Continuing Education
Use the following learning objectives to focus your study while reading this month’s Continuing Education article.
Learning Objectives - After reading this article, you will be able to:
Educational institutions have increasingly placed the design of its athletic facilities high on their list of priorities. Strong athletic programs are often central to the institutional identities of many colleges and universities. Even K-12 schools and private learning organizations have increasingly made athletics, movement, and physical conditioning a central part of the overall educational experience they provide. This focus on athletics often elevates several areas—including gymnasiums, weight rooms, training rooms, fitness facilities, locker rooms, climbing centers, fitness classrooms, aerobic dance and movement centers, and indoor tracks and indoor courts—to a much higher level of campus prominence than the design community has previously seen. Sports and fitness areas are largely defined by the open areas—tracks, courts, performance spaces—and play surfaces, which play a key role in determining the athletic performance, safety, acoustics, aesthetics, and overall usability of the space.
This course will examine a range of sports surface features—including environmental sustainability, material strength, durability, appearance, and the surface's impacts on athletic biomechanics and safety—all features that architects need to understand when selecting flooring materials for an athletic facility.
Material Options
Most sports surfacing breaks out into three material categories: hardwood, synthetic turf, and resilient flooring options. Carpet, a fourth option, is also used but is not strongly recommended.
For the weight room at Wooster College, high-quality rubber tiles provide an ultra-durable surface. Separate lifting platforms to protect the floor are not needed. Instead, custom tiles create an integrated lifting area in front of each lifting cage.
Photo by Maguire Photographics
Hardwood. For basketball courts, some athletic directors will accept nothing but hardwood, preferably maple. It is hard enough to provide good ball bounce, and (if installed over the appropriate grid sleeper system) also provides area resiliency and shock absorption. However, hardwood requires a lot of maintenance and the finish is vulnerable to abrasion, limiting its use for multifunction spaces. Rubber tiles and rolled products can be used to temporarily transform the space, provided there is storage space available when the tiles are not in use. A relatively new alternative to hardwood uses a vinyl wear layer that looks like wood fused to a recycled rubber backing.
Synthetic turf. For indoor installations, synthetic turf made with a recycled rubber backing is available in both rolls and interlocking tiles. The grass-like wear layer is typically nylon (polyethylene and polyethylene-blend fibers are more common for outdoor installations). Interlocking synthetic-turf tiles don't require adhesive. This option works well for multipurpose areas, enabling occupants to transform a basketball court, cafeteria, or auditorium into a portable playing surface without damaging the floor underneath. Unlike synthetic turf used for outdoor applications, these products do not include a granular fill. However, they may be installed over a resilient underlayment to increase shock absorption. A resilient underlayment also reduces compaction of the composite material, increasing the life-span of the surfacing.
The D1 Sports Athletic Training Facility in Knoxville, Tennessee, installed rolled rubber flooring because it’s ideal for fitness applications, specifically in areas with weights.
Photo courtesy of www.henryambrose.com
Resilient flooring. Rubber is the premium choice among resilient flooring options, which also include PVC (polyvinyl chlorate) and polyurethane. It's hard to beat the resiliency, durability, slip-resistance, and moisture-resistance of rubber, making it the flooring of choice for weight rooms, locker rooms, aerobic rooms, training areas, and multipurpose gyms. Rubber can withstand incredible abuse—be it impacts from dropping free weights or the repetitive concussion of exercise machines. Available in rolled sheet goods and interlocking tiles, rubber provides the most design flexibility. Polyurethane, typically poured in place over a rubber mat, is an alternative.
Vinyl fused to a recycled backing is a good option for basketball courts and other surfaces that require a durable surface with area resiliency. The vinyl can be imprinted to provide the look and feel of a hardwood surface without the intensive maintenance issues required for hardwood. The stiff vinyl surface provides optimal foot slide characteristics (to reduce foot overturning accidents) and excellent ball bounce, while the rubber backing provides good force reduction to reduce the incidence of ankle and knee injuries due to impact.
