There are so many gyms across the nation. Some are commercial, while others are personal, based in homes. One common factor in the design of these facilities is the flooring. Getting the right carpet or flooring for your gym is a good rule of thumb. The most common type of gym flooring include rubber, foam and vinyl gym carpets. This publication is going to focus on rubber carpets and commercial grade carpets.
Rubber Flooring
It is the most used gym carpet. You will find it most of the commercial gyms today. The type you see installed in a number of gyms is known as rolled recycled rubber carpets. Something good with this flooring material is that comes at a lower cost. In addition, these recycled rubber floors are very durable besides being easy to install and clean. There are many instances where gym owners or staff install the carpets on their own. It only needs a carpet tape that is double sides with a simple utility knife. With this type of carpet for your gym, you save cut down the costs of hiring professional services to install and maintain it.
For those who intend to keep very busy gyms, this is the best flooring material to use. It can take the impact of dropping weights and sleds being pushed across the flooring surface. Other materials would require constant repair and maintenance due to tear and wear. Nevertheless, rubber carpets have some downsides. One of the cons is that it is very heavy. This makes it difficult to handle especially during installation. The other disadvantage is that they are mainly black. This is because they are made using recycled tires. You can also buy virgin rubber carpets, which are brightly colored. However, they are not as durable as those made from recycled rubber. The other option would be to use rubber tiles. Unfortunately, they are more expensive than virgin and recycled rubber carpets.
Commercial grade carpets
They are the second most popular type of flooring used in gyms. These carpets are also good for commercial gyms. However, gym owners and staff must caution the users from dragging weights on the carpet. Commercial grade carpets are more susceptible compared to rubber carpets. One of the advantages of this flooring material is that it is inexpensive. These carpets are equally easy to clean. You need to consider that gym floors should be kept clean at all times to avoid the risks of contracting communicable infections. Hygiene standards must be observed especially in public gyms where all kinds of people use the gym facilities. Again, this carpet is very durable as long as weights are not dragged on it.
One thing that makes commercial grade carpets popular in gyms is the variety in color. They come in so many colors, giving you a lot of options to match the décor of your gym equipment. They are particularly good for those who want to customize their home gyms. They can pick their color of choice as flooring material. Commercial grade gym carpets offer the most suitable solution to anyone looking for a cheap carpet that comes in their color of choice. However, just like rubber carpets, they too have their own downsides. You will always need professionals to install this carpet for you. Further still, you will need this crew from time to time to stretch the carpet. Due to the daily exercise, this carpet will start stretching on its own. The difficult part of re-stretching is moving the gym equipment.
Sometimes it is difficult to control the dropping of weights or dragging of sleds across the carpet. This means that the carpet will not be durable. Because of this limitation, one should consider installing this carpet in the cardio and stationary weight equipment areas. Rubber carpets should then be used in the free weight areas. Another disadvantage is that commercial grade carpets are easily stained. This is because the material easily absorbs liquids. One characteristic of gyms is people frequenting it with liquid proteins to boost energy, or water to cool them down. Chances of these liquids spilling on the floor are very high. Unlike rubber carpets, these cannot be wiped clean using a damp rag.
Carpet tiles were launched recently and their popularity has grown ever since. They are much easier to install, besides having more custom colors. With these tiles, one can mix several colors to come up with unique high end designs. It does not restrict gym owners to a few patterns and mix of colors. From the foregoing, it is clear that when planning to buy a carpet for your gym, you have to consider a few factors. These factors include but are not limited to design, color, durability, maintenance costs and purchase costs.