A garage floor shouldn’t be misunderstood for a bare concrete floor used only for parking vehicles. A sturdy and resilient garage floor can handle the heaviest vehicle weights and constant foot and vehicle traffic for years.
A proper garage floor covering will enhance the overall look of your garage if you decide to turn it into a makeshift workplace, studio, or party place.
When it comes to garage floor covering, you should consider the following factors; sturdy, traction, and minimum wear and tear. Out of many different garage floor covering options, rubber flooring is one of the best.
Why Rubber Garage Flooring?
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Rubber Garage Floor covering is made from high-quality industrial rubber that resists wear and tear. It comes in a variety of colors and strengths. Choosing an eye-catchy rubber flooring is an excellent idea because it will quickly transform your garage from an unattractive exterior space to an eye-catching part of your home by hiding unsightly concrete floors.
If you’re considering converting your garage into a makeshift gym, you’d need rubber flooring. But before you spend your hard-earned cash on rubber flooring, you should make sure that the product can withstand the weight of your vehicle, foot traffic, heavy gym equipment, and frequent sweat and spills.
Rubber flooring is an excellent choice for the increased foot traction, especially for wet conditions. And, if you’re turning your garage into an office space, rubber flooring will provide both appeal and warmth for a cozy office room.
You can find rubber garage floor covering in rubber rolls, interlocking garage floor mats tiles, and even peel and stick tiles for permanent applications. The range of rubber products may differ from rebonded rubber for a cheaper installation to vulcanized rubber flooring or virgin rubber flooring for a costly installation. Depending on your need and budget, you can choose from a different rubber product range.
Types of Rubber Flooring
Rebonded Rubber Flooring
Rebonded rubber is made from securely bonding pieces of high-quality rubber with resin. It comprises 97% post-industrial recycled content; hence it’s cheaper. The resilient quality of the rebonded rubber can recover 90% of its original thickness.
If you’re looking to turn your garage into the gym, rebonded rubber can be a reasonable option, but it won’t fare well with oil spills, hot tires, and warm liquid spills. Oil from your car can break down that resin glue over time, then breaking down your rubber flooring.
Vulcanized Rubber Flooring
If you want to use your rubber flooring for both gym and car parking, you should consider vulcanized rubber flooring. The vulcanized rubber product isn’t fixed with glue but instead melted together with heat to form highly durable flooring.
Its resisting quality can easily withstand heavyweight, hot tires, liquid and oil spills, stains, and sweat.
Vulcanized rubber flooring with strong edges is far more durable than rebonded rubber flooring but is less durable and cheaper than virgin rubber flooring.
Virgin Rubber Flooring
Virgin rubber is made from 100% pure rubber; hence it tends to be more resistant and durable. The highest-grade rubber is mainly used for Olympic-grade rubber gyms and tracks. You can use virgin rubber flooring for the gym to withstand heavy equipment, sweat, liquid spills, and shock.
Rebonded rubber flooring is best for homeowners with a small budget who want to upgrade their entire garage to a full-fledged gym. Virgin and Vulcan rubber flooring will suit homeowners who seek quality over price.
Advantages of Garage Flooring
Easy to Clean
Rubber garage floors are easy to clean compared to any other flooring type. It doesn’t require scrubbing. A simple wipe-off with water can clean off the debris from rubber flooring.
Easy to Install
Unlike concrete tiles, epoxy paint, or simple paint, you can easily cut and piece the rubber flooring together. They’re easy to interlock using simple tools.
Durable and shock absorbent
Rubber flooring is known for its durability and shock absorption. Shock absorption is essential for heavy gym equipment because the concrete floor can easily crack or break under the gym equipment’s weight.
Multi-purpose
Rubber flooring can be used for car parking, gym, office space, locker room, party, and more.
Long-lasting
Rubber is naturally antimicrobial, so it is less likely to harbor mold, fungi, or mildew growth.
Sound dampening
Rubber is naturally sound-resistant. You can use gym equipment or party without worrying about producing noise.
