Rubber flooring is known for its versatility and durability. The various inherent advantages have made it a prevalent flooring alternative for commercial uses and high-traffic areas. Today, rubber flooring is available in a wide selection of patterns, colors, and textures. This material is also slowly finding its way into residential interior and exterior applications.
Rubber flooring is usually used for athletic facilities, such as courts, yoga studios, weight rooms, spas, locker facilities, and arenas. Every application is designed specifically for the client’s needs, whether they need indoor/outdoor mats or the durability of high-impact flooring.
Here are more facts, advantages, and disadvantages of rubber flooring:
What is Rubber Flooring?
Rubber flooring is manufactured from either natural rubber or synthetic materials, often recycled from vehicle tires. These materials allow for a highly durable and low-maintenance surface option for homeowners. Rubber flooring also provides plenty of choices regarding installing it in your room. This surface allows for multiple application methods that will work best for the dimensions and space you’re working with, from interlocking tiles, sheets to square edge tiles.
Advantages of Rubber Flooring
Slip Resistance
Rubber flooring is vital for athletic establishments that require good friction floors. This flooring type is unique because it becomes more slip-resistant when the surface gets wet. This instance provides you with a safe, slip-free surface where you can work out without worrying about any injuries due to slips in no matter what conditions.
Swift Installation
Rubber flooring has an easy installation process. Whether you purchase rubber rolls, rubber floor tiles, or rubber gym mats, you can enhance your gym in less than two hours. Rubber tiles are the best option. Installing this flooring is by interlocking the edges together like giant puzzle pieces. This flooring is heavy enough that you don’t need to glue them down. This type of flooring can also hide and secure your stainless steel access doors if you want to keep them more discrete and easily accessible.
Durable
Rubber flooring is crafted with robust durability. Clients usually use this type of flooring for areas that need heavy workouts and high traffic. While there is a common misconception about thick rubber having higher durability, that’s not necessarily true. Durability is more about density.
The most durable type of rubber flooring is vulcanized and virgin rubber. If you’re looking for top-quality with excellent durability, you can search these options:
- Vulcanized rubber – It is processed and compressed into dense, durable, and non-porous rubber. This option naturally has a milder scent than non-vulcanized rubber.
- Virgin rubber- You can choose virgin rubber floor tiles for the purest natural rubber, including recycled material. Virgin rubber is sure to have no latex or additives.
Absorbs Impact
Doing intense workouts and routines can put a lot of stress on your muscles and joints. Therefore, you will need flooring that can absorb the impact of your burpees, plyometric exercises, and dropped weights. High-impact rubber flooring can reduce stress on your back, knees, and hips to protect you from any potential injury. If you’re looking for the best high-impact gym flooring, you can search for products that are made from recycled and lower-density rubber. You can also search for floorings with waffle backings explicitly designed to absorb heavy impacts.
Disadvantages of Rubber Flooring
Cost
Rubber typically costs more, but the cost is less over the product’s life because of how long it lasts and the lower maintenance costs. Rubber is a high-end gym flooring. With its durability and the long list of advantages, this type of flooring is an investment for your establishment, and the cost is worth it.
Distinct Smell
Rubber flooring does have a distinctive smell. This instance is due to the off-gassing from the glue that holds the flooring together and the rubber. Some products smell more substantial than others, depending on the type of raw material used or how the flooring was manufactured. For example, virgin rubber flooring doesn’t have a smell, so this would be the best option for you if you’re sensitive to the smell. When you first receive your flooring, its scent will be the strongest, but it will become less intense a few weeks after installation.
Before purchasing the right flooring for your establishment, make sure you consult your flooring contractor or do some further research about the tentative options you want. Choosing the suitable material for your establishment will benefit you for a long time. Make sure you look out for the advantages and disadvantages of each product.