Gym Floor Covers | A Guide to Protect Your Investment

Your Guide to Gym Floor Covers Posted: Jun 2013 Posted by: Mats Inc.

If you’re like most school facility managers, you’re gearing up for a long list of summer projects that are generally larger and too disruptive to do while school is in session. If your list includes installing or refinishing the wood flooring in the gymnasium, continue reading.

As you tackle that monstrous project, you may find the Maple Flooring Manufacturer’s Association (MFMA) to be a helpful resource. This association is a technical authority for hardwood gymnasium flooring offering information about purchasing, safety, maintenance and more right from their web site.

After you have invested your time, effort and capital budget dollars into the gymnasium floor, you’ll want to protect your investment from unnecessary damage.

Wear and tear from the sporting events for which the gymnasium was originally intended is primarily managed by adhering to strict maintenance routines and highly effective entrance matting (keep dirt out, it’s the enemy) as recommended by the experts.

Beyond the sports are all the other events that your gym will likely be hosting like conferences, award ceremonies and graduations. These occasions will often be accompanied by high heels, tables, chairs and other furniture. Using a gym floor cover during non-sporting activities will protect the flooring from spills, scuffing, scraping and denting.

So here is your guide to gym floor covers.

Conventional gymnasium floor covers are carpet-based tiles or rolls of plastic tarp.

We’ll start with the plastic type. Plastic or vinyl coated polyester gym floor cover rolls are 10 feet wide and you specify the length you need. Pricing is generally provided by the square foot. The material is available in different weights (e.g. 32 oz., 27 oz., 22 oz., 18 oz., 10 oz.) and largely affects price, quality and installation. It is not very attractive but it is virtually stain proof.

Most suppliers offer this product with a smooth surface but there are some products on the market that offer surfaces with slip-resistant patterns. Plastic gym floor covers can last 3 – 10 years depending on the quality and amount of use. While there are a variety of colors like tan, gray, red and green, blue seems to be the most common.

To keep the rolls organized and easier to install, you will want to purchase a storage rack that can accommodate 6, 8 or 10 rolls. Two installers are needed to unroll the material from the rack.

It is difficult to avoid wrinkles and ripples but you need to try to keep the material smooth to avoid tripping hazards and it is essential to tape the seams and around edges after the cover is in place. After the event, you will need to sweep debris off of the cover before rolling the sections back onto the storage rack. There are a variety of additional accessories that you can purchase that will help save some manual labor and time such as an electric power winder, self-cleaning brush attachment, walk-behind tape dispenser, cover cleaner and there’s even a cover for the cover system.

The carpet-like gymnasium floor cover is made up of giant sized tiles that measure approximately 2’ x 4’ and 6mm thick. The tiles are produced from 100% solution-dyed polypropylene, a highly durable material that is easy to clean and stain resistant. The polyolefin backing keeps the tiles flat and the flooring underneath clean.

Prices are per tile and the color options are blue and gray. Depending on frequency of use, tiles have a 15-20+ year lifespan. A wheel cart is used for storage and transportation. One person can manage installation and removal but it goes faster with a partner. Tiles are installed by placing them side by side across the floor and there are no other accessories needed. When it’s time to pack up, vacuum the tiles and stack them back onto the wheeled cart.