• There are a variety of flooring options for a commercial kitchen.Sweeping kitchen floor image by kuhar from Fotolia.com
  
  When it comes to commercial kitchen flooring, there are a variety of options. As long as health codes approve it, you can use most kinds of flooring in your commercial kitchen. Health codes usually require for the flooring to be non-slip, washable, non-absorbent and easy to clean.
  
  

Laminate

• Laminate is a cheaper version to real hardwood flooring. Laminate looks like real wood, but is actually planks that snapped together to give the look of wood floors. The floor is easy to install and easy to clean. Laminate floors do not fade, are very durable and are more stain resistant than real hardwood floors. The biggest down side to laminate is if one plank gets damaged, the whole floor will have to be replaced. This is because the planks snap together so one plank can not be removed without removing the entire floor.
  
  

Tile

• There are three different forms of tile for the floor; porcelain, quarry and ceramic. Tile comes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Tile is very durable and hard to break. If you happen to break one, you can replace just that one without having to tear up the entire floor. Make sure to get a glazed tile if you need stain resistance. Buying extra tile at the time of purchase is a good idea, in case you later break one and your tile has been discontinued.
  
  

Vinyl

• Vinyl is easy to install and come in sheets or tiles. It also has a nice cushion and is easy to clean. Vinyl is available in many colors and patterns. The flooring is susceptible to water damage when it comes in tile form. If spills are not wiped up quickly, vinyl will stain.
  
  

Linoleum

• Linoleum is another kitchen flooring option and is similar to laminate. It is a little more expensive than vinyl and is easy to clean. Linoleum has an array of styles and patterns to choose from and is more durable than vinyl.
  
  

Wood

• The most common choices for wood in a kitchen are oak, pine and maple. This is laid in wood planks, parquet tiles or strips. Real wood floors require a lot of maintenance, as they have to be sanded and refinished over a period of time. Wood floors can also be very slippery, easily damaged and cost more than any other flooring option.