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Restaurant Kitchen Floor Ideas
A restaurant kitchen floor first needs to comply with health codes, then it needs to be durable, cleanable, and safe. Flooring for a restaurant kitchen can also look good. Commercial kitchen flooring is more durable than home kitchen flooring. Rubber kitchen flooring for restaurants can be laid over restaurant kitchen flooring to create a safer and more comfortable work space. Commercial kitchen floors, or restaurant kitchen floors, take a lot of abuse, so choose well and have a resilient floor that will last for years.
Choosing flooring for a restaurant kitchen is a very important decision. Commercial kitchen flooring needs to be very durable, easy to clean, and not too hard to stand on for cooks that stand all day preparing food. There are several different options to choose from when considering restaurant kitchen flooring.
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What do you need to look for when choosing your commercial kitchen floors? You need to find flooring that is durable, slip resistant, and abrasion resistant, as well as waterproof, grease resistant, and easy to clean. Most commercial kitchen flooring is higher grade residential flooring. That is why many of the choices are the same as residential, but are more durable and have a slightly higher price. There are restrictions as to the kind of flooring put into a commercial kitchen, controlled by the health department, but there are a few that are more durable than others are are. These include ceramic tile, concrete, and rubber flooring.
Ceramic tile flooring is a very popular choice for restaurant kitchen floors. The ability of ceramic tiles to stand up to the heavy use and abuse found in kitchens makes it an ideal choice. The color selection of tiles make it a beautiful choice as well as a practical one. Mixing the colors to create a checkerboard effect or other design is one common use for tiles. And with some creativity, you can design a custom look with ceramic tiles. Tile is environmentally friendly because it doesn't use petroleum products in its manufacture. As long as you get the grout sealed on tile flooring, you have a durable and readily cleanable flooring surface. That's ideal for restaurant kitchens.
Another option that is inexpensive as well as durable is to paint or stain your concrete slab floor. As long as it is sealed well and then has a sealer put on after you paint or stain the concrete then it will hold up well to high traffic and other wear and tear. The best thing is that you can be as creative as your imagination allows you to be. This means that you can create faux stone or other interesting designs to give your restaurant kitchen flooring that custom look.
Rubber kitchen flooring for restaurants is also a great idea. Rubber flooring can be laid all over the kitchen floors or you can just put rubber flooring in the areas where people will be standing a great deal. Rubber flooring reduces fatigue in your legs and back that comes from standing a great deal. It also helps reduce slips on wet or greasy floors, is grease resistant, and is easy to clean. Rubber flooring and mats are very commonly used in kitchens.
Commercial kitchen floors do not have to be boring. Whether you choose ceramic tile, rubber flooring, or to paint your concrete slab, use your creativity to create an area that inspires others to be creative. Choose commercial kitchen flooring that satisfies the health department code, and is functional, durable, and looks good so you create a kitchen that any restaurant owner would be proud of.
Comments
Hi Lanie, Cleaning the stained grout would depend on what it has been stained with. StainSolver is great for removing stains and would be better than OxyClean because it's got more bleaching action. As far as sealers go, it will depend on what has been already used to seal the flooring. I would recommend sealing the entire floor, not just the grout. Any way to find out if anything was used when it was installed? Once you know, you can then choose a product to seal the entire floor - it has to be the same type of product (water based or chemical based). Have a look at the products at AquaMix to get a good idea of what types of products can be used on stone tiles.
The Flooring Lady at March 24, 2009 02:35 PM
Does anyone know: Can you paint a rubber floor? I need a cheap solution to ugly rubber tiles and I don't want to spend a lot of money...
Thanks! Michelle
Michelle Allen at May 8, 2009 11:29 AM
Hi, I stained a new concrete floor in a restaurant kitchen and then applied clear epoxy and urethane coatings. Two months later, the coatings began to blister and look terrible. I now believe I didn't give the concrete enough time and warmth for the water to evaporate fully, and the trapped moisture caused the lamination failure. This is a 7-day-a-week restaurant. I could clean the floor one night and apply new coatings the next, but what product can cure fast enough to be ready by 9:00 or 10:00 the next morning? Thanks. Ron
Ron at June 26, 2009 11:52 AM
Hi Ron, Aquathane HP is a fast drying sealant. The final coat needs to dry at least 8 hours before heavy traffic is allowed.
The Flooring Lady at June 29, 2009 11:45 AM
Would you recommend a PU floor for a kitchen?
Jim at July 20, 2009 07:55 AM
Hi Jim, Applied to floors in food areas is one use of the product. My recommendation would be based on how much VOC is emitted. I personally prefer to use floorings that have low- to no-VOC emissions, for the food and the people in the space. Do your homework to find out about that and make your decision accordingly.
The Flooring Lady at July 20, 2009 12:31 PM
I have a barbecue restaurant with concrete flooring in the front area where the customers walk in the front doors. It was sealed 17 years ago when we first opened but has since lost most of its luster. Well, I decided to seal it the other day and put down 2 coats of Quikrete's "Natural Look Waterproofer" - It was all I could find on a Sunday. After the two coats the floor still feels fairly porous. Basically, what I'm looking for is a good sealant or stain that is non-slippery, resistant to bleach/degreasers, easy to clean, and has a fairly fast drying time. Also, could I apply this product over the waterproofer I used or does it need to come up? Thanks
Stewart at July 22, 2009 02:05 PM
Hi Stewart, Yes, you may apply sealant over waterproofer and I would check out the Aqua Mix product line to find a high quality sealant.
The Flooring Lady at July 23, 2009 01:13 PM
I am remodeling a commercial kitchen (about 50 years old)and the floor is concrete, but has bad spots, where it has been patched in a few areas. I know I can knock down the high spots to a little below smooth, but some are as deep as 1/2 inch below grade. what can I use to fill these to smooth, before painting and sealing the floor, that won't come out? Would you use an epoxy or something? what would you recommend for the paint and sealer? thanks
rob at November 1, 2009 01:43 PM
Rob,
There is another article that should help answer your questions about Repairing Cracks in Concrete Floors.
The Flooring Lady at November 3, 2009 02:29 PM
