Great for high-traffic areas where occu-pants do a lot of walking, rubber is also used in high-tech manufacturing, health clubs and for seamless floors in healthcare and cleanroom environments. ■ Solid vinyl tile Solid vinyl tile is much the same as a rubber floor, but normally needs a topical coating applied to obtain a shine. Less expensive than rubber and scratches easily for normal wear if not protected with finish, solid vinyl tile is a soft floor covering that will telegraph subfloor imperfections. ■ Laminated vinyl tile Also referred to as luxury vinyl tile, this is a softer, thinner product and generally doesn’t require a topical finish or burnishing. This product is often installed over the top of an existing floor covering. If the subfloor isn’t perfectly smooth, imperfections may telegraph to the surface of the new flooring. I would not recommend these products for extremely high-traffic areas, as the wear layer and pattern can walk away over time. ■ Vinyl sheet goods A good product with several variet-ies available, vinyl sheet goods normally need a topical coating for wear protection and shine. However, some of the new products on the market come with mineral coatings that don’t need refinishing or burnishing. The subfloor must be smooth, moisture-free and vapor-free and seams must be well sealed. ■ Vinyl composition tile The old standby, vinyl composition tile (VCT) is long wearing when properly installed and maintained. Most manufacturers recommend a topi-cal coating with burnishing, scrubbing and stripping when the appearance deterio-rates. Maintenance costs for VCT are higher than finish-free floors. ■ Vinyl asbestos tile Vinyl asbestos tile (VAT) may be found in older buildings, but hasn’t been sold or installed for over 30 years. Avoid stripping; a light scrub and recoat-ing is the recommended procedure. VAT can be polished or burnished if adequate coats of finish are present. Don’t let the finish wear down; keep four to six coats on the surface at all times. ■ Exotics Exotics include such things as leather, hand cut mosaics of stone or wood, precious gemstones and wood planks made from logs that were pulled from the Amazon River and reclaimed materials from old buildings. Just because someone sells it doesn’t mean it will be a good floor covering. Many of these exotic floors are difficult and expensive to maintain. Intended for low-use areas, these spe-cialty floors would be better used on the wall than the floor. CM Product Information no. 252 on page 24 www.cmmonline.com 33
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