# Office Flooring — Carpet Tile, Vinyl, Stone and Raised Access

> Office flooring covers carpet tile, LVT, vinyl, stone, wood and raised access floors, chosen zone by zone for traffic, acoustics and the subfloor: carpet tile in open plan and meeting rooms, hard flooring in circulation, pantry and wet areas. Vinyl, LVT and adhesives fail on a slab that has not dried, so moisture is tested before laying.

## What we deliver

**Carpet tile, LVT, vinyl, stone, wood and raised access flooring** — selected
per zone rather than applied uniformly, and laid on a subfloor that has been
checked rather than assumed.

Flooring is the largest continuous surface in an office. It sets how the space
sounds, how it wears, and how much of it has to be lifted the next time the
layout changes.

## Choosing by area

| Area | Typical specification | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open plan | Carpet tile over raised floor | Acoustics, replaceable, easy around outlets |
| Meeting rooms | Carpet tile | Sound absorption |
| Circulation | LVT, vinyl or stone | Wear resistance |
| Reception | Stone, large-format tile, wood | Appearance |
| Cafeteria / pantry | Vinyl or tile | Cleanable, water tolerant |
| Server room | Anti-static vinyl on raised floor | Static control, cable access |
| Wet areas | Tile with correct falls | Drainage and slip resistance |

## Scope of works

| Stage | What we deliver |
| --- | --- |
| Subfloor assessment | Level survey, moisture test, laitance check |
| Preparation | Grinding, self-levelling screed where needed |
| Raised floor | Pedestals, panels, levelling where specified |
| Laying | Setting out, adhesive, tile or sheet installation |
| Perimeters | Skirting, thresholds, transitions between materials |
| Handover | Protection, cleaning, attic stock |

## Where projects go wrong

- **Laying on a slab that has not dried.** The most common cause of vinyl and
  LVT failure, and it shows up weeks after handover.
- **Skipping the level survey.** Every dip telegraphs through a thin floor
  finish, and a raised floor over an uneven slab rocks.
- **No attic stock.** Carpet tile's main advantage is single-tile replacement,
  which needs matching stock from the same batch.
- **Hard flooring everywhere.** The office is then permanently loud, and the
  fix afterwards is expensive.
- **Transitions left to site.** Thresholds between two materials are visible,
  trip-prone and worth detailing on a drawing.

## Why Hagerstone

**Flooring sequenced with the rest of the fit-out** — laid after the dusty trades
and before furniture, with protection through to handover, rather than squeezed
into whatever window is left.

**In-house trades and a 53-member site team**, ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001, 79+
quality checkpoints, 60-day delivery model with a 5-year warranty.

## Standards referenced

Imposed floor loading under **IS 875 (Part 2)**. Surface finish and fire
requirements under **NBC 2016, Part 4**.

## Frequently asked questions

### Carpet tile or broadloom for an office?

Carpet tile, in almost every commercial case. A damaged or stained tile is replaced individually from attic stock in minutes; broadloom means recarpeting a whole area. Tiles also lay far more easily over a raised access floor and around the boxes and outlets an office is full of. Broadloom is worth considering only in low-traffic executive areas where the seamless look matters.

### Does flooring affect office acoustics?

Yes, and it is the cheapest acoustic decision on the project. Hard flooring reflects footfall and voice, which is why open-plan offices with vinyl or stone throughout feel loud. Carpet with a good backing absorbs a meaningful share of that. The usual answer is carpet in open plan and meeting rooms, hard flooring in circulation, cafeteria and wet areas.

### What has to be true of the subfloor?

It has to be level, dry and clean — and moisture is the one that catches projects out. Vinyl, LVT and adhesives fail when laid on a slab that has not dried, and in Indian monsoon conditions a slab can hold moisture far longer than the programme assumes. A moisture test before laying is a few hours; a failed floor is a re-lay across the whole area.

## Sources

- [IS 875 (Part 2)](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Imposed loads
- [NBC 2016, Part 4](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/?lang=en) — Fire and life safety — surface finishes

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/services/interior-fit-out/flooring-systems