Musson Rubber Company

Interlocking rubber tiles are the gym floor you can put down yourself. They snap together edge to edge — no glue, no adhesive, no installer — so a garage, basement, or home gym goes from bare slab to finished rubber floor in an afternoon. And because they lock rather than bond, you can add to them, pull them up, or take them with you when the space changes.

What Interlocking Rubber Tiles Do Before Your Floor Pays for It

A workout floor takes a beating — dropped dumbbells, dragged equipment, foot traffic, sweat. On bare concrete or a finished floor, that wear lands directly on the surface. Interlocking tiles put a layer of dense rubber between the workout and the floor, soaking up impact and protecting what's underneath.

They also give you grip and a little cushion underfoot, which matters for safety and comfort during a session. Because each tile locks to the next, the surface holds together as a single floor instead of sliding mats — no shifting, no gaps to trip on, no edges curling up mid-workout.

Why Interlocking Tiles, and Why These

The whole idea of a tile is the locking edge. Each one snaps into its neighbors with no adhesive, so you cover exactly the area you want and can expand or rearrange it later — something a glued roll can't do. That makes tiles the easiest rubber floor to install, and the only one you can realistically take with you.

These are made from recycled rubber diverted from the waste stream, so the same density that makes them tough also keeps material out of a landfill. They're tested low for VOCs — the gases that flooring can off-gas indoors — and they contribute toward LEED credits, which matters on commercial and institutional projects.

They come in three thicknesses, from 1/4 inch up to 1/2 inch, so you can match the tile to the load, and in 19 colors with a standard 10% color fleck mixed into the rubber — so the floor can match a brand palette or simply look better than plain black.

Where Interlocking Tiles Belong, and Where They Don't

Tiles are the natural pick for spaces that change or grow: home and garage gyms, basements, multi-use rooms, studios, and any layout you might rearrange. The no-adhesive install means no damage to the floor below, which is ideal for a rental or a finished basement.

Where they're less suited is a dedicated heavy-drop zone — for repeated dropped barbells and Olympic lifts, our heavy-duty gym matting is built for that punishment. And for a large, permanent, wall-to-wall commercial floor, rolls give you fewer seams.

Tiles win on flexibility; rolls win on seamlessness; heavy-duty matting wins in the drop zone. All three are part of the wider gym flooring lineup, because different spaces call for different surfaces.

Three Things to Check Before You Spec Them

Three things decide whether tiles are right and which ones you need.

First, thickness against use. For bodyweight training, cardio, and general fitness, 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch is usually enough. For busier rooms and heavier equipment, step up to 1/2 inch. If you're regularly dropping loaded barbells, that's past what tiles are for — the heavy-duty matting is the surface built to absorb it.

Second, the coverage and layout. Each tile is 25 inches across including the locking tabs, so measure your space and plan for the border tiles you'll trim to fit walls, doorways, and equipment. Decide on color while you're at it — there are 19 to choose from.

Third, the subfloor. Tiles want a clean, flat, dry surface to lock over. They go down without adhesive and hold together by the locks and their own weight, so the prep is simple — but a level subfloor keeps the seams tight and the floor flat over time.

Why Mats Inc.

Mats Inc. has matched surfaces to floors since 1964, and a tile floor is a friendly project once we know the room and how it gets used. We'll help you settle on a thickness, pick from the 19 colors, and work out the tile count so you order the right amount with the fewest offcuts.

We specify rather than install, so the focus is getting the spec and the layout right — and pointing you to recycled, low-emitting tiles that earn their place on a green-building project. Every order is backed by our one-year limited warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are interlocking rubber tiles made of?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

They're made from recycled rubber — material diverted from the waste stream and bound into a dense, solid tile. That density is what does the work: at about 68 pounds per cubic foot with a firm Shore A 65 hardness, the rubber absorbs impact and stands up to equipment without compressing. The recycled content puts reclaimed material back to use, and the tiles test low for VOCs, so they're a sound choice for indoor air.

How durable are they, and what wears them out?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

Built right, a rubber tile floor lasts many years — often a decade or more — because dense recycled rubber shrugs off foot traffic and equipment. The numbers back it up, with 265 psi tensile strength and very low abrasion loss in standard Taber testing.

What shortens their life is usually the wrong thickness for the load, gaps left between poorly fitted tiles, or harsh solvent cleaners. A thickness matched to use and a neutral cleaner keep them going.

How do interlocking tiles install — do I need glue?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

No glue. Each tile has interlocking edges that snap into the next, so the floor goes down as a connected sheet held by the locks and its own weight. Start from one corner, work across a clean, flat, dry subfloor, and trim the border tiles to fit walls and around racks.

Because there's no adhesive, you can lift and relock them later — which is what makes tiles so easy to live with, and so kind to the floor underneath.

What size are the tiles, and how many do I need?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Each interlocking tile is 25 inches across, including the locking tabs, so a handful covers a surprising amount of floor. Measure your space, then plan for the border tiles you'll trim to fit walls, doorways, and equipment.

Tell us the room dimensions and we'll help you work out the tile count — and whether a 24-inch square tile style suits a glued or loose-laid layout better for your room.

