dedicated purified water tap at the sink keeps that supply separate from the general mixing faucet.
Why adjustable wall shelving rather than fixed wall cabinets?
Slotted standards with brackets let shelf heights change as courses and equipment change. Fixed upper cabinets freeze a decision made once, and teaching rooms rarely keep the same equipment for the life of the casework.
Can a laboratory fit out be ordered in phases?
Yes. On this project the casework and work surfaces were ordered first and the laboratory tables were added on a later purchase order against the same specification, with a further small order for support hardware afterwards. The important part is holding the specification constant across the phases so the finished room matches.
Planning a teaching or research lab in Utah?
Labs USA plans, supplies and installs laboratory casework, work surfaces, fixtures, shelving and tables for universities, testing labs and manufacturers across Utah. Tell us the room and the work, and we will specify it.
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