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PLASTIC FLOORS ^ 



PLEASE FLORISTS 



New type of floors introduced to Review readers a year ago wins favor 

 of retailers. Adaptability to florists' needs and pockethooks, and excellent 

 architectural appearance count strongly for them. Store owners are giv- 

 ing them attention as the remodeling months come 'round again. 



HOUGH the weather might 

 lead us to a contrary 

 opinion, the dull condi- 

 tion of the florists' busi- 

 ness is sure evidence that 

 summer is here again. 

 And while some retail flo- 

 rists are spending their 

 time at the seaside or the 

 lakes, presumably to 

 avoid the sight of their empty stores 

 and idle cash registers, many others 

 are making use of the slack season to 

 renovate and perhaps remodel their 

 stores. 



The Floor Question. 



As they do so, there comes up a per- 

 plexing question to many. "What 

 about that old linoleum f" some ask 

 themselves. It was not so long ago 

 that it looked spick-and-span; now, 

 patching and relaying would be more 

 than it is worth. But as he scratches 

 his head and thinks it over, the pro- 

 prietor recalls that he has spent a good- 

 sized sum of money on linoleum in the 

 course of the last few years. Oh, for a 

 low-priced linoleum that would look 

 like $2-a-yard quality and wear like 

 sheet -iron! While 

 the band plays soft- 

 ly, "Dreams, Sweet 

 Dreams. ' ' 



But his reminis- 

 cences are not so 

 rueful as those of 

 the store owner who 

 thought he had dis- 

 posed of the floor 

 problem, but now 

 views a cracked tile 

 or mosaic floor with 

 dirt veins running 

 hither and yon. For 

 he recalls that the 

 check that paid for 

 that floor was some- 

 thing more than or- 

 dinary sized. At 

 the same time the 

 clicking heels of a 

 customer remind 

 him of the fact that 

 it is not nearly so 

 comfortable on the 

 feet as his old floor, 

 and cautious tip-toe 

 steps from another 

 direction call to 

 mind that the water 

 that is constantly 

 and unavoidably 

 dripped makes dan- 

 ;ger spots worthy of 



a red flag. Rubber mats can be put 

 in a few places, but to avoid all possi- 

 bility of accidents one would have to 

 cover almost the whole floor with mat- 

 ting — and then why pay for the 

 mosaic? 



The florist who had the subject of 

 floors uppermost in his mind about this 

 time a year ago found much food for 

 thought in the article on "Fancy 

 Floors for Florists ' Stores, ' ' in The Re- 

 view for July 9, 1914. Indications are 

 that in a number of cases that food 

 was well digested; many retailers have 

 manifested an interest in the compara- 

 tively new type of floors brought to 

 their attention in that article. The flo- 

 rists who have invested in floors of 

 plastic composition, are not engaged in 

 rueful reminiscences this summer, bu{ 

 are passing along recommendations to 

 their fellow members of the trade who 

 are contemplating the installation of 

 a floor during the coming dull months. 



A Little Explanation. 



Unless the florist has been engaged 

 in building a store recently, he will 

 know little of plastic composition 

 floors. Although they have been laid 



Floor of PUstic G>mpodtion in Store of M. WdUnd, EvansL>a, III. 



4k > likiiUMk 4MMMHi 



for several years, they are not familiar- 

 ly known to many outside the building 

 trades. They are all fibrous composi- 

 tions containing magnesium oxide and 

 chloride for cement, with various fill- 

 ers, cork, asbestos, sometimes wood; 

 also waterproofing and fireproofing 

 chemicals. These elements form a light, 

 elastic flooring that is easy underfoot, 

 warm to the tread, and non-slippery. 

 It is not affected by water, oil and 

 common acids. 



Comparative Arithmetic. 



The plastic composition floors, while 

 laid in the same way as the concrete side- 

 walk, contain no Portland cement. The 

 elements named above are mixed to a 

 plastic consistency and the floor is 

 then laid about one-half inch thick and 

 troweled. The laid material can be 

 treated like wood; sawed, nailed or 

 drilled. In fact, some floors which are 

 in their nature and composition like 

 plastic floors, are laid as a tile floor. 

 Such a floor was described in the ar- 

 ticle in The Review mentioned sjbove. 

 The shrewd florist will consider the 

 installation of a floor sooner or later 

 in the light of dollars and cents. A 

 little comparative 

 arithmetic will soon 

 show that composi- 

 tion floors are the 

 cheapest in the end. 

 Twenty to 40 cents 

 per square foot is 

 given as the cost 

 by the makers. 

 Simply laid floors, 

 such as are wanted 

 in flower stores, 

 come close to the 

 lower figure. Two 

 or three applica- 

 tions of linoleum, 

 depending upon the 

 quality used, will 

 pay for a plastic 

 floor, which should 

 atill be in good 

 shape at the end of 

 a period that would 

 ordinarily have 

 seen eight to ten 

 changes of lin- 

 oleum. 



Tile and mosaic 

 are commonly esti- 

 mated to cost from 

 40 to 60 cents per 

 square foot — and 

 up. The brittlenesB 

 of these materials 

 fits them less for 



