So I decided it was time to upgrade my garage gym – that concrete floor was murder on my knees during burpees. Started googling around for local sport flooring companies near Oakland, NJ because hauling rubber tiles myself sounded like pure torture.
The Hunt Begins
Just typed “sport flooring near me” into the search bar and got flooded with options. Called the first three that popped up. First guy straight up ghosted me after saying he’d email a quote. Second company quoted some insane price like forty bucks per square foot – nearly choked on my protein shake.
Third time’s the charm though. This dude Mike from Granite State Flooring actually showed up with samples next day. Brought three different rubber thicknesses, rolled ’em out on my driveway. Really liked the 3/4 inch stuff – felt like walking on a Tempur-Pedic mattress.
The Measuring Debacle
Mike whips out his laser measurer thingy, starts scanning my garage. Meanwhile I’m trying to explain where I wanted the lifting platform section. He stopped me dead saying: “Look man, you got water stains near the water heater. Need special moisture testing before we put down adhesive.”
- Got hit with extra $150 for moisture test kit
- Took 48 hours doing weird plastic sheet tape trick
- Surprise surprise – moisture levels were sky high near that old heater
Had to postpone installation two weeks for concrete drying treatment. Contractor threw in floor grinding for free though since I didn’t bitch about the delay.
Installation Day Madness
Two guys showed up at 7AM sharp with a truck smelling like burnt tires. Watched them roll out giant rubber sheets like red carpets:
- Cut around support poles with box cutters like birthday cake
- Used this nasty black glue that stunk up the whole neighborhood
- Weighted everything down with concrete blocks for 24 hours
They forgot the transition strip by the garage door – had to call back Mike who delivered it personally next morning. Still charged full price though, obviously.
Final Result
Took three weeks total from first call to finishing touches. Dropped a barbell from shoulder height yesterday – bounced right back up like nothing happened. Knees stopped cracking during jump squats too. Worth every damn penny even with the moisture test curveball. Just wish I’d known about the concrete treatment thing beforehand – would’ve saved me those two weeks staring at empty garage space.
