Walk the Walk

For new and retrofit projects, which types of flooring work best in education facilities? Opinions vary among facilities specialists. Also, user groups — teachers, students, principals and parents — have preferences. So, education institutions must do research to determine appropriate flooring for various spaces. Touring facilities and talking to design professionals, building users and manufacturers are effective ways to make informed decisions.

Criteria and types

Schools and universities should select flooring that:

• Extends usable life expectancy.
• Prevents mold and mildew.
• Controls dust and particulates.
• Eliminates volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Provides noise control and comfort.
• Augments daylighting.
• Minimizes initial and long-term costs.
• Enhances educational delivery.
• Provides increased flexibility of space usage.
• Achieves desired aesthetics.
• Responds to the environment.

Many choices exist; the flooring discussion goes beyond "vinyl tile vs. carpet." Other types:

• Resilient flooring.
• Vinyl composition tile (VCT).
• Vinyl (sheet/plank/tile).
• Linoleum.
• Rubber tile (recycled/vulcanized).
• Quartz vinyl tile.
• Bio-based tile.
• Variable cushioned tufted tile (VCTT).
• Hard flooring.
• Terrazzo (epoxy/thickset/tile).
• Concrete (polished/ground).
• Epoxy quartz tile.
• Glass tile.
• Quarry tile.
• Porcelain tile.
• Ceramic tile.
• Wood (floating/glue-down).
• Bamboo.
• Cork.
• Soft flooring.
• Carpet (rolled/tile).