Gym Flooring Ain't What It Used To Be

Everybody remembers what the old high school gym floor used to look like. It was a real hardwood floor that had taken a beating by the time you got to it and your gym class showed no mercy as well. If your school was the kind that used to host special events in the gym like banquets or concerts then your gym floor took and even worse pounding than the floors that were just used for sports. Then there is the gym floor at your local YMCA that looks like the floor in your high school but always seemed a lot more beat up than the high school floor.

Gym flooring has changed a lot in the last 20 years or so and if you ever visit a gym that has had gym flooring installed in the last couple of decades then chances are your are looking at a floor made from something called padenpor. Real hardwood floors are expensive to install and their durability can come into question after 30 or 40 years. Large arenas like them because they can be moved in pieces so when the Knicks need to move their floor so the Rangers can play on the ice in Madison Square Garden it is not that big of a deal. But for the standard school or YMCA gym the gym flooring is changing and padenpor is the new kid in town.

How It's Done

The process to install padenpor for gym flooring is much easier than installing an entire gym floor's worth of hardwood. The first step in the process, aside from waiting to be sure that the concrete floor is completely cured, is to lay out the adhesive on the concrete floor. From there you roll out the padenpor material which is a durable material made of composite rubber. After you roll out the padenpor your work the seams like you would work the seams of a rug until the seams are gone. Next you give it the moisture protection coat and then two coats of polyurethane. Then you paint the surface with a special paint to the desired color and then you paint the lines and logos on the floor. All done. A brand new gym floor.

Padenpor is becoming the standard for gym flooring and it is the combination of the durable rubber surface and the two layers of polyurethane that does it. The rubber padenpor is very resistant to not only the regular wear and tear of athletic activities but it can also resist shoes, tables, stages, and anything else that would gouge and destroy a standard hardwood floor. The two coats of polyurethane make it nearly impossible to scratch or damage a padenpor floor. So next time you are in a newer gym you may want to check out their new padenpor floor.