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Since 1891 - The Oldest Name in Sports Flooring

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Polyurethane Flooring

Aug 09 2024

Gym Flooring

Home - Polyurethane Flooring

Gymnasiums

Historically gym flooring has been wood. Not just any wood, but hard maple or sugar maple, species: Acer saccharum. This wood has a Janka hardness of almost 1400 making one of the hardest, most dent resistant woods available.

Communities across the country see the high school gymnasium as the place where most sporting events happen. It is also a place to vote, or gather for graduation. In short it is the community’s social hub, so its important to choose the right flooring for this space.

Balance Performance System (BPS) New Kent High School, New Kent, VA
Kent High School Gymnasium - BPS System
Basketball floor - University of San Diego CRP system
University of San Diego - CRP system

Why Wood Gym Flooring?

Wood flooring systems for gymnasiums provide designers with an almost unlimited number of options to customize the floor and meet the exact needs of the customer. Wood floors today always include an under structure. Because of this, dozens of performance metrics can be tuned for the specific use and specific users. For instance: The floor’s resiliency can be adjusted for 180 pound collegiate athletes or 65 pound grade schoolers. Doing this provides a floor that is both safer and more enjoyable to play on. In addition, the floor can be made to handle roll-out bleachers on the perimeter, and still be optimized in the play area. 

This under structure inherent with wood floors also means that wood floors can include options like volleyball post anchors, power plugs and other enhancements.

Horner BPS System - North Fork High School, Hotchkiss, CO
North Fork High School, Hotchkiss, CO - BPS system
Basketball Floor for MSU
Basketball Floor for MSU

Talk to your planner about wood floors for your gym. Then have them contact us for information on how Horner Sports Flooring can make sure that your new gym flooring meets all your requirements and expectations.

Synthetic Gym Flooring

Alma College recreation room - Cushion Court
Alma College recreation room - Cushion Court

Polyurethane and Rubber Gym Flooring

a woman playing badminton on red polyurethane gym flooring.
Cushion Court, a Padded Polyurethane Floor System

There a number of synthetic floor systems used in gymnasiums, but the most common one is poured polyurethane. These systems are a more budget friendly system and in some cases provide a superior surface. For instance, polyurethane floors are great for Pickleball, as shown above. Another great use for polyurethane systems is badminton and tennis courts.  

A popular design, known as a hybrid, uses both wood and rubber or polyurethane in the same space to derive the benefits of both. Here is a space that uses Horner’s Olymp-X flooting for the tack and maple for the basketball courts.

Slide 1 for the Olymp-X and Olymp-XX ruber flooring system page
Olymp-X rubber track with wood basketball courts
Horner Sports Flooring blue and white logo

Contact Horner Sports Flooring to get your gym flooring project on track.

Written by hornerflooring · Categorized: Knowledge Base, Active Flooring Systems, Polyurethane Flooring, Rubber Flooring, Use Cases

CushionCourt Polyurethane Flooring

CushionCourt Polyurethane Sports Flooring

CushionCourt polyurethane sports flooring from Horner Sports Flooring is a low intial/low recurring cost floor. This flooring is great for large areas where you need to provide a safe, resilient floor surface on a tight budget. In addition, CushionCourt can be paired with a number of Horner Sports Flooring’s wood systems, providing a hybrid solution.

a cutout image of showing the base layer and four additional layers of CushionCourt, a polyurethane synthetic sports floor.

Blue circle icon with a runner and dial gauge indicating a variable performance floor. Blue circle icon with a circle and curved lines indicating a floor with rebound technology. Blue circle icon with left and right arrows indicating a Synthetic Pairing floor. Blue circle icon with dial gauge indicating a wear and tear friendly floor.

