Rubber Flooring vs. Carpets – Which Should You Choose?

Renovating your flooring is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to increase the value of your house and enhance its appearance. However, once you start shopping, you will realize that there are too many options for you to pick from. Even after you narrow your choices down, you will still have to make a choice between the two popular flooring options of today: rubber flooring and carpets.

To help you make up your mind, here is a comparison between both flooring types with respect to certain criteria.

Maintenance

One of the biggest concerns home owners have is regarding the maintenance of their flooring solutions. After all, one or both spouses are usually away at work most of the time. If carpets are your flooring of choice, you need to commit to vacuuming and shampooing them religiously.

You will also have to be very careful while treading them in order to avoid nasty stains. On the other hand, a rubber floor require minimal cleaning while proper scrubbing will make it shine for months.

Durability

In addition to be very vulnerable to spills, carpets can easily be worn out with excessive treading and if religious cleaning isn’t performed. This is why carpets’ lives are estimated between three and five years on an average. As for rubber floor tiles, these can last longer because they are quite resistant and easy to clean.

Hygiene

Rubber flooring is the most hygienic option of the two. You can easily wipe it down with a disinfectant to eliminate most germs. As a result, it is a better option for homeowners with children. Carpets, however, require proper shampooing from time to time to ensure their hygiene. Even then, there is always a chance that microbes are hiding deep inside and you can’t kill them with your regular cleaning routine.

Safety

Carpets are known for being safety hazards. Not only can their synthetic fibers, dyes and glue affect children, but they can also cause adults to fall when they’re not properly secured to the ground. Besides, dust and allergens can easily reside in carpets and risk your health. Because none of these risks come with rubber floor mats, many choose them instead of carpets.

Versatility

When it comes to versatility in design, rubber floors and carpets are on the same footing. Both come in different patterns, textures and colors that suit most homes and tastes. However, both flooring types can’t be used throughout the house. For example, your kitchen or bathroom may not look great with carpets whereas your bedroom’s classy furniture will look odd on top of interlocking rubber tiles. So, make sure to make the right choice.

Cost

One of the main factors that help home owners determine whether to go for carpets or rubber floors is their prices. In general, carpets are more expensive and can be considered a luxury. On the other hand, rubber floor tiles are a few dollars cheaper but more cost effective.

Now that you know about both carpets and rubber flooring, which is the best investment for you?

Rubber Floor Tiles – The Ideal Garage Flooring Solution

One of the latest trends is installing rubber flooring in garages. This is because of the numerous benefits rubber garage floors have to offer homeowners and those who enjoy tinkering around in their garages. If your garage requires a few renovations, consider adding rubber floor tiles to get the following advantages.

  • Added Warmth – In comparison with cold concrete, a rubber floor can exude warmth as well as store heat. Therefore, even when it’s cold outside, the rubber floor tiles beneath your feet will keep you warm.
  • Aesthetic Importance – Rubber garage flooring will always look better than plain concrete. In addition, by choosing a good design, you won’t have to worry about your partner complaining about the drabness of your garage.
  • Sound Insulation – Thick rubber floor mats are excellent sound insulators. Therefore, not only will no one be disturbed by the sounds of you working in your garage, but you will also be able to zone out outside noises and focus on the task you have at hand.
  • Added Protection – Rubber garage floors are usually skid resistant and shock absorbent. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about slipping and injuring yourself. Your tools and stored possessions will also be safe from breakage. In addition to these, the original flooring of your garage will be spared from damage. Therefore, you won’t have to pay a hefty sum to fix it.
  • Easier and Quicker Maintenance – Rubber tiles are very easy to clean in comparison with bare concrete. All you need to do is broom the tiles to rid them of dust and debris, and then mop them until they gleam. Besides, unlike concrete, dirt is easily visible on rubber floor. Therefore, you can clean it up and head out without worrying about dragging dirt into your home.
  • Less Expensive Renovation – Even if you install the less versatile rolled rubber flooring, you will still be able to flaunt a new look in your garage for a small price. However, don’t try cutting costs by installing rubber floors yourself. A professional will prove to be worth every cent you invest in them.
  • Easy Installation – Some types of rubber flooring, such as rubber floor mats, are very easy to install than many other alternatives. With mats, all you need to do is lay them across the floor and enjoy their benefits for a few months. However, this means that you can go back to working from your garage very quickly.
  • More Comfort for You – Rubber mats or tiles may be durable and strong, but they are also quite soft. This means that you can lie down on them to fix your car or stand for long hours without worrying about aches and pains later on.

