Vandebilt Catholic High School

The Challenge

Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma, La., sustained more than $20 million in damage from Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm that made landfall Aug. 29, 2021. 

“We lost all of the flooring in every building on campus,” says Jeremy Gueldner, school president. “After months of planning and preparation, we began making repairs in the fall of 2022.”

Sector: Education
Client: Vandebilt Catholic High School
Location: Houma, La.
Designer: Julia Bourque, JHB Design
Architecture Firm: DDG
Area: 100,000+ square feet
Collections: Art Select, Opus, Van Gogh

The Solution

While the hurricane devastation was traumatic, it allowed Vandebilt to reimagine the campus. Designer Julia Bourque – a Vandebilt alum – was instrumental in developing an aesthetic vision and bringing it to life. She was confident that Karndean would meet the requirements for such a large project: a diverse array of stylish luxury vinyl visuals, the durability and performance needed for a high school, and plenty of inventory one state away at the Karndean warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas. (Karndean also carries inventory at facilities in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas.)

Bourque first used Karndean LVP and LVT a few years earlier on the recommendation of a professional colleague.

“He said Karndean is the best product out there,” Bourque says. “He used it and was always happy with it.” 

For the Vandebilt renovations, Bourque chose gluedown luxury vinyl from three Karndean collections:

• Art Select (30 mil wear layer | 3.0 mm thick)
• Opus (20 mil wear layer | 2.5 mm thick)
• Van Gogh (20 mil wear layer | 3.0 mm thick)

Between the three collections, Bourque had a full palette of styles and colors to complement all of the interior aesthetics for different spaces on campus. From a performance perspective, all Karndean LVP and LVT is scratch-resistant, waterproof and easy to maintain, requiring no harsh chemicals, heavy machinery or other forms of expensive, time-consuming maintenance.

Vandebilt comprises eighth through 12 grades, with about 700 students in a given year. Among the renovations were more than 40 classrooms, including a STEM lab and music room; student union; chapel; multi-purpose facility with a gymnasium; and hallways.

“Generally speaking, we wanted there to be continuity throughout campus,” Gueldner says, “but we also wanted spaces with specific purposes to have a bit of their own look.”

Gueldner agreed with Bourque that Karndean was the right flooring solution.

“We liked the look of the flooring and thought it could endure the wear and tear that comes with a high school setting,” Gueldner says.

The Results

Renovations were completed in fall 2025, about three years after they began.

“I honestly love all of our spaces,” Gueldner says. “These renovations have been transformational for our campus.”

But the work’s not done yet.

“We have two buildings that have to be built to replace buildings lost during the storm,” Gueldner says. “We plan to use Karndean flooring in those buildings, as well.”