Mention rubber flooring and many people think of a raised circular design or coin top tile that has been very popular for decades. Rubber as a flooring material has been around since about the 1940s, starting with the smooth, marbleized design tile that was a workhorse product in all kinds of heavy traffic areas. Today, there are many different rubber tile textures in addition to smooth and circles, plus rubber sheet, stair treads, base and accessories.
What makes rubber special as a floor covering is exceptional durability and stain resistance—it’s almost impervious so it does not need the intensive maintenance of sealing and coating that other flooring materials do. Plus, being a very resilient material, it’s comfortable and quiet under foot and has excellent slip resistance characteristics. In addition, it’s very stable so when it’s installed over the right substrate with the right adhesive it stays put.