Sports Flooring Considerations
Sports Flooring Considerations
Here are some important questions to ask before choosing a sport floor for your school’s gymnasium:
* Is the project new construction or renovation?
* What is the size of the space?
* Is it a multipurpose application?
* Which sports are going to be played on it? If more than one, list sports in order of importance.
* What level of competition will be played on this floor? Who is going to use the floor (athletes, adults, children, teenagers, handicapped)?
* What is potentially the most abusive athletic or non-athletic activity that the floor is going to be used for?
* What will be the frequency of this activity?
* Are there special environmental conditions that need to be dealt with?
* What is the budget?
* Is the project seeking LEED certification? Will the flooring products under consideration contribute credits to LEED certification?
* What are the maintenance requirements? How time-consuming and costly are the procedures? Will they prevent usage of the space for drying time and fume dispersion?
* How will the floor impact the usage of natural resources, such as energy for temperature and humidity control and operating maintenance equipment and water for cleaning?
Seven Key Points
There are seven elements to keep in mind when comparing sports flooring:
* Safety
* Coefficient of friction
* Multipurpose applicability
* Maintenance
* Life cycle cost
* Durability/preservation of properties
* Warranty
Additionally, there are a few common misconceptions when comparing sports floors.
First, floors of equal thickness do not necessarily offer equal levels of shock absorption. Compare shock absorption values, not thickness, to determine the quality of a sport floor.
Also, hardness is not a measure of shock absorption, but only a measure of surface hardness. A hard surface wear layer combined with a cushioned backing can offer superior levels of shock absorption.
When comparing flooring systems, remember that shock absorption and floor construction normally have little or no effect on ball bounce. Almost all synthetic sports flooring and hardwood floors offering higher levels of shock absorption pass ball bounce requirements.
Instead, use life cycle costs of installed costs to determine the true cost of a sports floor.
Reputable sport flooring manufacturers should be able to submit certification of the shock absorption values for their sports floor from an independent testing laboratory approved to perform such testing.
This can be an invaluable tool for architects when comparing different sports floors.
Life cycle cost is the cost to install and to maintain the sports floor x size of floor / life expectancy. The cost is the initial price + annual maintenance cost + special periodic refinishing expenses.
Certain floors that are inexpensive to install may have a higher life cycle cost than floors that are initially more expensive to install. Floors that last longer typically have lower life cycle costs.
This article is courtesy of Gerflor/Taraflex Sports Flooring, www.gerflorsport.com.
Product Roundup
DaltonCarpet.com
DaltonCarpet.com has been in the gymnasium carpet business for nearly 20 years, and they are still going strong. They have a large selection of true gym carpet styles and colors in today’s market and offer a complete “turnkey” package, which includes basketball courts, volleyball lines, Awana and four square line sets. If you are considering a floor for your school’s gymnasium, consider the best sound-absorbing floor system available.
www.DaltonCarpet.com
Bolon from Centaur Floor Systems
Designed to meet the demands of today's high-pace, 24/7 culture, the BKB and Eight Collection from Bolon features modular floor tiles manufactured to outwear other tiles available on the market today. New production technology makes this collection a smoother, more durable surface, making it perfectly adaptable to a host of high-traffic applications. Centaur Floor Systems has been selling recreational, fitness, and athletic flooring systems for more than 20 years. Their goal is to provide the best products, best service, best warranty, and biggest variety in the industry.
www.centaurfloors.com
Electra Tarp Gym Floor Covers and Awana Game Floors
Major universities, high schools, and churches throughout the country use and recommend Electra Tarp gym floor covers and Awana game floors. Current trends show valued space is often required to serve for numerous functions. Electra Tarp’s floor covers offer the versatility to turn your space into a multipurpose facility. Electra Tarp floor covers are manufactured using top-quality reinforced, flame retardant, and mildew-resistant vinyl, and they are available in numerous colors and variety of weights. Whether your space is large or small, Electra Tarp can construct a gym floor cover or Awana game floor to fit your needs.
www.electratarp.com
Polymax Floor Systems
Rising costs for marble, granite, and terrazzo floors makes PolyMax’s decorative epoxy and urethane flooring systems the logical choice for a wide range of flooring options. When applied directly to new or existing concrete surfaces, PolyMax’s exceptional adhesion protects concrete from heavy traffic, impact, spills, and frequent cleaning, while providing an impervious, durable surface. The finished texture is available in different degrees of slip resistance, depending upon the flooring requirements. In addition, PolyMax offers a variety of multi-colored systems, including: Granular Floors, Natural Stone and Color Chip floors.
www.polymax-us.com
Stagestep’s Slip NoMor Finish Systems
Stagestep’s Slip NoMor Finish Systems are an innovative line of matte, satin, or high gloss floor finishes offering slip resistance, safety, and unlimited color and design possibilities that lasts up to two years and requires no buffing, burnishing or stripping. Slip NoMor Maintenance System is a durable finish with a high level of slip resistance for sport and performance surfaces. Slip NoMor Safety System upgrades virtually any existing surface to a commercial-grade safety floor and increases the coefficient of friction to ADA levels. It maintains safety characteristics in a wet environment and will not change the floor appearance. Slip NoMor Color can change the color, design, and look of any existing floor or surface.
www.stagestep.com
Zenterra Sport Bamboo
The green alternative to traditional basketball floors is a Zenterra Sport Bamboo flooring system. That’s because bamboo is much more renewable plant, growing to its full maturity in about five years, as opposed to the 40 to 60 years required for the more traditional flooring materials of oak or maple. And, you sacrifice no quality in purchasing a bamboo system. It passes the same DIN safety standards as traditional floors and is actually a harder material than either maple or oak. These bamboo floors are as attractive and affordable as any wood sports floor and carry a three-year warranty.
www.zenterrafloor.com
CoverSports USA
CoverSports USA offers at no charge its GymGuard floor cover system DVD. The DVD and accompanying brochure and swatch book detail the wide assortment of gym floor cover fabric colors, weights, storage options, and winding features. CoverSports USA’s vast GymGuard inventory ensures that virtually all orders are shipped within two weeks.
www.CoverSports.com
COVERMATE II from Covermaster
The custom-engineered COVERMATE II represents a breakthrough in gymnasium safety. The system’s main attractions are the retractable outriggers that reduce the risk of tipping. Also, the yellow roller end collars prevent fingers from getting pinched. Special safety bolts that attach each roller bracket to the main frame hold the roller captive to prevent it from popping up. The six casters, two of which are offset, reduce the floor point load by 33%, while foot-operated locks anchor the system securely to the floor.
www.covermaster.com
