Rubber Flooring - Features, Types & Advantages

Rubber flooring is the floors made out of natural tree rubber or from synthetic materials that are often recycled vehicle tires. These flooring material own high versatility and are highly durable demanding less maintenance. 

Fig.1. Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring are a good option for accommodating heavy foot traffic like gym areas and hospitals. It provides plenty of choices in design for the homeowners and are a good surface option for enhancing the beauty of the space.

Lets discuss the important features, types and benefits of rubber flooring in construction industry.

You May Like To Read: What is Augmented Reality (AR) Flooring?

Features of Rubber Flooring

1. Rubber flooring is a type of resilient flooring
2. It is a good choice for floor subjected to heavy traffic.
3. It is suitable for hard-wearing surfaces, and are easily cleaned
4. It is a bit expensive floor material compared to other flooring types. But due to its durability and low-maintenance cost, it is considered as a good initial investment.

Read On: What is Concrete Resurfacing?

Forms of Rubber Floors

The rubber floors are either manufactured homogeneous or laminated. Homogeneous rubber floors are the ones with uniform color throughout the entire product. While, laminated floor have patterns and colors, that are applied only on the top layer of the product.

But, a homogeneous or laminated rubber can come in the following types:

1. Interlocking Tiles
2. Square Edge Tiles
3. Sheets or Rolls

1. Interlocking Rubber Floor Tiles

Rubber flooring in tile form comes in more intricate and multicolor. They are installed by locking together and does not require any adhesive. It is laid freely and hence require correct placement of tiles to prevent any undulations. 

Fig.2. Interlocking Rubber Floor Tiles

2. Square Edge Rubber Floor Tiles

These are rubber tiles in square shape that require adhesive to have permanent installation. These have sharp edges which provide virtually seamless finish to the floor.

Fig.3. Square Edge Rubber Tiles

3. Rubber Floor Sheet or Rolls

These are flooring types laid in the form of wall carpet. The size is ordered based on the longest length required. The flooring is cut into shape of the space, even around the obstacles and corners. 

Fig.4. Sheet or Roll Rubber Tiles

Type of Rubber Flooring Materials

The rubber flooring products can be made either using synthetic, latex or recycled materials. Based on which, there are:

1. Synthetic Rubber Floors
2. Latex or Natural Rubber Flooring
3. Recycled Rubber Flooring

1. Synthetic Rubber Floors

These are extremely durable rubber floor compared to other types. This is made out of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) [By-product of petroleum]. Its durability is 20 to 30 years, when in the form of tiles.

Application of Synthetic Rubber Floors: Bathrooms, cafes, hospitals, gyms and kitchen.

2. Latex or Natural Rubber Floors

This is less expensive compared to synthetic rubber floors. It do give allergy issues to some customers. Natural rubber is a renewable rubber material, but are more susceptible to scuffs and tears compared to synthetic material.

3. Recycled Rubber Floors

This is a sustainable choice with exceptional durability and high impact resistance. It is cheaper compared to other rubber floor materials (SBR) as they manufacturing cost is less. 

Advantages of Rubber Flooring

The main advantages of rubber flooring are:

1. Simple maintenance
2. High durability
3. High resilience
4. Provide Insulation
5. Prevent underfloor heating
6. Quick and easy installation
7. Removal is easy
8. Can be reused
9. Available in different styles and colors
10. Perfectly fits any space
11. Heavy traffic and wear resistance
12. Can be cleaned easily

Read More On : What is Polished Concrete?