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.
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.
Hi Flooring Lady,
Jason at July 25, 2008 5:17 PMI thought would inform you about a Poured in Place, UV stable, grease impervious, polyurethane sealed, pebble appearance rubberized surface called AQUA-FLEX. It is a new offering from PEBBLE-FLEX, which is a terrific outdoor surface for playgrounds, pool decks, splash-pads, patios etc. It also consists of Polyurethane Bonded Urethane Pebbles but is left porous to allow for drainage. No fading, 3/8" of slightly cushioned deck, supreme crack resistance, easy repair, cooler than most other surfaces- it has become our sole product offering we are so pleased with it. Just figured I'd inform the Flooring Lady ;-) Please check out our website and pebbleflex dot com too.
Thank you Jason,
Normally I delete "advertising" posts, but I checked out your website and it does appear to be a very good product. So......... I'm leaving your comment up and I thank you for dropping in and telling us about it!
The Flooring Lady at July 26, 2008 9:41 PMwhere would I find commercial rubber flooring?
v phillips at September 6, 2008 6:25 PMHello v phillips,
I'd go to Google and type in:
The Flooring Lady at September 7, 2008 11:40 AMcommercial "rubber flooring"
exactly like above - quotes and all. You should get plenty of sources, articles, etc.
I am trying to find a commercial grade laminate (wood grain) for a restaurant floor. I am concerned about sound dampening and understand there are products with a "rubberized" backing which should help in that regard. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
tjk at October 8, 2008 10:17 AMHi tjk -- yes, there are such products and they work well. Another alternative (pointed out to me by another reader just the other day!) is to install a layer of cork underneath regular laminate flooring. Sometimes it's more cost effective.
The Flooring Lady at October 9, 2008 7:25 AMWe are going to be cleaning the kitchen floor area for a Cafe & Bakery. The concrete floor is 10-yrs old and was poured with color mixed in. After cleaning the floors, what do you recommend as a sealer?
Don
Don at November 19, 2008 2:52 PMI would recommend purchasing and 'industrial' flooring sealer, they're usually more durable. Just be sure to buy one in the type of floor finish you want, low sheen, medium sheen, high sheen (matte, satin or glossy finish). You might also have to use a buffer to achieve the high gloss finish.
The Flooring Lady at November 20, 2008 2:22 PMWould porcelain be better than ceramic tile in a commercial kitchen?
Steven at January 28, 2009 2:48 PMThey'd both work fine. The porcelain is harder, so that is something to consider.
The Flooring Lady at January 29, 2009 12:35 PMHi, I just scrubbed a cement floor in a restaurant kitchen, so now all the grease is off...the paint is chipped and worn a lot. I would like to re-paint it using rollers. What would be the best paint for this purpose, also, muswt I put a protective layer over the paint after I paint or can I buy a product that is all in one? Thanks!
Bradley Atkinson at February 17, 2009 7:27 AMHi Bradley,
I would use a latex paint and then use Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane over it. Have you thought of an epoxy paint? They're very durable.
The Flooring Lady at February 19, 2009 10:17 AMI am in the industrial, commercial, and residential flooring business. For concrete kitchen floors in a restaurant I would recommend a quartz broadcast overlay. This type of flooring is extremely durable, very slip resistant, impervious to stains, and easy to clean. There are many restaurant chains that are using this type of floor. Also a urethane overlay is a good choice for this type of application. both of these types can be power washed, steam cleaned, etc and are resistant to all types of chemicals, cleaners, de-greasers and thermal shock.
Good luck......Bill Hallmark....Mid Continent Epoxy
Bill Hallmark at March 3, 2009 7:39 PMlooking for a 4x4 cory red tile for commercial kithen, it seems to have diamond pattern to it, where can i locate this prduct thanks jason
Jason Corley at March 19, 2009 10:01 AMHi Jason,
The Flooring Lady at March 20, 2009 10:50 AMHave you tried doing a google search? I'll bet you'll find lots of links there.
Question for grout that has been stained: This is a recently installed application, but already the grout is stained...it's a church kitchen, gray quarry tile, and light gray grout. How can these stains be cleaned? Once we seal the grout, how often should we re-seal?
Lanie at March 21, 2009 5:57 PMHi Lanie,
The Flooring Lady at March 24, 2009 2:35 PMCleaning 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.
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 Allen at May 8, 2009 11:29 AMMichelle
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 AMHi 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 AMWould you recommend a PU floor for a kitchen?
Jim at July 20, 2009 7:55 AMHi 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
The Flooring Lady at July 20, 2009 12:31 PMprefer 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.
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 2:05 PMHi 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 1:13 PMI 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.
rob at November 1, 2009 1:43 PMI 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,
There is another article that should help answer your questions about Repairing Cracks in Concrete Floors.
The Flooring Lady at November 3, 2009 2:29 PM