Multi-Purpose Synthetic Sport Flooring

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Author Message Russell W. Wood, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: woodr5678 Post Number: 21 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 11:51 am:    We currently use wood sports floors for gyms, but after watching the Olympics we are considering synthetics such as vinyl and rubber. If any of you has researched or has experince with these systems, we'd like to hear comments regarding pros and cons. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 41 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 04:34 pm:    Russell We also specify wood floor systems like Neo-Shok from Connor, however we have also specified rubber sports flooring such as Mondo products, check their website http://www.mondousa.com who is according to their website a provider to the olympics. Being a couch potato when it comes to sports and exercise, I too would like to hear from those who actually do the aerobics as to which is better. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 05:18 pm:    Several years ago I was involved with a health and fitness center that used both wood and Mondo flooring. Both seemed to work quite well, overall. Cautions: Game line stripping can easily "flake off" of the Mondo if not done properly. Cleaning Mondo became a problem, not with the product, bu the cleaning crew insisted on using Windex in the cleaning water [for better results in their eyes]-- containing a phosphate the solution caused removal of the colored surface of the material. Proper instruction had been delivered by the manufacturer, but...... Marvin Chew Senior Member Username: bigmac Post Number: 17 Registered: 03-2001 Posted on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 04:33 pm:    A few years ago I went to see one of these non-wood floors in a multi-purpose building that had a large basketball court in it. I did not like the lack of bounce to the ball when I dribbled on it. I have to assume that the sports flooring took too much of the energy out of the bounce to us to dribble very well. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 257 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 05:33 pm:    Now that Marvin mentions it, I remember that about four years ago a prior firm I was with designed an addition for a school which included a second gym. The athletic department did not want the artificial surface due to the same issue with playing basketball. However, we did use two artificial surfaces: one in the free weight room and one in the aerobics room. I no longer remember what they were. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 300 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 07:48 pm:    I have seen and used in various sporting activities, the multipurpose resilient floors - being a nationally competitive fencer (congrats USA Women's Sabre!!!) I have fenced, trained and done a variety of activities on them. Some are better than others - some not meaning manufacturers, but rather the different products of the same manufacturer. Some are more dense, and can provide the spring to basket ball, and some are softer. Thicker is not always softer either. What you have to do is get one of the manufacturer's to come in and show you their entire line. Then ask them where they have various installations and which products work best for which situations. Also, the different products have different surface textures - and that can be a big thing too. And, more texture is not always less slippery. Again, you have to ask about installation considerations. If your owner has a concern, get some installation locations with contact numbers from the manufacturer's for each specific product type, you can call, the owner can call. Here is an interesting thing that I should recount though, this past spring, our Virginia Division Championships was held at a private school in The Plains, VA, just out side of DC west of Manassas. The floor was very interesting, and very multi-purpose. It was a thick urethane coating of some kind, available in different colors. It was coated directly to the concrete, and seriously, it really worked. It did provide cushion, you did not feel the shock of working on a concrete floor (and I have competed on those and know the difference). Frankly, I was amazed. Also, it was not too slick and it was not too 'sticky' either. I don't know the product/manufacturer, there was no one from the school that was present. I just filed the information in my memory for a good occassion. I do know there are a couple sources for this kind of coating, so you might check into those. This floor had been down for a couple years, it was their basketball floor for their team's competitions, not just a multi-purpose gym floor. One thing that really worked for this floor was that we always have to use tape to make the boundary lines of the fencing strips, and it stuck much better than on other surfaces we have been on - and at the same time came up with no tackyness left behind. I was really impressed with this floor. No doubt about it that a wood floor, and some of the resilient products can have a better surface for some situations, but frankly, this was totally adequate and I know they are a lot less expensive. There, a testimony from an actual competitive athlete on the use of some of these products -grin! I knew some day I could put my fencing to professional use! William Lynn Javoroski Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 141 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 11:09 am:    Ah, that explains the rapier wit. (like you haven't heard THAT before) John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 177 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 11:49 am:    It shouldn't be surprising, given that William is an expert in barbed wire fencing. <G> William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 301 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 01:42 pm:    Well, now you know why I don't hesitate to 'get to the point' or 'cut through the BS'. -grin! cbrannum (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 02:00 am:    Russell, As a product rep for a distributor of these types of floors I have to agree with the other comments here. Synthetic sports floors are not designed to meet all needs and in many cases (my opinion)should not be used. References from successful installations will save you and the owner alot of grief. May I also add that technical support from the distributor or manufacturer are critical with these types of floors. Be sure that the product you want or your client wants can be supported by those representing the product. A good rep should not only be able to help you with a specification but also with floor preparation, installaton and maintenance. Closing that loop is critical with this type of product.