DURABLE FLOORS FOR DEMANDING SPACES

As discussed above, flooring in advanced learning environments has to stand up to more stress, accommodating multimedia, multipurpose spaces, moving furniture, and moving students. It should be resistant to scratches and other damage, and have a surface that does not require constant removal of scuffs and stains in order to provide a clean, appealing appearance.

Most of today’s school buildings, from neighborhood K-12 schools to community colleges to large university facilities, operate almost year-round. Regular classes might go into June and start back in August, with summer school in between. Schools are also increasingly used for community activities, extension classes, research and faculty training, even disaster response centers. People are in the buildings for many hours a day, most days of the year. Floors that require spaces to be closed for long periods of time for stripping, chemical cleaning, and waxing are becoming operationally inefficient, both in terms of cost and disruption. One of the key advantages of uncoated premium rubber flooring products is that they can be cleaned with little more than tap water. Buildings can remain open and functioning, with much less down time. But even more important, toxic chemicals and the associated fumes, disposal issues, and negative environmental impact are avoided.

The surface density of the flooring product in large part determines its maintenance profile, stain resistance, and durability, and there are significant differences among resilient flooring types. Many resilient floors require finishing due to their porous surface. If left unsealed, the factory-applied coating becomes scratched and dull, and the coating wears off due to daily foot and equipment traffic. Even some lower-quality rubber flooring products require finishes.

However, premium rubber products have extremely dense surfaces (see Figure 1). Their surfaces and dimensional stability are maintained without the need for additional coatings. In fact, premium rubber flooring has no factory-applied coating and never needs coating. It is an excellent choice for education, as it resists staining and wear caused by such factors as cleaning chemicals, mundane daily spills and liquids, high-traffic footfall and rolling equipment, and furniture and people moving due to changing room configurations.

Premium rubber flooring products are highly durable and should be selected after reviewing examples of facilities where the product has been installed in high-traffic educational settings and performed well over decades (for example, see the Grand Valley School Case Study).

The Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) EPDs state that premium rubber has a 35-year reference service life (RSL), an important component of a product’s overall sustainability and environmental impact. Wear-resistant rubber flooring provides a cost-efficient industrial flooring solution. Rubber flooring is reparable, also, so damage to a small part of the floor that would require complete replacement with other materials can be easily welded if gouged or scratched.

Maintenance & Operational Costs

Do hard (premium rubber) floors fare better than soft (carpet) floors? The answer is yes! When cleaned, carpeting has a 4-hour downtime and a resilient product that has to be coated is 2 ¹/₂ hours, while a resilient product without coating is only about 20 minutes—a significant savings from an operational standpoint.¹⁶ (See graphic above.)

Although cost savings in operational optimization and efficiency are always top of mind with administrators and school boards, as with all the issues discussed above, the most important costs to be considered are those borne by teachers and students when less-costly materials detract from a healthy learning environment.

CASE STUDY: 10 YEAR MAINTENANCE REPORT CARD

Grand Valley School Orwell, Ohio

Ten years ago, Grand Valley Local School District, in Orwell, Ohio, consolidated five different buildings into a single, new, 244,000-square-foot educational facility that houses pre-kindergarten through grade 12. At the time, the district selected premium rubber flooring to cover corridors, 88 classrooms, the cafeteria, locker and weight rooms, and stairwells. A decade later, administrators have ample information to evaluate that decision.

“Over time, we’ve realized this floor is relatively indestructible,” says Paul Byler, executive director for facilities and operations. “Anything you come across, you can get off this floor. We’ve dramatically reduced our use of chemicals. With the exception of tackling salt in the winter and food in the cafeteria, our regular daily cleanings and summer cleanings use only water.”

“The floor has exceeded our expectations. This is a heavily used facility, in operation virtually 24/7,” Byler continues. “I have to give credit to the school board and project planning committee for doing their research and selecting premium rubber, even at a higher up-front cost. The floor has paid for itself over and over throughout the past decade, when you factor in the amount of money we’ve saved in wax, strippers, chemicals, and time.”

Byler also noted that in the decade since installing the rubber flooring product, the district has received only one workers’ compensation claim, a dramatic reduction, which they attribute to the ergonomic advantages of rubber. He reports having received actual thank-you notes from the custodial staff, expressing gratitude for improved working conditions. “They feel better at the end of the day,” explains Byler, noting the staff has appreciated the elimination of chemical fumes and a reduction in heavy mops and buckets from the cleaning regimen.

