Whether you’re designing a brand-new commercial set-up or renovating an existing premises, when it comes to commercial flooring choices, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better solution than epoxy.
For obvious reasons, commercial floors have to be hard-wearing and long-lasting. They need to be easy to clean and maintain. They have to keep their looks and maintain their performance despite heavy-duty traffic and ‘floor abuse’. In applications where health and safety considerations are paramount, for example in medical facilities, commercial kitchens and laboratories, the floor has to meet quality and performance standards. And of course, there are cost considerations too.
It’s a tough ask, but epoxy flooring is up to the challenge.
Whether it’s for a stylish entrance to a restaurant, a sterile hospital floor or a heavy-duty industrial surface, epoxy floors have long been the first-choice for the tough working conditions of commercial fitouts.
Let’s look in more detail at the demands of commercial flooring and why epoxy ticks all the boxes.
Durability and strength
Once the epoxy resin has cured and hardened, it converts into a solid polymer with unparallelled strength and durability. High quality epoxy floors can withstand sustained heavy use from foot traffic as well as from machinery and vehicles and will retain their good looks and high performance standards for a lot longer than other materials. Despite its strength however, epoxy is a more forgiving surface than other materials like concrete, so it’s more comfortable for people to walk on.
Scratch and chip resistance
In commercial fit-outs like restaurant kitchens, warehouses, factories and supermarkets where items (including sharp objects) are often dropped on the floor and heavy machinery and equipment are moved around frequently, epoxy flooring is the ideal solution as it can withstand these impacts and is chip and scratch resistant.
Chemical resistance
Unlike concrete, epoxy is non-porous so it provides solid resistance against chemical spills, acids and stains. So when the chef drops a container of beetroot onto the restaurant floor or when oil and transmission fluid leak, there’s no threat of staining or corrosion. This attribute is also a huge advantage in environments where sanitising surfaces with chemicals is required, such as in medical and food preparation facilities.
Health and safety requirements
Many commercial environments have to adhere to strict health and safety regulations and require flooring that is sterile and which can be sanitised appropriately. Because seamless epoxy resin coatings are resistant to the growth of bacteria, germs and mould, they’re ideal for use where sterile or sanitised surfaces are involved. An added advantage of epoxy floors is that they also repel dust, so they’re safe for people with allergies and other respiratory issues.
Non-slip and skid resistance
The non-slip and skid-resistant properties of epoxy make it the ideal solution in public areas, schools, workshops, factories, manufacturing facilities, commercial kitchens etc where the safety of personnel is paramount. People and vehicles can move around on epoxy floors in fast-paced environments safely and efficiently without the risk of slipping or skidding.
Waterproof and heat resistance
Many industries require their floors to withstand high temperatures (eg in commercial kitchens and some manufacturing operations) and because the surface of non-porous resin is resistant to both heat and water, it’s the ideal material.
Customisable aesthetics
An epoxy floor isn’t your typical ‘commercial’ floor which favours durability over design. And that’s the beauty of it…literally.
Aesthetically, an epoxy floor is smooth, sleek, seamless and chic and can be customised to suit any design scheme or functionality requirement. There are a swathe of different colour choices, patterns and special effects (such as high gloss, metallic blends etc) plus you can have any logo, brand message, demarcation etc included in the surface without any compromise to the floor’s performance or longevity.
Cost-effectiveness
When considering an epoxy floor, it’s important to look at the affordability of the product from a holistic perspective. The flooring is a premium product and the manufacturing/application process is fairly complex, but when you consider all the benefits and its exceptional longevity, it’s a very cost-effective option.
Epoxy floors are a big plus factor in creating a clean, safe working environment so the likelihood of costly downtime because of accidents and incidence is minimised.
With minimal maintenance and repairs required and solid performance over the long-term, your epoxy floor will deliver a high value return on your investment. But there’s a word of caution. The long-term performance of your epoxy floor does depend on the quality of the installation. It is crucial that you work with an experienced professional to ensure that the concrete surface beneath the epoxy coating is properly prepared and that the installation process is flawless.
If you’re looking for epoxy flooring in Perth for your commercial fit-out, get in touch with Epoxy Flooring Perth. With over 20 years’ experience, they have carved out a strong reputation as one of Western Australia’s leading epoxy and resin floor coating companies. Get in touch through their website, www.epoxyflooringperth.com.au, email info@epoxyflooringperth.com.au
