Hard flooring may be vinyl, wood or stone. In high traffic
areas frequent maintenance is a necessity.
Since the 1950's, when carpeting was the flooring of choice
in the office environment, areas of office space have gradually
been replaced by a combination of flooring materials. Elevator
lobbies and reception areas are frequently floored in more
decorative materials such as wood or stone.
Wood flooring is enjoying a great popularity and is often
covered by Oriental or other types of area rugs. In most
facilities the wood is protected with a coat of polyurethane
for longer life and durability. This hard surface protectant
does scratch from heavy traffic and in time needs to be
removed by sanding, cleaning and staining followed by reapplication
of a polyurethane coating.
A new polyurethane has been introduced to the commercial
marketplace that minimizes downtime, allowing quicker access
to the floor, provides lowest gloss level available, highlights
the true color of the wood or stain for the most natural
looking floor and outperforms oil-based finishes without
hazardous side-effects such as offensive odors.
Maintenance of the wood flooring by conditioning on a programmed
basis and screening the polyurethane on a semi-annual basis
will keep the floor looking new, eliminating the need for
sanding the wood floor. This extends the life of the floor
immeasurably.
Stone flooring including marble, granite, slate and terrazzo,
is enhanced using a combination of procedures that will
clean the stone and ceramic tile, minimize inconsistencies,
remove scratches that dull the overall appearance, and polish
the stone to desired luster. A grit system of grinding is
utilized consisting of # 320, # 500 and # 800 grit diamond
gels or pads, followed by crystallizing, impregnation and
sealing that will help keep the stone looking better, longer.
Vinyl flooring is essential in extremely high traffic areas
such as mailrooms, copier areas and kitchens. Keeping vinyl
flooring clean and attractive can be accomplished by burnishing
often, and stripping and waxing less frequently, thus keeping
the flooring looking good at a lower cost.
Ceramic tiles are still good-looking as long as they are
exceptionally clean and the grout is unstained. Glazed ceramic
tile is easy to maintain since the glaze seals the tiles'
surface.
Unglazed tile, on the other hand, requires a more inventive
approach to retain an attractive presentation. There are
products available to treat ceramic tile that will help
to make keeping the tile clean a more reasonable endeavor
than ever before.
Unglazed ceramic tiles are porous and therefore present
a challenge. They may be impregnated, thereby filling the
pores, rendering the tile as impervious to soil as the glazed
tile or they may be sealed, which accomplishes the same
end. The sealant, however, will wear off with traffic and
the tile will need periodic resealing.
