Flooring options, esp concrete floors

[jeehe]

Hi everyone! First time posting here. My family and I are opening up a coffee shop, and I would love some input on flooring from other shop owners. What did you install, and what are the pros and cons? If you could change your flooring to something else, what would it be?

We ripped out the tiles in our shop and exposed the concrete underneath. I'd like to keep the concrete, but my contractor said that it would actually be more expensive to repair the concrete floor than to install new tiles. We have a few dings and cracks here and there, and apparently the floor isn't level. For those of you who installed/repaired concrete floors, did you find that it was expensive or difficult? It seems like it wouldn't be too hard and kind of suspect that it might just be out of my contractor's area of expertise, but perhaps I'm underestimating the difficulty. Also, how much effort do you put into maintenance? I heard that concrete floors need to be resealed every few months, do you find this to be true?

Alternatively, we are interested in wood grain ceramic tiles and would love to hear people's input on that option.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it!!

 

[peterjschmidt]

There's a somewhat long-ish thread from last year that discusses this.

 

[RustyRoof]

Polished concrete may be the way to go. Ceramic tile needs flat surface 1/4 inch in 10 feet plus if concrete is cracked in lots of areas a crack isolation membrane should be used . If you do tile, use urethane grout or epoxy grout you never have to seal it and they have the best stain resistance available. best of luck.

 

[jeehe]

There's a somewhat long-ish thread from last year that discusses this.

Thanks for letting me know! I did see a thread similar to this from earlier this year, but it didn't answer my specific questions about concrete floors. (Mainly concerning upkeep and the difficulty and cost of repair/installation). I'm also interested to hear about what shop owners chose for their own cafes!