​Why 4X6 Stall Mats Are A Terrible Choice for Gym Flooring

Gym flooring is typically overlooked when envisioning and building out a fitness facility. It is much more exciting to pick out fitness machines and equipment. In the midst of transforming from a personal trainer to a small business owner – it is difficult to focus on every aspect of your dream fitness facility. However, proper gym flooring is a crucial part of any gym.

Stall Mats

When gym owners overlook the flooring component of their gym and the budgets have significantly increased from when the concept of building a dream gym was established. The natural instinct for most gym owners is to choose for the most cost-effective gym flooring- which in most cases points people towards stall mats.

Stall mats were made for outdoor usage underneath a horse (hence stall mats). These mats are made from recycled tires, reject material & dirt is kept in the mat. Which in turn, makes the mats off-gas. It is an extremely pungent odour does not dissipate over time

Further, stall mats do not comply with California section 01350 of building codes for air quality regulation because these mats contain high levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and release carcinogens into the air.

We have done several flooring projects that arose from gym owner’s that were sick and tired of the smell produced by stall mats and asked us for guidance in changing their gym flooring.

In addition to the smell, installation can be extremely difficult. To start off, each mat has a +/- tolerance and is a different size, no mat is true to each other and does not butt up next to each other nicely, this will show gaps from mat to mat. Moreover, when these mats expand and contract, because they are not interlocked, they never reform back to the exact same size, causing larger gaps. Dirt, bacteria and mildew build up in the cracks and can cause mold beneath the mats and in between.

To add, stall mats weigh approximately 100lbs, and are much thicker and tougher to handle – resulting in a much higher cost for installing and for freight.

Interlocking Tiles / Rolls

Most of our clients opt for our interlocking LDS Gym Floor tiles compared to any other floor product. The speckle design easily hides dirt and any footprints that may occur on the floor. Multiple colours to choose from transforming a dull space into a beautiful looking floor.

8mm rubber flooring can be used for many different types of gyms, such as, home gym, fitness facilities, studios. The floor is extremely durable, the average lifespan of the floor can last up to 5+ years. An 8mm thick rubber can accommodate weight machines, cardio pieces, barbells and dumbbells. It can even handle Olympic lifting. To confirm, we have used this particular thickness to outfit many Crossfit fitness facilities.

All rubber has a smell to it; however, this is typically very low on tiles or rolls. Especially, our polar series line which fully complies with California Section 01350 and passes indoor air quality standards with flying colours. The reason these tiles are low odour is because the reject material in the recycled tires is extracted through a magnetization process which drastically limits the odour.

The installation process on interlocking tiles is fairly straightforward and easy compared to the other types of floors. The tiles weigh 6.5lbs (+/-) each, roughly 2’ x 2’ making it easier to transport and handle during installations.

The rubber floor generally does not require any prep work or glue. It is a loose laid product that can be installed directly on-top of any hard surface- resulting in lesser cost for installation. All that is needed to install this floor is a quality knife and a straight edge. The best part, if you accidentally damage a tile (quite difficult to do), it is easy to replace only a single tile

Also, you do not need to worry about gaps with rubber interlock tiles. As the floor expands and contracts, being interlocked, they expand and contract as a single unit preventing gaps to occur in the future.

In summary, at first glance it might be alluring to use stall mats based on the upfront costs, however, once you factor in all the additional costs, you are much better in the long run choosing a proper gym flooring, such as interlocking tiles or rolls.

The Best Option for Rubber Flooring In A Gym

• 6mm Rubber Tiles (Home Gyms & Cardio Areas in Commercial Gyms)
• 8mm Rubber Tiles (General Fitness)
• 20mm (Heavy Lifting)
• 40mm+ (Noise Control, Impact Acoustics)