When you buy a new house or get yourself built one, you do consider the type of flooring used. Similarly, when you are planning to install or renovate your warehouse flooring, there are certain things that you should consider.
Your warehouse or logistics depot is different than your home. So, the things to be considered, can obviously not be the same. After all, a warehouse or a logistics depot is to suffer heavy loads and a lot of traffic as well.
Considering these factors, you can mark out the soft flooring options for starters. Obviously, wooden flooring is surely not a good choice. But, coming to the hard floorings, the available options can be a tad bit overwhelming at times. So, what flooring should you be getting? Or rather, how do you decide which flooring option is the most appropriate fit?
Perhaps, going through the available options, and assessing the different characteristics may simplify your search.
Marble or Granite Flooring
If you are looking forward to designing your warehouse for modern aesthetics, then marble flooring might be the thing. They are luxurious, lustrous, and offer high-grade durability.
Marble and granite flooring are usually ground until the desired level of shine are achieved. However, grinding also leads to increasing the smoothness of the surface, which may not be desirable for your shop floor operations. For instance, you may need high resistance to slippage from your floor, to minimize the slip and fall accidents on your premises.
Since this flooring option is a luxurious addition, you can expect to pay a high per footage cost for installation too. But at the same time, these floors also need minimal maintenance. All you need to do is wet mop the floor regularly. And it'll continue to shine as new.
Concrete Flooring
Perhaps the most underrated flooring option, concrete floors, are the most durable and budget-friendly ones. They don't require any additional installation, as the base slab can be polished. This also implies that these floorings are eco-friendly. So much so that concrete flooring is recognized as the most eco-friendly flooring option by several environmental organizations.
Since you need high-durability for your warehouse, concrete floors can be the most appropriate choice. To add to this, you have the option to design your floor as aesthetically appealing as possible. This article, The Definitive Polished Concrete Guide explains how you can achieve various designs and patterns from your concrete base slab. To add to this, concrete floorings are also easier to maintain.
If maintained properly, concrete floors can last a lifetime. All that's needed is polishing the floor with wax in every 6-9 months. And you can rest confidently that your floor is to survive as long as you are operating at the same site. Or maybe, beyond that as well.
Ceramic Tile Flooring
Ceramic tiles, or as they are commonly known as- vitrified tiles, are not as hard as the other two options. But given appropriate maintenance and care, these tiles can last up to 50 years.
However, ceramic tiles are highly costly and prone to cracks. Consider the situation. Your base slab develops a crack over time. This cracked spot will also weaken the tile installed over it. Thus, leading to crack formation in the tile as well.
On the contrary, this type of flooring is easier to repair. At least, when compared to marble and stone floors. Since you can replace a single square and there are no other damages that may occur during the repair, as well. However, ceramic tiles are not stained and slip-resistant. Since your warehouse or logistics facility may sustain oil spills, it can further reduce the resistance. Thus, leading to a high risk of slip and fall cases.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate floorings are the most recent addition to the available options. This type of flooring is highly resistant to stains, molds, and other detrimental agents. Depending upon the type of goods that you handle and the machinery used on your shop floor, you do have a short window of options. The reason there's a short window, these flooring options come under the soft-flooring category. Thus, making them less suitable for commercial applications.
Nevertheless, here are some of the options that you have:
- Cork Laminates
Cork laminates are similar to wooden floors in appearance and feel. These are made out of natural renewable materials such as tree bark (cork) and binding oils.
If your workspace is not to be used by heavy machinery and there's a high grip that you desire, then cork floorings can be a good choice. However, these floors are prone to damage if subjected to moisture. In other words, they may also need high maintenance.
But if maintenance is not a problem for you, and you truly desire a lavish aesthetic appeal, there's no other option for you.
- Vinyl Laminates
Made from polymers, vinyl is the most recent addition to the laminates family. Easy installation, variety of colors and designs, and less weight are some of the remarkable characteristics of this flooring option.
On the other hand, the material needs minimal maintenance but is prone to water damage. If water or moisture seeps into the grooves and interstices, you can expect the layers to come off.
However, they are still a cheaper option in comparison to cork laminates. Moreover, since vinyl is an artificial material it is highly resistant to harmful bacteria and other contaminants.
- Linoleum Laminates
Linoleum is quite similar to cork laminates. The only difference being they are softer and more flexible. If sharp objects are not to be found on your shopfloor then you may opt for linoleum floorings. Although, it is highly unlikely to ignore the presence of sharp objects in a warehouse or a logistics facility.
A personal piece of advice: if you are really keen on installing linoleum flooring, then you might get it in your office space, rather than on the shop floor. This would give you the satisfaction of walking over soft flooring and, of course, a delightful sight; along with, saving you from unnecessary repairs over time.
To sum it up, choosing the right flooring for a commercial space like a warehouse or a logistics facility is a lot more complicated. Especially if compared with choosing one for residential spaces. But, with appropriate research and assessment, you can expect your floor choice to last without demanding unnecessary repairs.
My daughter is looking for new flooring. I will have to pass on this info.
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