These are the main benefits you can get from rubber garage floors. However, you need to make sure that the tiles or mats you use have a high resistance to petroleum products and summertime temperatures. By choosing otherwise, you will risk losing the money and time you had invested into your new rubber garage flooring.

Why Are Rubber Floor Tiles So Popular?

The answer is, because they’re so easy to use! Rubber flooring allows for a Do It Yourself feature, which helps saves on costs of installation. If you’re good with tools, and have done the necessary research, you can have a whole new floor in any part of your house or business without any trouble.

Not only is it a breeze to install, it requires close to no maintenance at all and will not be damaged easily by heavy furniture or equipment. This makes it the perfect touch to getting the look of a commercial gym in the privacy, ease and comfort of your own home. The interlocking rubber tiles are an excellent choice to make when redesigning or furnishing a daycare centre, garage, family room, home gym, commercial gym or studio.

An added advantage is the wide variety. Not only does the rolled rubber come in many textures and colors, there are many designs and you can benefit from a smooth and polished look for a very little amount of money. The rolled rubber flooring is made from a material that poses no health or safety threats to adults, babies, children or pets. It is entirely non-absorbent, making it extremely easy to clean up spills. This is why it is easy to maintain this kind of floor, making it the perfect choice where messy babies, spilled food and crayons are concerned!

You can choose for many different varieties of interlocking tiles. There are 2×2 interlocking rubber tiles that are 3/8th of an inch thick. You can choose from various designs and commercial customers have the option of creating customized rolled rubber flooring with their logos and colors imprinted in the rubber floor tiles.

An added incentive is of course the hygiene factor. The rubber floor gives good traction which means it can easily be disinfected. With gyms and day-care centers especially, this means that an anti-bacterial disinfectant can be used to wipe the floor down to get rid of germs and bacteria.

The traction also ensures that even if there are water spills on the tiles, it will not be slippery. There is little risk of a child slipping, falling and hurting themselves on a wet floor. With gym flooring and for exercising flooring in homes, this is also therefore a good option as sweat and water bottles will not cause problems.

Since they are so easy to clean, so safe even when they are wet and so good to look at, synthetic turf is becoming the way to go with homes. This is especially true for kitchens, where spills are common. Restaurants are also quickly switching to fake turf to make cleanups easier.

With interlocking tiles, you can create any design in any size that you like. You can make a mat in the centre of the room or an entire floor. Whether you put it together yourself or get a professional to help is entirely your decision. But the interlocking tiles mean that all you have to do is put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together to get a brand new floor that is easy to clean and gives your home or business a completely new look.

What You Need To Know Before You Get Your Rubber Floor

So you’ve decided to get rubber flooring, but what do you need to know before you get those rubber floor tiles put in?

If you didn’t already know why the interlocking rubber tiles are a good idea for your gym, here’s why: It is because not only do the floors provide traction that prevents you from slipping on any spilled water, the rolled rubber prevents any damage from heavy equipment and helps reduce the noise that heavy gym machines make.

You might have a picture in your head of drab, dull, gray rolled rubber flooring, but that is a thing of the past. Now the rubber floor mats and interlocking rubber tiles come in bright colors and wide varieties, with the added bonus of a puzzle-like interlocking feature that means you can install them in your own home by yourself.

