When you are building or renovating a restaurant or another food service facility, one of the key considerations is to think about various types of flooring for a kitchen and choose the best one for your business in particular. It is essential not only to the aesthetics of the venue but also to the comfort and safety of work.
However, it may not be that easy, as there are many solutions to select from, and all of them seem to have certain advantages. To make the right decision, read our guide on the best flooring for a commercial kitchen!
Key Points
- Commercial kitchen flooring has specific requirements as it is a heavily used surface with lots of spills and splashes.
- When choosing the best flooring for a commercial kitchen, you need to look at such factors as safety features, durability, cost-effectiveness, maintenance difficulty, hygiene level, or waterproofness.
- Epoxy coating and polished concrete are two of the most recommended types of flooring for a kitchen, as they combine all the necessary features.
- At Atlantic Concrete Design, you can order a professional and efficient restaurant flooring installation service.
What Qualities to Look for in Restaurant Flooring?
Before you choose the right flooring for your commercial kitchen, you need to know what qualities matter the most in such an application. Some of them are as follows:
Slip Resistance
One of the most obvious features to look for in restaurant flooring is anti-slip properties.
With such intense foot traffic and such a high possibility of spills and splashes, you need to make sure your kitchen crew is protected against slipping on the floor and getting hurt.
What’s more, it will help you meet the safety standards, which is a must in the food service industry.
High Durability
Typically, there is heavy traffic in a commercial kitchen, with all the crew members running back and forth and trying to prepare everything as quickly as possible. What’s more, such a space needs to deal with a lot of spills and splashes, as well as significant wear and tear from equipment and dropped utensils.
Apart from that, kitchen flooring needs to be resistant to temperature extremes and thermal shocks happening due to spills of boiling liquids and other factors. A perfect choice of restaurant flooring is a structure that has a relatively long lifespan so that you do not have to pay for expensive replacements too often.
Cost-Effectiveness
Your business’ budget is always an important factor to consider. You need to choose restaurant flooring that will be good value for money, so that it can help you to make savings in the long run.
When considering various types of flooring for a kitchen, take into account not only the initial installation costs but also the long-term maintenance rates and durability. It may be a good idea to invest more initially to reduce future costs related to repairs and replacements.
Waterproofness and Easy Maintenance
The best flooring for a commercial kitchen should be easy to clean and sanitize. It will save your funds and time if its material requires less frequent deep cleaning and can be just simply wiped down with mild detergents.
The restaurant flooring will certainly be easier to clean and more durable if it has a watertight seal and non-porous surfaces. For this reason, make sure to select the best waterproof flooring for your kitchen.
The Most Recommended Types of Flooring for a Kitchen in a Restaurant
Now that you know what factors are important to take into consideration when looking for the best flooring for a commercial kitchen, take a look at some of the most popular options in the food service industry:
Epoxy Flooring for a Commercial Kitchen
Restaurant owners often decide on epoxy flooring services, as this solution combines various benefits that are crucial for their business. Such coating is highly durable if applied properly on top of prepped concrete.
Epoxy flooring is basically a chemically bonded combination of epoxy resin and hardener. Such a mix results in creating a hard protective barrier over the concrete that protects against various kinds of damage.
Advantages of Using Epoxy Coating as Restaurant Flooring
Here are some of the reasons why epoxy flooring is one of the best types of flooring for a commercial kitchen:
- Waterproofness: The epoxy coating is resistant to liquids, and it blocks all the pores in a concrete surface, preventing the water, oils, etc., from sinking into its structure. It is certainly one of the best waterproof flooring for a kitchen, as it protects it against significant damage.
- High Resistance: Apart from being resistant to water, epoxy flooring can also deal with other, even more harsh liquids that are commonly used in the food service industry.
- Simple Maintenance: It is not hard to keep epoxy kitchen flooring clean. It requires very little attention after the installation, so they will not take a lot of your staff’s precious time. All they need to do is clean it with a good mop or deck-scrubbing brush once in a while.
- Excellent Durability: If applied correctly, epoxy restaurant flooring will add a stain and chemical resistance layer to your concrete surface, at the same time keeping all of its strength. Epoxy floors can also withstand heavy foot traffic and can last up to 5-10 years.
- Cost-Effectiveness: With such durability, investing in epoxy flooring will pay off in the long run, as you will be able to use it for a long time without spending additional money on costly repairs and replacements.
- Great Hygiene: If you decide to install epoxy restaurant flooring, you will not have to worry about crevices. Its seamless, glossy surface does not let any bacteria in, as there are no cracks or joints where they could accumulate. It significantly improves the level of hygiene in your commercial kitchen.
- No-Slip Surface: Unlike materials such as tiles or linoleum, epoxy flooring has a no-slip texture, giving your employees a stronger grip when they walk around the kitchen. In this way, you will increase the safety of work in your restaurant.
Polished Concrete Flooring for a Commercial Kitchen
Another popular solution when it comes to restaurant flooring is to invest in polished concrete services. Professional contractors use advanced floor grinding equipment to grind either old or new concrete surfaces to a high-gloss finish.
With its numerous benefits, it is no wonder such a solution is popular for both residential and commercial uses, including restaurant kitchens.
Advantages of Using Polished Concrete as Restaurant Flooring
Some of the most important reasons why polished concrete is considered one of the best types of flooring for a kitchen in a restaurant are as follows:
- High Durability: As polished concrete is extremely durable, it can handle the heavy foot traffic commonly associated with working in a commercial kitchen.
- Moisture Resistance: The dense surface of polished concrete is moisture resistant, so it is suitable for areas where frequent spills and splashes are common, such as restaurant kitchens.
- Excellent Hygiene: With such a sealed surface, your restaurant flooring will be protected not only from liquids sinking in but also from mold growth and bacteria accumulation. As there will be no cracks and joints, there is no space where they could develop.
- Safety Features: To increase the safety features of your polished concrete kitchen flooring, you can ask the contractor to apply additional anti-slip conditioners.
- Low Maintenance: It will not take you much time to clean polished concrete restaurant flooring. All you need to do is just use a dust mop or broom to remove dust and dirt particles and mop it with a mild detergent.
- Good Value for Money: After you spend money on polished concrete installation, you won’t have to cover many additional expenses. As it is a durable and low-maintenance solution, it will provide you with peace of mind for a long time.
Get the Best Waterproof Flooring for Your Kitchen at Atlantic Concrete Design
Taking into consideration all the benefits of epoxy coating and polished concrete flooring, these solutions are foolproof types of flooring for a kitchen in a restaurant.
However, it is also important to choose the right company to implement them so that it is done properly and without any flaws.
By choosing Atlantic Concrete Design, you can be sure that every restaurant flooring service will be conducted with attention to detail and customized to your specific needs.
Contact us today for more information and schedule the most suitable date for installing the best waterproof flooring for your kitchen!