Carpeting is a low-end option sometimes used for fitness rooms and recreation centers, but it is seldom a good choice. While it provides some cushioning and helps dampen interior room acoustics, rug burns are a common safety concern for any active sports or fast-motion exercise. Carpet absorbs spills and sweat and holds odors, and does not fare well underneath exercise equipment. It may be appropriate for offices and classrooms in an athletic center, but not for any area where exercise, training, or sports activities will take place.
Sport Applications for Recycled Rubber
The variety of sports and fitness programs available at educational institutions today is, in a word, rich. The sheer variety of indoor spaces allocated for sports and fitness presents tremendous opportunities for architects. Areas requiring sensitivity to athletic and fitness requirements include gymnasiums, indoor tracks, playing courts, weight rooms, training rooms, climbing and bouldering centers, fitness classrooms, movement centers, and locker rooms. When institutions mix-and-match programming, they create an even greater variety of multipurpose athletic areas on its campuses.
Exercise equipment may seem fairly stable, but it can cause wear and tear to a floor surface, especially when equipment is moved frequently for cleaning or for new arrangements. A recycled rubber surface is one flooring choice that holds up exceptionally well under these conditions.
Photo by Jeff Amram Photography
Recycled rubber may not be the appropriate material for all of these surfaces. In some markets, for example, it is difficult to overcome the preference for hardwood in basketball arenas, despite the proven benefits of other surfacing that may require less maintenance while providing better player safety. This is changing as new technologies in flooring allow for products, such as vinyl fused to a recycled rubber backing, to provide the look of wood combined with the area elasticity required for the activity. For a majority of sports applications, vinyl, rubber, or even synthetic turf wear layers with a recycled rubber backing provide an optimal choice. Some examples include:
Training centers are spaces dedicated to everything from winter conditioning for football players to martial arts to aerobics and gymnastics. These spaces require safe and durable surfaces. The floor should be able to absorb the shock of running and jumping to protect athletes' joints. Falls may also be a concern. Recycled rubber offers one of the safest flooring options available for these conditions.
Weight rooms are specialized training areas that must have an especially durable surface capable of supporting the heavy impact of weight-training and cardio equipment. Ultra-thick recycled rubber tiles are an ideal choice for weight rooms. The rubber not only provides good shock absorption, but if an area is damaged or wears out, individual tiles can be replaced without the expense of the whole floor.
Wet-use areas. In locker rooms and pool-side fitness areas, friction and the ability to fight mold and mildew are key requirements. Recycled rubber, which maintains a high coefficient of friction when wet, offers one of the better wet-floor surfacing options.
Indoor playing fields. Synthetic turf with a rubber backing works well on indoor fields for competitive hockey, lacrosse, and soccer, as well as for indoor sports training facilities. The wear layer is durable enough for heavy-training activities, such as football conditioning using speed drags and blocking sleds, and is spike resistant.
Indoor tracks. For tracks, runners need a surface that doesn't absorb a lot of energy, and yet is not so hard that it will cause shin splints and other stress syndromes associated with running on hard surfaces. A dense recycled rubber wear layer fused to a resilient recycled rubber underlayment provides an optimal choice for many indoor track applications.
Indoor courts require a firm surface and an even density so every part of the playing surface responds with a consistent and energetic ball bounce. Vinyl surfacing that is fusion-bonded to a recycled rubber backing provides exceptional safety and performance for athletes on indoor courts. The stiff vinyl surface over a resilient rubber backing provides exceptional ball bounce while still providing good area elasticity to prevent impact injuries. The surface also allows better foot slide than many resilient surfaces (an important feature for fast-moving sports where too high a coefficient of friction can lead to foot-overturn injuries). This type of surfacing is durable and easy to install and maintain.
Climbing centers. In climbing and bouldering centers, the focus is on fall protection and impact absorption. Two common approaches are carpet over deep, closed-cell foam or a deep-pocketed rubber made to absorb maximum impact of a falling body. This is a very specialized, squishy surface. By design, rubber flooring absorbs a lot of the energy of impact, which makes it a very forgiving surface when a climber falls.
Group exercise rooms require both durability and resilience. The trend for these spaces is moving away from foam-backed vinyl to recycled rubber or vinyl fusion-bonded to recycled rubber for better performance.
