Why you need Rubber Floor Tiles

Rubber floor tiles are manufactured from a combination of natural and synthetic rubber. As a result this makes rubber floor tiles highly resilient and ideal for areas with high traffic, workplace interiors and public places such as airports, schools, and shopping centres, as well as other health care, hospitality, retail and office environments. But those examples are a thing of the past.

Rubber – the future in flooring solutions These days, rubber flooring is as much at home in a domestic kitchen or bathroom than it is in an office or shopping centre. In the past your options for rubber flooring tiles would have been limited to a handful of colours; whereas these days, if you're looking to fit rubber flooring in your apartment or home, the variety of rubber flooring tile colours and textures is incredible, so it’s easy to find a floor tile that fits in with your existing décor.

Of course it's not just about the look, rubber flooring is also highly practical. And because it's made from such resistant material, it’s ideal for all sorts of uses. Helpfully, the way that rubber floor tiles are laid down also makes it a really good option for reducing noise. This is because rubber flooring seems to absorb sound better than most alternative flooring options; so if you're thinking about laying flooring in the gym where you might be pounding the ground often, or an apartment hallway where you don't want to disturb your neighbours, rubber floor tiles will absorb any additional sound - rather than bouncing it around the room like wooden or marble flooring would do.

Unlike carpet, if you spill something on your rubber flooring, a quick mop and wipe will clear away the mess and leave your floor tiles in pristine condition; making it ideal for kitchens, or for playrooms for the kids to romp around on.

While rubber floor tiles aren’t as cushioned as carpet, they are slightly cushioned for safety purposes so that if you do slip on them, you won't be left with a huge bruise; the rubber floor will absorb some of the impact.

All of these qualities make rubber flooring tiles ideal for practically any room in the home; whether it's for a kitchen, hallways, flooring for your bathroom, indestructible flooring for the children's play room, floor tiles for the garage which won’t need a lot of care and are easy to clean, or anywhere where there's a lot of foot traffic. But - and there's always a but - rubber floor tiles are only good for interior installation. They're not good for outdoor building that are pervious to the climate.

We’ve talked about the virtues of rubber floor tiles, but how do you know what to get or where to get them? There are many different qualities of rubber flooring tiles available on the market, so just like any other product you should pick out a reputable supplier to be certain your tiles will last.

The highest quality of materials and workmanship are employed in the making of UK Flooring Online’s Rubber Floor Tiles and careful inspections are made before products are dispatched. Rubber floor tiles have become the popular choice of flooring for a variety of rooms. And as they’re such a versatile, easy to lay, and non-slip flooring option that comes in a variety of colours and patterns, rubber floor tiles are ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, playrooms, offices, work areas, basements, or garages; you name it and they'll fit right in.

These floor tiles are extremely durable, easy to clean, and are long lasting too. They absorb noise and the impact of falling objects, so that your floor is less likely to get damaged. Brilliant. Best of all rubber floor tiles have been made with DIY enthusiasts in mind, so you don't need a degree in floor laying or a CV including decades of skilled experience to produce well-laid floors. As long as you can follow simple instructions and use some common sense, you're away!

So what do you need to get started?

• Rubber floor tiles
• Measuring tape
• Chalk line if you have one, or a pen and string attached will do if you don’t
• A long metal ruler
• Stanley knife
• Glue
• Roller

First things first… Prepare the room. Clear out the room you're going be working in. Make sure that the area is dirt, dust, glue, and bits and pieces free. You don't want anything other than a clean space for your lovely new rubber flooring. There's nothing worse then getting to the end and realising that there's a bump in the middle that's been created from a left over bit of glue.

Next steps Once you've cleared out the room take your rubber flooring tiles and place them in the room. It's best for floor tiles to acclimatise to the room temperature before you lay them down. This way they're less likely to shrink or expand. We're now ready to lay down the rubber tiles.

Step 1 - Measurements: Find the centre point of the room. To find the centre point of the room start with the 2 longest walls and measure the length of these walls. Divide each length by 2 and mark a line on the floor at exactly half way. Do this on all sides of the room.

You now should have 4 lines marked, one in the middle of each wall of the room. Using a chalk line, take one end and anchor it to one of your marks, which is at the midpoint of the wall. Stretch the line across the room to the opposite wall and anchor the line at your midpoint mark. Make sure your line is tight and “snap” the line by lifting the line up a little and letting go so it snaps a nice clean chalk line across the room.

Repeat this step on the other wall and when completed you should have your room divided into 4 quadrants. Where the lines intersect will be the centre of your room. Now take your tape measure and measure from the centre point to each corner of the room and each of these measurements should be equal.

Step 2 - Dry lay run: Lay out your tiles without any adhesive to get a visual of how your tiles will look once installed. This also helps to determine if you need to make any adjustments. Pick one quadrant, and starting from the centre point work your way outwards towards the wall.

Once you have laid all of your rubber floor tiles in one quadrant move on to the next. When the whole floor has been dry laid, view your rubber flooring under normal, occupied lighting conditions. Once you are satisfied that the tiles are laid out correctly, you're ready to start gluing.

Step 3 - Glue preparation: Only Adesilex’s G19 two-part polyurethane adhesive is approved for installing UK Flooring Online’s Rubber Floor Tiles. It's important to get the mix right, so please read the adhesive label for mixing directions, trowel recommendations, and floor porosity conditions, as after all the hard work you wouldn't want to get it wrong at this stage. Now the glue's ready, spread it over the floor and place your rubber flooring tiles down on top.

Lower the tiles gently into the adhesive, sliding the floor tiles will result in forcing the adhesive out between the seams. Position the tile and butt the edges tightly. Work off the tile surface or use a kneeling board. Periodically, lift the corner of an installed tile to ensure proper transfer of the adhesive.

If there's any wet adhesive at the seams or on the rubber tile surface, clean it off straightaway with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol or water. If you don't do it then, it's going to be really difficult once it's dried, and that could damage your rubber floor tiles.

Step 4 - Roller: Once you've laid all of the floor tiles down, using a roller (ideally a 45 Kg. 3-section roller) go over the rubber floor tiles. An hour later, roll over the rubber tiles a second time. Inspect the floor 2-1/2 hours after installation and roll a third time, if necessary. Use a hand roller in areas, which cannot be reached with a large roller. Inspect the floor surface (especially at any seams) and remove any visible adhesive on the surface.

Step 5 - Admire your rubber flooring tiles: Understandably, you'll probably want to test out your new rubber flooring straightaway, but it's best to wait for 72 hours before you let people trample over the rubber flooring.

Give it at least 12 hours to settle, and then allow only limited light traffic for the following 48 hours.