Flooring is something we rather take for granted but its vital that the correct flooring is installed otherwise you might end up replacing it sooner than you thought or worse, having the floor surface contribute to an accident which could cost more than money.
Imagine carpeting an entire shopping mall or hospital ward? Or tiling a vast warehouse? Or installing wooden floors into a factory where furnaces are being used? All examples of where flooring should be carefully planned and installed.
Most people have no idea how the floor they are walking on is made or even what it is called. Many commercial and industrial buildings use a type of resin flooring. There are a few variations on how resin floors are made but they are all hardwearing, smooth and designed to withstand heavy loads.
The history of industrial flooring is actually more fascinating than you'd imagine. I wondered what factories and the like used to use before even concrete was widely used
Factories in the Victorian era, the time of the industrial revolution were dangerous places and the flooring contributed to that. Floors were usually made out of wood which splintered and wore down quickly creating tripping hazards. They required frequent repair and replacement and were not the best at holding heavy loads or surviving impacts from falling objects.
Concrete is older than I thought. I think because it was a popular building material in the 1950's, the era of the brutalist architectural style, I believed it was invented then. In fact in 6,500 BC Bedouins built concrete-like homes in Syria and Jordan. Fast forward to 1824 and a bricklayer, Joseph Aspdin tinkered with the "recipe" and created a stronger cement which he called Portland cement.
Concrete is still used today as flooring but has to be sealed otherwise it is porous. The newest resin/epoxy floors give offices, industry and commercial users a safe, practical flooring which can even be laid in colours of their choosing. They are fire retardant (unlike those old Victorian wooden floors) and can be adapted to be non-slip. They don't harbour germs so are ideal in health care facilities and can be cleaned with a variety of chemicals making them super hygienic.
From hairdressers to hospitals, food stores to factories, resin flooring offers the perfect solution for those wanting cost effective, sustainable, hygienic, easy clean safe flooring.
If you are considering having any type of resin flooring installed there are a few tips to make sure you get the best result.
- Ensure your supplier has experience of installing in your environment and that they have industry accreditations.
- Choose a company which has its own contractors and offers a seamless process from initial consultation to completion of the job.
- Find out how long they have been working with resin floors, check they offer the specific type of resin floor you require and ask to see testimonials and preferably contact previous clients yourself to ask their opinion on the service and product.