The assisted living market in senior living is more competitive than ever before, and many owners and operators are upgrading their communities to keep them feeling fresh and appealing. These renovations can include updating the flooring, using a variety of new products and styles now available.
But before a design team delves into the project, it’s important to understand not only the aesthetics but also the performance qualities of flooring; after all, flooring is subjected to a lot of abuse and must be able to stand up to heavy traffic, frequent cleaning, and other issues.
Here’s some advice from Fuse Alliance, an industry association representing commercial flooring contractors, to consider when upgrading flooring in an assisted living community.
1. Consider your options. Ten years ago, there were relatively few flooring materials on the market, with a typical senior living project consisting of carpet in the living areas and vinyl or ceramic tile in the bathrooms. Today’s projects are much more complex, incorporating carpet with a combination of hard surface materials that come in a variety of size, color, and texture options. Those options include rubber flooring, ceramic tile, luxury vinyl tile, and sheet vinyl. One thing to consider about hard surfaces is that they’re not very forgiving when it comes to an uneven subfloor, so there may be more floor prep prior to installation, which increases costs. Hard-surface products also don’t absorb sound like carpet, so a higher noise level must be considered. The plus side of these products is that they’re easier to clean and maintain and are more resistant to wear and tear. However, it’s important to purchase a product that has a commercial wear layer to withstand day-to-day usage. Some of the new hard surface products come with a rubber backing to cushion a fall better than conventional vinyl products.
2. Be strategic. It’s important to consider what flooring products make the most sense for a specific environment. For example, in a dining room, broadloom carpet with a pattern is a good solution for sound absorption and to hide spots and stains. Carpeting with a moisture barrier layer is ideal for resident rooms. In memory care, it’s important not to use hard or soft surface products with a high-contrast pattern, because they can be confusing to residents with cognitive impairments.
3. Perform a moisture test. Moisture in the concrete subfloor has become a big issue with flooring because today’s hard surface products are more sensitive to moisture than traditional carpet. Additionally, the prevalence of water-based, environmentally friendly adhesives makes them more susceptible to moisture moving through the slab. It’s important for project teams to work with a flooring contractor to perform a moisture test, because unresolved moisture issues can lead to flooring not adhering to the subfloor and require a costly replacement. Also, older buildings have no vapor retarder underneath the concrete. This means there’s no membrane between the ground and concrete to stop naturally occurring moisture transmission from coming up through the concrete, which can push new flooring off the subfloor.
Geoff Gordon is executive director at Fuse Alliance (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).
