Preventative care is key to maintaining a gym floor, but it can only go so far. It’s all too easy for a gym floor to fall into disrepair or become damaged due to heavy use, water, bleachers and sporting equipment, or other forces. At some point, it will be time to replace your gym floor.
The type of flooring you have in your gym will have a large impact on how long it lasts—and on how much a full replacement will cost. Synthetic flooring wears down differently from wood flooring and requires alternate methods of upkeep. However, there are some clear signs of damage you can look for that indicate it might be time to replace your gym floor. Here’s what you should keep an eye out for over the years.
If the finish on your gym floor is cracking, flaking, chipping, or peeling, it’s definitely time to take a close look at your flooring. While cracking finish doesn’t necessitate gym floor replacement on its own, this is definitely a sign that it’s time for refinishing—and it could hint at deeper damage if your floor has gone too long without upkeep.
If you have a wood gym floor, some degree of movement is expected with the changing of the seasons—but the environment in your gym should be kept as stable as possible to protect your floor. Too much humidity causes wood boards to expand, while excessively dry air will lead to larger gaps between boards. Check your HVAC system to ensure humidity stays relatively stable, between 35-55 percent. If your humidity level goes above or below that range, you may notice greater than normal movement in your flooring.
If your floorboards are gaining or losing too much moisture over the years, you’re likely to see significant gaps and even cracks, which could lead to injuries in both athletes and spectators. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may be able to get away with simply normalizing humidity levels and allowing the floorboards to return to their natural shape.
Cupping and crowning are clear signs of water damage. They involve wood floorboards warping so that the edges are higher or lower than the center of the board. If the source of water is removed, it’s possible that your flooring will return to its original state.
Buckling is a more severe form of water damage and is therefore much harder to miss. If your gymnasium floods, for example, your flooring system will absorb water and warp, sometimes to shocking degrees. This type of extensive water damage typically necessitates a full gym floor replacement.
Excessive weight from moving bleachers and other heavy sporting equipment around or leaving a load in one spot for long periods will not only affect the surface finish of your floor; it can damage the structural components of your entire flooring system. Water that seeps down into the floor from aggressive mopping, flooding, or other sources can also cause structural damage to the subfloor system.
Hardwood floors can last for a lifetime, but all flooring will eventually need to be replaced. Both synthetic and wood flooring can only be repaired, recoated, or patched so many times before a replacement becomes necessary. If your gym floor has been refinished too many times, you’ll need to schedule a replacement, which can take several weeks to several months, depending on the size of your floor. This can be difficult for the average person to gauge, so be sure to speak with an athletic flooring professional to determine the relative health of your gym floors.
If you notice one or more of these signs, don’t despair—you may not have to swallow the cost of an entirely new floor just yet. Wood gym floors should be recoated each year and are typically due for a sand and refinish every 12 to 15 years. Keeping up with daily and yearly maintenance needs will ensure your floors stay in good shape, minimizing the need for a full replacement.
You should still contact an athletic flooring professional to determine whether you actually need to replace your gym floor, or whether patching, recoating, or refinishing might solve an issue. If the damage is limited to one area, it may be possible to replace a section of the gym flooring or eliminate the damage with sanding and refinishing.
Need preventative maintenance, repairs, or an entirely new gym floor? We’ve got you covered. Anderson Ladd, now known as H2I Group, supplies, installs, and maintains a wide variety of athletic flooring. Our years in the flooring industry have equipped us with the specialized knowledge and skills needed to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Contact us today to talk through our repair and service options.
