Rubber flooring are being used to a large extent in public and industrial buildings because of their good wearing qualities, resiliency (i.e., elasticity) and noise insulation. The flooring material is made up of pure rubber mixed with fillers, such as cotton fibre, granulated cork or asbestos fibre and the desired colouring pigments. Rubber flooring is manufactured in the form of sheets or tiles, in a variety of patterns and colours. The thickness of tiles or sheets ranges between 3 to 10 mm.

Though rubber flooring is expensive in its initial cost, yet it provides a durable wearing surface. However, oil , grease and gasoline make the floor slippery and difficult to restore it in good condition.

• Rubber sheets are supplied usually in sizes 500 x 90 cm, 350 x 90 cm, and 250 x 90 cm.
• Rubber tiles are supplied usually, in sizes, 20 x 20 cm, 30 x 30 cm, and 45 x 45 cm.
• For the above mentioned three sizes, the corresponding thicknesses are specified as 3.2 mm, 4.8 mm, and 6.4 mm respectively.

Merits of Rubber flooring:

• It provides an attractive, resilient, durable and cheap surface.
• It offers surface which can be easily washed and cleaned.
• Being moderately warm with cushioning effect, it gives comfortable living and working conditions.
• It offers adequate insulation against noise and heat.

Demerits:

• It is subjected to rotting when kept wet for sufficient time and its use is not recommended for basements.
• Rubber Flooring does not offer resistance against fire, being combustible in nature.
• This covering when applied over wooden base may get torn, under excessive sub-floor movements.