Spin rooms are moving away from wood to vinyl with rubber backing, because it holds up better and requires less maintenance.
Sports Flooring Performance
From an athlete's perspective, the surface of any athletic facility is a biomechanical interface. Every foot movement and ball bounce depends on an interaction with the floor. The floor's resiliency and surface texture affects how well an athlete can run, jump, slide, and stop.
For athletic activities and exercise workouts, performance is often subject to the amount of energy lost to the surface. Running in sand is an example of the surface absorbing most of an athlete's energy. While no surfacing material is quite as extreme, it illustrates the concept of losing energy to the surface. In competitive sports, athletes wants just the opposite; they want very little energy lost to the floor, so that each step, each turn, and each jump can be executed with complete control.
If a floor does not absorb the energy of an athlete's movements, the full energy is returned to the athlete. This is the third law of physics: To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. If no energy is absorbed into the surface, the full force of an athlete's foot fall is returned to the foot, leg, and body. Instead of being absorbed by the floor, the energy is absorbed by the athlete's joints, tendons, muscles, and bones. Since strenuous activity on a hard floor can be damaging to an athlete over time, it's imperative to balance energy return with shock absorption.
There are a number of ways the shock absorbing characteristics of a floor are measured, which architects may encounter when selecting a sports surface. Here's a brief overview:
Surface elasticity: A distinction is frequently made between point-elastic and area-elastic surfaces.
Recycled rubber flooring often has good point-elasticity. Point-elastic surfaces deform mostly at the point of impact and provide cushioning, which can reduce the risk of ankle and knee injuries. Point elastic floors also absorb energy, which may reduce ball bounce. For playing courts, a surface product should be selected that offers a dense recycled rubber wear layer over a more elastic recycled rubber underlayment. This will reduce point elasticity at the surface and create a more area elastic floor.
• Area-elastic surfaces bend slightly over a wide area and return energy. The most common area-elastic surface is a basketball court. Generally, playing courts for sports such as tennis or basketball benefit from surfacing that has good area elasticity.
Impact attenuation. Beyond the elasticity of a floor, which addresses the shock absorption necessary to reduce fatigue and avoid ankle and knee injuries, impact attenuation is a more critical measure of shock absorption. Impact attenuation addresses the risk of collisions between athletes and hard surfaces. This is especially important when there is a high risk of head or other severe injuries due to impacts or falls. Playground surfaces are one common example where minimum impact attenuation values are typically required by building codes. But there are a number of other sports surfaces, including artificial turf fields and gymnastic gyms, where high impact attenuation is advisable from a safety perspective.
Force reduction (or resiliency). A surface that is too “hard” causes sore ankles and risk of knee injuries, making it unsuitable for sustained, strenuous activities. On the other hand, a floor that is too “soft” may create a trampoline effect. This might be acceptable for a climbing center, where resiliency helps protect against injuries from falls, but it is inappropriate for many other sports and training activities. Floor resiliency is measured using an impact apparatus that simulates an athlete's foot and leg impact during “landing events.” The results are measured as a percentage reduction of impact. ASTM F2772 establishes a minimum force reduction of 10 percent (meaning that 90 percent of the force is returned) for any surfacing material used for athletics. Products that reduce the force of impact during the test from 10 to 21 percent are listed as Class 1; 22 to 33 percent as Class 2; 34 to 45 percent as Class 3; 46 – 57 percent as Class 4; and 58 to 100 percent as Class 5.
Strength. A floor's use will involve more than just the traffic of players and performers. It will typically include activities, such as moving portable equipment (for example, portable basketball backstops, safety mat carts, and gymnastic equipment); placing chairs or staging on the floor for assemblies or other events; and erecting ladders or using lifts for changing light bulbs or hanging banners. All of these activities place static and point loads that the floor must be capable of supporting.
Flooring Acoustics
The physical interaction with the floor extends beyond the athletes' direct contact with the floor surface. Sound also plays a key role in how all occupants (players, staff, and spectators alike) will experience the space.
