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Crumb rubber floor coverings

Crumb rubber floor coverings are a popular choice for both residential and commercial uses due to their versatility, durability, and comfort. These rubber tiles are made from recycled rubber, making them an eco-friendly, cost-effective choice. Crumb rubber flooring provides superior cushioning and insulation, resulting in less fatigue and noise when walking on it. Floors covered with this material are also resistant to moisture, mold, bacteria, and other chemicals, making them easy to clean and ideal for those with allergies. Crumb rubber floor coverings are also non-slip, making it a great choice for areas with a potential risk of slipping and falling.

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You will learn how rubber, a recycled material, is used as flooring in this article. We will tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of rubber coating. The article contains descriptions of two methods of application – laying and spraying, as well as prices for products and video tutorials.

Crumb rubber floor coverings

The problem of disposal of solid petroleum products is becoming more acute over the years. This is especially true of the rubber from which car tires are made. The turnover of this material is enormous – on average, every passenger car has 4 used tires per year, and every truck has 6 tires. As a result, the annual waste of this material in Russia is about 5 million pieces per year..

The main advantage of rubber

Despite the degree of wear and service life, rubber retains its unique properties:

  1. Sufficiently hard particles. When grinding, a grain mass is obtained, which serves as a filler for mortars (including cement), alloys and epoxies.
  2. Elasticity. Remelted rubber for the first time retains its original properties by 80%.
  3. Elasticity. As well as in the raw material, this quality is one of the main ones. Especially important when creating a coating.
  4. Tensile strength. This indicator ranges from 160 to 200 kgf / m2.
  5. The ability to effectively stick and fusion. Loss of quality and strength 10–30% after each processing, depending on the degree of roasting.

Crumb rubber floor coverings

Hot rubber qualities are the basis of all processing and production:

  1. When melted, the rubber envelops the solid particles. This allows you to create thermopressed (thermal printed) products such as paving and sports tiles..
  2. Curing ability – welding of two planes into a monolith.

Next, we’ll look at how this arsenal of properties is used to create rubber coatings..

Spraying crumb rubber

This type of coating has been realized for about 10 years and, with a high-quality device, demonstrates excellent performance properties. The result is an airtight carpet that is evenly glued to a solid surface. The advantages of this coating:

  1. Anti-slip surface. Excellent grip on the outsole or car tread due to the grain structure and properties of the rubber.
  2. Durability. The coating is very effective.
  3. Low consumption. With automatic spraying, a sufficient coating layer is from 3 to 30 mm (depending on the purpose).
  4. Solid seamless texture. Allows you to cover and seal difficult corners and joints without the risk of accidental defects (poor gluing). This property is especially valuable when installing a sprayed roof, as an alternative to the deposited layer..

The disadvantages of spraying include the need to use a special machine based on a compressor. Such a device can only be found in firms that provide spraying services.

Apparatus for spraying crumb rubber on video

More complex and rare self-propelled machines are used to lay treadmills, sports grounds, industrial areas and other target surfaces. They operate in fully programmable automatic mode.

Spraying is possible on any hard dry surface – wood, concrete, asphalt, screed, roofing material, slate. The cost of spraying work is calculated in each case and depends on the complexity, height, volume of work, preparatory work, layer thickness and quality requirements. As a rule, two layers are arranged – the first 10–12 mm is laid by hand and consists of a mixture of crumb with polyurethane glue and pigment powder. A second layer of 3 mm is sprayed with a machine. On average, such work costs 20-25 USD. e. for 1 m2. It is more convenient and cheaper to order work with the company’s own raw materials – as a rule, such organizations themselves process rubber and purchase binder (glue) in bulk at minimal prices. In addition, the technology is balanced, and the work is coordinated. In this case, the price will increase by 5 cu. e. for 1 m2.

Laying rubber crumb with your own hands

For domestic purposes or places with medium and low traffic, laying the base coat is sufficient. It consists of simple and affordable components that are easy to purchase with delivery.

To create a non-slip carpet, you need material:

  1. Recycled rubber crumb.
  2. Polyurethane binder (hereinafter referred to as glue) for seamless coatings.
  3. Solvent.

The tool requires a pair of plastic buckets, a hand mixer, a measuring bucket, a spatula and a roller (roller) for rolling the surface. Temperature for work – not lower than +10 ° С.

Operating procedure

1. Prepare the installation site: remove rust from metal parts, remove oil stains, organic matter, etc. Fill potholes and cracks.

2. Dust and degrease the surface with solvent.

3. Prime the surface with a thin layer of polyurethane glue, smearing with a spatula into the pores.

4. If necessary, place temporary beacons.

5. Prepare a mixture in the proportion: for 7 liters of crumbs 1 liter of glue. Stir the mixture thoroughly.

6. Lay the mixture in a layer of at least 10 mm, leveling with a trowel.

Crumb rubber floor coverings

7. Roll the laid mixture with a roller. Provide room ventilation.

Note.Do not apply strong pressure while rolling. The force should be elastic, but not depressing. A heavily rolled carpet will be very dense and tough and will lose some of its frost resistance.

8. The product can be operated after 12 hours..

Crumb rubber floor coverings

The preparation of the mixture and the installation process itself are hardly more complicated than a conventional cement screed. But the total mass of the coating is 3-5 times less (weight of rubber versus weight of cement and sand), which reduces labor intensity and transportation costs. In addition, the performance properties of a rubber-polyurethane carpet outdoors are significantly higher than that of a cement screed..

How to install crumb rubber flooring – step by step video

Coating Component Prices

Component Manufacturer Release form Unit price, cu e. Price for 1 liter, cu. e.
Rubber crumb
Rubber crumb, recycled product Local Bag, bulk, scattering 0.25-0.8
Polyurethane binder for coatings TU 2433-052-10861980-2008
Polyurethane adhesive LLC “Partner” Barrel 200 l 500 2.5
Adhesive for rubber crumb LLC “Grados”, Perm Canister 5 l / bucket 18 l 16 / 57.6 3.2
Adhesive for seamless rubber flooring Instalplus, Togliatti Barrel 50/120 l 200/480 4
Polyplast 1004 Huntsman-NMG, Germany Bucket 21 l 96.6 4.6
Duayen A-138 Turkey Plast. bucket 12 l 70 5.8
Euromix PU Extra Poland Bucket 13.4 L 80 6
Duayen A-395 Turkey Bucket 12 l / barrel 200 l 73.2 / 1220 6.1
Thomsit R 710 Ceresit, Germany Bucket 6/10 L 39/65 6.5
“KAMENSCHVAT DPS-2/01” PUREFIX, Finland Bucket 20 l / barrel 120 l 200/1200 ten
Adhesive for rubber crumb LLC “Sports yard”, Chelyabinsk Plast. barrel 80 l 92 11.5

Laying a carpet from crumb with your own hands is an excellent alternative to a cement screed, which serves as a base and finishing layer. Anti-slip properties make it a popular and sometimes irreplaceable material. Using recycled materials, you can not only get the desired quality, but also indirectly participate in the disposal of industrial waste.

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Comments: 1
  1. Riley Hayes

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of using crumb rubber floor coverings? Are they more durable and slip-resistant compared to other flooring options?

    Reply
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