Opening a business can be a difficult undertaking chocked with many tough decisions that must be made before the big opening day. One of the more fun aspects should be deciding on the décor, or layout of your storefront, but when juggling 500 other tasks it can be incredibly stressful; let alone trying to decide between carpet or hardwood or laminate.
But in that area you can relax, we've compiled a brief guide to help you choose the best flooring option for your type of business. All in all, it's about cost-effectiveness, longevity and aesthetics.
For Retail
Go with a sleek laminate, interlocking tile or if you must, hardwood. These options are not only attractive, but are ideal for high traffic areas.
Laminate and tiles are easy to maintain and when cleaned properly make your store look professional and modern.
Interlocking floor tiles are often an overlooked option, but depending on the type of store you are opening, could work really well for you. Benefits include easy installation, extreme durability and a wide-variety of color options available.
Authentic hardwood tends to show every scratch and scrape over-time, so unless you have money to invest getting it refurbished once or twice a year, it is simply not practical for high-traffic retail stores.
For Offices
A classic choice is the standard low-pile office carpet. These look great and carpeting in a room generally creates a warmer atmosphere and work environment.
If you're looking for something a little more original, you may want to look into engineered wood flooring. Engineered wood uses a wood veneer over plywood and can be floated, nailed, stapled or glued just like plastic laminate flooring.
The downside of engineered wood is that it dents easily and wears quickly, so if you have large office with a lot of traffic you may want to look into laminate, which hides wear and tear a little better.
For Restaurants/Kitchens/Bakeries A restaurant kitchen floor first needs to comply with health codes, it needs to be durable, easy to clean, and safe for staff and patrons. This doesn't mean that it has to be unattractive. Commercial kitchen flooring is more durable than home kitchen flooring and these include ceramic tile, concrete, and rubber.
Ceramic tile is extremely popular in restaurants for its durability and easy-clean up.
Concrete flooring is great for kitchens when painted and stained. And as long as you put a seal it's extremely durable.
Rubber kitchen flooring for restaurants can be laid over restaurant kitchen flooring to create a safer and more comfortable work space that is also slip resistant, something you wait staff will greatly appreciate. Commercial kitchen floors, or restaurant kitchen floors, take a lot of abuse, so choose well and have a resilient floor that will last for years.
For Industrial
For the industrial business, i.e. a garage or body shop, or even a car showroom, Interlocking floor tiles are really your best option. These tiles have many benefits including, fast and easy installation with no messy chemicals or fumes, they're environmentally friendly, they're built to withstand tough jobs, and they look great! You can even choose your own custom color scheme for the perfectly polished look.
At www.locktileusa.com you can find tough and flexible interlocking floor tiles developed to provide "instant" self lay floor surfacing for use in a wide variety of areas including heavy-duty and high traffic applications.