A home gym floor has two jobs. Under the free weights it has to take a dropped plate or a set-down kettlebell without the slab, the boards or the plate coming off worse. Under a treadmill or a bike it has to give the machine a level, non-slip surface and keep the frame from marking the floor. The RooFitness flooring range covers those two jobs with two products, and the right one depends on which job you are doing.
Tiles for the free-weight area
The rubber tiles are 1m by 1m and 15mm thick, and each one covers one square metre. They come in plain black or black with blue flecks, and both colours are tested to AS/ISO 9239.1-2003 for reaction to fire. The edges are bevelled, so a run of loose-laid tiles finishes cleanly at the perimeter, and the underside is shaped to let air move beneath the tile.
They are laid loose on a flat, clean surface. No adhesive or joining hardware is supplied, and none is needed for a home gym where the tiles are pushed together and the weight of the rubber holds them in place. Each tile weighs 10kg to 12kg, which is part of why it stays put and all of why freight is quoted by postcode at checkout.
A mat for the cardio machine
The treadmill mat is a single 2m by 1m sheet, 6mm thick and black, with a non-slip surface. It goes under a treadmill, a spin bike or an air bike, and its purpose is to protect the floor from the frame and give the machine something to sit on. It is not made to take dropped weights. If plates land near the cardio machine, put tiles there and the mat under the machine.
How many tiles
Measure the free-weight area in metres and multiply length by width. A 3m by 2m corner is six tiles. Round up to whole tiles, since they are not cut to size, and allow a tile's width beyond where the bar or the rack sits so that plates coming off the ends land on rubber. For a treadmill, check that the machine's footprint fits inside 2m by 1m before ordering the mat.
Laying them
- Sweep and dry the floor first. Grit under a tile shows through and stops it lying flat.
- Start from the wall or the corner where the rack sits and work outward, so any cut edge, if you make one, lands somewhere it does not matter.
- Push each tile hard against the last. Gaps close up as the rubber settles.
- Keep the bevelled edges on the outside of the run.
What to check on the product page
- Tile size and thickness, so the coverage sum is right.
- Colour. Both tile colours are the same construction.
- Weight per tile, which drives the freight quote.
- For the mat, the 2m by 1m size against the machine.
The RooFitness flooring compared
| Product | Size | Thickness | Weight | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubber floor tile, black | 1m × 1m | 15mm | 10kg | Black |
| Rubber floor tile, black with blue flecks | 1m × 1m | 15mm | 12kg | Black with blue flecks |
| Treadmill mat | 2m × 1m | 6mm | 5kg | Black |
Related
All flooring · Yoga and exercise mats · Power racks and cages · Weight plates
