Underlay for gym mats?

Morning Wood

Hi all,

I'm laying a small area of those 40mm jigsaw mats on a concrete floor - is there anything I should put underneath them, or are they okay on the concrete? Maybe some laminate foam underlay or similar? Or a sheet of plastic?

Thanks in advance.
Woody.

Sid_Justice

what kind of activity are you going to do on them?

you should at least put that rubber stuff they put under carpet underneath them anyway.

Morning Wood

Sid_Justice wrote: »

what kind of activity are you going to do on them?

MMA - bit of rolling & standup. It's only a 3.5m x 5m area.

you should at least put that rubber stuff they put under carpet underneath them anyway.

Carpet underlay? You sure? It costs more than carpet. What about laminate underlay? (The foam stuff)

Sid_Justice

Straight onto concrete, with 40mm jigsaw mats doesn't sound very comfortable to me. If it is just you and a couple of mates it will probably suffice. But if this is a commercial activity and/or someone gets slammed or comes down hard on an elbow etc. you could be in for a lot of soft-tissue injuries or worse.

Maybe someone with a bit more practical experience might be able to confirm, i've never used jigsaw type mats on concrete.

cdublin

Could try some of this stuff http://www.actionmats.com/school-professional-mats.asp

cowzerp

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Straight onto concrete, with 40mm jigsaw mats doesn't sound very comfortable to me. If it is just you and a couple of mates it will probably suffice. But if this is a commercial activity and/or someone gets slammed or comes down hard on an elbow etc. you could be in for a lot of soft-tissue injuries or worse.

Maybe someone with a bit more practical experience might be able to confirm, i've never used jigsaw type mats on concrete.

A bit of carpet underlay is not going to make much difference to impact, will prob make the mats a bit warmer in saying that!

i would suggest plastic under them to prevent damp, i did not do this when i moved in and damp got into the mats, Concrete is porous and in the old building they never made them damp proof!

Sid_Justice

I think the custom judo dojo up in ashbourne poured new concrete, then painted it with a special sealant to deal with porosity and dust. your jigsaw mats could be destroyed if laid directly to concrete that isn't treated nor without something underneath.

Morning Wood

cowzerp wrote: »

A bit of carpet underlay is not going to make much difference to impact, will prob make the mats a bit warmer in saying that!

i would suggest plastic under them to prevent damp, i did not do this when i moved in and damp got into the mats, Concrete is porous and in the old building they never made them damp proof!

Not worried about impact, TBH - those 40mm mats are very soft. It's more to protect the mats from wear or damp.

Will do as you suggested & put some plastic down underneath before laying them.

Thanks all for your replies.