Often, athletic rooms are large open spaces dominated by hard wall and ceiling areas that reflect sound. This creates very long reverberation times, high occupied sound levels, and poor speech intelligibility. As a result, coaches and athletic trainers may have a difficult time projecting their voices, and students receiving instruction may have difficulty hearing. With large crowds, these indoor acoustics create a very wearing environment for both players and fans.
The acoustic benefits of room surfaces may be evaluated in two areas:
1) Interior room acoustics are largely evaluated by the amount of sound energy that is absorbed or reflected by the exposed surfaces in the room. For proper interior room acoustics, it is important to achieve balance between the absorptive and reflective surfaces in a room. In a highly reflective room (long reverberation time) with several conversations going (more than one trainer working with different athletes, for example) and the clang of weights and exercise equipment, the multiple reflections will result in a jarring and disruptive atmosphere. On the other hand, in a highly absorptive space (short reverberation time), the sound level will be drastically reduced, creating a dead library type of space. A proper balance between the two will create a space that is conducive to concentrated workouts, isolated instruction, and acceptable levels of crowd noise.
In addition to being attractive, recycled rubber flooring helps to make spaces quieter by reducing sound transmission.
Photo by Scot Gordan Photography
The reverberation times used to understand interior room acoustics are calculated using the Noise Reduction Coefficients (NRC) of the exposed materials. NRCs are measured according to ASTM C423. NRC values are reported on a scale of 0.00 to 1.00, with 0 being completely reflective and 1 being completely absorptive.
2) Sound transmission refers to sound energy passing through a building partition from one space to another. Imagine an aerobics studio or a weight room on the upper level of a student center or dormitory, and the need for reducing the impact of jumping feet and dropping weights becomes immediately apparent.
The sound transmission characteristics of a material are measured in two ways: Impact Insulation Class (IIC) and Sound Transmission Class (STC).
• An IIC test, in accordance with ASTM E492, measures a material's resistance to the transmission of impact sounds, such as footfalls and dropped objects.
• An STC test, in accordance with ASTM E90, evaluates the ability of a specific construction assembly to reduce airborne sounds, such as voices, stereo systems, and TV.
Both ratings are tested in a vertical chamber with simulated sounds produced in the upper chamber and sound pressure levels measured in the lower chamber. Ratings of at least 50 (45 if the assembly is field tested) for both the IIC and STC sound tests will satisfy the minimum requirements of the International Building Code. The IIC and STC ratings apply to the entire building assembly. Therefore, it is important to consider each element when predicting IIC and STC ratings. The same floor covering used on two different base assemblies may result in drastically different ratings.
Sustainability as a Key Design Element
Educational institutions no longer simply ask about sustainability. These days, sustainability is a requirement for many institutional projects. Sustainability and green building is demanded not only by the building owner, but, increasingly, by municipalities, states, and institutional boards of directors. Green buildings provide a number of benefits that are highly valued by educational institutions, including:
• Increased health and safety for students and employees
• Increased academic productivity and lower absenteeism
• Reduced operating costs
• Positive publicity derived from institutional commitments to reducing environmental impacts
This last point cannot be underestimated. Educational institutions thrive on the benevolence of its alumni and the support of public officials, which is the driving force behind creating an institutional profile that places high value on environmental responsibility. The use of resource-efficient building materials fits hand-in-glove with low water use and building energy efficiency in fostering an institutional commitment to reduced environmental impacts.
In a nutshell, sustainability in the built environment breaks out into three key areas:
1. The use of sustainable materials that reduce the environmental impacts of harvesting the world's resources;
2. The creation of building environments with good indoor air quality (IAQ) that promote the health and well-being of building occupants;
3. Building energy efficiency that reduces the ongoing use of planet resources to maintain a comfortable indoor environment.
The use of recycled rubber cannot influence the ongoing energy-efficiency of a building, but it has everything to do with the first two criteria: resource efficiency and indoor air quality.
Among the flooring choices available for athletic facilities, recycled rubber flooring provides a more sustainable option than PVC and polypropylene flooring that use virgin plastics. Wood may qualify for LEED credit if Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood is used, but total credits would be lower than the total possible with recycled content.
