Finding the right flooring material can be tricky when it comes to balancing quality and prices. While your options are extensive, the best choice is one that prioritizes quality, aesthetics, and convenience. The use of rubber tiles for flooring is an underutilized strategy and deserves wider recognition for a range of reasons related to their versatility, build, and effectiveness.
Diverse potential for application
Typically, you might find rubber flooring in your local gymnasium where their resilient design is suited for the strenuous activity that takes place there. However, as the rubber has the advantages of being resilient, low maintenance, and easy to clean, it has significant potential in a wide variety of commercial or domestic floorings.
The gentle side of rubber flooring
While rubber flooring is robust and sturdy, it is much softer than ceramic or porcelain. Apart from safety, this feature results in a more comfortable experience and lessens the fatigue sometimes caused by prolonged standing on hard surfaces.
Due to their softness, rubber tiles are often found in outdoor play areas where they reduce the risk of injuries in children. Rubber padded floors are much more effective in cushioning the fall of an uncoordinated toddler, which is why they are a viable option for indoor playrooms and nurseries as well.
Silence is golden
A unique, often rarely considered feature of rubber flooring of any kind is their potential as sound barriers. Their ability to suppress the noise of falling objects or loud footsteps makes rubber tiles suited for workplaces or public spaces plagued with varying levels of noise pollution such as gyms or crowded office buildings.
Appealing design features
Commercial rubber tiles are often available in interlocking shapes, making installation far more convenient and often less time-consuming than with other tiles. These interlocking shapes can be assembled like a jigsaw puzzle, and not only does their layout reduce friction but also forms a tight seal which promotes some degree of waterproofing.
Another benefit of interlocking tiles is that damage to anyone or more tiles can be rectified by simply removing the individual tiles for repair or replacement. By contrast, a single damaged ceramic or porcelain floor tile often requires that either the entire floor plan or at least a large part of it be subject to significant, often costly, renovations.
Cost-effective and eco-friendly
Rubber tiles are a much better choice for recycling purposes, which is a must for most present-day requirements. Plus, rubber retains heat more effectively, making rubber flooring excellent for insulation in cooler climates and saving on heating costs compared to clay-based flooring.
Low-maintenance, long-lasting
Their smooth design means that high-quality synthetic rubber tiles require much less rigorous cleaning, which makes them suitable for gyms, restaurants, playrooms, and other high-maintenance settings. Not only does this lessen the overall use of water, but their long-lasting immunity against moisture-induced damage makes rubber flooring ideal for swimming pool decking.
Reduced fire hazards
While excellent for heat retention, rubber flooring is fire and burn-resistant. Rubber tiles are immune to most forms of fire damage and would successfully prevent the spread or initiation of a house fire and the production of toxic fumes, leading to favorable implications regarding safety as well as insurance.
Things to consider…
Despite their myriad of upsides, there are a few things one must look into before buying rubber tiles. For instance, their strong odor makes tiles made from natural rubber less suitable for many domestic or commercial flooring plans. Additionally, the lack of waterproofing in many forms of rubber flooring could be an issue for some.
Synthetic rubber tiles possess the benefits of natural rubber and are less likely to produce noxious smells. Although they can be considerably more expensive, their durability makes them a still worthy investment.
In conclusion, with minimal downsides and a veritable plethora of practical advantages, rubber tiles are highly desirable for most public and private flooring plans and worth every penny.
