While many specifiers focus their attention on furnishings and décor, a key decision in finishing public spaces for apartment buildings is choosing the right solution for the floor.

Getting the flooring right can mean can angst-free body corporate, while the wrong selection could affect everything from annual fees, through to liveability, safety and resale value of the apartments.

In a multi-dwelling residency, Common Areas and Access Routes pose a few additional headaches for planners. Fire and safety regulations are much stricter than private spaces, and the loads they must bear are significantly higher and harsher. All too often, there is a trade-off:

• Safety for style
• Comfort for durability
• Performance for sustainability
• Quality for price

But all that is changing with a modern twist on a perennial favourite, resulting in a global resurgence of rubberised surfaces for shared spaces. New technology has allowed for high quality attractive finishes which tick all the boxes — durable, attractive, safe, and long lasting. Rubber flooring protects the floor, dampens noise, and eases fatigue as it is generally softer to walk on than carpet tiles or solid floors.

Neoflex Rubber by Advance Flooring Systems is at the forefront of this trend — not only because of its good looks and the variety of styles that make it an easy choice to integrate into any design, but also because this sophisticated high quality coated polymer blend outperforms most other products in every important metric:

1. Impressive slip resistance: Inevitably contaminants creep into the building and pose a danger of slips and injuries to tenants. Neoflex boasts a high-performance slip-resistant surface to minimise the incidence and impact of accidents. 
2. Improved noise abatement: Rubber flooring absorbs impact and reverberative noise, muting the sounds of activity and footsteps that are so common in back of house areas.
3. Low maintenance: The rubber surface repels water which might otherwise seep through and damage the substrate. And it can be mopped or wiped clean. This minimises the time and effort required for housekeeping, and eliminates the need for potentially toxic cleaning chemicals, further reducing maintenance costs and improving on safety and sustainability.
4. Durability: Formulated to last, Neoflex flooring is a hardwearing and resilient polymerised blend. It should last well beyond the point where the rest of the building requires refurbishment.
5. Compliance: The Neoflex range comfortably exceeds NZ fire compliance standards for access routes in an unsprinkled building (2.2 kW/m²). So you can specify Neoflex with confidence.

In addition, many products in the Neoflex range are Global Greentag certified and endorsed by Good Environment Choice Australia, so they'll enhance the sustainability rating (and value) of the building.

And there's one more feature which will excite the more ambitious designers — Neoflex can be customised to include graphics such as logos, design effects, notices, and wayfinding.

Neoflex is a proven choice around the world in (among other places) airports, hospitals, schools and gyms, where form and function share equally in the procurement decision. With such a robust solution at hand, it's difficult to find reasons not to consider Neoflex.

To learn more about how Neoflex can add value to your project, please contact Advance Flooring.