If you’ve considered rolled rubber flooring already, you can choose between brand new rubber flooring and recycled rubber tiles. If you’re all for saving the environment, don’t hesitate to get the recycled variety, as these are a good choice, since they are not made of crude oil. This means you can help save your environment simply with the choice of flooring you install in your home! What adds to their advantage is that they can be reused and recycled when you’re done with them. This means that when you move houses, you can take your floor with you!

The color and the style is a very important choice. Many people imagine a rolled rubber floor to look industrial and gray, but with the innovation in design and the array of color choices, your home gym or your new kitchen floor can now not only be practical, but extremely stylish and good to look at!

Make a note of the measurement of the room. If it is large, you might want to save on costs by getting a less expensive variety of the interlocking tiles. Furthermore, getting the measurements exactly right ensures that your new rubber floor is fitted perfectly. The best part is that with the interlocking tiles, you don’t need an expert to do it. You can take care of the job yourself and have a stylish new floor for a very low cost relative to the value it provides.

The only real decision you therefore have to make is what color and style to go with. Go for something that fits the rest of the theme of your home, or choose something that will make your gym an exciting place to be, so you have an added incentive to work off those pounds in your new gym.

You can play around with the interlocking tiles to create a variety of shapes and designs to get a high gloss look, or a matt appearance or add sparkles in the design. Apart from this choice factor, since the tiles are so easy to install and so relatively inexpensive, the decision seems to have been made for you!

Get Rubber Flooring and Revolutionize Your Gym

Opening a new gym is hard work especially when it comes to furnishing it with the proper equipment. Not only do you have to be wary of faulty items, but you need to stay within a budget that does not leave room for wasteful expenditures.

Rubber flooring is very cost efficient as a flooring option. Gym flooring needs to be as resilient and flexible as possible to withstand daily wear and tear. Rubber floors made of rubber look good, feel good and are quite affordable to boot!

In fact, even professional gym owners, who have successful gymnasiums, need to work within a fixed budget when purchasing new equipment for their facility. That’s because they still need to pay their employees and upgrade old equipment beforehand.

This doesn’t leave them much money for flooring purchases. However, cheap weight room flooring and exercise flooring is available in rubber form. Buying the right one can give a huge difference in the performance of your daily training exercises.

The first thing you need to do is research the different kinds of gym flooring available for your facility. Don’t be skittish in asking as much questions as you can from the sales person. There are a lot of types available in the market according to size, thickness and density like interlocking rubber tiles. Decide on the thickness of your rubber flooring wisely.

Weight room flooring would require thicker rubber floor mats to withstand the considerable weight of the barbells. A spin room, on the other hand, will require thinner rubber flooring since this room does not undergo as much wear and tear. Typically, gyms are usually furnished with 3/8” thick rubber flooring.

Once you have decided upon the thickness you are going to go with, pick colors that compliment the decor of your facility. However, keep in mind that you may have to shell out extra cash if you plan on getting rubber flooring with high color content. Go with black. It’s inexpensive and can be recycled easily as well. Otherwise, you can go for ones with a black background and 20% color content like grey.

Interlocking tiles are also a good choice for gym flooring. Rolled rubber is the best choice for such flooring since it gives a seamless look that is perfect for large areas like a gym. They are also suitable for martial arts facilities, High Schools and small fitness centres. The best thing is that they aren’t messy to install since they do not require any kind of adhesive to set in place. Interlocking rubber tiles simply fix together in one seamless whole throughout the room.

Try not to set rubber flooring yourself if you aren’t a professional though. You may not achieve perfection while installing them yourself. Plus, the flooring will need to be sealed repeatedly to set properly. Using unskilled hands for this task can make you end up paying for more than just the rubber flooring. A skilled flooring expert will ensure you get your money’s worth without ruining the fresh rubber floor mats or interlocking rubber tiles you so painstakingly chose.

Keep Your Children Safe With Rubber Flooring

If you are a parent, then you must also constantly worry about your child’s safety. Children are vulnerable to falls and spills since their bones are delicate enough to break on impact. Broken bones will be the least of your worries if your son or daughter slip and fall just because you did not place rubber flooring in your home. This is why schools, nurseries and even playgrounds have rubber floor mats placed throughout.

The playground is where kids go to have fun and tumble around with other children their age. You can guess the fuss they can create if they are told to play carefully. This is why playgrounds have rubber flooring placed throughout the grounds.

The material is known both for its versatile nature and its eco-friendly characteristic. You can usually find rolled rubber flooring under jungle gyms, at the end of slides, the Merry Go Rounds, swing sets etc.

Besides playgrounds, rubber flooring such as interlocking rubber tiles are used in gyms, health clubs, martial arts centers, sporting facilities etc for the ease and comfort of the clients.

However, since children are the ones most susceptible to injuries, special kinds of rubber flooring have been invented specifically for their play areas. They are usually brightly colored and eye-catching to be as visible as possible and to appear appealing enough to children that they actually use them.

Besides this, they are durable enough to withstand a child’s exuberant play time. Kids will be kids after all. Rubber floor mats made especially for play areas will be able to handle all that abuse though.

If you plan on installing a nursery for your little angels, then placing rubber flooring on the floor will ensure they remain free from injuries during their playtime. The best part is that such material is durable and can last for quite a few years no matter where you have them placed. Plus, since kids jump around most of the time, you’ll need to install shock absorbent rolled rubber flooring to prevent your floors from getting a beating. Make sure the mats are springy enough to reduce injuries if your child falls off.

Kids love to make noise, but parents would give their eyeteeth for a little peace and quiet. Rubber floor mats can provide you that luxury since they are capable of reducing noise no matter how hard someone jumps on them. You don’t want to wake the neighbors at ungodly hours, do you? Additionally, since children are susceptible to allergies, you need to have these dust resistant mats placed pronto to reduce the chances of an asthma attack from occurring. Wash them with a little soap and water once a week to make rubber floor mats completely dust free.

Whether it’s for weight room flooring, gym flooring or your child’s play area, placing rubber mats on them can reduce injuries to almost zero.  Even if they get too worn, you can just recycle them easily enough.

Great Reasons Why You Should Use Rubber Floor Mats

Rubber floor mats are perfect for facilities which require people to stand or exercise in one place for long periods of time. They provide soft landing areas if an individual happens to fall during an exercise regime, or slip while on the premises.

The best part is that rubber flooring such as this comes in a wide range of densities and thicknesses to accommodate your particular requirements. Some are also made with different materials besides rubber.

When looking for gym flooring, weight room flooring or exercise flooring, people usually tend to go for the anti-slip or anti-skid variety. Chefs who need to manage large kitchens also prefer to purchase such rubber floor mats for their staff.

Such environments are prone to grease, sweat and oil spills that need to be soaked up immediately to avoid unfortunate accidents from occurring. Rubber floor mats are designed specifically to retain a very low coefficient of friction. You need to check the packaging of your mats for this label before purchasing them though.

Such type of flooring usually comes in a large range of styles including soft rubber, tiles, marble etc. Interlocking rubber tiles made out of sturdier materials is preferable to the soft variety if you want your employees to remain healthy and free of injuries while working in your facility.

Commercial kitchens for instance, typically have interlocking tiles such as these installed in them. Each comes with tongue-and-groove tiles with trimmed edges to make them as unobtrusive as possible. Floors that typically get wet a lot also have patterned holes in their design to allow liquid to drain through effectively.

Rolled rubber flooring can be easily set in place in a large room by rolling it out. Low density mats are used in gyms due to their ability to handle impact. The same goes for anti-fatigue and dojo mats. The former is used in factories, specifically in assembly lines to reduce the fatigue of worker who need to stand for long periods of time.

