Best Flooring Options for Laundromat

[WILLIAM ROGERSON]

I’ve been exploring various flooring options for my laundromat and was hoping some other with more experience might be able to weigh in. My goal is to make the flooring look as good as possible while minimizing cost. Two big requirements are that they are safe (i.e. no one will slip) and that they do not show dirt too easily. My current flooring requires lots of attention to deal with dirt.

Currently, my laundromat has worn down tile floors that are broken/stained and, while somewhat functional, really look horrible. I’d be open to possibly rehabing them but I’m pretty sure there isn’t any saving them.

The options I’ve looked at are epoxy and commercial tile flooring. Doing epoxy correctly (which includes grinding down the current floors and prepping for the epoxy will likely require the store to be shut down for a few days and cost ~$10k. Laying tile floors on top of the current tile would be another option that would require much less work and would likely look pretty decent. However, my experience with tile is that is shows dirt a lot more than epoxy or some other flooring options but it would be great to get some additional opinions.

[CKH]

I was having this discussion the other day with my brother, who is an architect, and he suggested polished concrete, saying it looks beautiful and it’s simple to do.

[Brian]

Hi, I am building a store right now and the plan is to use epoxy. I wanted to save a little money and do polished concrete – but then I took a trip down the laundry detergent aisle in a few grocery stores and saw what bleach spills can do to the appearance. I do wonder if I am being too picky, but i really do like the look of epoxy and the simple maintenance.

[WILLIAM ROGERSON]

Hey Brian, I actually spoke with a contractor regarding that exact issue. I advised him that I was interested in doing and what it was for and he advised that polished concrete does not hold up well with repeated spills from soaps/detergents/bleaches. I think epoxy sounds like a good choice. Just need to figure out if I can make the economics work. Thanks for the input!

[Emerson]

Anyone going with the water look ?

A floor that looks like water ?

Long story, but I recently tossed lots of flooring and some of it looked like water.

Looking back I think that could have been fun for a kids area of a larger mat.

Maybe if used in the entire store it may be the nuttiest thing ever, but in a kids area could be fun.

[Emerson]

Back to the material choice, several giant retailers have been choosing concrete and one of the items mentioned was that it reduced moisture levels inside of giant stores as well. Other forms of flooring were holding or retaining moisture which added up over a large area.

I will say that in some areas or structures concrete can look kind of nice and in others kind of boring. Maybe it depends on the other items inside the space as far as the overall look and feel.

[Anthony Uva]

Hello All,

Although I do not own a laundromat yet, I’ve been in the tile and stone industry for over 20 years and have specified material for many commercial projects. I my opinion the best material by far for a laundromat floor is a through-body porcelain tile with a rectified edge. I’d choose something with a mottled rather than plain solid color to hide soiling between cleanings. The rectified edge allows the tiles to be set tightly with minimal grout joints.

There are several factors to consider: you want something with water and chemical resistance, as well as good abrasion resistance with carts and furniture being dragged across the surface. The coefficient of friction rating ( slip resistance) should be considered for dry, as well as wet applications. ( your insurance company will thank you) .

If you really want to go for the best installation there are specialty trim pieces like rounded inside corners which are easy to clean as well as matching baseboard which will hold up to aggressive mopping and spills. Use an epoxy grout and you’ve got a durable floor that should hold up to whatever the clientele can throw at it.

It’s certainly not the cheapest option but is a good value since it will hold up better and last longer.

[Author]

Posts