- Vote on answer
- posted
6 years ago
The harbor freight mats are not only good for standing on but for kneeling on, for padding the sides of your vehicle when hauling stuff, for padding between furniture when moving/storing, etc.
I cut them on my band saw into small sizes and odd shapes whenever I need to protect/cushion something. I even have a piece attached to the top of my cooler so that my dog can stand on it and look of out the van window without sliding around. :-)
They ain't just for protecting your feet.
$6 a sq ft!!!
You might check prices on the preferred (?), specifically the, EVA foam mats.
Walmart has a variety of EVA foam mats, also.
Sonny
Peel and stick rubber tread for no-slip safety conscious work environment folk.
Yep! I use them for lying on underneath vehicle when doing repairs. I use them for custom drum and electronics cases. On work tables when sanding large objects to protect them and keep them from sliding around while sanding.
They are kind of like rubber gloves or dust masks. Every time they're on sale at a ridiculous price, I pick up another pack of them to rotate into the collection. The old ones end up getting dirt and oil embedded into them.
Speaking of ridiculous prices, HF has a coupon for their moving blankets for 70% off which makes them 3 bucks each. Besides their obvious purpose, they are great for throwing over the table saw or other large surfaces when you need to mask from sanding/sawdust or paint.
+1
I forgot to mention the use as large sanding pads, which is on topic for the wRec. I could extend my list of uses, but between the 2 of us I think we've got the point across. :-)
Another one of my favorites! I have a bunch of them.
A few years ago I cut one of the large blues into 3 pieces: A large piece cut to fit the back of my Odyssey when the rear seat is folded into the floor (which it just about always is) and 2 smaller, narrow strips. One strip is used in front of the middle row seats to protect the carpets from the dog and anything I might put on the floor back there, like muddy boots. The other piece is used to cover the exposed carpet and seat connections when I take the middle row out to haul stuff. I know a lady who works at a fabric store that has a serger. She charged me $10 to hem all exposed edges.
I just put one of the smaller black moving blankets in the way back of SWMBO's new-to-her grey CR-V with the back interior. It's fits fine without cutting. She runs a green house at a day-hap, so she's always hauling plants back and forth. The blanket will keep the carpets nice and clean.
i used some retired bath mats made from some kind of soft plastic that also had suction cups and over that i used a plastic carpet runner with the grippy points on the bottom
it worked fine but in a recent cleaning i noticed that the bath mat had started to react with the concrete
the mat left a stain on the concrete and the entire mat changed color
it got darker
the carpet runner did not change at all
i tossed the bath mat
I use large pieces of cardboard, like from a refrigerator when working under the vehicles. I find that I can slide around on cardboard easier than on the mats. It also slides around on the ground very easily, even when loaded up with tools. Cardboard also absorbs oil and other liquids a little better than the rubber mats.
If you use 2-3 layers, it provides quite a lot of cushion for knees, hips and elbows. I have a pretty decent stack up in the storage loft of my garage.
You can have a few sheets if you want them. ;-)
Funny you mention that. It's hard to come by single pieces of cardboard that size, however I do a lot of storm door installations.
The boxes they come in are a perfect "man -size." They are usually slick on one side so easy to slide around on.
I'm sure the box from the storm door I installed a few years ago is in my stack some place. Collecting larges piece of cardboard can get to be an obsession. ;-)
I have 2 pieces that are a perfect fit to stand up sideways in the back of my Odyssey and bend across the back of the middle row seats. They protect the sides of the cargo area as well as the backs of the seats. They
*do not* get used under the vehicle.
Two storm door boxes, folded open, standing up, make a perfect small paint booth.
I started to throw out my cardboard stash then decided not to. Large cardboard boxes have so many uses. One recent was to may a bed "ie truck bed" in the back of my van so I could carry some messy items. I also keep some under my lawn tractor, when I spill oil while adding it to the tractor.
As to the Mats. I use large squares of scrap carpet. You can usually find them in new houses after install, or at the carpet store. Most of the time they give them away.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.