When the floor was first installed, the custodial staff had to adapt its thinking around floor maintenance. “They had to mentally throw out all of the information and training they’ve known with more familiar materials, including wood, terrazzo, and VCT. Rubber is an entirely different maintenance regimen—a much easier and simplified, yet highly efficient, regimen that does away with all waxes and nearly all chemicals.”

CASE STUDY: UNIVERSITY LABORATORY

Department of Chemistry & Biology, Northeastern University, Boston,

Much of the research conducted at Northeastern University’s Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology is dedicated to the characterization of small and large molecules. In order to provide the best environment for this important work, premium rubber was selected as a durable flooring that is resistant to chemicals and allows researchers to comfortably and safely conduct their experiments in university lab space.

The project requirements included low maintenance, stain resistance, underfoot comfort, and durability—all of which were met by the choice of flooring material.

User feedback indicates that although there has been puddling on the floor and exposure to substances like liquid nitrogen, the flooring cleans up very well.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

In summary, the 2017 Education Operations Health Index states, “The average life of school buildings, in higher education and K–12, is 40 years.” Architects, designers, and product manufacturers play a central role in helping client partners make informed decisions in performance characteristics, operational savings, and health and wellness, given facilities are faced with:

• aging infrastructure issues,
• increased pressure to reduce operational costs,
• diminishing resources and available man-hours,
• rising deferred maintenance programs, and
• overdue capital need.

Since it is true that advances in educational thinking and in design make new demands on flooring (as with other materials), high-quality flooring is an essential component of today’s best possible learning environments. The quality of the flooring will have an impact on the space’s air quality and sustainability, and will stand up to the stress of multiple uses, quick turnover, changing furniture configurations, and constant movement. The right flooring supports the effective use of light, the creation of a quiet space that enhances communication and reduces the distraction of discomfort from glare and fatigue. Perhaps most important, flooring should be selected on the basis of safety from accidents and falls.

The physical environment of the classroom is working constantly, all day every day, either for or against the adults and children who spend their hours there. A big part of the difference is right under their feet.

END NOTES

¹2017 Infrastructure Report Card. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 2018. Web. 4 June 2018.

²Brown, Emma. "Long rated by test scores, schools may soon be judged on student absenteeism too." The Washington Post. 19 April 2017. Web. 4 June 2018.

³"A Study in K–12 Facility Design." Facility Design. June 2016. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁴Baker, Lindsay and Bernstein, Harvey. "The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance." McGraw-Hill Research Foundation and The Center for Green Schools. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁵"A Study in K–12 Facility Design." Facility Design. June 2016. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁶Kats, Gregory. "Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits." A Capital E Report. October 2006. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁷"2016 State of Facilities in Higher Education." Sightlines, a Gordian Company. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁸"How Classroom Design Affects Engagement." Steelcase. June 2014. Web. 4 June 2018.

⁹"Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success." Healthy Buildings Program, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Web. 4 June 2018.

¹⁰Althen, Aline. "State of our Schools: America’s K–12 Facilities." Center for Green Schools. USGBC. 23 March 2016. Web. 4 June 2018.

¹¹Baker, Lindsay and Bernstein, Harvey. "The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance." McGraw-Hill Research Foundation and The Center for Green Schools. Web. 4 June 2018.

¹²“Classroom Acoustics.” Acoustical Society of America. web. 4 June 2018.

¹³“Acoustics in Schools.” Ceilings and Interiors Systems Construction Association. November 2009. Web. 4 June 2018.

¹⁴“National Survey of Public School Teachers.” Beth Schapiro & Associates. March 2001. Web. 4 June 2018.

¹⁵Acoustical Society of America, 2010

¹⁶Barnes, Suzanne R. "How to Make Business Decisions for Facility Flooring.” Symposium on Healthcare Design. 18 September 1999.

Interface is a world-leading modular flooring company with a fully integrated collection of carpet tiles and resilient flooring. Our modular system helps customers create interior spaces while positively impacting the people who use them and our planet. nora is Interface’s commercial rubber flooring systems and solutions brand. Produced in Germany for more than 65 years, nora premium rubber works to improve operations, efficiencies, health, safety, and wellness with sustainable flooring that eases maintenance, absorbs noise, and provides added comfort underfoot.