Choosing a new flooring system for a shopping centre and adjoining car park is not a decision to take lightly. With several options available, it’s important to choose an investment that aligns with the needs of your space, your floor layout, and the priorities of your retail tenants. In this article, we’ll look at four of the main systems to help you make an informed choice.
1. Polished Concrete
Polished concrete is one of the go-to flooring solutions for high-end shopping centres across the UK, capable of accommodating a variety of styles and finishes, and with a sleek finish that maintains its luxury appearance over time. Add to this the benefit of incredible durability and the ability to handle heavy foot traffic, and you get a cost-effective choice for many shopping centres. The reflective surface can also enhance lighting in indoor spaces, reducing lighting costs. However, polished concrete can feel cold and hard underfoot, contributing to a sense of discomfort in customers engaged in a hard-core shopping spree in your centre. Polished concrete can also become slippery around doorway areas and in wet weather unless treated with anti-slip coating.
2. Vinyl Flooring Tiles
Luxury vinyl flooring tiles are another option for shopping centres, not so common in walkways and large public areas, but often installed in individual retail units, cafés, checkout zones, stock rooms, access corridors, and seating areas. Vinyl flooring tiles are customisable in a huge range of styles, including those resembling natural woods, allowing a sense of personal style in key areas of your shopping centre – while avoiding the high cost of natural materials. Vinyl tiles are also strongly water resistant, simple to clean, and relatively easy to replace if damaged. However, vinyl flooring tiles are not as durable as resin or polished concrete in high traffic areas, and may lose their appearance over time.
3. Carpet Tiles
Carpet tiles are a good choice for breakout areas such as seating zones, lounges, and children’s play areas within shopping centres, providing greater comfort underfoot than harder flooring options, while also reducing noise. Carpet tiles are available in a variety of colours and patterns to match your design aesthetic, and are easy to replace piecemeal as individual sections becomes worn or stained. However, the main drawback of carpet tiles is that they are prone to dirt and spillages as they can absorb liquids and stains, and over time tiles in busy areas can take on a faded and worn appearance. Regular cleaning is essential to maintain the appearance and hygiene of carpet tiles.
4. Resin Flooring
Polished concrete, carpet tiles, and vinyl flooring tiles are all good for specific areas of a shopping centre, but none offers a complete solution that can be rolled out across the entire space and adjoining car park. Resin flooring can. Epoxy resin flooring or epoxy coated flooring systems are rapidly becoming the premier choice for British shopping centres, rivalling polished concrete in terms of versatility, cost effectiveness, and strength.
Resin flooring creates a seamless, durable surface that is strongly resistant to wear and tear, stains, scuffs, and impact damage, making it perfect for high traffic areas, retail units, toilets, cafés, and car parks alike. It’s smooth, nonporous surface makes for easy cleaning and maintenance, and a resin flooring system can also be customised to meet the branding and safety requirements of your space.
Find Out More
Advanced Resin are one of the UK’s leading commercial resin flooring contractors, providing a bespoke service for shopping centres, supermarkets, and other retail businesses. To find out more and to discuss your options, please contact one of our experienced team today by clicking here, or by calling 01332 215310.
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