Currently, the United States Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) design standard, which establishes a basis for demonstrating environmentally responsible building design, has become almost a pre-requisite for any facility seeking public recognition as a “green building.” LEED certification is widely recognized and tends to garner a lot of media attention. This affords institutions with buildings earning LEED certification an opportunity for highly prized positive publicity. LEED version 4 is currently under review and should be finalized by the end of 2013. The information that follows is geared toward this edition.
LEED-certified projects earn points for meeting specific requirements within a number of credit categories. The LEED Version 4 categories include Building Design and Construction, Interior Design and Construction, and Building Operations and Maintenance. The term “schools” refers principally to the new construction of K-12 schools. Colleges and universities may choose LEED for Schools criteria. However, in the credit categories where flooring has an impact on the project, there is little difference from the New Construction criteria.
The use of sustainable flooring products earns LEED credits in two categories: Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality. Using a sports surfacing material that contains recycled rubber, it is possible to earn LEED points.
Materials & Resources. To gain maximum sustainability credits, look for a surfacing material that uses shredded and cleaned recycled rubber. The rubber may originate from a variety of post-consumer sources. Scrap tires are a common source. Another source is athletic shoes. A major international athletic shoe company has developed two programs to recycle shoes.
One encourages consumers to return old, worn athletic shoes (of any brand) to a store or other collection facility. These old shoes are then ground up and used in a variety of sports surfaces. The second program involves re-using the company's manufacturing by-products (their own pre-consumer waste). This is also ground up and used for surfacing.
LEED for Building Design and Construction and Interior Design and Construction extends credits for materials with recycled content, but not all recycled content is the same. “Recycled content” generally refers to the portion of materials used in a product that have been diverted from the solid-waste stream. If those materials are diverted after consumer use (e.g. scrap material that has served a useful service life as one product and is then recycled, and the material re-processed for use in a completely different product), it is referred to as “post-consumer” recycled content. “Pre-consumer” recycled content refers to materials that are diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process. This cannot include cut-offs or other wastes that would ordinarily be fed back into the manufacturing process. It must be a waste or recovered material used in its original condition to produce a different product in order to be considered pre-consumer recycled content. It also cannot include something like a solvent used in the manufacturing that is recovered. The material must appear in the final product in order to be considered pre-consumer recycled content. Even with all these qualifications, however, pre- and post-consumer materials do not have equal status. LEED credits 100 percent of post-consumer recycled content, but only 50 percent of pre-consumer content.
Here is the calculation: A project gets one credit for using materials with recycled content if the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus 50 percent of the pre-consumer content (all post-consumer + half pre-consumer) equals at least 25 percent, by cost, of the total value of permanently installed building products in the project. Products that meet the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Sourcing of Raw Materials credit qualifications are valued at 100 percent of their cost for the purpose of credit achievement.
In LEED for Building Design and Construction and Interior Design and Construction, there is another Materials and Resources credit available that can be gained if one can divert at least 50 percent of total construction and demolition material from the waste stream. A second credit can be gained if 75 percent of the total construction and demolition material is diverted from the waste stream. To take advantage of this credit, architects should look for materials that:
1. Divert at least 50 percent of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least three material streams. (1 credit)
2. Divert at least 75 percent of the total construction and demolition material; diverted materials must include at least four material streams. (2 credits)
3. Do not generate more than 2.5 pounds of construction waste per square foot (12.2 kilograms of waste per square meter) of the building's floor area. (2 credits)
Recycled rubber flooring makes an ideal surface for multipurpose training and conditioning rooms.
Photo by Jeff Amram Photography
Additional Materials and Resources credits reward the use of building materials from companies that are transparent about their product's life cycle and environmental impact. There are two LEED credit categories that pertain to this. The first is the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Environmental Product Declaration. The intent of this declaration is to encourage the use of products and materials (for which life-cycle information is available) that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts.
The second is the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Material Ingredient Reporting category. The intent of this declaration is to reward project teams for selecting products for which the chemical ingredients in the product are inventoried, using an accepted methodology, and for selecting products verified to minimize the use and generation of harmful substances.
Indoor Air Quality. In evaluating the IAQ of building materials, the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a key measure. Depending on the concentration and the duration of exposure, VOCs can cause a range of health effects, including eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, loss of coordination and damage to liver, kidney, and the central nervous system. Some VOCs are also known carcinogens.
