Which flooring for a gym? Weight training area, studio and sports hall

Solutions & Applications · Sports & Wellness

A gym doesn’t have just one floor — it has at least three. Dumbbells are dropped in the weights area, the machines bear the weight of hundreds of kilograms, and in the studio there are jumps, turns and floor exercises. Using the same flooring material throughout the entire space is either excessive in the studio or inadequate in the weights area — and on an upper floor, the noise ends up disturbing the neighbour below.

The five basic requirements

• Sports safety: Shock absorption that protects joints and reduces the risk of injury in the event of a fall.
• Load-bearing capacity: falling weights, point loads from machinery, and abrasion from footwear and equipment.
• Adhesion: enough to prevent the foot from slipping, but not so much that it ‘sticks’ on bends.
• Sanitary facilities: sweat, disinfectants and daily cleaning on surfaces that come into contact with the skin.
• Acoustics: within the room, for the music and the instructor’s instructions; downwards, for the neighbours.

Zoning: which flooring for which zone

Zone	Dominant stress	Flooring	Critical dimension
Free-hanging weights & functional	Falling weights, impact, vibrations	RUBBER FLOOR 6 mm	Elastic roll made from recycled rubber and EPDM with a PU binder — absorbs impact and vibrations
Fitness equipment & cardio	Point loads from machinery feet	RUBBER FLOOR 6 mm or OMNISPORTS SPEED 3.45 mm	Residual deflection — at Speed ≤ 0.18 mm
Group exercise studios, Pilates, yoga	Jumps, floor exercises, barefoot	OMNISPORTS SPEED 3.45 mm	Comfort and cleanliness — shock absorption ≥ 4 per cent, not intended for sports protection
Dance & ballet	Turns, pointe work, stage lighting	DANCE FLOOR 3.45 mm	Friction coefficient ≥ 90 for controlled turns; gloss ≤ 30 per cent without reflections
Ball sports hall	Running, jumping, bouncing a ball	OMNISPORTS PUREPLAY 9.4 mm or TARAFLEX SPORT M PERFORMANCE 9 mm	Impact absorption in accordance with EN 14808 and ball rebound ≥ 90 per cent
Running track, indoor or outdoor sports ground	Abrasion, outdoor weathering	EPDM 3 mm	Synthetic EPDM with PU binder, for use on concrete or tarmac

Zoning is not merely a technical matter. Different surfaces and colours define the zones without the need for partitions: the exerciser understands where they are allowed to leave a dumbbell and where they are not — and the studio floor is not damaged by a barbell that has been dropped where it shouldn’t have been.

Impact absorption: what does the percentage mean?

Impact absorption (force reduction according to EN 14808) measures how much of the force from a jump is absorbed by the floor rather than being transferred to the joints. EN 14904 classifies sports flooring into the following categories: P1 25–34%, P2 35–44%, P3 45–54%.

Flooring	Thickness	Impact absorption	Vertical deformation	Usage
OMNISPORTS PUREPLAY 9.4 mm	9.4 mm	≥ 35% · P2	P2 (EN 14809)	Sports hall, multi-sport
TARAFLEX SPORT M PERFORMANCE 9 mm	9 mm	≥ 25%	≤ 3 mm	Sports halls, school gyms
OMNISPORTS SPEED 3.45 mm	3.45 mm	≥ 4%	≤ 0.8 mm	Studios, fitness centres, multi-purpose halls
DANCE FLOOR 3.45 mm	3.45 mm	≥ 4%	≤ 0.8 mm	Dance, ballet, rehearsal spaces

The 3.45 mm floors are not ‘inferior’ sports floors — they are in a different category. They provide a stable, smooth surface with minimal deformation, which is essential for balance and turning. Using 9 mm sports flooring in a Pilates studio would be a waste of money; in a volleyball hall, 3.45 mm would be the wrong choice.

The substrate determines the installation method

Roll-out sports flooring is bonded over the entire surface and its joints are heat-sealed with a cord. The substrate must be level, dry and clean — and moisture is the most common cause of failure in ground-floor and basement gyms:

Method (TARAFLEX)	Substrate moisture limit
Adhesive (‘Original’)	RH < 80% or < 4.5% CCM
Isolsport («Flexible»)	< 7% CCM
Dry-Tex™	No limit, provided there is no standing water

For bonded systems on cementitious substrates, the range is primer → self-levelling compound → adhesive. The CERESIT R 766 priming, the CERESIT CN 76 (4–50 mm) or the CERESIT DH Maxi (3–30 mm, for heavy loads) levels out. The RUBBER FLOOR elastic flooring is bonded over the entire surface using a two-component PU adhesive.

Downward noise

A gym situated on a floor of a commercial building or above residential properties is the most common source of complaints. Sports flooring is specified to provide impact noise reduction ΔL_w — 21 dB for PUREPLAY, 19 dB for SPEED and DANCE FLOOR.

The ΔL_w However, it is measured using the standardised impact device: light, frequent impacts, such as footsteps. A dumbbell dropped from shoulder height is a different phenomenon — heavy, low-frequency, which passes through the load-bearing slab as vibration. In weightlifting areas above occupied spaces, the floor alone is not sufficient: a decoupling design with a floating layer and perimeter isolation is required.

Inside the space, the music and the trainer’s instructions require sound absorption on the ceiling and walls:

• WHISPER®: Fibre-free polyethylene, NRC 1.00 at 50 mm, washable and resistant to disinfectants — suitable for gyms and swimming pools. Euroclass B: where non-combustible material is required, mineral wool is preferred.
• ISOLFON: polyurethane foam panels, a_w up to 0.90, for studios. They reduce reverberation within the space, whilst not preventing sound transmission to neighbouring rooms.
• TEKTALAN A2-HS: Wood wool with a stone wool core, A2-s1,d0, for ceilings requiring sound absorption, thermal insulation and reaction to fire in a single panel.

Design series

1. Zone map: weights, machinery, studios, sports halls, changing rooms — with their boundaries indicated on the drawing.
2. What’s below: ground, car park or residential buildings — determines whether the load zone requires an acoustic assessment.
3. Requirements by zone: impact absorption, marking, wear and tear — resulting from use, not from the catalogue.
4. Substrate moisture: Measurements to be taken before ordering; specifies installation method and preparation.
5. Flatness: primer and self-levelling compound where required.
6. Room acoustics: Sound absorption in ceilings and walls, with the required reaction to fire.
7. Cleaning protocol: Disinfectants that will actually be used, compatible with the surface.

Gym Flooring

Substrate & Installation

Room Acoustics

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