There’s a quote you’ll often hear when buying a mattress, shoes, or tires. If you’re unfamiliar, the general idea is that it’s important to invest extra money in buying quality versions of anything that comes in between yourself and the floor. Don’t skimp on quality tires for your car, a good mattress so you can sleep comfortably, nor on the shoes that carry you around.
It’s not a bad rule of thumb, but let’s take it a step further by talking about the importance of the floor itself, and not just what comes between it and you. Flooring is something that’s easy to take for granted, until it starts to become damaged, difficult to maintain, or when it’s time to replace it altogether.
We’re often asked for recommendations about the best types of flooring for different types of spaces, especially since we have so much experience when it comes to cleaning and maintaining all sorts of flooring. We’ve seen it all, and we know what’s going to work best in which types of settings, so we wanted to take some time to lay it all out right here in this blog post.
The best and easiest flooring to maintain may not always be the cheapest and may not always fit the exact style you’re looking for, but maintenance is still an important factor to keep in mind, even if it’s not your top priority overall.
Individual offices and cubicles aren’t the highest-trafficked areas, but they still get more than their fair share of wear and tear.
Commercial-grade carpet is important since it’ll last longer and can handle being in a busy space, and there are many different styles available that will fit the bill. One important thing to look for in carpet of the peel-and-stick variety, it’s hard to recommend anything else when care and maintenance is a priority. The main reason is simply because when a tile or two become more worn out or damaged, you can replace them individually instead of having to re-do the entire carpet.
In a work area, carpet is also a lot quieter. You’ll have some people wearing hard-bottomed dress shoes, high-heels, and even the chairs moving can be a distraction for co-workers. A low-pile commercial grade carpet made up of tiles can mitigate that sound, making it easy for people to stay focused and productive without distraction.
If you’re looking for brand recommendations you can’t go wrong with Mohawk.
When it comes to shared areas in an office building, here are some quick recommendations:
Conference Rooms: Commercial carpet is great for conference rooms. In a conference room, especially if meetings with clients or outside parties are taking place you’ll want to stick to a commercial grade carpet, but you have some leeway to look beyond the peel-and-stick variety and may want to opt for something a little nicer looking to make a strong impression.
Kitchenettes and Dining Areas: For kitchens and lunch rooms/break rooms, sheet vinyl is a good option. It’s very easy to clean, which is important because there will be spills. Sheet vinyl is affordable and is quite durable.
For vinyl products stick to the major name brands such as Armstrong.
Reception Areas: For the reception area, sheet vinyl is, once again, a solid choice. It’s very easy to clean and maintain. It offers many options in terms of color and style. If budget permits, something like porcelain tile can look great and give a more up-scale feel. Porcelain or ceramic tiles don’t have any give or flex to them, making them more prone to cracking, however they are less prone to deep scratches than vinyl. When it comes to cleaning, neither is particularly difficult, but depending on the style of tiles, the grout can become discolored over time.
Shared Cubicle Space: Like the individual office space described above, commercial grade carpeting is a top choice as far as maintenance is concerned, even more so since it helps dampen noise and sound in a shared environment.
Another consideration to keep in mind, for building owners, is for the shared spaces in multi-tenant office buildings. Let’s go over some best-practices for easy to maintain flooring options for hallways, lobbies, washrooms, and so on.
Hallways: Highly trafficked areas call for durable, yet easy to clean and maintain flooring. Once again, the nod goes to commercial grade peel-and-stick low-pile carpets, or sheet vinyl. They’re affordable, they look nice and fit any color scheme, and they’re easy to clean or replace as needed.
Bathrooms: Here’s one area where being easy to clean is crucial, not just for appearances but for health reasons. Sheet vinyl is affordable, simple to maintain, and can handle even the most unfortunate of bathroom situations. You can use many types of cleaning agents without causing any damage to the floor. Vinyl planks and tiles are great for bathrooms as well.
Lobbies and Main Entrances: Similar to the reception area above, it comes down to your budget, and what types of foot traffic you’re getting here. Sheet vinyl is great, and porcelain is even better if budget permits.
Stairwells: Stairs are typically very high-traffic and can get dirty quite easily. There are vinyl options that can look like just about anything you can imagine, and of course, they’re very easy to clean and extremely durable.
Elevator Lobbies: Finally, the last public space we’re going to cover is the elevator lobby. Sheet vinyl is the best option when it comes to being easy to maintain and clean, for a relatively low cost, with easy upkeep. As we’ve mentioned previously, porcelain is another great option, but it’s going to cost more.
With so many types and styles available, the fact that it is easy to install and maintain, and affordable, sheet vinyl is a great choice for things like washrooms, kitchens, and public lobbies and reception areas. Carpet is good for areas where work is taking place, and a huge plus is that you can replace one tile at a time.
At the end of the day, regular cleaning with the right products is going to ensure that your floor lasts long and looks great, no matter which style you choose.