Having recently fitted floor coverings in very large conference rooms at one of the oldest and most famous football stadiums in Britain, we thought we would turn the attention of our flooring guide this week to covering large interior areas.
You will also find below information on new floor coverings for large exhibition areas.
Carpet vs Hard Flooring – Having the best of both worlds
As ever putting the people who are going to use the facility at the centre of your thoughts should help you in your selection of the right type of commercial flooring.
The football stadium in question recently chose carpet for the largest area of their conference room – with hard flooring in areas around bar areas and, of course, the dance floor.
This gave a warmth and comfort to the areas where delegates sit, gave scope for coloured carpet with the team’s identity running throughout the stadium whilst leaving the room available for multi purpose.
When fitting carpet to a room with a capacity of hundreds of people, over several hundred square metres – inevitably, experience and specialist knowledge of large scale commercial carpet fitting is essential.
This ensures a floor covering which will be durable and immune from tripping hazards in the future.
Having a place that can be used for pleasure (eg. weddings) as well as business conferences maximises commercial potential. Combining hard flooring dance areas and around bars, in a way that blends seamlessly through nearby doors into entrance areas etc. can really help to maximise on a room’s potential yield.
Having the right trims and fixtures in place to divide carpeted and hard flooring areas are important whilst having easy to clean and hard-wearing surfaces around bars, in washroom areas etc help ensure safety for customers as well as making cleaning, hygiene, maintenance more efficient – controlling ongoing operational costs.
In addition to tiles and hardwood, epoxy resin flooring in complimenting colour schemes can also be considered.
Working with the right people
It is also important to work with a supplier who has the logistical experience of moving large amounts of floor covering into place safely and with the minimum of disruption to the operational needs of the customer (and other conferences and events which may be happening simultaneously).
Expecting a delivery and logistics plan can help to ensure all aspects have been considered by the company working for you.
Flooring for Exhibition Venues
When planning new floor coverings for exhibition venues it is well worth considering your future exhibitors before you begin.
One of the commonest factors influencing whether an exhibitor will hire a stand in your venue is the layout of their stand.
Why does this matter before I lay the floor?
Because when it comes to exhibitions the floor plan is king! That means that the combinations of floor plans you can adopt (which has become a science in itself) are influenced by other decisions – such as where you are locating bars, cafes and toilets.
Of course if you are colour printing walkways, emergency exit routes etc on epoxy floor coatings or are using other decorative resinous flooring these can also restrict the options for floor plan layout and so must be carefully considered in advance.
You will also find our page on commercial resin flooring useful when considering what materials to use in large exhibition spaces.