Flooring for a retail location

[jsciba]

We're opening a franchise that's a cooking school for kids. There will be two residential style kitchens in it and each kitchen will have stainless steel tables where the kids will sit on stools. The standard flooring for the franchise is commercial carpet, but in my state, that's not allowed in a kitchen.

I'm trying to figure out what the best alternative would be. Durability, resistance to slipping, and appearance are all important factors. Of course cost is a factor, too. Here are alternatives I've thought of, but I'm not aware of all that's available for commercial application.

1) Stained concrete

2) Epoxy paint with an aggregate for no slipping (seems like this is an ugly alternative -- looks more like a auto-shop floor.)

3) Vinyl flooring

4) Ceramic tile

Any recommendations would be appreciated...

Thanks, Joe

[hawgeye]

Assuming that this will be in an existing structure with a concrete floor, it's condition may play a role in your decision. Any repairs are going to stick out like a sore thumb if you use concrete stain. Ceramic is going to be the expensive option and depending on the tile, it may be slick when wet. Grout is always hard to keep clean. Vinyl may not hold up to a lot of foot traffic. Despite you may thinking it looks like an auto-shop, Epoxy would be my choice. It'll be easier to clean and stay looking new. There are many colors available now and you could even get creative with different colors and designs so it wouldn't look like a shop floor.

[Bob Morrison]

I suggest a trowel on epoxy coating designed for the application:

[RicodJour]

Not sure of your budget, but an epoxy coating like that used on garage floors would probably be the sweet spot for price/performance. Don't be turned off by what you've seen in garages - there are a wide variety of colors and patterns. Stained concrete will not be as durable, will require more maintenance, and is tougher to patch - it is cheaper though. Vinyl flooring will probably be the cheapest way to go, but depending on the amount of traffic and abuse, it might start looking old pretty fast.

The Dex-O-Tex company that Bob mentioned is a good place to start. They have a ton of different products.

If you're looking for something that wouldn't look so industrial, Dex-O-Tex makes this: A "brick" floor in a kitchen would look very cool.

You are planning on using rubber mats of some sort, aren't you? Legs get very tired very quickly standing on hard surfaces, and it's also much tougher to clean non-skid surfaces.

R

[Dan Deckert]

Terrazo?........spendy but food grade acceptable............

Dan

[matthewsciba]

Thanks for the great suggestions -- they're a big help!

Joe

Dan Deckert wrote: