Rubber Flooring: All About Rubber Flooring Applications. Scott Huthmacher 03/20/05 Rubber-Cal Inc. Products discussed in this article: Food & Bvg. Mats, Flooring for Wet Places, Elephant Bark Rubber Flooring, Industrial Mats, Eco-Sport Rubber Flooring, Treadmill Mats, Playground Surfacing, Rubber flooring can be broken down into two main categories: single area rubber mats, and complete rubber floors. Each type of flooring is suitable for several different applications. Single area mats are most suitable for performing a specific function in a limited area. Complete rubber floors are more general purpose, and obviously span close to the entire area of a room. Within each category, there are mats for a variety of applications and functions. The following is intended only as a brief overview of the many possibilities of rubber flooring. Single area mats are most suitable for places where a specific hazard exists in a fairly limited area. These include kitchen areas, showers and wet places, assembly lines, treadmills, or entryways. Kitchen mats combine anti-slip and anti-fatigue qualities for food service areas. These types of mats are often offered in a grease resistant variety. Generally, these types of rubber matting have fairly large holes and are light enough to be moved for cleaning. The thicker mats provide a resilient surface for individuals standing in one place for extended periods of time. Mats for showers and wet places are primarily designed for traction and anti-slip properties. These types of rubber floor mat also often have drainage holes. Occasionally, these are also available in oil and grease resistant varieties. The main characteristic differentiating this type of rubber mat from kitchen mats is the aggressive surface texturing, intended for maximum traction. Rubber mats for assembly line and general industrial use are primarily designed for anti-fatigue characteristics. Many of these mats are foam or sponge blends rather than entirely composed of rubber. This type of mat appears either as a single piece mat, or an interlocking runner-type construction. Foam type single area mats are usually recommended for areas where individuals are standing in one place for long periods, such as checkout counters and workshop tables. Because these applications do not see high levels of foot traffic, lightweight foam type products exhibit sufficient wear resistance for such areas. For areas such as assembly lines and industrial pathways, where constant traffic is the rule, harder solid rubber type mats provide better wear life. This type of rubber mat often comes in an interlocking runner construction, with ends of the product being connectable to span the entire length of a given area (i.e. a 30 or 50 ft assembly line). Treadmill mats, as the name suggests, are single area mats meant to be placed under treadmills to provide floor protection and to reduce vibrations. These mats are thick, heavy-duty rubber, designed to reduce noise from treadmills on the upper floors of houses or apartment buildings. Due to the significant weight of this type of floor mat, they are usually inappropriate for use as a complete flooring solution. Entry mats tend to be carpet oriented, but rubber entry mats are appropriate for exterior applications due to their immunity to moisture. Molded traction mats can cover small areas immediately in front of commercial or retail building doors, where superior anti-slip qualities are necessary. These types of rubber mats only appear in limited areas, because the nature of the product (i.e. molded) limits the sizes in which they can be produced. In contrast to single area rubber mats, complete rubber floors focus on combining the majority of the characteristics found in smaller mats into general purpose flooring suitable to cover large areas. While these characteristics (i.e. anti-slip traction or floor protection) are not as pronounced as in specific area mats, the effects are provided across a larger area. Areas where complete rubber floors might be found include home and commercial gyms, playgrounds, dog kennels, basement flooring, and miscellaneous general purpose applications. Since the products used for these types of applications are usually similar, the best way to describe these types of rubber flooring is to distinguish between rolled rubber flooring products and rubber mats produced in tile form. Rolled rubber flooring is, as the name suggests, rolls of rubber at a certain width (most often 36" or 48") which are applied as sheets directly onto the subsurface. These products are generally less than 1/2" thick, since thicker products are more difficult to roll and heavier, making shipping difficult. This type of rubber flooring has several advantages over tiled rubber floors. Primarily, ease of installation is a major benefit, as there are less pieces to install. Depending on the exact characteristics of the installation, rolled products may often be installed without permanent adhesive, since the per piece weight is higher than the weight of individual tiled products. Also, due to the lesser quantity of material used for production, this kind of rubber is less expensive to produce and ship. Therefore, this product is suitable for installations where economy takes priority over heavy duty floor protection. It is mainly seen in residential and medium traffic commercial applications. Tiled rubber flooring is sold as tiles, generally squares ranging from 1' x 1' up through 3' x 3'. Larger tiles are preferable from an installation standpoint; however larger, heavier tiles are also more difficult and expensive to ship. This type of rubber mat is produced in greater thicknesses than the rolled products, ranging from 1/2" thick to 3 3/4" thick or more, depending on the application. Due to the greater material content, the cost of these mats is significantly higher than the rolled product, but they offer significantly improved resilient and anti-fatigue characteristics, as well as superior wear life. Since they are not heavy enough individually to stay in place by themselves, rubber tiles must either interlock or be adhered to the sub-floor. Interlocking tiles use either some variation of the dovetail interlocking mechanism (male-female interlocking tips integral to the tile) or an extraneous interlocking mechanism, such as pins or clips. Interlocking tiles are either temporary or semi-permanent. Tiles which do not offer one of these options must be adhered to the subsurface, like any other tile. This is most suitable for installations where stability and fall protection are necessary components of the applications (such as commercial playgrounds). Choosing the right rubber mat or rubber flooring for your application involves knowing the essential functions you need from it, and finding the right people to provide the product. At Rubber-Cal, our goal is to provide our customers with excellent customer service and the right materials for the job, every time. Scott Huthmacher Email: info@rubbercal.com |
