5 Tips for Choosing the Right Finish Material for Your Raised Access Floor

One of the really great things about Netfloor USA Cable Management Floors is that they get wires out of the way, so your office/building/library/control center/etc. looks like a place that people want to work and visit.

We carry a nice range of floor finishes that we've tested to work very well with Netfloor USA raised floors, but we don't expect every customer to want to use our floor finishes. There are a near-infinite amount of possibilities: colors, textures, styles. Every customer has a color theme in mind, and interior designers pay attention to every little detail when it comes to floor finishes.

So one of the questions we get asked most often is: What kind of finish floor should I use on my access floor?

1. What type of finish floor should I use? We recommend to use a high quality, commercial grade finish. We typically recommend a thickness of 4mm or thicker. Having a stiff backing material is very important. Typically the thicker and stiffer the finish, the better.
    
2. Should I use an ESD (electrostatic dissipative) finsh on top of my raised floor? The question of ESD or not really depends on your specific application needs. As a general comment, the majority of our customers do not choose an ESD finish unless there will be unusually high amounts of electrical equipment, and/or very sensitive equipment that could be damaged by electrostatic discharge.
    
3. What type of adhesive should I use for the floor covering? As far as mastic type (adhesive type), when we perform the finish floor installation, we usually use carpet glue dots or tape. They allow the finish floor to be easily removed to re-organize wires under the floor. If ease of removing the finish floor isn't a concern, or the finish floor does not have a smooth backing that will accept carpet dots or tape, then going with a more traditional mastic or glue is fine. If you do, the most important thing is to apply with full coverage.
   
   We have seen a lot of carpet/flooring installers who will spray or roll-on the glue very unevenly, which results in a bad finish overall.
    
4. Is it hard to access the wires and cables in the raised floor once I put a floor finish on top? No, not really. The typical construction schedule looks like this: Install the cable management floor. Install wires and cables. Install other building components like walls, etc. Install the finish floor. By the time you're ready for the finish floor material to be installed, most of your wires and cables should already be routed inside of the raised floor.
   
   If you do need to make changes like adding additional cables or re-routing cables, then yes, you will need to peel up the floor finish. But, it's a very simple process, and it sure beats having to go through concrete trenching to run more wires!
    
5. Isn't it 'double the effort' to have a cable management floor AND a floor finish? Well, the short answer is "no." In the vast majority of cases, regardless of a concrete sub-floor or an access floor, you are probably going to have some sort of floor finish like carpet, tile, etc. Some of Netfloor USA's products come with a finish floor material embedded on the top, underneath a clear wear layer. But if you're looking at the lightweight ECO system, or the heavy-duty CamasssCrete cable management floor, you should know those are bare panels and we will want to discuss floor finishes that will stand up to your particular application, and look good in the process.

Check Out This Video of a Floor Finish Being Installed on a Cable Management Access Floor (And Wires Being Installed) It's Less Than 2 Minutes!

Regardless of your specific needs, Netfloor USA is here to help! We are easy to work with, and love helping our customers find a great cable management solution. Please feel free to contact us, and let's see how we can help!

Would a Tech Firm Benefit From Access Flooring?

We got a call the other day from a tech startup firm. It was pretty exciting, because I had actually heard of their product (it's a new app/software package) a few weeks ago. I thought to myself: "This is cool! These guys are on the cutting edge!"

Maybe I was a little surprised because, of all the things they have to think about, one of them did some research online about access floors and found us. Their list of questions was long, and their time was short. So after a quick but very detailed conversation with them, they said they liked our product and wanted to use it. They were getting ready to move from their current location (it's a "communal incubator" in New York City) to a slightly larger, slightly less communal shared office space.

Oh, There's One More Thing

Why would a small tech firm that is just starting up care about access floor in the first place? Their biggest concern is getting their product into beta testing and releasing it to the public (Hello World!). Oh, and scoring that first round of venture capital would certainly help things move along. So why would they care about access flooring?

That is a very good question, and the answer is because even though in the 21st century everyone seems to be talking about 4G Wi-Fi hotspots, we live and work in a more wired world today than we did 5, 10, 15 years ago. Many tech startups are heavily reliant on servers, graphics, video, apps, and web development. Therefore, there are going to be a lot of cables and a lot of power wires associated with this type of tech work.

What do startups have? They has a couple dedicated people who are willing to do whatever it takes to turn their idea into reality. It also carries with it a lot of risk and uncertainty and that risk and uncertainty should be minimized as much as possible.

With a low-profile cable management floor, you minimize your risk and uncertainty. Maybe I've been hanging around access floors too long, but we're like a super awesome FUD-destroyer.

Been There, Done That

Most businesses that I've toured, whether large or small, have very messy server rooms. Unless we are talking about a dedicated data center, most businesses have a problem with wires. If you're a small tech startup firm, the last thing you need to worry about is your power and wire situation.

A Netfloor USA low profile access floor lets you run all your wires and cables in a neat and orderly fashion, and when you need to add or change cables out (because of your explosive growth, of course!), it's simple to do.

Maybe this seems like small potatoes to you, but an access floor gets wires and cables out of the way of your creativity.

If this sounds interesting, keep reading our blog or some of our articles, and if you have more questions, give us a call or use the contact form.

Oh, and by the way, we'd be happy to join your beta testing program!

We're constantly growing our floor finishes line to offer you the widest selection of access floor finishes, from wood, bamboo, tile, and more.

