gym floor tiles

Choose 10mm to 15mm gym flooring tiles for cardio machines, bodyweight work and light dumbbells. Choose 20mm tiles for general weight training, and 25mm to 30mm where barbells are dropped regularly. You can mix thicknesses in one gym, with thicker tiles only in the lifting area.

1m x 1m tiles make the maths simple, because each tile covers one square metre, and they leave fewer joins. 900mm x 900mm tiles are a little lighter to carry and come with matching edge strips. Choose the size that divides most evenly into your room.

Fleck tiles are black rubber crumb tiles with coloured granules mixed through, which gives a speckled look. The tiles here come with blue, terracotta, orange or mixed fleck. Fleck also helps hide chalk marks and dust better than plain black.

Yes, but tiles of different thicknesses will not sit flush where they meet. Keep each thickness to its own zone, such as 30mm tiles on a lifting area and 15mm tiles around it, and fit an edge strip or ramp at the change in height. That avoids a trip edge between zones.

Foam gym tiles are good for stretching, yoga, circuits and children's play, as they are soft, light and warm. They are not suited to heavy, dropped weights, which can dent or tear them. For weights, use rubber tiles in the training area and foam in the stretching space.

Rubber gym tiles are heavy and grip most floors, and once joined they hold each other in place. On a very smooth or polished floor, the outer tiles may creep under heavy use. Double-sided carpet tape under the edge tiles, or tiles running wall to wall, stops this.

Tiles can go over low, firm carpet, but they may shift and the joins can open under heavy equipment. For a stable gym floor, lay tiles on concrete, boards or a hard floor. If the carpet must stay, thicker and heavier rubber tiles stay flatter than thin ones.

Vacuum or sweep up chalk and dust, then damp-mop with warm water and a little pH-neutral cleaner. Wipe up spilled drinks quickly so they do not soak into the joins. Every so often, lift a few edge tiles to clean the floor underneath.

Rubber tiles reduce the bang of weights landing and the vibration passed into the floor, especially at 20mm to 30mm. They will not stop all noise from heavy drops, particularly upstairs. For loud lifting, thicker tiles or a dedicated lifting platform help most.

Yes, interlocking gym tiles can be added at any time by clipping new tiles onto the edge of the floor. Order spares from the same listing to match colour and thickness, as different batches can vary slightly. Move the edge strips out to the new edge once the extra tiles are in.