What colors do they come in?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Nineteen, which is unusual for gym flooring. Every tile comes with a standard 10% color fleck mixed into the rubber, in shades from grey, blue, and teal to red, green, gold and more, plus near-solid charcoal and black.

A commercial studio can match its brand palette, and a home gym can pick something that doesn't look industrial. Because the color is part of the rubber rather than a coating, it won't wear off underfoot.

Are interlocking tiles a good choice for a home or basement gym?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

They're one of the best, especially when you don't want to glue anything down. The tiles lock together over a basement, garage, or spare-room floor with no adhesive and no damage to what's underneath, so they suit a rental or a finished space. You can floor just the training area, add tiles as the gym grows, and pull them up if you move. For the heaviest lifting, pair them with heavier matting in the drop zone.

By Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing, Mats Inc.

A recessed mat well only works if its edges are clean and square — and that's the job of the recess frame. It's an extruded aluminum border set into the floor around the well, giving the recess a finished, durable edge that holds the mat flush and keeps the surrounding floor from chipping under traffic. It comes pre-cut and ready to drop in, so the well is ready when the mat arrives.

What a recess frame does before the well edge breaks down

A recessed mat well is a shallow pit cut into the floor that a walk-off mat or grate drops into so it sits flush. Without a finished border, the edge of that well is just raw concrete or cut tile — and a raw edge at a doorway chips, crumbles, and turns ragged fast under foot traffic.

The recess frame is the fix. It lines the perimeter of the well with a solid aluminum edge, so the mat seats cleanly against it, the floor finish outside it stays protected, and the threshold keeps a crisp, level line instead of a broken one. It's the difference between a recessed mat well that looks built-in and one that looks cut-in.

Why extruded aluminum, and why this frame

The frame is made from heavy-gauge 6063 T-5 extruded aluminum — an alloy and temper chosen for structural edges that take abuse without bending or corroding. That matters at a doorway, where the frame edge gets stepped on, rolled over, and scraped every day, and where rust would show.

It arrives pre-cut at the factory and ready to assemble on site, supplied with aluminum corner pins and steel anchor keys that lock it into the floor. Because it's cut to your dimensions ahead of time, you skip field measuring and the construction delays that come with it — you can order the mat in advance and drop it in once the frame is set.

Corners can come square for an open-end recess or mitered for a clean closed border, factory-cut or finished on the job. A single frame runs up to 17 feet, and for anything longer, straight connecting pins join sections into one continuous edge.

Where it belongs, and what it is not

A recess frame belongs anywhere you're setting a mat or grate into the floor rather than laying it on top — building lobbies, vestibules, and corridors where a flush, built-in entrance is the goal. It's the finishing edge for our recessed grate systems and recessed mats alike, sized to receive common mat and tile thicknesses.

It is not the walking surface itself — it's the border that holds and frames that surface. And it's not a surface-mount product; it's for recessed installations, where the well is cut into the floor and the frame defines its edge. If you're laying a mat on top of an existing floor, you want a surface-applied mat with its own ramped edge instead.

Three things to check before you spec it

First, order by the finished inside size. The size you give is the inside measurement of the frame — the finished opening where the mat fits — not the rough hole in the floor. Getting this right is what makes the mat drop in cleanly, so confirm it against the mat's finished dimensions before you order.

Second, match it to the mat thickness and floor build-up. The frame is set with a cement screed about 7/16" below the floor line so the mat finishes flush, and it installs in one of several positions to suit the floor outside it. Know the mat or tile thickness and the surrounding floor before you set the frame.

Third, plan the corners and the length. Decide whether you need square ends for an open recess or mitered corners for a closed border, and remember a single frame tops out at 17 feet. For a wider entrance, connecting pins join sections — but that's worth planning before the order, not after.

Why Mats Inc.

We've specified entrance flooring since 1964, and the frame is the part people forget until the edge of a recessed well starts breaking up. Getting it right means matching the frame to the mat, the thickness, and the floor it sits in, then having it pre-cut so the install goes in clean. We help you size and position it correctly and ship it ready to set. Mats Inc. specifies the system; your installer sets the frame and screeds the base.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a recess mat frame, and what's it made of?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

It's the aluminum border that lines the edge of a recessed mat well — the well being the shallow pit a walk-off mat or grate sits down into. This one is made from heavy-gauge 6063 T-5 extruded aluminum, and it ships pre-cut with aluminum corner pins and steel anchor keys that lock it into the floor.

Set into the perimeter of the well, it gives the recess a clean, finished edge and holds the mat flush with the surrounding floor.

Why use a metal frame instead of just a concrete recess?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

A bare concrete or cut-tile edge at a doorway doesn't hold up. Every step, cart wheel, and dragged item works at that edge until it chips and crumbles, and a ragged recess edge becomes both an eyesore and a trip hazard.

The aluminum frame takes that abuse instead of the floor — it keeps the edge square and intact for years, protects the flooring outside the well, and gives the mat a solid border to seat against.

