Commercial Flooring Question

Q: I have employees with allergies and would like an alternative to carpet for a professional office (approx. 3700 sq. feet of flooring).
Most of the area would be considered light to medium foot traffic. What options would last longest and look best?
Mindy C.
A: There are two methods of thought here. If you want the ultimate in resiliency for your office I would suggest looking into VCT (vinyl composition tile) or stone. These types of floors are as close to impervious as you can get.
Now if you want to go toward something hypoallergenic I would suggest looking into cork. For a commercial application you are best set using a glue down cork with a site applied finish. This will give you the best weight bearing floor from cork. The problem you will have with cork is that it is susceptible to gouging if heavy objects are dragged over the floor because of how soft cork is.
You could also look into a wood appearing vinyl like Konecto. These floors are very durable and rather easy to install, which will cut down on your installation costs. Vinyl, like cork, can be susceptible to gouging, but as long as furniture is lifted before being move, you should relieve this worry much as you would with cork.