Disadvantages of Garage Flooring
Arduous Weight
Quality flooring can be heavy; hence it’s difficult to move around. A typical flooring can weigh from 1-lb to 3-lb per square foot. You can opt for rubber tiles over rolls that are easier to manage and lightweight.
Temperature Insulation
Rubber flooring doesn’t necessarily provide insulation and protection from cold weather. You may need to look for other ways to insulate the entire garage floor covering before installing flooring.
Oil and Chemical Spills
Rubber wears down from oil and chemical spills after a time. Unless you’re using vulcanized or virgin flooring, the dripping from the car and chemical bottles will break down rebonded rubber material.
Uneven Concrete floor
It’s a bad idea to install flooring over uneven concrete or other kinds of floor. Rolled rubber can bulge and wrinkle when installed on an uneven surface.
How to install Rubber Garage Floor?
It’s relatively easy to over-impose a rubber garage floor onto a concrete floor. But in general, you’ll need flat, dry, and indoor space for rubber floors. It’s flexible and bendable which can adjust in any weather condition.
Prepare the floor
Before installing your rubber garage floor, ensure to clean the area clean and add subflooring to prevent moisture buildup under the rubber floor. While they don’t absorb water, moisture underneath the cable can create mold and mildew growth.
Subflooring
To protect the concrete underneath the flooring, ensure to add subflooring. Subflooring protects the ceramic and concrete tiles from cracking or breaking. Subflooring is essential over hardwood floors before adding a rubber floor. A layer of craft paper does the work, and it will prevent the rubber’s color from seeping into your expensive hardwood floor.
These are primarily available in the dimensions of 12×12 inches or 24×24 inches. You can always measure carpet against your garage and then cut it into similar sizes before installing. You can use a strong adhesive to glue two carpet tiles together.
Loose lay
Loose laying flooring is relatively easy; you can measure the floor size and lay the appropriate rubber flooring over the surface. You can easily pick it up and move it at any time.
Double-sided tape
use the double-sided tape method for a more robust and sturdy installation. You’d need to use double-sided carpet tape around the floor’s perimeter.
Use carpet roller
The carpet roller ensures that every critical area of the flooring is evenly bonded and secured. It allows for a uniformity level when you apply adhesive under the rubber flooring for a stronger bond.
FAQ
Is rubber flooring flexible?
Yes, rubber flooring is more flexible than most flooring types. You can easily install it using the DIY technique. It also requires less maintenance and can be cleaned easily. It can withstand any climatic conditions. You can install this flooring on any floor, especially concrete garage floors.
What are the different Rubber flooring styles?
Here are the three most popular rubber flooring styles that you can choose from.
- Roll-out flooring – Roll-out garage flooring is made from 100% solid polyvinyl flooring for durability. Just roll out the flooring onto the surface without any adhesive.
- Interlocking Rubber Tiles -Interlocking rubber tiles are easy to move and install. You can easily install and remove each tile using the interlocking technique.
- Peel and stick Tiles -You’d need to apply adhesive to stick rubber tiles onto the surface. It may take some time to install compared to roll-out and interlocking rubber flooring.
Can you use rubber flooring for a rooftop gym?
Many homeowners ask whether they can install rooftop rubber flooring for a gym. Rubber flooring isn’t recommended for outdoor use. The rooftop flooring can easily acquire mold underneath the surface because of rainwater.
As an option, you can install proper drainage precautions before installing rubber flooring. A 2-inch thick Sterling Rooftop tile works best for outdoor use because of its raised base, but you’d first need to install drainage underneath.
Cost for rubber flooring
In terms of price, rubber garage floor tiles range from under $2/sq. ft. to over $18/sq. ft. Rubber garage flooring rolls range from under $1/sq. ft. to $7/sq. ft. Rubber garage flooring mats are typically sold by the total mat price rather than by square foot. They range from about $40 to $140, depending on thickness.
How to maintain rubber garage flooring?
Rubber garage flooring is easy to clean and maintain. Please give it a quick vacuum to remove any loose crumbs, dust, or debris. Next, use a damp mop with mild soap and water cleaning solution to clean the surface, and then let it dry!