Restaurant Flooring Options in Singapore

Whenever we mentioned about restaurants, the image of fast-moving walk-in traffic of patrons and staff,  the food, the regular cleaning of the interior will gush into our heads. With respect to the fast-paced nature of today's modern restaurants, a good type of quality flooring is therefore useful and practical for the restaurant owners. 

Here is the restaurant flooring options available today.

1) Laminate Flooring

The good quality laminate flooring has good slip resistant, impact resistant as well as stain resistant properties. Furthermore, it is cost effective and owners get to choose from a variety of designs for their restaurants. However, laminate flooring is considered as water resistant but not waterproof so it may be an issue when there is a need to constant washing and cleaning of the premises. For cafes that requires less cooking, well laminate flooring can be considered. 

2) Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is one of the most common indoor flooring options for restaurants today. They cost less and are high water resistant as compared to the laminate or wood flooring. They are often available in tiles, planks or sheets. However, the disadvantage of using vinyl flooring is its thin thickness and glued on approach. Such properties may result in no solid comfort feel when stepped on. Constant washing may cause the adhesive to peel off over time as well.  

3) High End Resilient Flooring (HERF)

High end resilient flooring (HERF) is a strong substitute to traditional laminate flooring, wood parquet and even conventional vinyl flooring. This is because of its 100 percent waterproof feature and have wood alike feature and designs. Restaurant owners and staff have a worry-free when it comes to regular cleaning and maintenance of the flooring. Moreover, the flooring is highly impact and slip resistant as well. One minus point for HERF is that it is not recommended to be installed outdoor alfresco dining options as there may be colour tonality changes overtime. But for indoor, it is highly okay.

4) Cement Screed

Typically many 'old school' restaurant layouts make use of the cement screed with a layer of anti-slip membrane or epoxy. Well, it does helped to save restaurants owners a lot on the renovation costs and it gives an industrial Scandinavian look for the restaurants. However, designs will be quite limited. And such flooring may have relatively lower slip resistant properties if the wear layer has gone through wear and tear over time.

5) Ceramic & Marble Tiles

Ceramic tiles gives a neater, no-frills look to your restaurants. Some restaurants installed marble tiles to give the restaurant interior an overall luxurious look and feel. However, it may be quite expensive to install expensive marble or even ceramic tiles especially for commercial outlets where location may vary from time to time. Furthermore, same as cement screed, it is recommended to apply an additional wear layer to enhance the slip resistant properties of the flooring.  

6) Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring as compared to solid wood flooring gives restaurant owners and its guests the feel and enjoyment of real wood at a cost efficient prices. High end and fine dining restaurants often use engineered wood flooring for their floor. This is because wood can give a strong meaning to the ambience which define luxury and style. In terms of safety, wood is naturally high in slip resistance. However, one important thing to take note is regular maintenance such as coating is required and water issue may be taken into consideration as well. 

7) Carpets

Just like wood flooring, carpets are commonly found in fine dining restaurants and hotel dining rooms and such. It is highly cost effective to install and it gives a grand warm look and feel to your patrons. However, the restaurant owners may need to invest more of its operation budgets to maintain and clean its carpets, using a special carpet cleaning machine that helps to clean away the dust, dirt and even the oil stains. 

Today, the restaurant owners have a variety of flooring options to choose for their outlets. As we know that each flooring option may have its pros and cons, the key will be finding the right one from a good contractor who is able to take care of their flooring even for months after the sales. So, restaurant owners, happy finding!