Highlights

  • Low initial cost/low ownership cost
  • No yearly coating application required
  • Comfortable and high performing
  • Environmentally-friendly – zero mercury
  • Seamless
  • No-fade surface
  • Multiple color options

Contact Horner Sports Flooring

Specifications PDF

Specifications Word Doc

Product Data Sheet

Features and Details

Performance
Specifications
Options
Green/LEED
Installations
Performance
  • Shock Absorption: min. 51 (Cat.1) min. 45 (Cat. 2) 7mm=28%, 9mm=32%, 4mm=14%
  • Ball Rebound min. 90% 99% (4, 7, 9mm)
  • Sliding Coefficient: 0.4-0.6mm 7mm=0.50, 9mm=0.44, 4mm=0.43
Specifications
  • Shore A Hardness 80
  • Tensile Strength DIN 53504 N/mm 2 7.0
  • Elongation at Break DIN 53504 150%
  • Remaining Indentation: max. 0.5 mm 7mm-0.17, 9mm=0.37, 4mm=0.21
Options
  • 3000 general use
  • GPS 1&2 high performance
  • TRACKtion™ training/jogging/walking
  • Track & Field spike use
  • reNew™ rejuvenate
  • TopOff™ rejuvenate
Green/LEED
  • LEED credits available
Installations
  • Wright State University, Dayton, OH
  • Sea World, Tampa, FL
  • Alma College, Alma, MI
  • Kent State University, Cleveland, OH
  • Salem High School, Salem, MA
Alma College recreation room - Cushion Court

Apr 17 2024

What Should You Consider When Choosing Gym Flooring?

Home - Polyurethane Flooring

hardwood basketball court practice facility with indoor synthetic track

Primary Consideration

When considering what type of hardwood, maple flooring to use in a new or renovated gymnasium, the athletes playing on the floor are the primary consideration. All other considerations come after safety, from professional athlete to 1st grade gym class.

Breaking Down a Safe Floor

Physical Factors

To ensure a safe sports floor, you should consider a floor that:

  • Follows PUR standards, set by the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA).
    PUR standards focus on:
    • Shock absorption
    • Vertical deflection
    • Area of deflection
    • Ball bounce
    • Surface friction
  • Surface Friction: Provides the proper traction for the intended use, like basketball games and other athletic activities, for the life of the floor.
  • Shock Absorption: For running, jumping and falling, to reduce the risk of injury.
  • Vertical and Area Deflection: Ensures there is a consistent response, by the floor to the athlete’s input.

A PUR certified floor is a safe sports floor.

Economical Consideration

After safety, you will want to consider the economical factors of your new floor.

  • Make sure you couple a reasonable initial investment with added life cycle/cost benefits.
  • Minimize your financial risk by getting a floor with a track record for longevity and documented history of success in similar applications.
  • Request your floor is manufactured by a reputable company that stands behind their product.
  • Demand your new floor is installed by factory-trained, accredited professionals to ensure maximum warranty coverage.
  • Confirm the floor is easy to maintain relative to competitive floors.
  • Recognize that even an economical floor from Horner Sports Flooring is a safe floor.

Demanding a Horner Sports Floor will cover all these considerations and more. Horner Sports Flooring is a founding member of the MFMA and was established in 1891 – the same year basketball was invented. .

Consider Synthetic

Horner Sports Flooring has a long history in hardwood flooring, but we also have a product line of synthetic systems. All of our systems are specialized for virtually every sports activity and engineered for the very best in athlete safety, athletic performance, structural integrity, trouble-free maintenance, and long-lasting appeal.

There are some applications where wood flooring is not recommended, weight training rooms for instance. We encourage those looking into athletic, hardwood flooring to evaluate all the uses that their flooring will be experiencing:

  • High moisture area
  • High impact area
  • High traffic area

Now determine if a wood or synthetic floor is best suited to your application. 

hardwood basketball court

Final Considerations

Hardwood flooring has the aesthetics and performance that is associated with traditional court competition. The downside to purchasing hardwood flooring is the cost and maintenance. Plus, there are some applications that wood is just not suited for. While hardwood flooring is ideal for the athletes playing on it, a multiple use gymnasium or multi-purpose room may warrant consideration of synthetic flooring. The most common example of this is a field house that uses wood sports flooring for the courts and a synthetic surface for the track that surrounds the courts. Known as a “Combi” floor, Horner has several proven wood-synthetic floor pairings.

