When should I use commercial grade flooring?
What's the best floor for a business? If you're looking for a floor for your business you're going to need something a little special. It's going to have to be strong, long-lasting and attractive. Here we're going to look at the three best options for your business and see where they each excel:
Solid wood and Engineered floors
Commercial engineered and solid wood floors - when used in the right setting - can be the single best floor for your company. There is one thing to bear in mind when it comes to real wood flooring: wood is not good with water, and excess moisture could lead to your floor warping. If you plan on wet-mopping your floor every night, you should consider a more waterproof floor instead.
However, if you keep your floor dry then a commercial solid wood floor could well last you over a hundred years. That's because, whilst real wood can lose its finish over time through shuffling feet and dragging furniture, it can also be refinished. Refinishing a wooden floor involves sanding it down and reapplying the oil or lacquer, which makes it look as good as new.
Engineered floors can be refinished fewer times than solid wood floors because the top veneer layer is thinner. Some thicker solid wood boards can be sanded a dozen or more times, meaning you can have a great looking floor which can be passed down through as many generations as your company.
Laminate Flooring
Commercial laminate floors are very popular with business owners throughout the country. This is a cost effective way to install beautiful but robust flooring throughout the premises, making it ideal for large spaces. It's also resistant to water - with Quickstep Impressive being completely waterproof!
Laminate floors all feature a wear layer - a thin but strong coating on top of the boards which protects them from scratches, splashes and traffic. This is what makes them able to take much more abuse than a wooden floor.
It's worth knowing that once a laminate board is damaged or worn, it can't be refinished. Instead, we'd recommend replacing damaged boards individually (this is relatively straightforward as there's no need to glue down laminate floors).
The toughness of a laminate floor is measured with an AC rating, what ranges from 1 to 5. AC1-AC2 rated floors are more suited to domestic settings, whereas AC3-AC5 can be used in a variety of commercial areas. The more traffic your floor is going to experience, the higher the AC rating should be.
Vinyl Floors
If your floor is going to come in contact with a lot of water, then you should consider commercial vinyl flooring. Vinyl has all the benefits of laminate, with the added advantage of being completely waterproof. A lot of people are put off vinyl because it makes them think of cheap vinyl sheets or commercial linoleum. Whilst this flooring has its purpose, it's not something we sell, because technology has just moved on so much.
Instead, we prefer Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) floors. These floors are incredibly tough and offer some amazingly realistic designs. An LVT floor is a completely waterproof, scratch resistant tile which, should it ever lose its finish, can be refinished to look as good as new.
As well as all this, LVT comes in a limitless range of designs, so you can be sure you'll find the perfect floor for your business.