Seamless Floors Keep Maintenance Simple, Offer Performance, Flexibility

Planners choosing flooring materials should consider the big picture when they are addressing ease of maintenance. There are endless options in colors and style; you can find that in most every category of flooring, but finding a floor that meshes with overall design, meets all the performance standards and promises to be easy to clean can be challenge, however it is critical due to the traffic, messes and day to day wear and tear on a school floor. Planners should look for seamless, resinous hard surface floors, such as epoxy and urethane poured floors. These “hard” surfaces are resilient, but seamless is the key. Seams and grout lines collect dirt. Dirt invites bacteria. This is not only a maintenance problem, but also a health issue.

Seamless surfaces can work just about everywhere, from kitchens to locker rooms to corridors and classrooms. The design elements provide tremendous design flexibility; you can incorporate shapes, designs and custom colors to define a space any way you chose without sacrificing performance characteristics (stain, abrasion and impact resistance) and ease of cleaning. Think for example about the popularity of the multi-purpose room. This room’s purpose might change over eight times in one day. The floor stays the same, but the uses vary and everyone’s needs are accommodated. More importantly, the maintenance staff can move in and out of the room quickly to ready the floor and the room for the next function. A seamless, resilient system meets all these needs, plus keeps noise down and is easy under foot.

In addition, seamless, non-wax surfaces are sustainable; a non-wax surface will result in lower life-cycle costs. Also, the use of a urethane-based seamless systems provides increased chemical and stain resistance, particularly in laboratory applications.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Kendall Speer Ellis is the Marketing manager for The Stonhard Group. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.