Fitting Gym Flooring Guide
Installing gym flooring correctly is essential to getting the most out of your training space. Whether you’re fitting rubber gym flooring in a home gym, garage, or commercial gym, the way it’s laid can impact both performance and aesthetics. High-quality gym floor tiles provide the foundation, but correct installation ensures durability, safety and a professional finish. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key considerations when it comes to fitting your flooring the right way.
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Before You Get Started
We offer a gym fitting service, however, if you have the time and the basic tools, you can fit it yourself. This guide will give you the tips and trick to install it efficiently.
Where To Start
Firstly make sure you order the right amount of tiles, look at your m2 (length in meters x width in meters) then add 10% to allow for wastage and cuts.
What You'll Need
-Meter ruler
-A builders pencil
-Sharp Stanley knife (and potentially a spare if it’s a big space)
Top Tips:
1) You can lay gym floor tiles side by side, but for a better aesthetic, we’d recommend a brick effect. So start by laying a 1m tile, then alongside it, lay a 0.5m tile, followed by a 1m tile, and a 0.5m tile (this looks much more professional and seamless in both home gyms and commercial gym flooring setups).
2) Align your 1m x 1m rubber gym flooring tiles with the main doorway. You then lay the rest of the tiles off this key anchor point. This ensures a really nice flow through the space, especially in garage gyms and open-plan training areas.
3) Get a mug of water. Yes, this is sweaty hard work, but the mug of water is actually for your blade! Between each cut, wet the blade, it keeps any cuts much smoother and makes it easier for you when cutting rubber flooring.
4) Make sure you have the room fully ready before you start. If you have skirting boards, please make sure they’re painted! Floors should be hoovered and swept, dust is going to be your enemy. Always lay gym flooring onto a clean, smooth surface.
5) Cut on the top side of the gym mat, this might sound counterintuitive, but if you cut along the underside, it’s harder to ensure a straight edge on the visible side. We always score gently with a hard metal ruler in place, then go over the line again and again until it’s deep enough to remove the ruler. As you get closer to cutting through, gently bend the tile to expose the cut and finish it cleanly.
6) Order extra. If your space measures 50sqm, add an extra 5–10% depending on how complicated the room is. You’ll always need to make cuts, and the more cuts you make, the more wastage you’ll have. Adding a bit extra to your rubber gym flooring order might cost more upfront, but it saves money and hassle later.
7) If you’re using 20mm or 30mm rubber gym tiles, you don’t really need any adhesive — it’s often an unnecessary expense and use of time. The tiles are heavy (16kg for 20mm, 24kg for 30mm), and made from grippy rubber, so they’re not likely to move. That said, for high-traffic commercial gym flooring, some people still choose to use adhesive as an added safeguard. Our 30mm EPDM speckled tiles come with connector clips anyway, removing the need for adhesive altogether. We’d always recommend adhesive if you’re adding edging, though.
8) This sounds obvious, but it’s worth saying: if you’re setting up a new gym, make sure your gym flooring is the first thing you purchase. We’ve seen lots of cases where flooring is bought and installed after equipment has already gone in, this just creates extra work moving racks and machines. Start with a clear space, it’ll save you loads of time and energy.
