Flooring for Workplaces – Storage Areas

Solutions & Applications · Workplaces

Archives, libraries and equipment stores are located within the office building, not in an industrial shell. The floor here is not subjected to forklift trucks or chemicals — it faces something more insidious: a stationary, concentrated load that has been pressing on the same spot for decades.

The load that does not move

A filing shelf full of ring binders, a bookcase or an equipment cupboard bears a very heavy load on four or six small support points. The load never moves. There is none of the relief provided by foot traffic on a shop floor — the pressure is exerted continuously, at exactly the same point, for as long as the space is in use.

This alters the critical parameter. It is not resistance to wear but resistance to permanent indentation: how deeply the shelf’s foot leaves a mark and whether the mark remains when the shelf is moved.

Requirement	What does this mean in the specification?
Indentation resistance	Compact structure without a flexible underlay; documented residual indentation value
Scratch resistance	Dragging of crates and metal fittings whilst positioning stock
Resistance to rolling load	Wheeled trolleys, library ladders, mobile shelving systems
Easy to clean	No wax or periodic re-coating required — in an area that is rarely emptied

Movable shelving systems: the most challenging scenario

In modern archives and libraries, compact mobile shelving that runs on rails is used. They are subjected to both types of load simultaneously: an extreme point load when closed and a rolling load whenever they are opened.

In this case, the specification relates not only to the flooring but also to the sequence of works: the battens are usually fixed to the subfloor and the flooring is laid around them or beneath them, depending on the system. The decision is made before ordering materials, as it determines both the quantity and the method.

Collections by category

Collection	Typology	Where it fits
PRIMO PREMIUM	Homogeneous · PUR Reinforced · 36 colours	Commercial class 34 & industrial class 43 — the highest classification in the range
iQ OPTIMA	Homogeneous · restoration using dry grinding	Long-term spaces: signs of wear and tear are repaired without replacement
ECLIPSE PREMIUM	Homogeneous · reinforced PUR · 66 colours	Heavy traffic with maintenance without waxing
STYLE ELLE xf² 2.5 mm	Linen oil · linear directional pattern	Visual guidance along shelving aisles
STYLE EMME xf² 2.5 mm	Linoleum · distinctive matt marble finish · Class 34	Projects with environmental criteria — carbon-negative cradle-to-gate
iD CLICK ULTIMATE 55–70	LVT click, adhesive-free	Refurbishment without interrupting floor operations
LINO LOOSE-LAY	Linoleum on a roll, PVC-free and adhesive-free	Quick installation; removal without leaving any residue

PRIMO PREMIUM has a dual classification, and this is the most useful feature for storage spaces: commercial class 34 (very heavy-duty) and industrial class 43 (heavy-duty). It is the latter that matters here — the industrial classification specifically assesses behaviour under static and rolling loads, not under foot traffic. A PUR-reinforced surface and colour-coordinated bonding strips complete the system.

iQ OPTIMA deserves a special mention in this category: its surface is restored by dry sanding rather than by applying maintenance coatings. In an archive or library — spaces that are renovated less frequently than any other part of the building — this means that the mark left by a moved shelf is not permanent damage.

Two parameters that are often overlooked

Dust and archive material

Dust is the primary maintenance problem in any archive. It settles on paper, gets into boxes and into electronic equipment. A floor with a sealed, smooth surface that can be cleaned with a simple damp cloth produces minimal dust and does not trap it — unlike a bare or porous substrate, which constantly generates dust.

The premises are located within the office block

Unlike an industrial warehouse, office storage space is adjacent to workstations. This has two consequences: indoor air quality is assessed using the same criteria as in offices, and noise from the use of the space — trolleys, mobile shelving, crates — reaches neighbouring areas. The latter cannot be resolved by using soft flooring, as soft flooring is ruled out due to load-bearing requirements; the solution lies in the ceiling and partitions.

Design series

1. Storage type: fixed shelving, mobile rail systems or free-standing stacking — specify the load and method.
2. Calculation of point loads: based on the layout and the live load per shelf level, not on the area.
3. Substrate inspection: flatness, strength, moisture content — and the need for high-strength levelling.
4. Continuation with adjacent spaces: where the archive is adjacent to offices, a different reference from the same collection is selected.
5. Work area: the space must be cleared; the installation method determines by how much.
6. Cleaning protocol: wax-free, with an emphasis on dust control.

Flooring Collections

Substrate & Bonding

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