Cork floating floor + 6mm cork underlay = 20 dB worth of sound absorption. And I would argue that a floor that absorbs sound will reduce noise transfer "up". Cork "eats" airborne noise. The airborne noise is the stuff that goes "up" into a ceiling or down a hallway or up a set of stairs or through a bedroom door. If you kill the airborne noise, you kill the transfer to the other areas. It is that simple. I've had hundreds of people use cork floating flooring in basements (no issue with mold...because you need a vapour barrier = same as a vinyl or laminate floating floor) and they have all been ASTOUNDED by how QUIET the space becomes. And they also comment on how much the cork reduces the noise from transferring 'up'. Vinyl flooring = non-absorptive. The mass-loaded vinyl (underpad) is the stuff that reduces noise...but it will be as expensive as the vinyl floor itself. If they can't afford a polished concrete floor (starts at $5/sf) then they are going to have a VERY hard time finding absorptive material. An acoustic "retrofit" is one of the MOST EXPENSIVE projects we have in the building industry. I estimate an acoustic retrofit to be $10/sf. If you can get it BELOW $6/sf, you are LAUGHING!!! iCork Floor has cork floating floors on sale for $1.99/sf. The 6mm cork underlay (which does 80% of the acoustic work) is $0.66/sf. For $2.65/sf + labor, you will have created an acoustically insulated space. Even if your labor is the same cost...for less than $5.50/sf, you will be LESS than the BEST priced acoustic retrofit. Not something to sneeze at! https://www.icorkfloor.com/store/product-category/thickness/floating-cork-flooring-10mm/ https://www.icorkfloor.com/store/floor-underlayment-cork-6mm/ Yes. The Golden Beach isn't the prettiest thing on earth...but it is just as effective as the rest. The 10mm Desert Arable is very pretty at $2.69/sf...it is still an acoustic option for low-budget clients. The acoustic requirement with a low budget client is what will kill this project. It is either budget friendly or noise-friendly. I won't be both. Better let them down gently. And feel free to mention the $10/sf cost for an acoustic retrofit at a later date. That will be the part that will encourage them to open up the wallet a little bit more to get a cork floor installed - with cork underlay.

Sheet vinyl or sheet linoleum! Really easy to care for. Easy to find/source. Easy for professional installers to deal with. It can be used in bathrooms as well. Sheet materials that are commercial grade using commercial installers (your situation qualifies as commercial BTW) this can be done quickly and efficiently. Cost will be very good for materials and labor. Remember: sheet linoleum is used in high-level hospitals for all of these reasons. Sheet vinyl is used in midgrade hospitals. Vinyl glue down tiles are used in low-level commercial settings like Walmart, etc. Sheet goods rock for price, maintenance and durability. That includes wheel chairs/walkers, etc.

Scuff marks are NEVER pure white. They are yellowish. Or brownish. Or blackish. Or purplish. And dust is GRAY...which is not white. Household dust is made up of 90% HUMAN SKIN CELLS (aka dander). Caucasian dander is gray...everyone else's gets darker from there. A speck of spaghetti sauce and it looks like you dropped a bucket of tomatoes. A splash of orange juice and it looks like you are hooligans eating on the floor. A pourous finish like concrete = stains o-plenty and etching. Oh my the etching. Concrete is considered more delicate than marble. It takes more maintenance to keep a concrete floor sealed and "happy" than marble. And white marble is one of the hardest surfaces to "live with" out of them all. And a white car always looks dirty...especially if there is wet weather around (in Seattle white cars look "green" because of the algae growing on them - I kid you not). White and black are EXTREME colours to live with. They are BOTH equally difficult. The mid-tones are easier. If you must have concrete topping, then go gray. It will hide the most. But it will still stain (tomatoes and orange juice) and it will still etch (tomatoes and orange juice) and it will still absorb oil (skin oils, olive oil, oil from a frying pan, etc). A white concrete floor would be 'hell on earth' in my books. But to each their own.

If acoustics is something that concerns you (keeping noise out of a space is more difficult than you can imagine) I would look at something like a floating cork floor (click-together) with a 1/4" cork underlayment. The two put together can have the same acoustic insulation as 4-6" worth of poured concrete (20 dB or so). If you are worried about spills or animal issues, then a coat or two of polyurethane can be added to the floor once it is installed. Cork is impervious to moisture....but it the SEAMS are the weak part of this chain. A laminate seam sealer will also work...but I prefer the 2 coats of water based poly because it adds tremendous amounts of WEAR protection as well as moisture protection. It is an option...which is to say it is a 'wood' product (cork oaks produce cork bark for the cork industry) which takes over all the duties of carpet...without being carpet. It's kinda cool that way. Just a thought.