Rubber flooring

[Joseph Meehan]

I am looking into residential rubber flooring. I hope to find someone with some experience with this type of product in residential applications.

The intended use will be a bathroom. Any comments??? So far I have found a little information about Gilbert ECO.

[Mark D]

Hi, You mean an anti-slip type Rubber flooring such as Nora Flooring?

Yes, I have experience with the Nora Brand Anti-Slip Tile, as I laid this type, and brand of Tile for probably 12-14 years.

Rubber flooring is first of all not cheap (As I'm sure you already know) Nora brand flooring is actually supposed to be laid with a gap between sheets, grooved with a U-shaped Razor Seam Grooving Tool, and all seams caulked with a two part Epoxy Caulk,

The Caulk is nasty stuff, and can be messy if not well experienced with this material, and the procedures for applying. Not exactly what I would personally want in a home.

I would imagine other brands of Rubber Flooring would use a similar installation process, but of course I could be wrong about this?

I have laid Nora seam to seam tightly with good results, but the reason for gapping the seams, is for expansion, and contraction. Naturally in a home, the changes of temperature, and temperature extremes would not be as great as in commercial applications.

Buckling, or Bubbling will-can occur over time by not allowing for expansion-contraction.

Depending on the Subfloor material, and whether it is a porous material, or not will dictate the type of adhesive used.

For Porous subfloors a more conventional type Adhesive will be used, (usually the manufacturer's own brand must be used for proper results) and for non-porous surfaces (Such as a Plymetal Subfoor), Adhesives such as a two part Epoxy, or Contact Cement is then used.

In all actuality, while the rubber floors are durable, the anti slip types can be somwhat slippery when wet, and I would imagine in bare feet one could just as easily slip with Rubber flooring like any other type.

I don't know if my post has answered any of your questions, but I hope they have. Mark

[Joseph Meehan]

Thanks for the response. Nora is not the specific product I was considering as it is identified as primary a commercial product and they appear to strongly discourage residential use. However your response has been very helpful and did bring up some considerations I have not thought of.