Don’t Be Floored! 5 Tips on Choosing the Right Flooring for Your Business

Loads of customers and clients are fantastic for your business, but not so fantastic for your flooring. Shops, malls, business offices, and other commercial areas are not like homes and have a lot of foot traffic going through them. The wear and tear can show up on the floor much quicker than you ever thought. That’s why having a beautiful floor isn’t the only thing to take in consideration when checking out new flooring for a work area. Yet technology has advanced so much in the way floors of all kinds are manufactured, that it’s not that difficult to find a flooring that has all the elements a good floor should have.

Since you don’t want to make a costly mistake, these coming 5 tips will help you make the right choice.

Design

First, you need to consider the overall design of your office. Sleek or modern office furniture might not exactly suit a hardwood, classic floor. Though hardwood floors add richness to any area, it’s not as cost effective as other options, including of course engineered wood. In terms of design, also consider what your line of work is. If your office is within a factory, for example, you’d need a flooring that can handle dirt, grime and the sort. That would need a tough flooring, where durability would be more important than a classy appearance.

Traffic

The amount of traffic going in and out is going to heavily influence your choice. Each area in your office is going to be different. The main reception or lobby will probably have the most traffic, and at the same time, it’s the first room people will see. So this would require strength with a good appearance. Many offices might prefer vinyl flooring, or polished concrete since they offer both.  A conference room, for instance, will differ with less traffic. Also, take note that many types of flooring don’t suppress noise that well. If you want a flooring that has noise insulation, carpet tiles for commercial spaces is your best choice. As its name implies, these carpets are cut out in tile shape and glued down onto your existing floor.

Easy repair

Constant traffic can cause scratches, peeling, dullness, and breaks. Business owners tend to overlook this factor since the budget and appearance may be more on their mind. But you need to make sure if a flooring can be repaired or would it need to be replaced totally. Carpet tiles can be easily repaired since they are separate units, another flooring like hardwood, not that easily. Plus, you would want to know how long a repair would take. Take special notice of this factor when it comes to your hallways and main reception.

Maintenance

There’s no way to have a flooring last as long as possible without some maintenance. Some product life span of certain material in floorings would be: 25- 100 years of real wood, 15 – 30 years of laminate, 25-100 year of tiles, 25-30 years of carpet wool, 8-11 years of carpet nylon, and vinyl about 10 – 30 years. A well-maintained floor may last longer than the life expectancy period. Equally, a poorly maintained floor can wear out sooner than expected. Here it’s also important to analyze the kind of work that will be done in the area, how often, and how each type of flooring will cope.

Budget

It’s time for the factor that every business owner thinks about. In economics, we know there is a concept called a life-cycle cost. Technically, it means the selection of alternatives which impact both pending and future costs. It compares initial investment options and identifies the least cost alternatives for a certain period. In layman’s term, its application might simply mean that buying a cheap product usually costs us more at the end, and we’ve all experienced this in our personal shopping, such as in clothes or electronics. When choosing,  use a long-term strategy and align your flooring choice with your business. Choosing the cheapest possible flooring isn’t a good or a correct attitude to take, because of the life-cycle cost.

Try to be farsighted in your choice. Ask yourself if you’re planning to be in a certain office for the long haul, or planning to move location? What sort of impact are you expecting on your office furniture with business growth? Always keep in mind that what might seem costly to you now is actually an investment for your business. You’re a business owner who makes daily decisions, so don’t choose your flooring as an afterthought.