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Rubber Flooring: All About Rubber Flooring Applications. Scott Huthmacher 03/20/05 Rubber-Cal Inc. Products discussed in this article: Food & Bvg. Mats, Flooring for Wet Places, Elephant Bark Rubber Flooring, Industrial Mats, Eco-Sport Rubber Flooring, Treadmill Mats, Playground Surfacing, Rubber flooring can be broken down into two main categories: single area rubber mats, and complete rubber floors. Each type of flooring is suitable for several different applications. Single area mats are most suitable for performing a specific function in a limited area. Complete rubber floors are more general purpose, and obviously span close to the entire area of a room. Within each category, there are mats for a variety of applications and functions. The following is intended only as a brief overview of the many possibilities of rubber flooring. Single area mats are most suitable for places where a specific hazard exists in a fairly limited area. These include kitchen areas, showers and wet places, assembly lines, treadmills, or entryways. Kitchen mats combine anti-slip and anti-fatigue qualities for food service areas. These types of mats are often offered in a grease resistant variety. Generally, these types of rubber matting have fairly large holes and are light enough to be moved for cleaning. The thicker mats provide a resilient surface for individuals standing in one place for extended periods of time. Mats for showers and wet places are primarily designed for traction and anti-slip properties. These types of rubber floor mat also often have drainage holes. Occasionally, these are also available in oil and grease resistant varieties. The main characteristic differentiating this type of rubber mat from kitchen mats is the aggressive surface texturing, intended for maximum traction. Rubber mats for assembly line and general industrial use are primarily designed for anti-fatigue characteristics. Many of these mats are foam or sponge blends rather than entirely composed of rubber. This type of mat appears either as a single piece mat, or an interlocking runner-type construction. Foam type single area mats are usually recommended for areas where individuals are standing in one place for long periods, such as checkout counters and workshop tables. Because these applications do not see high levels of foot traffic, lightweight foam type products exhibit sufficient wear resistance for such areas. For areas such as assembly lines and industrial pathways, where constant traffic is the rule, harder solid rubber type mats provide better wear life. This type of rubber mat often comes in an interlocking runner construction, with ends of the product being connectable to span the entire length of a given area (i.e. a 30 or 50 ft assembly line). Treadmill mats, as the name suggests, are single area mats meant to be placed under treadmills to provide floor protection and to reduce vibrations. These mats are thick, heavy-duty rubber, designed to reduce noise from treadmills on the upper floors of houses or apartment buildings. Due to the significant weight of this type of floor mat, they are usually inappropriate for use as a complete flooring solution. Entry mats tend to be carpet oriented, but rubber entry mats are appropriate for exterior applications due to their immunity to moisture. Molded traction mats can cover small areas immediately in front of commercial or retail building doors, where superior anti-slip qualities are necessary. These types of rubber mats only appear in limited areas, because the nature of the product (i.e. molded) limits the sizes in which they can be produced. In contrast to single area rubber mats, complete rubber floors focus on combining the majority of the characteristics found in smaller mats into general purpose flooring suitable to cover large areas. While these characteristics (i.e. anti-slip traction or floor protection) are not as pronounced as in specific area mats, the effects are provided across a larger area. Areas where complete rubber floors might be found include home and commercial gyms, playgrounds, dog kennels, basement flooring, and miscellaneous general purpose applications. Since the products used for these types of applications are usually similar, the best way to describe these types of rubber flooring is to distinguish between rolled rubber flooring products and rubber mats produced in tile form. Rolled rubber flooring is, as the name suggests, rolls of rubber at a certain width (most often 36" or 48") which are applied as sheets directly onto the subsurface. These products are generally less than 1/2" thick, since thicker products are more difficult to roll and heavier, making shipping difficult. This type of rubber flooring has several advantages over tiled rubber floors. Primarily, ease of installation is a major benefit, as there are less pieces to install. Depending on the exact characteristics of the installation, rolled products may often be installed without permanent adhesive, since the per piece weight is higher than the weight of individual tiled products. Also, due to the lesser quantity of material used for production, this kind of rubber is less expensive to produce and ship. Therefore, this product is suitable for installations where economy takes priority over heavy duty floor protection. It is mainly seen in residential and medium traffic commercial applications. Tiled rubber flooring is sold as tiles, generally squares ranging from 1' x 1' up through 3' x 3'. Larger tiles are preferable from an installation standpoint; however larger, heavier tiles are also more difficult and expensive to ship. This type of rubber mat is produced in greater thicknesses than the rolled products, ranging from 1/2" thick to 3 3/4" thick or more, depending on the application. Due to the greater material content, the cost of these mats is significantly higher than the rolled product, but they offer significantly improved resilient and anti-fatigue characteristics, as well as superior wear life. Since they are not heavy enough individually to stay in place by themselves, rubber tiles must either interlock or be adhered to the sub-floor. Interlocking tiles use either some variation of the dovetail interlocking mechanism (male-female interlocking tips integral to the tile) or an extraneous interlocking mechanism, such as pins or clips. Interlocking tiles are either temporary or semi-permanent. Tiles which do not offer one of these options must be adhered to the subsurface, like any other tile. This is most suitable for installations where stability and fall protection are necessary components of the applications (such as commercial playgrounds). Choosing the right rubber mat or rubber flooring for your application involves knowing the essential functions you need from it, and finding the right people to provide the product. At Rubber-Cal, our goal is to provide our customers with excellent customer service and the right materials for the job, every time. Scott Huthmacher Email: info@rubbercal.com |
