Hard floors include a wide variety and different types of surfaces from both man-made and natural origins. Concrete is probably the most used hard floor surface overall, but terrazzo, marble, natural stone, clay, ceramic tile, porcelain tile, and brick flooring are valuable members of the hard floor surface family, as well.
Some of those materials are resilient — that is, they possess the ability to recover or "spring back" from compression, to varying degrees. These resilient options include vinyl, rubber, cork, or linoleum flooring materials. This product construction has changed over the years, just as products in other industries have incorporated new and better technology, resilient flooring has as well, and may include concrete or cement, ceramic tile, glass tiles, and natural stone products.
SELECT maintains extensive resources, provides service for all traditional, specialty and customized maintenance programs needed to keep hard surface floors in optimum condition.
Granite & Marble
Granite and marble are luxurious floors that require special care to preserve and maintain beauty. SELECT has the expertise you need for routine maintenance, or restoration to enhance luster and show quality. When properly treated, such specialty floors retain their appeal for many years. Care for your granite, marble, or other hard surface floor is identified in the discovery phase of a Comprehensive Site Survey provided upon request.
Terrazzo
Terrazzo Stone is becoming popular again and is another floor that requires similar care. Basic care of terrazzo floors starts with the installation of an effective matting system, especially if terrazzo has been installed at building entries. Mats can help trap sand and grit before these contaminants have a chance to impact the surfaces.
These floors are regularly swept, dust mopped, or vacuumed using a backpack vacuum cleaner. In fact, in some busier facilities, we perform these tasks throughout the day. Often using the latest generation of backpack vacuum cleaners since these machines are more comfortable to use and the suction power pulls grit and sand out from the porous areas of the floor.
Spills are cleaned as quickly as possible so they do not have a chance to penetrate or stain the floor. Terrazzo floors are mopped using a neutral floor cleaner, and the mop head and cleaning solution is changed frequently.
If the floor has been sealed or finished and a soiled mop and contaminated water are used, it will likely result in hazing or streaking, which can mar the appearance of the floor.
Concrete
Concrete floors are one of the newest trends in commercial office spaces now. The variable options are Acid Stained, Polished, Stamped and Skip Trowel Overlay. Only Acid and Polished are being used for interiors for the most part. They are considered to be low, easy maintenance that only require dust mopping with a microfiber pad and wet mopping with clean water. A pH-neutral cleaner and water can be used for deeper cleaning.
Polished concrete flooring is extremely strong and resilient and is able to withstand the pressure from very heavy foot traffic and equipment. It is very difficult to damage and is nearly impossible to chip or scratch. We love the ease of maintenance, and can provide polishing when needed.