With the summer holidays lasting six weeks, it is still over a month before all the schools reopen. That means many people will be taking family holidays this month.
Although schools and other educational settings will have the least day-to-day activity and therefore the best opportunity to lay new flooring, some shops may be very busy right now, especially those selling summer gear or catering to tourists.
This means more wear and tear on the floors and some may soon need replacing and early autumn is a good time to do it before the Christmas shopping surge. Laminate may be a very good option for this purpose.
Why Opt For Laminate Flooring?
You may have floors that have seen better days, fancy a change of décor, or a combination of both. However, if you go for modern laminate flooring, you can enjoy something robust and practical, but also fits very well with a range of décor schemes, either by matching them or providing a complementary look.
As Interiors magazine The Spruce notes, there are pros and cons for laminate when used in the home, but it may be fair to say the cons are not likely to be such an issue in a retail setting, whereas the pros will still be there.
Upsides include it being inexpensive (a good thing when your firm has to consider its bottom line), easy to install (which means staff can do it and the disruption time is minimised), and the non-allergenic and stain-resistant qualities are useful in any setting.
In practice, in a shop, stain resistance may matter a lot if you have a calamity with spills, such as food and drinks with a lot of artificial colours in them. This is no place for a carpet.
Above all, a laminate floor can withstand a lot of footfall, which must be a top priority for any busy retail setting.
Why Domestic Downsides Don’t Matter In Shops
The downsides The Spruce lists for a home are that the surface is susceptible to moisture, has some chemicals in it, is noisier to walk over (which everything is compared to a carpet, of course), and has repetitive patterning.
Whether the last one is such an issue is a moot point, but by its nature, a retail environment is not a room with a lot of moisture, as it is air-conditioned and humidity might damage some of the goods on sale. The noise is not such an issue either, as a store is not exactly a place where people go for quiet contemplation.
Having established that laminate is a great idea in general for retail settings, the next step should be to look at the great laminate floors we have that are great for this use.
The Chelsea Choice
For instance, the Chelsea 8mm thick laminate planks, which come in a traditional oak look, have a wear classification of 32, easy click installation and a five-year warranty for commercial settings. These planks, which measure 1261 x 192 mm, have 4v bevels and are suitable for use with underfloor heating.
Quick-Step Offers A Quick Solution
Another option is the Quick Step Impressive Ultra flooring, which is 12 mm thick and comes in planks of 1380 x 190 mm. Coming with Uniclic installation, these after available in a wide array of wood-effect designs, such as oak grey, burned planks, classic oak brown and natural pine.
This product is also fully waterproof, which is not true of all laminates and it means, contrary to the issue raised by The Spruce, that it can be used in settings where water may be present, such as a garden centre, or a pet shop selling aquatic creatures and goods.
What these products offer is a significant choice and some different attributes, which means you can pick whichever suits your premises, or use both, but in different areas. What they have in common is that the wood effect is a design that can suit a décor that has a lot of wood, which may make for an attractive in-store look.
However, wood-effect flooring can also work with other décor types, for example, through the simple fact that wood flooring does not come in such bold and overwhelming colours as to clash with other styles. This is worth considering when your store features lots of bright and colourful items for sale.
A Truly Practical Choice
Quite simply, laminate flooring is hard-wearing, practical, cost-effective, easy to install and attractive, the latter coming about as a result of advances in design from the kind of laminate floors that were around years ago – and perhaps even an old laminate floor that has been used in your store in the past.
If you want a simple but impressive new floor for your retail premises, this could be the ideal choice for your company.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to get in touch with the CVT Direct team via our Contact Us page or give us a ring on 0345 121 1234.
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