VOCs are used in a wide variety of building materials, furnishings, household cleaning products, glues and adhesives, aerosol sprays, fuels and automotive products, hobby materials, and office supplies. Carpeting adhesives and oil-based urethane finishes for hardwood typically have an extremely high VOC content. The VOC content is highest when the fresh product is applied; but, over time, the out gassing of VOCs subsides. The IAQ of a new building presents the greatest risk to occupants. Over time, off-gassing is reduced. It is for this reason that recycled rubber emits very low VOC content. Virgin materials are much higher, but these solvents are baked out by sunlight over time.
While the flooring materials may have low-VOC content, the adhesives used to bond the flooring products to a substrate may contain solvents with very high VOC content. This is the case with carpeting; the adhesive presents the most noxious risk to occupants of a new building. Similarly, oil-based hardwood finishes and many flooring sealers present high VOC risks to occupants. Look for products that offer low-VOC adhesives and finishes for bonding flooring products. Some manufacturers even offer zero-VOC content adhesives for recycled rubber surfacing. These are typically low-odor, one-component urethane adhesives formulated for use in indoor and outdoor applications. They are easy to trowel-on and are moisture-cured without mixing to provide excellent adhesion to elastomers, concrete, and wood substrates. The product in these adhesives is solvent-free and anti-microbial and typically has a 12 month shelf life.
To verify a low-VOC adhesive product, look for compliance with California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule #1168 for adhesive flooring and sealant applications. This is the most demanding air-quality standard in the U.S.
As of this writing, additional LEED credits are typically available for any flooring product that qualifies for FloorScore certification. Both the flooring and adhesive must meet the threshold level of compliance and content standards to potentially achieve LEED Credit.
Developed by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, in partnership with Scientific Certification Systems, FloorScore measures a flooring system's compliance to the stringent IAQ criteria established by the state of California. Products that adhere to FloorScore standards are independently certified by Scientific Certification Systems for low-VOC emissions. To meet requirements, FloorScore requires rigorous product testing, which entails auditing the manufacturing site, annual re-certification requirements, product records, and a tangible quality control plan from the manufacturer. Interior adhesives and sealants applied on site must achieve the threshold of at least 90 percent, by volume, for emissions, and 100 percent for VOC content. Product cut-sheets, MSDS sheets, signed attestations, or other official literature form the manufacturer clearly identifying the VOC contents or compliance with referenced standards should be reviewed.
A new credit for acoustic performance, with regard to a structure's walls, ceilings, and floors, is available under the IAQ sections in LEED version 4. All of these systems working together may contribute to a LEED point, if they achieve required STC ratings.
Durability and Maintenance
Athletic surfaces see a lot of wear and tear. Owing to the force of foot impacts and the repetitive back-and-forth, athletic activities impose much more wear than most other types of floor traffic. The vibration of exercise equipment and the impact of dropped weights further accelerate deterioration of flooring surfaces. However, there is much more than athletic activity that shortens the life of a sports surface. Environmental factors, including ultraviolet light, temperature changes, and humidity, as well as the abrasion of dirt and chemical reactions with spills, have a profound impact on the life-span of any surfacing material. The lack of a conscientious maintenance program will have the greatest impact on the life of a floor.
Rubber surfacing provides a nearly limitless range of custom colors and floor designs. At the University of Portland, the team’s logo was created using a custom-made purple color. This was an important element to foster “Pilot Pride” and raise institutional awareness.
Photo by Jeff Amram Photography
Design and operation policy issues. The durability of any flooring will be prolonged by good building design, sound occupant policies, and proper maintenance:
• All athletic and performance facilities should have a floor grating at the entrance to reduce the incidence of abrasive outdoor materials from being dragged across the interior floor surface.
• Any athletic center or exercise and training room should maintain a strict shoe policy to limit hard-soled shoes and boots from damaging soft sports surfaces.
• For the floor of an athletic training facility, it is critical to keep the floor clean and dry for the safety of athletes.
Maintenance issues. Building maintenance requires a separate group of contractors and a different level of oversight from the initial design and general operation policies. Floor maintenance breaks out into three levels.
