Tread Lightly
A complete guide to selecting the right sports surface
By Margaret Ahrweiler
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Unlike wood, synthetics can be installed without worrying about humidity or acclimatization, heavy equipment or technical expertise, but they have their own set of installation issues.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PLEXIPAVE |
Riverside Park in Coral Springs, Fla. |
With sheet goods, owners must make sure the substrate base—the concrete—is free of imperfections, since those will come through, and installers must pay special attention to the seals or seams between rolls, which can create weak spots that can trap water.
Poured-in-place systems can cover flaws in the base, but that resulting variation in thickness can vary the floor's performance. The pours also eliminate the issue of seams, but this makes repairs more difficult: Owners can't simply pull up a chunk of floor to fix or replace it. Likewise, poured floors require more quality control during installation.
Many manufacturers and consultants recommend a clear, sprayed-on urethane topcoat to further protect synthetic floors from dust and dirt. While this may increase the floor's shine, it does not affect performance.
For some sports, synthetics have become the flooring of choice. Polypropylene interlocking tiles have become the standard for inline hockey and skating arenas, such as the St. Cloud Sport Center in St. Cloud, Minn., for their friction coefficient, which allows both optimal puck glide and skate wheel grip.
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Synthetic floors also surface in areas beyond sport courts. They are starting to take hold in aerobic and group-fitness spaces, where their resiliency appeals to users and variety of colors appeals to style-conscious designers.
In weight rooms and cardio-equipment areas, rubberized flooring systems have become popular for their sound- and shock-absorbing capacities. These cushioned systems, which can be made from ground rubber—one firm is marketing a surface made from recycled gym shoes—can come in either rolls or tiles. And since owners don't have to worry about bounce requirements or athletes' joint cushioning, they can take a more budget-conscious approach, says BSA's Ross.
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LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF MOOSE SPORTS SURFACES RIGHT: PHOTO COURTESY OF GERSTUNG FLOORING | ||
Left: Great Lakes Naval Base's Freedom Hall Physical Training Facility in Great lakes, Ill. Right: Dance studio at the Gerstung Center in Baltimore. |
Rubberized flooring also is turning up in children's play rooms at fitness and recreation centers, for its ability to provide grip and cushioning, without the rug-burn issues of carpeting, as well as for its easy cleaning and sanitizing qualities. (Many synthetic surfaces now offer antibacterial finishes.)