Believe it or not, choosing the right flooring for your fitout is just as important as the ceiling type you choose, furniture, colour scheme and other aesthetic modifications. There are a few things to keep in mind before you run out and choose the type of flooring for your space. You may be thinking what difference does it make it’s just a floor right?

Well the answer to that depends on a few factors that we’ll take a look at now…

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to help you make the best decision.

#1 –  Do you need a specific kind of flooring for your type of business?

Obviously different types of businesses may require a certain kind of flooring in order to conduct business efficiently. Let’s say for example your fitout is for a small recording studio. You’ll find some with carpet flooring. That’s a bad idea in this example because carpet is known to be a low pass filter and will negatively affect anything being recorded. A wooden floor on the other hand would be the best alternative due to the reflective nature of wood flooring and the natural sound it produces.

In the medical industry and food preparation, vinyl flooring is best. It can be cleaned quickly and doesn’t absorb stains and smells the way carpet does.

So with your fitout it would be a good idea to spend some time thinking about how much your office flooring type would impact your office environment.

#2 –  Is the flooring you’re considering easy to maintain and install?

For many commercial fit outs going with carpet is the preferred choice but that doesn’t mean it’s always the correct choice to make. Sure it’s a quick fix but don’t just go with any kind of carpet. There are several different types of carpet that you should consider. For example, there is indoor/outdoor carpet which may not meet your needs aesthetically but does offer durability where high foot traffic is a factor.

#3 –  Does the flooring match your decor and brand?

Along with function and the ability to maintain whatever flooring you ultimately choose, you need to also make sure it conveys the look and feel you want in your fitout If your fitout is designed to be a modern minimalist look for example. You want to be sure your flooring maintains the same theme but doesn’t take away from comfort and function.

#4 – Is the flooring you’re considering within your price range?

With so many choices in office flooring it can be easy to choose one because you love the look and feel so much.  Unfortunately, making a choice purely because you just like the look may not be the right choice long term especially if it comes with a higher price tag.

If you’ve gone through and asked yourself the questions above and find yourself wrestling with cost, consider lower cost flooring that is similar to the higher priced option. That doesn’t mean buy lower quality, because that will just end up costing you even more money in the future when you’re forced to replace cheaper flooring. Stay with the highest level quality you can afford without busting your budget.

#5 – Is the flooring comfortable for your office environment?

Comfort can be defined in so many ways but for our purposes we’ll focus on sound. If your office requires the environment to be quiet, you want to be sure to stay away from flooring that magnifies sound whenever others walk down the hallway for instance.

Once you have answers to the above the next step is to begin researching different types of flooring and find the ones that match your requirements.