Flooring for home gym that's available in Canada

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi all,

I know the topic of rubber flooring for home gyms has been discussed here (http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=4683251) but I have a specific question about getting affordable flooring in Canada.

Our home has a large basement room (570 sq ft) that I’d like to use for a workout space + kid’s play area. Activities include floor hockey, soccer and scooter riding for the kids and the bike trainer and body wt/exerball/dumbbell-based strength exercises for the adults. So I need a durable floor that is not slippery and somewhat forgiving (to prevent injurious falls…).

The current floor consists of painted plywood sheets but it is splintering in many places. I contemplated using hardboard sheets to cover the plywood. While it is probably the cheapest option, installing the flooring would be a pain (nails/screws every 15 cm or so), with the possibility of buckling, uneven edges and screw/nail heads sticking out.

I am now contemplating rubber mats, like those found in a weight training gym. 4’x25’ rolls of 1/4-5/16 inch rubber seem ideal. However, their availability in Canada seems quite limited and shipping costs from US-based companies are exorbitant.The best deal I’ve found thus far is here: http://shop.fitnessdepot.ca/REGUPOL-AKTIV-SPORTS-FITNESS-SURFACES-Starting-at-18000-roll-P610.aspx#.UsND_fuJvpc

Does anyone know of alternative suppliers in Canada? Does anyone have alternative suggestions for flooring? PVC VersaRoll, normally used to cover garage floors, is reasonably priced and is available at Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.ca/product/newage-products-pvc-versaroll-75-x-17/809792). I’m not doing heavy weights (yet) so it doesn’t need to be super protective of the floor underneath.

Thanks for your input and Happy New Year!

2

Check Peavy Mart if you have one in your area, they sell livestock handling supplies and from what I’m told stables use rubber matting for the walkways in the barns.

3

We got our workout floor from Jesse @ Perfect Surfaces (www.perfectsurfaces.ca) - they are out in Calgary; had our floor shipped to our place in Oakville. (warehouse in Ontario)
We ended up going with the Gator floor, but they have a bunch of options (like the rubber that interlocks) available.

Another option, that our crossfit gym used, is horse stall rubber mats (4x6) you can find these sheets at TSC stores. Super durable and thick.

Hope this helps.

4

Have you considered cork flooring? It’s pretty yielding and I don’t think it’s too expensive.

5

Beauty, thanks!!!

6

I’ve heard of them but haven’t done much research. I see Home Depot sells cork roll underlay for a great price. I wonder, though, if it would fragment when getting hacked by hockey sticks? Also, rubber mats are pretty heavy and need minimal installation, whereas I wonder if installing cork would be more of a pain. Do you have any insight? Thanks!

7

Check out dinoflex, made in salmon arm BC out of recycled tires.

Interlocks in 38"x38" matts at about 1/2 inch thick. Industrial strength, we have it all over the city facility up here.

I put it in our office/shop IIRC it cost me a fair bit 2000$ for 400sf, but easy to install and you can take it with you (interlocking no glue)

Maurice

8

Another option, that our crossfit gym used, is horse stall rubber mats (4x6) you can find these sheets at TSC stores. Super durable and thick.

This is what I have super durable… it holds up to horses…

It is very heavy and does have an odor at first though.

9

I would get rubber barn stall mats from Home Hardware… $50 for a 3/4" thick rubber 4x6 or 4x8 mat. You can either glue them down or screw them down with drywall screws (I wouldn’t worry about popped screw heads if you inset them 1/4").

10

GymTech in Calgary

http://www.thegymtech.com/flooring.html

may have what you want. Don’t know if there are outlets in other locations or not.

11

Horse stall mats will be the most durable and non slip floor could can buy.

12

I’m another that has the horse stall mats (both in the barn and in my basement workout room). They have held up really well for 13 years.

13

I would get rubber barn stall mats from Home Hardware… $50 for a 3/4" thick rubber 4x6 or 4x8 mat. You can either glue them down or screw them down with drywall screws (I wouldn’t worry about popped screw heads if you inset them 1/4").

Didn’t realize that Home Hardware sold the stuff too, good to know!

14

Thanks for this topic, i needed some rubber flooring for my basement workout area and they had good 1/2" rubber tiles on sale for only $0.95 per square foot. Great deal.

15

Peavy Mart??? Hell, ain’t nobody outside of Innisfail would know what that’s all about. Maybe pick up some barbed wire for the steers while at it.

16

They sell pet supplies and a pretty darn good bbq section too… I have no idea where the guy is from, I just know where I would look for the stuff locally LOL

BTW, there isn’t a Peavey Mart in Innisfail, closest is south end of Red Deer :wink: and I realize these city folk get a little skeered when then leave the confines of Costco/Superstore/Walmart/CanadianTire and discover a store with less than 100 people lined up at the check out but I’m sure he’ll survive!

17

Hey I remember PeavyMart in both Red Deer and Grand Prairie when I was a kid.

18

Check UFA, they have rubber mats for livestock applications that is the same thing as they use in gyms. Also, check out my floor in the pain cave thread. Bought from Rona, the entire room cost maybe $250.

19

Very nice, thank you for the info. Your pain cave looks very nice - I like the DIY bar holder. Can you provide a specific brand & model number/name for the type of mats you bought? I can’t seem to find anything relevant on Rona’s website. Thanks!

20

How far do you live from the US Border? This year I ordered a few rolls of 8mm rubber flooring in 4 x15ft rolls for my home gym off Ebay and had it shipped to a US address. My cost was about $2.58 sq/ft shipped. This was half the price of local quotes.The rolls are a snap to install, just double-sided tape edges and ends.