Gym Mat Rubber Tiles and Daycare Playground Safety Surfacing

SportPlay Mat recycled rubber flooring mats are the ideal surfacing rubber mat tiles for use to soften hard surfaces or protect floors in daycares, early learning centers, weight rooms, yoga workout rooms, backyards, home gyms and anywhere else you need a highly resilient and durable rubber flooring surface.  SportPlay Mat tiles are independently certified by the International Playground Equipment Manufacturers  Association (IPEMA) to meet the stringent requirements of ASTM F3351 for fall safety protection with a rating of up to 2 foot critical fall heights.

These rubber playground surfacing, fitness tiles, sports mats and gym tiles are manufactured to 24” x 24” nominal width and are available in a thickness of one-inch to provide great protection for underlying floors without creating and extreme transition in indoor or outdoor applications. 

When used as a fall protective surfacing, determine the distance from the top of the play climbing equipment and ensure that this height does not exceed 2’ (24 inches).  Refer to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook for additional information about playground safety and playground safety surfacing materials.

Our rubber gym tiles and sports mats can be used both in indoor and outdoor applications.  When used outdoors the recycled rubber tiles will be exposed to direct ultra-violet light.  Rubber mats have a low relative reflectivity (heat reflection) and a high emissivity (heat absorption) which can cause the tiles to get hot to the touch.  Outdoor playground design should take these physical properties into consideration to provide adequate shading whenever possible to reduce the effects of sun exposure.

Rubber Gym and Fitness Mat Surfacing Installation

SportPlay Mat rubber tiles can be installed over any hard, stable surface such as concrete or asphalt.  The type of substrate may affect the quality of the finished installation as well as the look of the tiles.  Rubber surfacing substrates should drain freely and should have a smooth plane.  Any variations in the substrate plane in excess of 1/4” across a span of 10 (ten) feet should be corrected prior to installing the rubber tiles.

Recycled rubber gym tiles and sports mats can be installed using a polyurethane based adhesive for a non-floating application or our SureKONNECT Pin system for a floating application.  The perimeter must contain the installed tiles to prevent them from moving during normal expansion and contraction that will occur.  Permanent perimeter containment made from concrete or asphalt make an excellent as will our prefabricated rubber transition ramps when glued to the substrate. 

EPDM colored rubber tiles in 1.00" thickness must be fully adhered to the substrate.

In addition, EMC requires that EPDM tiles be glued down as there is a differential expansion and contraction rate between EPDM and SBR rubber that can lead to edge curling. Gluing prevents this whereas pinned applications does not. This may occur with EPDM color tiles when they are pinned because the color layer is made from EPDM while the bottom layer is made from SBR.

Recycled Rubber Tile Expansion and Contraction

Recycled rubber tiles are made from crumb rubber.  The natural and beneficial properties of crumb rubber that make it an excellent and proven raw material for gym and sport mats (resilience and durability), also contribute to tile expansion and contraction with changes to sun exposure and changes in temperature.  As the rubber tiles absorb heat they will expand and get larger.  As the heat dissipates when the exposure to the sun is removed and/or the temperature drops, the rubber tiles will naturally shrink.  This normal and to be expected change in tile size may result in gaps between during cold weather with lower UV intensity.

The best way to minimize “gapping” between recycled rubber tiles from occurring is to condition the rubber tile mats prior to installation and to provide as much shade (natural or man made) as possible above the area of installation.  Conditioning the gym and sport tiles is done by spreading all of the rubber tiles out in an area that does not have direct sun exposure and allowing them to relax to their natural size.  In high  heat, high UV exposure conditions (Summer), installations will be more difficult to achieve proper conditioning and may result in the need to make adjustments to the rubber tile installation the following Spring.

Rubber Gym Mat and Sport Mat Tile Benefits

SportPlay Mat Rubber Tiles are an excellent choice for creating a safe and ADA accessible protective surfacing under and around playground or fitness equipment and in any space you need a slip resistant protective surfacing.  The rubber tiles are made from recycled tire crumb rubber that is:

• Highly resilient to provide excellent head impact protection under falls in hot or cold temperatures,
• Extremely durable to provide lasting performance under extreme outdoor conditions as well as indoors,
• Proven safe through extensive in-the-field as well as in the laboratory testing,
• Naturally slip and skid resistant in wet or dry conditions,
• Lightweight and easy to handle.

Recycled rubber tiles and rubber mats made from recycled tire crumb rubber have a proven history of performance  dating back more than 25 years.  SportPlay Mat Rubber Tiles have been available to the public since 1996 and during the past 18 years have been installed on thousands of projects around the world including in public and private schools, city and community parks, backyards and residential play areas, military base housing playgrounds, fast food restaurants, daycare center play areas, church play areas and in many commercial and retail businesses such as gyms, studios and offices as well as children’s play areas.

For a safe, reliable, low maintenance and easy to install rubber safety protective surfacing, choose SportPlay Mat Tile and create an inviting area to be enjoyed for years to come.