• Initial post-construction cleaning – As on any project, immediately preceding the opening of the building, flooring will need to be cleaned. This includes removing general debris and adhesives, solvents, and other compounds that may have a profound impact on the durability of the flooring and its finish.
• General or daily cleaning – This aspect of maintenance will have the greatest impact on the durability of the flooring.
• Periodic re-application of sealers – Architects should advise clients of the re-sealing required for a given flooring product. This may present down-time that impacts the operation schedule of the building.
Of these, the daily cleaning procedures present an important aspect that not only affects the long-term durability of the surfacing, but also ongoing IAQ. For some flooring types, such as wood, the daily and periodic maintenance can be quite involved. For acrylic and PVC flooring, special cleaners are often required and frequent buffing is needed to remove scuff marks and stains. For some rubber flooring, maintenance is much simpler. The only cleaning tools required are a vacuum or broom and a microfiber mop with a neutral pH cleaner.
A floor system's maintenance requirements should be considered when evaluating the type of floor to select. Buildings with floor systems that require an elaborate maintenance program will need to abide by a floor maintenance schedule. Furthermore, while the flooring is undergoing maintenance, the sports surfaces cannot be used. Any facility that needs to be used for long hours should have low-maintenance flooring.
Appearance and Design
Educational institutions place a high value on buildings that will aesthetically enhance the school experience. This is particularly true at institutions with strong athletic programs, where team colors and logos are a key element in school branding.
With the design of any building, there is always a required ambiance. In an athletic space, the floor plays a big role in this impression, since the space is defined by large open areas. Some materials, such as wood, have a very clear but largely fixed look and feel. Any team branding and boundaries must be painted on, and those appliqués must be constantly maintained.
Recycled rubber surfacing materials offer a wide range of design options for altering a spaces' ambience. Examples include demarcated color areas that define inlaid lifting platforms in weight rooms; dot markings and color variations that define speed lanes on indoor tracks, agility zones on synthetic terf fields, and training/conditioning areas by indoor pools. Custom colors and logos that conform to specific school colors and icons may be limited for some resilient flooring materials, while rubber surfacing provides a nearly limitless range of custom floor designs. Rubber designs are more durable than painted markings and applied tapes.
Final Note: Examine the Installation Options
This course does not cover the how-to of installing recycled rubber surfacing materials, but some consideration of the installation complexity for a given surfacing product should be examined before selecting a surfacing material for an athletic facility. Rubber flooring offers many wear layer options, including rolls, tiles, interlocking tiles, modular tiles, and indoor turf, as well hybrid products like vinyl laminated to a recycled rubber backing. While the architect cannot completely control what happens on the site of a given job, taking the time to familiarize oneself with the installation procedures is important.
In general, any flooring system will involve both a substrate (the structural component that supports a given flooring material) and an underlayment (a secondary layer that enhances the performance characteristics of the top wear layer). In new construction, it is critical that the substrate be free of dust, solvents, sealers, curing, and hardening compounds, alkaline salts, and other extraneous materials. In retrofit applications, additional care should be taken to ensure no paint, wax, oil, grease, asphalt, or old adhesive residues inhibit the application of the new flooring.
If a plywood subfloor (which is preferred for many rolled rubber products) is installed, it's important that the plywood lay relatively flat (to within 3/16 inch in 10 feet) and that all gaps, indications, and cracks between sections of flooring are filled with a Portland-cement-based patching compound. Poured-in-place concrete makes an excellent substrate for any resilient floor, provided the final moisture content is carefully controlled before finished flooring is installed. In general, the moisture content and temperature of the substrate, underlayment, and finished floor must be monitored during installation. Failure to do this can easily result in failure, regardless of the product used.
Everlast fitness flooring with Nike Grind is manufactured by ECORE, a company where recycling meets original thinking. This surfacing is ideal for fitness applications. Available in rolls, tiles, interlocking tiles, and UltraTile™, Everlast comes in standard colors and unlimited custom color, design, and logo capabilities. Call 800-321-1923 for more information. www.everlastsportssurfacing.com
Whether you manage a commercial gym or have your own personal setup, there are several factors to consider in bringing to life the perfect space. The equipment within your gym is the most essential element. After all, without equipment, workouts aren’t possible! However, the gym environment itself and its design are aspects not to overlook. When designing your gym, it’s critical to consider selecting the best gym flooring. In most cases, your default flooring won’t be a suitable option.
