Last week we talked about how to combine flooring materials in one space. This week we want to take a moment to talk about a small and important detail that completes the look of the floor in a commercial space, the baseboard or trim. Usually, the baseboard installation goes after setting up the floor to protect the walls, cover up uneven flooring and, is one of the finishing touches that completes the look of the space, giving a more sophisticated and polished finish.

Choosing the trim can be a bit overwhelming since there are many options available, a lot of materials, colors, styles and heights to choose from. However, in many of our projects, we use vinyl or rubber trim, this type of baseboards offer a less expensive solution and is one of the most common baseboards for commercial, institutional and healthcare settings.

Vinyl and Rubber are manufactured in the same way but with different raw materials, both are referred as a resilient material which means that is low maintenance, resist scuffing, fading and cracking. Also, it offers high durability and flexibility, resilient baseboard will not shrink or separate from the Wall.

In addition, these materials are synthetic, flexible and moisture resistant, easy to install. The resilient baseboard has become popular and an alternative to Wood trims because is more affordable and durable, as Wood could warp and damage over time, making it ideal for commercial spaces that have a lot of activity and traffic.

One of the greatest features of this type of baseboards is that it provides a smooth transition between the floor and walls while providing protection from shoe damage. Besides, the flexibility of the material allows them to be molded and shaped in and out corners and also curve walls.

Rubber and Vinyl are great for any type of flooring, from carpet, vinyl, laminate to tiled floors, it comes in a variety of colors and profiles to choose from, giving many options to design your space as you require.

We have used Johnsonite Rubber and Vinyl Wall base in many of our commercial projects. This is a type of thermoplastic resilient rubber or vinyl. It provides great flexibility, it resists scuffing, fading and cracking and it comes in different colors and heights. It goes perfect with any type of sub floor like Wood, concrete, ceramic, terrazzo, marble, metal etc.

In terms of maintenance, Johnsonite Rubber and vinyl baseboard are maintained with regular wiping with a soft, wet cloth. Coarse scrubbing media or harsh cleaning chemicals may damage or deteriorate the Surface.

See below two spaces where we applied this baseboard in a commercial setting.

In the first photo we use Johnsonite 4″ #40 black over a Vinyl Plank Craftsman Series  and in the second photo is the same wall base but color gray over a carpet tile.