Church flooring

[WoodworkerTom]

My church has a number of classrooms with commercial carpet glued down to concrete floors. We have an adult daycare program where they eat lunch in one of the room. The carpet has become stained over time.

The property committee has decided to pull out the carpet and are looking at floating laminate floors, commercial grade. Given the elderly population, I am more inclined to use some kind of epoxy coating for ease if cleaning and durability.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a coating to use?

Thanks in advance.

[jamesglenn]

Epoxy coating is not a good flooring material for an elderly, as it can become slippery when wet (i.e. something is spilled). It also has an affect on their visual perception while walking. Not to mention it is rather expensive compared to other products. The concrete would need to be ground, acid washed, and/or prepared to get bare concrete that the epoxy will attach to.

I would recommend a luxury vinyl plank that looks like wood, has great anti-slip properties and goes down for a fraction of epoxy in most cases.

I just went thru this exercise with a Nursing Home we are design for renovation and discussed the above with epoxy coating manufacturers and vinyl tile ones as well.

Jimmy

[Snipe Hunter]

Laminate is very slippery also. I used to have a dog that wouldn't walk on it. I won't use a ladder or step stool on it. Consider Vinyl Plank, it has a little softer surface than the hard laminate and completely water-proof. It cuts by scoring and snapping vs. carbide saw needed for laminate. Personally, I think it looks better too. It doesn't have that "plasticky" shine to it like laminate.

[Dusty Workshop]

Another option would be carpet squares.
Easy to replace one if it becomes damaged.

[Roly]

Laminate is very slippery also. I used to have a dog that wouldn't walk on it. I won't use a ladder or step stool on it. Consider Vinyl Plank, it has a little softer surface than the hard laminate and completely water-proof. It cuts by scoring and snapping vs. carbide saw needed for laminate. Personally, I think it looks better too. It doesn't have that "plasticky" shine to it like laminate.

I just put down a Tarkett Aqua Floor laminate with a slip rating of R10.   It is not slippery at all and my 80 lb dog has no problem with it.     I have seen wear issues with the older vinyl plank (6 years old) wearing through the color coat from chairs.    Roly

[Bob10]

My church has a number of classrooms with commercial carpet glued down to concrete floors.  We have an adult daycare program where they eat lunch in one of the room.  The carpet has become stained over time.

The property committee has decided to pull out the carpet and are looking at floating laminate floors, commercial grade.  Given the elderly population, I am more inclined to use some kind of epoxy coating for ease if cleaning and durability.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a coating to use?

Thanks in advance.

you might want to consider vinyl plank wears well.  It is used often in floral sections and entrances of Super markets

[Cooler]

I would go with premium vinyl for the same reason you see it at beach homes.  It wears harder, is more waterproof, and for dogs, it is far less slippery. (Less slippery for adults too.) 

Here is an  article that compares the two:

https://www.thespruce.com/vinyl-vs-lamin...ng-1822800

The waterproofness of vinyl is the winner for me.  Spills and puddles will not be an issue.  Resale value with vinyl used to be an issue, but seems not to be one now--at any rate the church is probably not going to be sold anytime soon.

Luxury vinyl plank is easy to install and does not retain any odors.  And the stuff looks pretty good lately.

But be aware that vinyl over concrete will require that the floor be smooth or the imperfections will telegraph through.  A rotary floor polisher with scotch pads will clean this up.

And that vinyl over concrete will not be very resilient and will be hard on the feet.

[Bob10]

I would go with premium vinyl for the same reason you see it at beach homes.  It wears harder, is more waterproof, and for dogs, it is far less slippery. (Less slippery for adults too.) 

Here is an  article that compares the two:

https://www.thespruce.com/vinyl-vs-lamin...ng-1822800

The waterproofness of vinyl is the winner for me.  Spills and puddles will not be an issue.  Resale value with vinyl used to be an issue, but seems not to be one now--at any rate the church is probably not going to be sold anytime soon.

Luxury vinyl plank is easy to install and does not retain any odors.  And the stuff looks pretty good lately.

But be aware that vinyl over concrete will require that the floor be smooth or the imperfections will telegraph through.  A rotary floor polisher with scotch pads will clean this up.

And that vinyl over concrete will not be very resilient and will be hard on the feet.

IIRC I put down some kind of insulation between the concrete and vinyl plank.

[tomsteve]

glued down carpet-that reads like fun to prep for epoxy coating or any other flooring.
i also vote for a commercial vinyl.

[rwe2156]

I put down commercial vinyl plank in my office.  We used a product made by Adore. Slip resistant available.

Personally I think its the only way to go. Will require some maintenance if you want to maintain a shine.