If you have a home gym, then the most important consideration for you is to create a space that allows you to get the most out of your regime. This will mean investing in equipment that matches your fitness goals. Additionally, this means designing a gym garage that is spacious and comfortable. For commercial gyms, the number one goal is to appease your customers. Customer retention and word-of-mouth referrals are critical in running a profitable business.
As a gym manager, your focus should be on keeping members happy. This will ensure they continue visiting your gym each week and pay their monthly subscription. Every tiny detail matters. If there’s something the customer doesn’t like, they will have no hesitation canceling and going elsewhere. The fitness industry is highly competitive, and gym facilities can be found almost anywhere. The flooring may not be a feature that you put a lot of thought into. However, your flooring is vital in keeping customers happy. It also is key to leaving a good impression.
People will be walking across the floor each day as they explore your gym. It is often the feature that generates the first impression. We will talk more about the specific benefits of suitable flooring in the next section. However, generally speaking, gymgoers want a safe, clean and comfortable surface that they can firmly grip.
Flooring can be expensive, timely, and disruptive to install, so you must get it right from the start. You will need to find a type of flooring solution that is fit for the purpose. Flooring products are designed for different applications, from indoor gyms to outdoor facilities, yoga studios, and school playgrounds. Then there are the unique applications for each type of gym area, such as free weights, cardio, and studios. Therefore, you will need to consider how your members will use the flooring. Additionally, you need to consider what equipment will be standing on it.
The critical point is to look for flooring that is strong and durable. It should withstand the heavy pressure of equipment and frequent daily use before it breaks down. You want to prevent having to quickly fork out more cash for a replacement. Flooring also comes in different thickness sizes, so the thicker the material, the stronger and tougher it will be. However, thicker materials may be more expensive. Therefore, make sure to find the right balance tailored to what your gym requires.
Gym flooring must ensure a firm grip for users. This is one of the main reasons you should only install specialist flooring built for gyms. A good grip will ensure people’s safety while working out. Additionally, it will prevent equipment from moving or people from slipping. This can help improve workout effectiveness.
Hygiene is critical in commercial gyms. However, hundreds of people will be working out across the space every day. This means lots of sweat and bacteria will drop to the surface. You should aim to find flooring that will be easy to clean and won’t smell or stain. It should also not create a slippery surface for users.
So we have explained why flooring is essential for your commercial or home gym alongside some purchasing considerations. Now, it’s time to look at the different types of flooring. Here are some of the most common types of gym flooring that you can opt for…
Rubber flooring is the most popular option for commercial gyms and an optimal solution. This type of flooring has several benefits, the most notable of which are heavy thickness and shock-absorbing features. This type of flooring has several benefits, the most notable of which are heavy thickness and shock-absorbing features. These features reduce noise when equipment collides with the floor and prevent damage. They will ensure your gym boasts a quieter environment and equipment lasts for longer. Rubber flooring provides an excellent non-slip grip, keeping people safe while working out. They are also easy to clean and maintain and can long for a long time before needing to replace. You can usually buy rubber flooring in floor tiles, floor rolls, or interlocking tiles. One of our partners, PowerGym Fitness specializes in rubber gym flooring if you are looking for where to buy it.
Foam flooring is another common choice for gyms, primarily where aerobic and cardio workouts are performed. It is also ideal for martial arts and gymnastics venues due to the material’s soft and comfortable texture. Foam flooring is light, can be easily cleaned, and often comes in multiple colors. The material is non-absorbent; therefore, it won’t soak up moisture.
Wood flooring can look visually appealing, but it does have some drawbacks. Most importantly, wood can be a slippery surface, which isn’t ideal when working out. Additionally, it isn’t very comfortable and can get damaged easily from frequent use. If you opt for wood flooring, we recommend that you place protective matting underneath equipment and spots where members will exercise.