Rubber Flooring for Garage Gym

[NapaDrew]

I am redoing my garage and turning it into a gym. I just did the Rustoleum RockSolid Floor coating. Now I am looking for a rubber flooring to lay over about half of it where the squat rack and weights will be.

Is 1/2” rubber mats thick enough or would you recommend 3/4”. I read mixed reviews that say 1/2” is more than enough but others that say nothing less than 3/4”.

I’ll primary be doing standard lifting (deadlifts,squats, all the usual). I just want to make sure I protect the floor, equipment, and myself.





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[nadogail]

IMHO, Stall Mats from a farm supply store will fit your needs.

 

[White Shadow]

For protection, I'd go with 3/4". You might be able to get away with 1/2" if you're careful not to drop the weights too hard. I have a 1/2" rubber mat on a section of my work bench and it works well there. For the floor, 3/4" seems so much more heavy/durable.

 

[Jeff95TA]

Stall mats like nadogail mentioned. Tractor Supply has them if you have one near you.

 

[Killer95Stang]

Like said above... numerous times, you aren't going to beat horse stall mats from your local feed store or tractor supply. Around me, they are $45 for the 4 x 6' mats that measure about 5/8" thick (might be considered 3/4"). I bought them for the same reason as you. During this corovirus thing, I set up a home gym under the gazebo by my pool. No issues with dropping weights.

 

[Toxictom]

They have these big floating mats that are like giant yoga mats. Something like that might work.

 

[b-boy]

3/4" - I have 4'x4' rubber panels that snap together.

I've owned them for ~15 years, and they're still like new. I've moved them 3 times.

I got them on rubberflooring.com. Occasionally they'll sell off 'defective' squares for about $15-$20 each. The defects are not even noticable.

 

[NapaDrew]

I was looking into the stall mats but I was worried about them being solid black and cleaning them. But from previous comments it seems they clean up nice.

I was looking on rubberflooringinc.com and found these 4’x16’ rolls. But they are 1/2” thick.
They also sell 4’x6’ mats that are 3/4” that seem similar to stall mats but have the specs in them.

Stall mats seem hard to beat for their price and durability.


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[kngelv]

The puzzle tile type that are actual gym flooring and high density work the best. Once put together there are barely noticeavble seams and they are fairly forgiving on your joints. 3/8 - 1/2 are adequate and your floor won't crack from dropped weights. You can also get different colors and designs. The foam puzzle tiles are junk for this purpose. Stall mats can't be beat for the price and can take all kinds of abuse. Like the Model-T "you can have any color you want as long as it's black." One caveat though. They are designed for horses which weigh much more than a human and thus are very dense. IMHO too dense. They are a lot harder on your joints than the puzzle type rubber gym tiles. Almost like standing on concrete.

James

 

[hammlm]

just bought some 4x6 3/4" stall mats at TSC tonight for this very purpose! Haven't been on here, so this thread didn't register for me.

But, I brought them home, hosed them off. Will put them in place in the morning.

They definitely had a TSC / Harbor Freight smell to them. I imagine it will dissipate. At least I hope so.

 

[lazyriverrat]

Another vote for TSC stall mats. Clean up easy with mop. They are heavy! Havent had any problems with them moving.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Just so you all can laugh a bit. I sell most of this stuff. I did the rigid tiles in my garage. My stationary bikes sit on bike mats and I have a 4x8 exercise mat from Amazon for the workout area. Most of the time these rubber gym tiles are more money than they are worth and overkill

 

[kngelv]

Just so you all can laugh a bit. I sell most of this stuff. I did the rigid tiles in my garage. My stationary bikes sit on bike mats and I have a 4x8 exercise mat from Amazon for the workout area. Most of the time these rubber gym tiles are more money than they are worth and overkill

You must have misread the OP's post. He will be doing weightlifting with plates. Deadlifts on concrete directly will lead to a chipped and cracked floor. Stall mats or real rubber gym tiles are a must for him.

James

 

[NapaDrew]

Thanks all! I ended up going down to tractor supply and buying stall mats. Getting ready to install them all now.

Any concern for the black rubber to bleed into the epoxy floor/ concrete?


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[b-boy]

Thanks all! I ended up going down to tractor supply and buying stall mats. Getting ready to install them all now.

Any concern for the black rubber to bleed into the epoxy floor/ concrete?


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Won't be a problem at all.

 

[strength_and_power]

If you are buying 4 or more, they will usually give a small discount if you ask. Grab them with vice grips to move them. Use a straight edge and multiple passes with a utility knife to cut.
Unless your concrete is absolute ****, you have nothing to worry about in terms of a dropped deadlift breaking it.
In my 15 years of powerlifting and moving our gym more times than I care to remember, not once did we have concrete issues when we pulled up the stall mats and that was with several 800+ deadlifters training consistently.


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[lis2323]

I used 4x8x3/4” rubber mats for my home gym. I’d recommend mats with ribbed undersides to minimize condensation and moisture.

 

[BetterDays]

I recently bought second-hand rubber gym mats they are really dirty because they have been in the garage for a while, e.g. collecting dust.



I tried using the Ryobi 2000 psi pressure washer and it seems like it cleaned some part of the mat, but not all, even though I sprayed it all over. It wasn't easy too, it took a few minutes before I stopped spraying it and the result wasn't as good as I expected.



I also attempted to use one of those microfibre spin mops with some floor cleaning solution and warm water. It didn't work either.

If you have the PW, try one of the scrubbing attachments. Worlds better than just the spray. I also recommend soaking them first with Simple Green/ cleaner. We did this when we moved and the mats came out great. For maintenance, we bought a dedicated "steam cleaner" to use on the mats in the basement gym and then run fans. When we redo the gym again, I am planning to seam seal them.

 

[30spdstr]

IMHO, Stall Mats from a farm supply store will fit your needs.

I’m using stall mats in my workshop. I highly recommend them.