You may well wonder what could be so exciting about industrial flooring. It is the sort of subject that has a speciality magazine that appears on the weekly satirical comedy Have I Got News For You. For those interested in engineering, safety or construction, the world of flooring can be a diverse and interesting subject and I for one was astounded at just how much more there is to what is under our feet without us ever paying the slightest attention. The only occasions I have ever really been bothered about floor coverings is when I spill a glass of red wine on a cream shag pile carpet. Ok, that is an extreme example and a worst case scenario, red wine on any carpet is bad news! Paying for carpet, laminate or real wood flooring also draws my attention to the presence of platforms pour la pied as the stuff costs a small fortune, but not as much as it can cost a company if it doesn't do its job properly. Massive amounts of money are paid out annually in insurance payments when floors bite back and become a trip hazard to unwary pedestrians. I suppose that is why the topic of industrial flooring and the progress of the materials used is such a big hit with those in industry. In the days before terms existed such as composite and seamless flooring, the industry worked quite simply on the installation of natural products such as stone, ceramic tile, marble and wood. The ability to create ornate features through cutting materials and making a pattern were part and parcel of creating a stunning walkway whether inside a building or out on the open road as it were. The problems with natural floor coverings such as these, was the natural degradation or decomposition of the materials. Wood has a tendency to swell in the presence of moisture and become a slip hazard. If laid in a plank fashion rather than parquet, wood has a disposition to warp, thus becoming a trip hazard as well as a slip hazard. Some of these products also harbour bacteria, and therefore are unsuitable in a place where contaminants will have a detrimental effect, for example in a hospital or laboratory setting. It is because of the safety aspect of the newer industrial flooring materials that they are becoming popular in a domestic setting too. The rise in the presence of laminate flooring, albeit a do it yourself version, is a reflection of the desire for homeowners to have hypoallergenic products in the home. Using materials that were formally exclusive to industry has risen in popularity as more juveniles are being diagnosed with serious allergies to dust. Asthma attacks have risen dramatically in recent years, and airborne allergens from disrupted dust is often to blame as a trigger. Flooring, such as laminate is easy to keep clean in the home, and has replaced linoleum as it is more attractive as a surface. In hospitals, to combat the spread of infection the use of seamless flooring has been used to full effect. Even the smallest seam can harbour harmful bacteria, and when MRSA is a very real and dangerous threat on hospital wards, the importance of safety flooring suddenly becomes very serious indeed. Maybe I was initially presumptuous about the interestingness of industrial flooring. It may not be interesting in a glossy magazine way, but you'll suddenly find that you're interested when it comes to your safety on something we spend our lives pacing without even a thought for where we are treading.
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