We hope the above discussion has helped you better plan your meeting with your flooring professional. While the above represents some of the most important considerations you should make, there are a few more:

Consider these:

  • Sport-specific, multiple sports, or multi-purpose?
  • Top level competition or recreational activities?
  • Number of participants and spectators
  • Number of hours/day and days/year the facility will be used?
  • Special equipment use (bleachers, sound stages, lifts, portable backstops, etc.)?
  • Desired life expectancy of floor?
  • Budgetary considerations – initial cost versus total cost of ownership?

It may seem daunting trying to decide on a new floor for your new or renovated gymnasium, but there are always friendly people here at Horner Sports Flooring to assist you, regardless of your current level of flooring knowledge.

Give us a call if you have questions.

Horner Sports Flooring Logo

Written by hornerflooring · Categorized: Knowledge Base, Polyurethane Flooring, Rubber Flooring, Use Cases · Tagged: Flooring Answers, Flooring Questions

Secondary Schools and Specialty Flooring

Top 3 Floors for Secondary Schools

Floors for Secondary Schools image of little girls shooting a basket.We take the safety and health of our little ones very seriously. Growing bodies need special protection so we have listed below 3 of our most recommended systems for young athletes. They provide a wide array of costs, but each is the highest quality in its class. Recognizing the wide array of environments secondary schools might provide, these systems also provide a spectrum of climate suitability.

The following factors should be considered when choosing a new or replacement floor:

  • Building's age and climate control system
  • The budget for the floor
  • How the floor will be used and by whom

Recommended Floors for Secondary Schools

#1 Horner Flooring Zenith Fixed Resilient System

cutaway image of a hardwood sports floor showing the various components that make up the Zenith LP, A Computer Designed Low-Profile System of a Fixed Resilient floor

Product Data Sheet

  • EN/FIBA/PUR compliant
  • Multil-Stage Resilience
  • Dimensional Stability
  • Attenuated Vibration
  • Most Versatile Multi-Sport System in the Marketplace
  • Partial Blocking System
  • Low Profile option
  • Continuous Air Flow

#2 CushionCourt (Optima™) Padded Polyurethane System

CushionCourt is a very popular floor for secondary schools. Used in gyms, common areas and cafeterias, the poured, seemless surface is tough and waterproof.

a cutout image of showing the base layer and four additional layers of CushionCourt, a polyurethane synthetic sports floor.

Product Data Sheet

  • Low initial cost/low ownership cost
  • No yearly coating required
  • Made from recycled rubber
  • High-performing
  • Seamless, no-fade surface
  • Environmentally friendly – no mercury
  • Multiple color options

#3 Horner Flooring SAFE Sports Flooring System

cutaway image of a hardwood sports floor showing the various components that make up the SAFE 1, a Fixed Resilient or Floating Floor System

Product Data Sheet

  • DIN/EN Compliant
  • Versatile application
  • Consistent play and ball rebound
  • Flexible performance options
  • Outstanding substrate airflow
  • Engineered sleeper
  • Economical
  • Industry standard system

Contact us and we’ll set up a meeting with one of our flooring professionals who can help you better understand all your options for floors for secondary schools. They will also evaluate your unique situation to ensure the choice of flooring is the best possible one.

Logo of the Maple Flooring Manufacturer Association consisting of a white outer band, a green band and a green maple leaf.

Sports Flooring Specifications

Sports Flooring Specifications - Technical

The links below will provide all the information you will need to properly spec a Horner Sports Floor for your project. In addition our sales staff is always available to assist with your specifications.

When you use Horner’s flooring specifications, you ensure that your project specifications include a high quality sports floor. Specify a floor from a brand your clients know and respect.  Specify a Horner Sports Floor.

Horner Sports Flooring Specifications

Fixed Resilient System Specifications

Floating System Specifications

Fixed System Speciafications

Synthetic Flooring Specifications

Portable System Specifications

Slab Depression Specificatons

Flooring Feature Finder

Sports Flooring Specification blue print
Sports Flooring Specification blue print
Logo of the Maple Flooring Manufacturer Association consisting of a white outer band, a green band and a green maple leaf.
Founding Member of the MFMA
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