Flooring materials – life‐cycle costing for educational facilities Available to Purchase

The tight schedule of developing, designing, and managing educational facilities limits the time and resources needed to correctly assess the full cost of building materials. As a result, the selection of interior finishing materials is commonly driven solely by initial cost. This study evaluates interior floor materials currently available for use in K‐12 educational facilities in the State of Florida. The range of materials chosen for the comparison encompasses common flooring materials installed over appropriate sub‐floor materials. The flooring alternatives are evaluated using a service life‐cycle cost (LCC) analysis based on the 50‐year service life specified by the Florida Department of Education. A net present worth (NPW) analysis that includes initial costs, operation and maintenance costs, and replacement costs of each selection is used to evaluate the materials. Interior floorings initial cost, replacement cost, service life, and operations and maintenance costs are compared to the materials resulting LCC.