Flooring

[nazirnoori44]

I'm building a home gym in my basement, which is fully furnished, so my power rack will be sitting on wooden flooring. I'd like to purchase some mats/rubber for my power rack to sit on, so it doesn't damage the flooring. Also to protect it when I drop weights of course.

I couldn't find any threads on this. I'm thinking about the 24x24" mats by Rogue Fitness for $45 each. Any other recommendations?

Thanks.

[radrd]

Horse stall mats from Tractor Supply.

[RGrizzzz]

Horse stall mats from Tractor Supply.

They'll smell a little when new. Wash them off and leave them outside(not stacked) for a few days.

Also consider roller rubber flooring. Regupol is a common brand.

[TomGallopavo]

Agree on horse stall mats. If it were me I would go to Lowes and get that reddish paper that they put on wood floors to protect them while the house is being finished and you’ll never see it under the mats. Congrats on the gym! Mine is in the basement and we love it.

[Duplicitous]

Cost aside, Regupol would be my first choice. I went with stall mats for the cost savings though.

[QDubs]

I get to use both and prefer Regupol (though both work well).

Make sure your rack is bolted bolted down well. You don't want it to crush the rubber but you also don't want movement or it will destroy the rubber.

[TomGallopavo]

I get to use both and prefer Regupol (though both work well).

Make sure your rack is bolted bolted down well. You don't want it to crush the rubber but you also don't want movement or it will destroy the rubber.

I have 820 pounds on my rack. We unloaded and moved it to raise a mirror. After vacuuming the mats you could not tell where it had been sitting...nothing. Those horse stall mats are darn near indestructible...don't know about the other stuff.

[AttyGuy]

Regupol is the preferred rolled rubber flooring, but if you aren't planning on changing the wood flooring your only viable option is horse stall mats. I would not get the "puzzle piece" rubber flooring. It's not serious flooring, unless you buy the really expensive kind that is mounted with adhesive. There are various levels of quality in horse stall mats, and if you're putting them inside, you want the more expensive kind with more consistent sizing and shape. You don't want exposed seams.

[d2mini]

How thick does flooring need to be to protect a concrete slab garage floor from deadlifts? Do you really need a wooden platform of 2 layers of 3/4" ply and a layer of horse stall mat, or will a good rubber flooring like Regupol suffice for the average home gym?

[MajorTendonitis]

I used a product called Mega Lock from great mats , a puzzle mat that locked together well when I built my floor .
It’s 1/2” thick rubber , and for as hard as it is , it feels awesome under your feet .
I went this route because I thought it would be easier to handle 30” tiles instead of large rubber mats.
They certainly weight a ton when you add them all up . My only mistake was not getting g coloured flecks , as pitch black shows every little spec of dirt or paint .
Just and FYI , there was a bit of off gassing, and shipping is killer if your in western BC .
I certainly envy people in Ohio

https://www.greatmats.com/rubber-til...le-5-black.php

[QDubs]

I have 820 pounds on my rack. We unloaded and moved it to raise a mirror. After vacuuming the mats you could not tell where it had been sitting...nothing. Those horse stall mats are darn near indestructible...don't know about the other stuff.

That's pretty amazing! Great stuff! What happened to one friend is that his rack moved back and forth about 1/32", he thinks mostly from cable stuff, and eventually wore down the horse mat. His solution was to cut the mat out below the rack floor plates and remount it. He said that he prefered it mounted on top of the rubber though so plans to one day replace that section of mat.

[radrd]

How thick does flooring need to be to protect a concrete slab garage floor from deadlifts? Do you really need a wooden platform of 2 layers of 3/4" ply and a layer of horse stall mat, or will a good rubber flooring like Regupol suffice for the average home gym?

Concrete slab can hold massive weight and the more plates you have on the bar, the more the weight is distributed. You'll be fine unless you're dropping iron weights from hip or shoulder height on a regular basis, which you shouldn't be, or doing something weird like using a single 45 lb plate with a larger diameter than the rest of the plates on the bar. And even then, you're more likely to damage your plates or put a cosmetic mark on the concrete. You won't crack it. Horse stall mats or rolled rubber will be enough.

[d2mini]

Concrete slab can hold massive weight and the more plates you have on the bar, the more the weight is distributed. You'll be fine unless you're dropping iron weights from hip or shoulder height on a regular basis, which you shouldn't be, or doing something weird like using a single 45 lb plate with a larger diameter than the rest of the plates on the bar. And even then, you're more likely to damage your plates or put a cosmetic mark on the concrete. You won't crack it. Horse stall mats or rolled rubber will be enough.

Great, thanks.
I currently have the common setup of rack sitting on top of platform, rack bolted to platform. But for my next setup I'm thinking of changing to one of the fold away racks because they attach to the wall. Then I won't need to secure anything to the floor. So will be nice to not need a platform. And no, I don't drop the weight anyway. Just bring it down fast sometimes.

[radrd]

Great, thanks.
I currently have the common setup of rack sitting on top of platform, rack bolted to platform. But for my next setup I'm thinking of changing to one of the fold away racks because they attach to the wall. Then I won't need to secure anything to the floor. So will be nice to not need a platform. And no, I don't drop the weight anyway. Just bring it down fast sometimes.

When I tore out my carpet, I ditched my platform and switched to rolled rubber on my concrete slab basement floor. No regrets. I've heard some say they prefer a platform more for footing than cushioning impact, so that's something to think about. I'm still happy with no platform. Rolled rubber on concrete is pretty solid and I don't perceive any compression or bounce.