When it comes to the world of flooring, most people tend to think along traditional lines – the traditional residential and commercial carpeting, wood flooring, or laminate tiling you regularly find in offices or homes. Specialized flooring is rarely given a second thought. But if you’re looking to install a gym in your home or business, specialized flooring surfaces could be your best option. Here are a few things to bear in mind.
How to Know the Best Floors for Your Gym
Know the Purpose of Your Room Before you Install the Floor
As with any flooring project, the first step is to figure out your exact purposes for the room. A gym is usually reserved for working out, but what exactly does that mean? Is it the kind of gym that has a couple of workout machines, a treadmill, and a TV? Will there be space for yoga? Is it a large gym, the kind used to play games with bouncing balls? Answers to these questions will help you determine the kind of flooring to install.
Rubber Flooring is a Great Option for Smaller Gyms
If you’re planning on a smaller gym, such as the kind you might find in an apartment complex, office building, or small home, then rubber flooring is probably the best option. For one thing, rubber flooring is incredibly cushy and will feel comfortable under the feet of those working out. Rubber flooring also absorbs impact so that if some meathead is lugging around weights irresponsibly, the sound of him dropping them won’t disturb other people in the gym. Additionally, one of the main arguments in favor of rubber flooring is the way it deals with moisture. Gyms are notoriously sweaty, damp, and moist, so you want something that’s not going get moldy after a only a couple of months. Rubber flooring is one of the best materials available when it comes to water and slip resistance. It’s ideal for a gym.
Traditional Hardwood Flooring and Residential Carpeting Still Have a Place
If you have your heart set on traditional hardwood flooring, it’s still a real possibility for your gym. Thanks to a few advancements in flooring technologies, foam backing can be added to the wood to increase the give in the floor so that it won’t be so hard on feet and joints. Pine is a particularly nice softwood and is commonly used in basketball gyms across the country, even here in Nashville. Unfortunately, it does tend to crack and doesn’t handle spilled water or large pools of sweat all that well, so it will require additional maintenance.
The same is true if you’re thinking about carpet. There are types of residential carpeting that are made for this kind of room, but they tend to be thinner than traditional carpeting. When carpeting a gym floor, you will be trading comfort and foot support for the ability to handle moisture and water.
Picking out the right flooring can be tricky, especially when it’s for a room that needs something a little extra. That’s where the professionals at Ozburn-Hessey come in. We can assist you with any questions that you have in trying to determine the best floor for your gym. Contact us today!
