When it comes to your office flooring, it should be functional for your employees and customers. With so many options available, it can be hard to choose the right one. 

When making a decision, consider how you use the space and what factors matter most to you. To help narrow down your selection, here are the pros and cons of the most common flooring choices. 

Laminate Wood 

Laminate wood is made from composite wood with an overlapping hardwood image. This type of flooring is easy to install and maintain. It is also very hygienic and durable. So, it’s perfect for a building receiving high-foot traffic or prone to employee spills. Another benefit of this option is it’s more cost-effective than other materials. It usually costs around $1,391-$1,4282 to install. 

One drawback is that laminate wood isn’t easy to repair. You may have to replace the entire floor for older types. 

Rubber 

If you want your property to stand out, rubber is an excellent alternative option. Rubber flooring has multiple durability properties, such as bacteria and stain resistance. Another benefit of rubber is it absorbs noise making it perfect for spaces operating heavy machinery. 

Here are some more reasons to consider rubber flooring: 

• It’s low maintenance
• It’s comfortable on your feet
• It has a long life expectancy
• It’s environmentally friendly 

Keep in mind the finish may appear dull and less elegant than other flooring types. While rubber is easy to clean, grease spills can leave stains. 

Engineered Hardwood 

This is made out of a small piece of hardwood placed over high-quality plywood. The benefits of this material are the simple installation process and lower price. It is cheaper than solid wood but more expensive than other flooring materials. It costs around $4,213 to install engineered wood. It is also a durable and more environmentally friendly option. 

One thing to consider is that it doesn’t have as many choices for color and style. So, engineered wood usually works best for more formally designed buildings. 

Solid Wood Flooring 

Solid wood flooring is usually used in converted commercial spaces. It can be stronger than other types of flooring. So, solid wood flooring is good for properties with heavy furniture inside. Since wood traps less dust than carpets, it’s easier to clean and improves your indoor air quality.

However, keep in mind the installation process can be more complex and costly. It costs around $12-$14 per square foot to install white oak. 

Vinyl Composite Tile

Businesses use this type of material because of its durability and easy replacement. So, vinyl is suitable for company’s whose floors receive lots of wear and tear. 

One thing to look out for is the tiles sometimes can become loose. Also, over time the surface wears down, making it harder to clean. However, the ease of installation and price can outweigh these factors. It costs around $1,415-$2,462 to install vinyl.  

Luxury Vinyl Tile 

This type of tile looks more elevated and is often used in more high-end buildings. It’s entirely made of vinyl, unlike vinyl composite tiles. It also has a transparent layer overtop, keeping the print on the tile. 

One of the main benefits of using this material is that it’s cost-effective to maintain. It has a protective layer, so it doesn’t need a sealant to be reapplied or stipped away. One of the drawbacks of this type of flooring is it can dent or be hard to remove. 

Modular Carpet Tiles

Modular carpet tiles are a more comfortable option for your commercial space. This is a good choice for offices requiring employees to stand on their feet for extended periods. Since the material uses tiles, the installation process is more straightforward. You can also choose from different patterns and styles to find one that matches your needs. 

Carpet tiles are made from vinyl backing, so they unravel less than traditional carpets. Also, the adhesive it uses helps keep the tiles in place longer. However, one downside is that it’s easy to notice if the installation process isn’t done correctly. 

How to Choose the Best Flooring for Your Property

When it comes to designing your commercial space, flooring is an essential factor. To figure out what type of material is best, consider the function of the space. Keep in mind the above information when making your flooring selection.

The man with the plan isn’t me. It’s my former bother–er, brother-in-law Ace, who–just because he keeps texting me– thinks he’s maintained a friendship with me.

.Anyway, Ace keeps nagging me about my supposed political bias, a topic which–in this, my blog–I dilate on from time to time. He keeps badgering me about –in the name of balance–giving him a platform on my blog. Okay, so his persistent entreaties have finally whittled down my resistance; so here goes. Ace expatiating on the subject of American education. Take it away, Ace:

Thank’s, bad jack. First thing:

Creationizm vs. Evolutionary Theery: Anyone whose seen “The Flintstones” knows that dinosuars and humans lived at the same time. But I’d allow teachers a chanse to state their flimsee Godless case for millions of years of so-called evolution. Even though most peeple knows that the only things that evolve are virises or backteria. So I’m giving maybee 25% of the class time to lunatick-fringe evolution theery (and remember, it’s only a theery) with 78% going to creationism, okay?

