What is the Best Commercial Kitchen Flooring?

Quarry Tile is the Best Flooring Choice for Commercial Kitchens

There may be other options available for restaurants and other commercial kitchen floors, but quarry tile remains the best choice. This section will compare quarry tile to other floor covering sometimes used for commercial kitchen floors – seamless epoxy, stained concrete and vinyl flooring.

We base our comparison on five essential criteria, slip resistance, durability, work environment, installation, and maintenance.

Slip Resistance – In a commercial kitchen, more than nearly any other area, A floor with added slip resistance is one of the most crucial considerations. No floorcovering is completely anti-slip or non-slip. Environmental conditions play a significant role in how well the floor will perform in an area, and few spaces are more wet and slippery than a commercial kitchen.

Durability – How well the floor performs over time is also extremely important. No one wants to repair or replace the restaurant kitchen floor frequently. To last, the floor must resist thermal shock from extremes in temperature. The floor must not melt from hot fryer oil or oven spills. Commercial kitchen floors need to resist chipping and abrasion and not wear away from constant use.

Work Environment – Beyond slip resistance, the commercial kitchen floor can affect the work environment in other ways. Primarily the concern is air quality in the kitchen and how each step in a floor’s life can affect it. What impact will the floor have when installed and right after installation? What effect will maintenance and floor cleaners have on air quality? Finally, what air quality issues will there be when you repair or replace the floor?

Installation – Installation will have a significant impact on the success of the floor. Questions you will want to ask include the following. Who is installing the floor, seasoned professionals, or someone just completing a week of training? Are there established standards and specifications for installing the product you choose? Are the installers certified to install the product? What is the installation process? How do environmental conditions affect the installation?

Maintenance – The daily and weekly maintenance routine will affect how well a restaurant kitchen floor performs and lasts. Slip resistance can also be affected by floor maintenance. Questions you need to ask when choosing a floor covering include how the floor is maintained, are top coatings applied to the floor, and what kind? What is the maintenance schedule? How is the floor repaired, how often?