Rubber Flooring

Rubber floors are making a surprising splash in homes and commercial businesses around the world. More than just a suitable surface for hospitals and gyms, rubber is durable and can be attractive enough for use just about anywhere. In addition to its impressive resiliency, rubber flooring is recyclable, eco–friendly, and has hypoallergenic qualities that can help minimize allergy symptoms. This versatile floor is available in a variety of colors, custom patterns and imitations (such as marble) to help further enhance your living space!

Featured Rubber Flooring Products

What is rubber?

Apart from delighting children in balloon and ball form, rubber is used in a wide range of applications. The wheels on your car, your garden hose, and even surgical gloves are all made with rubber. And with good reason! Rubber is lightweight, flexible, and when heated with sulfur (a process called vulcanization) easily one of the most durable materials on the market.

There are two types of rubber: man-made (synthetic), and natural. Natural rubber is made using the milky discharge (or latex) of plant sap. This latex is most commonly supplied by the Para rubber tree, or Hevea brasiliensis; but can also be found in lettuce, dandelions, and fig trees. In fact, many countries were forced to use the latter sources for rubber production in the early 20th century as they did not have access to rubber trees. Eventually, the lack of latex resources in these regions resulted in the creation of synthetic rubber, a substance stronger than natural rubber made almost entirely from artificial materials.

What makes rubber flooring popular?

So what makes rubber floors so popular? Many insist the elasticity is what makes it unique. Kids just learning to walk, pets, wheelchair users and those with achy joints all enjoy the flexible surface of rubber floors. While it can't prevent accidents from occurring, it can do a pretty good job of minimizing injuries.

Benefits of Rubber Flooring

Still skeptical about installing rubber floors in your home? Perhaps the extensive palette of rubber floor colors and patterns can help change your mind. Now many rubber manufacturers even allow their customers to customize the floor design to better suit their living space. When it comes to rubber floors, you're only limited by your imagination! Design options include solid–colored rubber, speckled (base color with a flecked color on top), patterned (such as a company logo) or marbleized. Floor shoppers are blown away by marbleized rubber, which looks almost as beautiful as real marble but much more comfortable underfoot.

The surface of rubber flooring can be either smooth or textured. The most common textures found on rubber floors are round studs or diamond shapes (also known as diamond–grip). Both smooth and textured rubber floors are designed to handle heavy wear and tear, and are recommended for installment in bathrooms, hallways, playrooms, living rooms, kitchens and garages.

This is just a preview of some of the basics of rubber flooring. Want to know more? Use our rubber floor section to learn installation tips, where and what materials to purchase, and even how to care for your floors once they've been installed. If you come across a word you don't know or understand, refer to our Rubber Flooring Glossary for assistance. Here at FindAnyFloor.com™, we make it our job to provide you with information on "everything flooring" so you can make a more informed decision when shopping.

Rubber Flooring Resources

Wondering if rubber floors are good choice for your home? To determine the suitability of this flooring product refer to the other rubber sections of FindAnyFloor.com® to learn about the history of this recyclable flooring option; how rubber flooring is produced; and whether you should hire an installation professional or do-it-yourself.