Performance Specifications
Visit our Product Search page to find specifications, product data sheets, and MSDS.
Download the newest version of Quality Matters, our newsletter dedicated to Architects, Engineers and Specifiers.
Faced with a vast array of offerings from manufacturers, the specifier has his work cut out to specify the best possible flooring material - one that optimizes cost and performance. While many clients will have their "favorites", it is incumbent upon the architect/designer to at least offer some possible superior alternatives.
Performance specs are one way to ensure the finished flooring will meet the customer's particular needs. Most reputable manufacturers list the important physical properties of each of their materials. However, only a few critical parameters bear directly o
n long term flooring performances:
- Chemical resistance
- Tensile elongation
- Impact strength
- Compressive strength
- Loading ratio (for build-up systems)
Obviously, the floor must resist attack by the chemicals used in the customer's process at least for as long as it normally takes to clean up the spill. Tensile elongation and impact strength are the most commonly accepted measurements of toughness of the floor, i.e., how much the floor can give before cracking.
On the other hand, higher hardness and compressive strengths detract from a floor's toughness and so must be assigned maximum allowable values. Finally, the thickness of the floor is directly related to the expected life of the floor, so its inclusion in the spec is essential for an accurate "apples to apples" comparison among competitive products.