Before you purchase a floor for a large-scale area it is so important to hear from others who have done research and tried samples of different flooring. When making the hefty purchase of flooring for large areas be it the home or warehouse, investigate thoroughly since there are many flooring options.

One popular option is the seamless floor. Remember the old fashion linoleum in your Grandma’s apartment? After she washed the floor, she would put old newspapers on it to make sure that no one stepped on the floor and soiled it. Many women of those days would add a coat of wax to give the dull floor a temporary shine. Those women were the housekeepers that others envied. Can you imagine the disgrace that a mother felt when her child asked her why their floor could not be as shiny as the neighbor’s?

Those times are long gone but there is still flooring that mimics that one shot deal of linoleum. That is seamless flooring. There are two types of so-called seamless flooring. When checking online this flooring looks so tempting. With the first type of flooring (like the linoleum concept), the company contractors come in and before you know your floor is laid. Of course, it is as shiny as could be. The material looks quite durable and long lasting so what could be wrong with it?

There is another type of flooring also called seamless (or weldless) which is not flooring at all. It is a multilayer surface with each level laid separately usually on consecutive days. The first layer, sand is put down after the concrete floor is sanded till even and clean. Then mixtures of urethane, poured-in place epoxy or methyl methacrylate are poured, and these layers become a permanent part of the structure. Hospital corridors where patients are wheeled need a sleek hard floor for free movement of wheelchairs and gurneys. Most of these floors need the process to be repeated approximately every five years.

There are locking floors that you might be attracted to for their inexpensive pricing. Beware, their durability is questionable. When you take the time either by yourself or with a professional tile layer, you want to make sure that the tiles will last. Whether it is a large warehouse with thousands of square feet of space or your own garage or playroom, you need to shop wisely and carefully. So, what makes the Lock-Tile® unique and special?

Snapping Point

With any tile variety, it is always advisable to request a sample tile before purchasing a substantial quantity of tiles. We tried all different ways of cracking and breaking the Lock-Tile® sample that we tried. Not only would the tile not break but neither would the locking edge.

This second advantage is so crucial. The lock is made of the exact same material as the tile itself. It has the same flexibility and durability even though the locks themselves are quite small. Each tile is American made in specific Lock-Tile® warehouses. The guarantee is also exceptionally reliable, and most people will never get a chance to call it in.

The most important consideration before purchasing a large volume of tile is to check the flexibility of the sample. I call this, the snapping point. If you see that the tile does not crack after bending it in different trials it means it is a quality piece. For example, if you have a hefty guy in your family use him as your trailblazer. Have him try to fold the tile in half and then step on it with all his weight. There are cheaper copies on the market, and I do not know if they will give free samples but getting a sample is a must even if you must pay a small fee.

Let us go through some of the life challenges that happen with flooding. Hurricane Sandy hurled into three quarters of my garage floating all the boxes on the floor. My garage floor is a concrete one which we have painted several times. Painting the floor lasts for several years but imagine walking and driving on something that was painted. How long can that possibly last? It is only a temporary solution which ends up sometimes being permanent.

Having carpeting or regular glued tiles in a room that gets flooded is a nightmare. If the flooring is a one-piece type as carpeting or the seamless flooring that is like linoleum the repair ratio is nil. For adhesives tiles you will have major trouble trying to remove them and forget about putting them back. However, with locking tiles you can remove them, dry them out and put them back.

If someone laid their interlocking tiles in a pattern, they could rearrange them when they relay them. For instance, there is a common striped pattern of equal amounts of two-color tiles that looks nice in a garage making the room look larger. If the unfortunate instance of a flood occurs and you are forced to lift all or some of the tiles you can have fun changing the pattern into alternate color squares or two and two for rectangles. Just as the possibilities are endless with an original project so too are the variations of ideas that you can come up with when redoing your floor. The main thing is your tiles are not ruined and all you must do is wait for the original floor to dry and start over.

Interlocking Tiles for a Home Gym

Interlocking tiles are especially appealing for small areas in homes and apartments. When thinking of home gyms, I think of a huge basement with a bunch of machines. But, especially since COVID-19 struck and exercise enthusiasts are prohibited from entering their membership gym, home gyms are becoming more commonplace even in apartments. If you are an empty nester or happen to have an extra room in your house, you have the potential for a home gym. You may only be able to have one or two smaller machines, but you still will have a place to exercise individually or with your Zoom class.

I had an unpleasant experience several years ago doing yoga on a hard floor with a small group. I did have my double yoga mats, but I still felt pain in my back after exercising. Carpet is a good solution but locking tiles are much better. Interlocking tiles have the versatility that they are firm enough for certain exercising especially for the machinery and flexible enough for floor exercises.

Some of the activities that can be performed in a small area or room are skipping rope and resistance band exercises. High intensity workouts and in place jogging will not work well on carpets and do succeed well on interlocking tile floors. Adding a mirror creates the illusion of more space and you can watch yourself firm up for the same cost. The mirror will make sure you are keeping the correct form when working out and it brightens the space as well.

A closet in the room is the perfect place to store dumbbells, yoga mats and weights. Do not forget to keep some water bottles in the closet as well even if they cannot be freezing cold. When you are so thirsty you will be happy you did not have to run to the kitchen for a drink in the middle of a warmup. There are some ridiculously small refrigerators that are especially designed for individual drinks like water bottles and soda cans. You may be able to fit one on the bottom of your closet if there is an outlet nearby. Just make sure the door to the closet is shaved down enough so that the plug will fit through it. I know that you would usually want a closet to be more airtight, however, there is no reason for this in the home gym. The items you are storing are not delicate and a little dust will not harm them. Of course, you and I would not let them gather any dust as they will be in constant use!

Apartment dwellers will be happy with their interlocking tiles since they will go with you when you move. Do not worry that your next home will have a bigger area for a gym, and you will be stuck with too little tiles. Or maybe you will be concerned that you will not be able to buy matching tiles since they would be out of stock. This probably will not happen and if it does you can be creative by adding new tiles for a whole new look.

Interlocking floors are durable and practical and do not have to be replaced. Even by some odd chance a tile gets knifed by a careless home mechanic or chipped it can easily be replaced. Flexibility of the tiles both in motion and in step ensure that they are the choice for home gyms, garages, locker rooms, laundry rooms and more. Check out Lock-Tile® and be sure to ask for free interlocking floor samples if you cannot come in person. You will be glad you did.