Consider your needs
Never go in blind to a flooring project, list the needs and legal requirement of your businesses flooring needs. Do I have slip ratings to meet? Will these tiles give my commercial space the correct feel and look? These are all questions you should be asking yourself before making your choice on a commercial flooring option. We have listed a few points below to think about when making your choice to help with the decision-making process.
Noise
A major factor for businesses that work in sectors such as retail and even manufacture is noise. Will the clattering of wheels running a long a ceramic floor grate on customers shopping? Will the noise of a forklift weighing two tones moving across the floor rise above the loudest acceptable noise barrier in a manufacturing environment?
Foot traffic
This is a big one and impact points later to be discussed such as cleaning and maintenance, and health and safety. If your business uses large goods vehicles and heavy machinery you will need a stronger more durable option, for example ceramic would crack and be easily damaged under the weight of heavy machinery where as high grade pvc tile flooring will allow for extremely heavy weights and pressure.
Think about your company image
It is easy to rush in and pick the option that meets your needs in every way and miss a major factor, how will this make my space look and does it match my company image? Like so many other flooring specialists the first thing we do when we go to another business is look down, people would be very surprised how much planning goes into the look feel and touch of a floor for a business.
Lets take LVT (luxury vinyl tiles) for example, with thousands of variations and designs picking can be difficult but for example of a high end clothing boutique, the company will go for an elegant design LVT over a concrete industrial look, you get the idea. Another such example is companies getting their flooring done with branding, such as company logos and product pictures.
Cleaning times and requirements
Things such as store opening times and the availability of a busy working environment can lead to certain types of flooring being chosen. Ceramic and epoxy can get stained easily which means a lot of care and cleaning regularly can be a hold up and time wasted. Things such as chemicals used and future proofing a cleaning routine for the future will all come into play when you are deciding on what commercial flooring option to choose.
Health and safety
The biggest point of them all is health and safety. You need to protect employees and customers alike. A key factor is slip rating and this is again determined by foot traffic and who and what will be using the flooring space, aesthetics are key but health and safety is paramount.
Why not get a sample?
Last but not least don’t leave it to chance, order samples. Most commercial flooring companies will offer a sample service where by a tile or strip can be sent out to give you a feel for the product.