Astronumy vs. Astrolugy: If my school had at least splitt time betweeen the two siences, I would have known that –with my wife (then main squeezee) being a Leo and me being a piscees–I would never have married her in the first place. And remember, if it wasn’t for Nancy Reagan’s astrologer, Ronald Reagan would not have been the gratest prez of all time (except for Donald Trump).

Flat Earth Theory vs. Heliocentric Theory: Some guys I know say the earth obits the moon and the moon obits the sun; Uthers say the earth obits the sun and the moon obits the sun too. I just don’t know. But this much I do know. Both are theeries, right? So either one could be true, right? So let’s go 50/50 on this one.

Vax vs. Non-Vax. It boils down to who do you believe, President Trump or Anthony Vouchi? And let’s fase it, Vouchi is kind of a wimpy looking little guy and President Trump is at least 6 foot seven.And out of all the theeries regarding how the Corona virus started, I’m parshul to the theery that you get it from drinking Mexican beer on the beach with Snoop Dog. Vax 15%. Non-Vax, 90%. Fare enough, libtarts?

Critikle Race Theery vs. Real American Patriotic Histry: Tell you the trooth, I’m not sure exacktly what CRT is exacktly. But I think it makes us –I mean real White American Paitriuts–look bad. Something about us treeting “peeple of colur” not so good. But I say let the libs have there say in the classroom. 98% RAPH. 8% CRT. And that’s being jenerus.

Fonetic Spelling vs. Politickly Currekt Spelling: It might surprize you that I’m not a cunservitive on this ishue. I believe in advansing revolushunary edjucation thru Fonetic spelling. Even tho I hardly ever make misteaks myself. I’ll go 60/40 on this one, take your pik.

Mathmatics vs. Using a Calculator. I kept my pocket calculator. So I never make misteaks. That settles that. Calculator 98%. Math, being now outdaded, 6%.

Geografy vs. Reesess: Why the hell do I have to know where Myamarr is.? I’m never going their. Dump geogray alltogether. And let the stoodints out of the building where they exersise there freedum to vape.

Thanks badjack for letting me vent on your blog. I owe you. Whatever the amount, is, just ad it onto the five hundred I already owe you.

Blue Bottle Coffee, the Northern California-based specialty coffee company established in 2002, has become a global leader in environmentally-friendly specially coffee spawning cafés from California to Asia.

Until now Chicagoan’s could only get the trendy brew by traveling to another city or by subscription–a popular option.

Not surprisingly Chicago is Blue Bottle Coffee’s number one city in terms of the number of at-home subscribers.

With the Monday, July 12 opening of Blue Bottle’s first Chicago café at Wolf Point Towers, Chicago coffee lovers have two options.

^{THE VENUE}

The contemporary new cafe, inside the elegant River North Wolf Point East Tower, is centrally located with access to Fulton Market, the West Loop and downtown Chicago.

A 400-square-foot patio offers multiple outdoor seating areas overlooking the Chicago River with amazing city views.

The tower, designed by world-renowned Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, offers easy access to major transportation hubs and the city’s best amenities along with Chicago’s River Walk.

The cafe is the sole retailer occupying the building’s retail space.

^_HIGHLIGHTS

The Chicago cafe will debut numerous brand firsts in North America — including

• The brand’s most comprehensive culinary menu to date
• A beverage menu with full liquor license
• Artwork from local creators such as Cody Hudson and The Weaving Mill
• A curio area with seasonally changing past, present, and future Blue Bottle Coffee merchandise
• Classes in the Brew Lounge where cafe guests will have opportunities to interact with brew tools and methods to share in a deeper appreciation of specialty coffee.

_{THE COFFEE}

Guests at Blue Bottle’s Wolf Point cafe will enjoy expertly roasted and prepared seasonally changing coffees for both pour overs and espresso drinks, a rotating selection of blends and single origins, and signature items including the sweet, creamy and delicious New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee; specialty signature espresso drink, The Gibraltar; slightly caffeinated and subtly floral, Cascara Fizz; complex and earthy, Matcha Latte; as well as the Japanese-style cold brewed coffee, Oji.

_{THE BOOZE}

The cafe will feature a full liquor license with beverages including the NOLA Round Two, a boozy interpretation of the classic New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee; a Cascara Whiskey Soda; and a Gin and Juice Spritz featuring housemade lemon yuzu simple syrup. The menu will also feature a full range of wines and beers from local Hopewell Brewing Co.  