The displacement abilities inherent in such material allow weight to shift from the feet allowing increased blood flow and oxygen. That’s why you can usually find the recreational variety in self defense facilities and factories.

Besides reducing fatigue and chances of injuries, rubber floor mats are also given as complimentary giveaways by their manufacturers. These usually have the company logo and cheerful messages printed on them to encourage people to come back to them for more rubber flooring if the need arises.

You can do the same with your own establishment by placing a welcoming rubber floor mat in front of the doorstep welcoming customers. Plus, it can end up attracting more and more clients to your establishment, resulting in greater revenue for your business.

All in all, rubber floor mats are essential elements in any facility that gives the safety and comfort of its customers top priority. You can also use such matting as batting cage flooring and baseball flooring to make your players more comfortable off the pitch.

How to Install Rubber Flooring

If you are the owner of a hair salon, gym or health center, or are going to be one very soon,  you will need to have rubber flooring installed. Rolled rubber flooring should be your first priority in this regard since it’s very easy to lay out on any kind of floor and can be removed at will.

Follow these  steps to lay your own rubber floor tiles or mats according to your standards:

1.       Set out the Rubber Flooring

Since rubber flooring usually comes in rolls rather than bundles, it’s fairly easy to spread it out as dugout flooring or as workout spaces in gyms. All you have to do to get your gym flooring is to set the rolled rubber flooring on the floor and roll it out throughout the room. Don’t place any furniture on it until it has had time to smooth out for at least a day. You will be left with unsightly wrinkles on it otherwise.

2.       Cut the Strips

The next thing you have to do is to cut the whole rubber flooring into strips according to the required size of your facility. They can be wide or short depending on the floor design in your gym or health center. For garage floors, you may need to use the entire rubber flooring. If you still plan on cutting your roll into rubber floor mats, make sure to leave at least a foot off each border so that you can trim it off if the need arises. When you are performing the final trimming, you may need to shave off a few more inches to fit those mats into your designated area.

3.       Trim it out

As mentioned before, you will eventually need to trim off some rubber pieces from your cut out rubber floor mats to make them look presentable and make them comfortable. To do that, trim uneven edges using a sharp knife and a ruler to keep the trim straight.

4.       Use Glue

This is a long procedure and one that requires a lot of patience and a steady hand on your part. You now need to apply at least 1/16 inches of glue or the appropriate adhesive to the floor where you intend to place the cut out rubber strips. Spread it out evenly throughout the floor and wait a quarter of an hour to allow it to set. After that, start placing the rubber mats onto the glued up floor.

5.       Spread the flooring evenly

After placing the exercise flooring evenly throughout the area, use a rolling pin or a round rod to even out any wrinkles or bulges on it. This will also ensure that the rubber is firmly set in the glue and won’t get unstuck from the floor.

6.       Clean up extra Glue

This is quite a messy job which is why there is no need to worry if you see some glue seeping through the space between the rubber strips. Use a damp piece of cloth to clean up this mess as soon as possible. If you leave it on too long, the left over adhesive can ruin your nice new rubber floor.

Discover the Increased Popularity of Rubber Flooring

Considered to be the ideal surface for day care centers and gyms, rubber floors are used both indoors and outdoors by professionals from all walks of life. With advancements in science and technology, companies are coming up with more and more innovative designs and colors of rubber flooring rolls to accommodate different fields. For instance, you can’t expect a day care’s flooring to be as resilient as gym flooring, since both have different weight requirements.

However, people still prefer to use rubber flooring due to the numerous advantages it offers, some of which are:

Variety of Rubber Floors

Rubber floors come in a wide range of types, colors and textures which you can choose according to your needs. In the past, only black flooring was available for consumers which weren’t that durable to begin with either. You can find unbelievable types of floor mats in all shapes, sizes and colors at local stores for affordable prices.

High Durability

Whether you’ve installed interlocking rubber tiles or simple rubber mats in your facility, each will give you enough durability to last a long time. Additionally, such flooring is also resilient against chemicals and oil spills. Regular wear and tear is reduced to a minimum allowing your weight room flooring to last for approximately 30 years!

