As a business owner, when you get rid of all the other details, you’re looking for the best value, every time. You want to get the most value out of your interactions with customers and suppliers, the best value out of your employees, the best value out of the professionals you contract. The thing to understand about value is that it doesn’t mean the cheapest. You might be a socially conscious person; in that case, the best value would be to buy environmentally friendly products and to donate to charity, because not doing so would mean the business doesn’t do the things you value. When we’re trying to determine the most valuable flooring, the same thing might factor in – you might want to find the most environmentally friendly flooring solutions.
This logic extends to all facets of your flooring; you should be purchasing for value, not for price. One great example of this is the variety of coatings your flooring can come with; you can have floors with no-slip grip, so clients and employees are at less risk of falling if working in wet areas, which can come with drastic direct and indirect financial consequences. You’ll also want to consider the use of the floor; floors on which there’s potential for caustic spills will need chemical resistant coating, and floors where you expect heavy machinery will need to be quite durable, which typically comes with thicker systems.
Aesthetics are, of course, another extremely important element of your flooring. There are so many options for the visual design of your flooring, it can seem a bit overwhelming, but there are some tricks to narrow down your options. How often is the flooring going to be seen by clients? While you want your employees to have nice floors, it’s not quite as important, especially in a warehouse setting. Will the flooring be seen from high up? If so, you can incorporate logos and patterns into it that create a striking visual effect; if not, maybe leave out the logos, which won’t have the same effect from ground level. Flooring can also be integrated with colored pathing, which can be incredibly useful in high-traffic, confusing areas; enhancing safety.
Obviously, budget should play into your consideration, but don’t just consider your budget for this year! Assuming you want to stay in business for a long time, you’ll want flooring that you don’t have to replace regularly; installation costs play an important role in the overall expense of new flooring, so choosing a long-lasting option is usually a good idea. Usually is the operative term here, of course, because for a temporary installation long-lasting flooring might not be on your list of priorities!
Create a list of what qualities are important for your floor to have, and bring it to a specialized industrial flooring contractor. They’ll be able to help you choose a flooring system based on your needs, and you’ll be able to compare the costs and advantages of each; that will help you which floor has the most value. In the end, the most valuable flooring is the one that works best for you!
