Retail floors – underfoot and overlooked
When was the last time you walked into a shopping mall and thought, “Hey, what a great floor!”?
Retail floors are underfoot and overlooked as shoppers bustle through.
That doesn’t mean those floors are unimportant!
We’d like to focus on a couple of popular flooring types and how MARKHAM can help.
Flooring and Moisture Issues
Sheet vinyl and related floor coverings have been a popular choice for retail floors for many years.
In recent times, some major retail chains have reduced their use of refurb work, but many “major-minor” outlets are still installing vinyl as their durable floor covering of choice.
And don’t forget carpet tiles, often used for feature areas or smaller footprint stores.
- DOWNLOAD: Resilient flooring installation guide
One of the challenges of direct-stick flooring arises from fast construction schedules and concrete’s internal moisture content. If floor coverings are applied before the concrete is dry, moisture rising from the slab will cause bubbles under the vinyl or dissolve or soften the adhesive, regardless of the flooring type. High moisture readings will be taken just before the flooring is laid, and then there is a call for an unplanned moisture barrier – an added and unexpected expense.
And don’t forget – concrete slabs dry at a rate of 25mm per month from the last time they were wet.
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Get in early!
Avoid remedial flooring replacement, project delays and unplanned moisture barrier costs. To help you meet the requirements of AS1884:2021 and dodge costly flooring failures, MARKHAM has worked with industry experts to produce a flooring installation guide for resilient flooring. It’s important that all parties involved in the flooring ‘sandwich’ are working together throughout the process.
Why not book a flooring risk review for your upcoming projects?
Exposed retail floors
Of course, there’s an option that involves no floor covering at all. Exposed concrete has become increasingly popular in the retail space, not least because it is relatively easy to keep clean.
There are a few considerations here: you want it to look good from the outset (e.g., a good sheen, no cracking), and you want it to wear well (i.e., no dusting or deterioration). In addition to foot or cart traffic, the floor must also withstand the static loads of displays, refrigerators, counters, and stock shelves.
How do we tick all the boxes?
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Multi-benefit treatment!
For an exposed floor, CONQOR PROTECT can meet the needs of both short- and long-term use.
- Permanently seal the porosity of the slab (never needs re-coating)
- Harden to a depth of 150mm – durability against loads, and will not delaminate
- Anti-dusting benefit
- Bonus curing benefits if applied early!
CONQOR PROTECT provides an excellent hardened substrate for polishing or honing.
Floor slabs hardened with CONQOR PROTECT respond so well to wear over time that their sheen levels increase!
Speak to a technical specialist today! We’re more than keen to assist with your next project.
From design through to application, we offer an end-to-end service – and unique project-specific performance-based warranties!
You can find a discussion on the MARKHAM flooring installation guide in this on-demand webinar.