^{_{THE CULINARY MENU}}

The cafe’s culinary menu, infused with a balance of local preference and global influence, will feature classic Blue Bottle selections including:

• Avocado toasts
• Breakfast sandwiches
• Liège waffels
• Plus an expanded, unique-to-Chicago lineup of items including smoked whitefish toast with cucumber, radish, and yuzu kosho on Publican Quality Bread sourdough; creamy egg salad toast with pickled peach and frisée, on Publican Quality Bread sourdough; and sweet potato and raclette gratin sunflower seed crumble, with a nine-minute egg and frisée. 

^{_{THE HOURS}}

Blue Bottle Coffee’s Wolf Point location will be open Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

About Blue Bottle

Blue Bottle Coffee was founded by James Freeman in Oakland, California, in 2002 with a simple yet revolutionary idea: to serve delicious coffee, roasted fresh and brewed to order, sourced from the finest, most sustainable coffee farms.

Today, Blue Bottle is a global network of cafes in the US and Asia and the leader in specialty coffee.

Look for more Blue Bottle Coffee Chicago locations to open in the next two years.

Visit bluebottlecoffee.com for more information.

For those of us who live in small apartments or condos, our homes added to the challenges of the pandemic. We lacked a variety of rooms to offer a change of scene during isolation.

Now that I’m going out again, I no longer feel cooped up in my 3½ rooms. But the experience of confinement prompted me to reflect on how much space is required, or desired, in a residence. While I concluded that more square footage in anticipation of another pandemic makes about as much sense for me as a formal dining room, I realize that size is a preference. For some, the bigger, the better; for others, compact is a cozy choice.

A couple I know, both divorced and their respective children grown, bought a huge house when they married and added on to it. I guess neither wanted to get rid of possessions. Another person, living alone, thought her house needed at least four bedrooms for resale value.

They are not unusual in the United States. The US Census Bureau reported that the average size of a new home increased 62 percent from 1973 to 2015, when it peaked at 2,687 square feet, exceeding that in countries with larger per capita incomes.

Most of my friends buck the norm, however. I know four couples who are happy with two bedrooms. A half-dozen single friends live in one-bedroom dwellings, as do I. Two of them downsized from suburban houses and one from a large condo. Three women remain in the first condo they bought decades ago; they never saw a need to move on from their starter homes.

My guess is that most of us could have afforded a bigger place. I arbitrarily set a $200,000 price limit when shopping for a downtown condo 8½ years ago. I was lucky to find a foreclosure, a one-bedroom with the balcony and nook for an office that I wanted.

Even though space needs are subjective, efforts are made to quantify a desirable amount. For example, the Engineering Toolbox, a site with design information and resources, determined that the average person needs about 100 to 400 square feet of space to feel comfortable in an apartment. 

I wouldn’t attempt to live in 400 square feet. I felt immediately claustrophobic when I walked into a studio apartment of 550 square feet. But my 900 square feet feel fine when I don’t have to stay in 24/7.

I can’t remember any friends complaining that their spaces are too small. In fact, one of them likes to say, “I could have gone smaller.” These are among the advantages we’ve discussed about living small:

Less upkeep: Less time cleaning, fewer things to fix, and (for condos and apartments) no exterior maintenance.

Less clutter, fewer possessions: The less space, the less stuff you can accumulate.

Affordability: Smaller spaces are cheaper to buy or rent, furnish, and maintain. One friend also notes a less obvious cost advantage: Her 780-square-foot condo, the smallest size in the building, comes with the same amenities as the bigger units — a parking space, an identical storage room, and use of the swimming pool and other common areas.

Easier to decorate: You have only a few rooms to try to make just right. A friend who has achieved just right doesn’t understand why people ooh and aah over big spaces more than small ones. “A small place can look just as nice as a big one,” she comments.

Coziness: It’s easier to create a cozy feel in small spaces than in big rooms with tall ceilings.

More environmentally responsible: Our carbon footprint is small. We live in all of our space instead of having rooms used only occasionally.

There are signs that bigness may have run its course in the American housing market. The average size of houses built since 2015 is going down, and the National Association of Home Builders reports that the greatest demand is for affordable, practical housing. Some cities, including Minneapolis, have eliminated single-family zoning to make housing more affordable.

If those trends hold, we’ll be hearing more advice about how to maximize space in small residences. My friends and I would gladly pass along tips.