Each of our floor finishes has been carefully designed and built for the rigors of a commercial environment. Further, we offer specifications you simply won't find anywhere else! Product qualities that ensure success on your raised floor environment.

Why Do I Need Access Floor Rated Finishes?

Access floors (and the floor finish that goes on top) are subjected to forces that a standard concrete or wood subfloor never see. Your access floor has to withstand concentrated loads, rolling loads, seismic forces and more. While all of Netfloor USA's products easily handle these, it is just as important that your floor covering was designed to withstand these forces as well.

Putting a thin residential grade carpet on top of an access floor will not provide the desired results. Using a thicker, higher grade carpet will.

All of our access floor finishes are designed to be thicker, stronger and more resilient, making sure you get a modern and durable surface for your raised floor.

How Are These Raised Floor Finishes Different?

Thicker

They are thicker than a standard finish, which makes them more rugged and provides for a more uniform surface.

Stronger Backing

The backing or base of the finish, whether it is carpet, tile, etc., is very important. Not only does it provide the backbone and cushioning aspect of the floor, it helps overall stability and provides better uniformity when looking out across the entire space.

Proper Tile or Plank Size

When using plank type finishes, as you typically see in a wood finish, the industry standard is a narrow plank. With a raised floor, the plank size should be wider than 12", or better yet, 24". This allows for better structural integrity and uniformity across the entire floor.

Whether you are considering an access floor for a retail store, office space, data center, command control center, newsroom or library, the floor finish is a vital piece of the whole system. Give us a call or email, and let us know how we can help you succeed on your next project!

If you're an end user, architect or interior designer that has ever struggled to integrate access floor cable management into a building, we have the solution for you!

For too long, raised access floors have been thought of as a necessary evil, creating a useful under-floor space at the expense of drab, industrial-looking finishes. Covering up the raised floor with carpet wasn't much of an improvement, as carpet is being replaced with hard finishes. Not to mention carpet is typically a "dirtier" environment than a hard finish that harbors less dirt and germs.

Built in Performance

Our custom access floor panels, regardless of finish, have the best strength ratings in the industry. From 1,000 pounds per panel to 2,500 pounds per panel, we believe in true weight ratings that honestly reflect what each panel can support. Never before has such a wide variety of floor finishes been available on such a strong access floor. You will not have to make the tradeoff between form and function. Our panel finishes are resistant to scratching and gouging, and do not reduce the load capabilities of the base panels.

A World of Possibilities

From terrazzo to tile, bamboo to wood, Netfloor USA offers the widest offering of access floor finishes. Whether they are embedded  into the raised floor panel itself, or designed as a top finish, all of our finishes are designed to work well with access floor, to withstand the forces unique to a raised floor system, and, most importantly, to create an inviting environment that makes your customers say "WOW!" and your employees feel right at home.

A Variety of Heights

In years past, raised floors were limited to 12" heights or more, taking up precious floor to ceiling height, and making office spaces feel like industrial data halls. If your needs were simple cable management without any under-floor airflow, you still had to use a standard raised floor with the standard gray finish. No longer.

Sustainable Products

Many of our wood coverings are made from recycled materials, and many of them come from sustainable forest wood stocks, sourced in the United States. Combined with our use of recycled materials for our access flooring, Netfloor USA is quite possibly the "greenest" raised flooring manufacturer in the world!

Netfloor USA has not only the widest range of floor coverings; we also manufacture the widest range of access floor heights, from 1.5" to over 6 feet tall. Using a low profile access floor like Netfloor USA ECO or CamassCrete gets rid of the industrial look, creating a warm, useful environment that is cable and tech-friendly.

Whatever your needs, be sure to check out the services we offer. We are proud to manufacturer the best access floor systems in the world, and we offer world-class design services to help your deliver your project on time, on budget, and beating expectations.

We've been deep in R&D mode lately, developing and testing new toppings (top finishes) for our raised access floors. Over the next few months, we'll be deploying new exoctic finishes like coconut, bamboo, several types of wood grains, terrazo and more. Many of these are classified anti-static finishes.

Exciting Possibilities

Everyone we've talked to is extremely interested in these new finishes. Wood can bring a warm feeling to a work environment, while bamboo and coconut create a feeling that's modern and exotic.

At NetfloorUSA, we're committed to bringing exciting new technologies to the access floor industry. The benefits of access floor, especially cable management floors, are nearly limitless. But many people feel that an access floor can only be used in an institutional setting like a data center because of the drab finishes and sterile feeling when walking on the floor. With our new access floor coverings, we're opening up a world of possibilities where underfloor cable management can now be used: offices, retail stores, hotels, dispatch centers, museums and more.

Not Your Standard Carpet Tiles

If you wanted to improve the look of the standard gray-speckled, industrial finish on most raised floor, your only real option up until now has been carpet. But carpet wears out quickly, gets matted down, gets dirty and stained, and can contribute to sick building syndrome.

Our new products are thicker than other floor finishes to withstand the daily assault of commercial use. They are surprisingly flexible and resilient, which contributes to their longevity and utility. And many of them have built-in anti static qualities to ensure your electrical equipment stays safe (and keeps your hair in place!).

For building owners and operators, NetfloorUSA's new floor coverings combine the utility of access floor with a fit and finish that was simply unavailable until now. For designers and architects, our new products remove barriers to your design and strengthen the marriage between form and function.