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Sports Floors: A Consideration for the Home
Most people think of sports floors as the very large sports halls in schools, universities and in largesports campuses. However, they are much more popular than just large commercial floors and theyhave now been used regularly in people's homes.Sports floors are made fromwood flooringbut have additional support underneath to enable the floor to"spring" slightly which puts less strain on athletes bodies therefore counteracting injuries.The undercarriages vary between the following:
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A thick foam underlay - approx 10mm or thicker that is placed over the whole floor - this cushionis what creates the bounce in the floor.
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A batten system with foam which can enable the floor to be used over battens however the foamon the battens creates the cushion and the spring required for sports floors.
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Carriage system or cradle system - this system is used with battens to create small plasticsupports along the battens. These supports have been specifically manufactured to allow for bounce and movement in the battens therefore creating the springing.Sports floors can also be used in conjunction with under floor heating to keep the room warm. Both thewet system and the electric system can be used - however more planning is required with the electriccarbon mat system as it needs to be placed in between the battens.Most sports floors are made from an engineered flooring board - this ensures there is less movement inthe boards and they are not prone to cupping, warping or gapping creating additional hazards for theathletes.There are still a lot of sports boards made from solid timber though which are suitable where underfloor heating is not being used.Both types of floor are mounted on the undercarriages mentioned above and are available with variousfixing systems.Engineered floors can be manufactured in a quick and simple click system - enabling these wood floorsto be laid without glue or nails - this way is a very quick method when time is a pressing issue.Other engineered boards are tongue and groove, which need to be either glued on the edges or nailedto the battens to ensure good bonding.Solid flooring can be laid on battens by nailing to the battens. The Junckers sports floor system onbattens can be used with the Junckers Clip system which enables the boards to clip together using
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