Easier to Maintain

Whether you have garage flooring, exercise floors or baseball flooring to take care of, you will agree that they are the most easiest to manage. Their smooth surfaces make cleaning them a breeze and their water resistance allows regular mopping without fear of damage. However, some rubber flooring requires special liquid cleaners to scourge them free of dirt.

Additionally, rubber mats and flooring rarely require any sort of upkeep since they are not fixed on floors via wax or granite. Unlike marble flooring, rubber floors do not need to be polished and buffed regularly no matter how much you use them. Plus, since they are free of holes or pores, rubber flooring has less chance of retaining water if left outside in the rain.

Recycled and Soundproof

You would not believe this, but it is actually possible to recycle old rubber flooring! So, there is actually no need to throw away ones you think have seen better days in your gym. Plus, they can also absorb sound very effectively, making them ideal for dojos and gyms. Health centers also have gym flooring installed to accommodate their heavier clients.

Comfortable

Rubber floors offer comfort and ease unlike regular tile flooring which can cause injuries if your client falls on it the wrong way. Gymnasiums and health centers use the rubber variety since they require members to stand in single positions for a long period of time.

Types of Flooring

Rubber flooring usually comes in the form of mats joined together or sold separately. The latter are usually preferred since they can easily spread on floors and shifted from one position to another if required. Tile flooring can also be used in the same way while sheets are used by many due to their flexible natures.

Why Rubber Flooring is a Great Choice for Sports Areas

For commercial users of roller rubber flooring, the need to protect visiting families, customers and employees is more important than the look of the business or the added advantages of using rolled rubber flooring. With skating rinks or swimming pools, as an example, there is danger of people slipping and falling when others leave the ice rink and track water on the floor. Skating rinks should have assigned custodians to take care of these spills, but it is better to be safe than be sorry.

It is important to have rubber flooring for the areas surrounding the ice rink since the traction ensures that people will not slip, even if there is water on the floor. Furthermore, the rubber flooring rolls have the convenient feature of repelling moisture instantly. So even if you step on it with wet shoes, it saves you and your customers from a nasty fall.

This will undoubtedly be an incentive for any commercial establishment to install rolled rubber flooring. This is largely due to the affordability of the flooring rolls. If you cannot wrap your head around the short-term cost, think of what you save in the long term.

Protecting your employees and customers from a nasty slip within your business will save you from having to deal with the litigating and settlement costs of the lawsuits you are at the risk of facing. Added to this are the hospital expenses you will also have to bear, and the bad press you will get in the process. All of this might affect your business’s prospects.

Sports areas such as skating rinks, swimming pools, gyms and baseball practicing arenas also face the risk of wear and tear simply due to the heavy flow of traffic as people walk in and out. Since these are sporting areas, there is also the risk of damage caused by heavy machinery. The toughness of the material as well as its resilience and its ability to withstand extreme pressures and heavy weights make it a good choice for sports areas. The rubber flooring will be able to withstand damage from sharp equipment.

These rolled rubber floors will provide a safe area for players, skaters and recreational sportspeople to move around and get in their gear. Like a good pair of shoes, a good floor can add to the comfort that the walker experiences. Choosing a good floor is just as important, therefore, as choosing a comfortable pair of sports shoes because they both minimize the amount of joint stress experienced by the player.

These rubber floors are also easier to maintain than other kinds of floors. Because they do not absorb water, and do not get discolored, they can easily be cleaned. It is easier to use anti-bacterial sprays on a rubber surface, making it a healthy and hygienic option for sports arenas.

Rubber floor mats are therefore easy to install and can save your customers and employees from terrible accidents. If you are concerned about the money, there are many affordable varieties of rubber flooring rolls that you can choose from. You will also not need to change them every year, so think of it as an investment that can only bring you good things.