Choose The Right Flooring
By John Smale
Don’t focus just on cost!
Consider wear and tear, safety and maintenance issues when choosing flooring for your facility.
Entrance areas
Winter plays havoc with flooring especially in vestibules and lobbies. Surfaces must be able to handle snow, slush, sand, salt and water. A good choice is a slate-finished ceramic or a porcelain ceramic tile, since both offer good traction and absorb almost no water.
Use rubber-backed slush mats as runners at the entrance doors. Grille or matt sinks (metal grates) are also an excellent choice to catch the main snow and dirt, but they are expensive.
Ceramic floors require only mopping and keep their appearance for years. They usually look outdated before they wear out, so choose a tile that is classic not trendy.
Corridors and stairs
Once you get past the lobby and heavy entrance circulation areas, carpet is always a good choice for corridors; it feels good underfoot and it dampens noise. It’s also great for stairs and locker rooms because it provides traction and generally speaks of a quality club environment.
Opt for solution-dyed nylon carpet with a tight yarn stitch (1/10th gauge for example), since it is durable and won’t stretch or shrink. Olefin is a polyester-based yarn at a more attractive price point, but it doesn’t wear well in heavy traffic.
For fitness clubs it is important to install carpet that has anti-microbial properties (for hygienic reasons) and is zipper-proof (will not run like a pair of pantyhose if snagged).
Wet and semi-wet areas
Safety, durability and maintenance all play important roles in wet areas. Ceramic tile is popular because it comes in many colours, sizes and finishes. But, the downside is that the grout can collect dirt and germs.
Another great choice being embraced by some clubs is Stonehard or acrylic-based concrete continuous flooring. It is pre-finished with the colour running through it and has minimal seams (required as stress expansion joints). You can create patterns with different colours or non-linear shapes like swirls and curves. Its cost is competitive with high-quality porcelain ceramic tile.
Choices that aren’t recommended, although they are attractively pricee, are vinyl composition tiles (VCT), linoleum or cushion sheet goods. Though fine for spaces such as staff areas, they are slippery when wet and require stripping and waxing to keep up their appearance.
For steam rooms, hot tubs, saunas and showers, seamless polymer-based, concrete-leveling flooring sloped to floor drains is an excellent choice. The slope drains water quickly giving fewer opportunities for bacteria and mold to grow. Good drainage and ventilation are necessary for long-term sustainability. It has a slip-resistant surface and is easy to scrub and rinse. It can also be taken up the walls to form a coved base and wall covering.
Group exercise rooms
In activity areas, form must follow the function. In group exercise areas where there can be lots of jumping, the floor needs to have some give. An excellent option is a sprung wood floor; a hardwood-strip floor is laid on a series of rubber pads which allow the wood to give under pressure.
Alternatively, the new wood-look laminate flooring can have a similar (although not as dramatic) effect because it is laid on various foam or rubber thicknesses. This type of flooring is inexpensive and is not glued or nailed. Installation therefore goes quickly. The factory finish is generally adequate for the type of footwear that is used on it.
If the floor substrate (the surface the flooring material sits on) is plywood on floor joists and not concrete, then there will be more flexibility to the floor and materials such as commercial linoleum or natural cork can be an alternative to wood.
Equipment areas
For weight lifting areas, carpet is adequate, although many serious clubs opt for a dense rubber flooring that is manufactured from ground recycled tires and heat-fused into matting. It can either be installed wall-to-wall or used in specific strip zones. Though pricey, this material, like tires, is nearly indestructible.
For cardio equipment areas, carpet is preferable because it absorbs sound and is easy to maintain. Running wiring to cardio equipment can be a challenge when you can’t get to the machines from underneath. Metal electro-channels with ramped sides are the most cost-effective way of getting power where it is needed. The alternative is moveable stack poles. These bring wiring down from the ceiling in a hollow aluminum tube. Channeling out the flooring substrate is another option.
Connecting floors and walls
Don’t forget about the area where the flooring meets the wall. Generally speaking, for carpeted areas it can be a carpet base with a ribbon fabric-top binding, a wooden baseboard or a vinyl/rubber base.
For ceramic tile, a tile base strip grouted in to form a moisture barrier is an excellent choice. The tile strips can be coved so there is not a tight seam that a mop will have a hard time reaching. (Polymer floors and seamless vinyl floors are normally installed with a cove as the product is rolled up the wall.)
Wood and laminate floors can be finished with a baseboard or a shoe mould (quarter round). There is also lots of room for creativity here: stainless steel, rubber strips and plexi-glass with lighting behind are all other options.
John Smale is President of Pace Interior Design in Belleville,ON.
PACE is a creative multi disciplinary company dealing with design and branding in the Sports, Leisure and Entertainment sectors. You can contact him at www.pacedesign.ca or 613-969-7801
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