So sports hall flooring material? Man, I gotta tell ya about this project. Felt like wrestling an octopus sometimes, but I got it done. Here’s how it went down.
Started With a Broken Floor (And a Sore Knee)
Walked into my local community hall last month, tripped right over a chunk of busted-up vinyl flooring. Seriously, my kneecap ain’t stopped yelling at me since. Looked around and realized, “Yep, this whole floor is garbage.” Old, cracked, slicker than ice when someone spilled a drink. Time for a change.
Went home, grabbed a beer, and just stared at the ceiling thinking. Didn’t wanna spend a fortune, but needed something tough enough for basketball sneakers and sticky dance moves. Googled “best floor for sports hall” and… boom. Headache city. Wood? Nah, too expensive. Rubber tiles? Maybe, but how thick? PVC roll-out stuff? Everyone called it something fancy like “polyvinyl chloride resilient sports surface.” Eye-roll. Just tell me if it works!
Ordering Samples Like a Madman
Next day, I became obsessed with samples. Called up every flooring company site I could find. You wouldn’t believe the crap I got:
- One sample felt like cheap bathroom mat foam. No way.
- Another was thin rubber – could practically rip it like paper.
- Got this thick rubber tile. Solid… but heavy as bricks. Hauling that? Forget it.
Finally, a local warehouse guy dropped off a roll of what they called “performance vinyl.” Unrolled it right there in my tiny garage. Stepped on it. Jumped a bit. Poured some water and wiped it with my shoe. Felt decent! Good grip, not too squishy, didn’t slide. Bingo. Went back and ordered a whole truckload.
The Delivery Disaster
Big rig pulls up two weeks later. Driver hops out. “Pallet’s too big for your driveway, bud.” Great. Had to park halfway down the street. Took three neighbors, three pizzas, and a whole lotta sweat to get those heavy roll bundles into the hall. Never ordering that much material without checking access again!
Prepping the Battlefield
Old floor had to go. Rented a scraper. Worst. Job. Ever. That nasty old glue fought me tooth and nail. Dust everywhere. Glued chunks kept popping back up like weeds. Spent an entire Saturday just peeling. Sweat pouring. Back screaming. Used industrial cleaner to mop the concrete bare. Had to be bone-dry and smooth. Ate pizza again. Seemed to be the theme.
Laying It Down (Without Losing My Mind)
Measured the hall three times. Still managed to cut the first roll too short. Swore loudly. Got the hang of it eventually. Rolled out sections carefully, slicing curves around pillars. Used their special double-sided tape along the edges.
- Lined up the patterns like a puzzle. Almost perfect.
- Tapped seams together with a special hook tool. Almost glued my thumb once. Bad idea.
- Used this heavy roller thing, like a push lawnmower filled with sand. Had to roll back and forth over every inch to smash it flat onto the tape.
Honestly? It looked kinda terrible near the walls. Uneven cuts, gaps. But hey, the main playing area? Sweet. Smoothed out the wrinkles near the edges by heating the vinyl slightly with a hair dryer and pressing. MacGyver style!
The Sweat, Tears, and Final Kick Test
Took me and two buddies a whole weekend. Sore everything Monday morning. But finally, it was done! Dumped some water. Ran across it hard. Skidded. Knee didn’t bust. Winner! Whole thing cost way less than I feared (even with the pizzas!). Not perfect, but way better than that death trap before. Plus, no more sore knees! For now…