How is the frame installed?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

The frame sets into the perimeter of the recessed well. A cement base is screeded into the interior about 7/16 inch below the floor line — using the frame edge as the guide — so the mat finishes flush once it drops in. Steel anchor keys lock the frame to the floor, and it's installed in one of several positions to suit the surrounding floor build-up.

Because it's pre-cut, the install is mostly assembly and setting, not measuring and cutting on site.

Does it have to look like bare metal?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Not necessarily. The standard frame is mill-finish aluminum, which reads clean and neutral against most floors, and a medium bronze finish is available when you want the edge to warm up or settle into a darker floor.

Since the frame is the visible line around your entrance mat, it's worth picking the finish with the surrounding floor in mind rather than defaulting to bare aluminum.

What size do I order, and can it fit a long or unusual entrance?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

You order by the finished inside size — the opening where the mat fits — so it's best to settle the mat's finished dimensions first and order the frame to match. A single frame runs up to 17 feet; for a wider entrance, sections join with connecting pins into one continuous edge.

Corners can be square for an open recess or mitered for a closed border, so an entry that isn't a simple rectangle can still get a clean frame.

How do I make sure the frame and mat actually fit together?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

The cleanest approach is to spec the frame and the mat as a pair, sized to the same finished dimensions, so the mat drops into the frame without gaps or trimming. Because the frame is pre-cut to order, you can have it on site and set ahead of time, then drop the mat in when it arrives.

Tell us the mat you're using and we'll size the frame to receive it — that's what makes a recessed entrance look built-in rather than improvised.

By Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO, Mats Inc.

• Epoxy nose caulk should be used on all stair treads installations.
• It is necessary when Adjusta-Nose treads are being installed or when the step nosing is worn, broken or rounded.
• This two part epoxy nose calk will fill voids at the nose and give needed support underneath the stair tread nosing.
• Stair sealant can also be used to repair surface of step.
  
• Available in quart units.
  

• A two part epoxy adhesive for installation of Disc-O-Tile and Disc-O-Tread.
• It is the only recommended adhesive for below grade flooring installation.
• Each unit contains a Part "A" and Part "B" packed in one gallon cans to be mixed to produce one gallon of adhesive.
• One unit will cover approximately 150 square feet.
• Environmentally friendly.
  
• Available in one gallon kit.
  

• The original diamond design molded rubber stair tread, half diamond design, half smooth, with a longer adjustable nose.
• Designed to fit pan filled, molded concrete, or terrazzo steps.
• For use in commercial, industrial or institutional buildings.
• Diamond design surface is 6" deep, covers the impact area of pedestrian traffic.
• Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E and ZZ-T-001237 (GSA-FSS)
• Full 1/4" thickness at the nose,12 1/4" depth and a 1 1/4" deep inside nose.
• Contains no asbestos fiber and the color extends throughout the thickness of the tread.
• Available in either square or curved nose.
• Curved nose available in Series I colors only.
• Treads are optionally available with either two 3/4" safety strips, one 2" safety strip, or one 2" photoluminescent strip.
• Strips are available in black, beige, brown, gray, red or yellow.

• The original diamond design molded rubber stair tread, half diamond design, half smooth, with a longer adjustable nose.
• Designed to fit pan filled, molded concrete, or terrazzo steps.
• For use in commercial, industrial or institutional buildings.
• Diamond design surface is 6" deep, covers the impact area of pedestrian traffic.
• Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E and ZZ-T-001237 (GSA-FSS)
• Full 1/4" thickness at the nose,12 1/4" depth and a 1 1/4" deep inside nose.
• Contains no asbestos fiber and the color extends throughout the thickness of the tread.
• Available in either square or curved nose.
• Curved nose available in Series I colors only.
• Treads are optionally available with either two 3/4" safety strips, one 2" safety strip, or one 2" photoluminescent strip.
• Strips are available in black, beige, brown, gray, red or yellow.

• New design Adjusta-Nose tread easily adjust to steps with angle between 90^o and 60^o.
• Ideal for public buildings where fire safety is a prime concern.
• For use in commercial, industrial or institutional buildings.
• Circular disc, 3/4" diameter, are easy to clean and affords for safer pedestrian traffic.
• Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E.
• Flame spread rating of 25 or less using ASTM-E-84 test.
• Full 1/4" thickness at the nose, 12 1/2" depth and a 1 7/8" deep inside nose, smooth rear border is 3" deep.
• Contains no asbestos fiber and the color extends throughout the thickness of the tread.
  
• Available in standard solid color from Color Series III only.
• Treads are optionally available with either two 3/4" safety strips, one 2" safety strip, or one 2" photoluminescent strip.
• Strips are available in black, beige, brown, gray, red or yellow.

• Our LO-DISC tread has the popular round disc design, but in a lighter gauge stair tread.
• Treads have tapered 3/4" disc, raised .025".
• Excellent for lighter traffic stairways.
• Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E and ZZ-T-001237 (GSA-FSS)
• Flame spread rating of 75 or less using ASTM-E-84 test.
• Full 3/16" thickness at the nose, 12 1/4" depth and a 1 1/2" deep inside nose.
• Contains no asbestos fiber and the color extends throughout the thickness of the tread.
• Available in square nose only.
• Select standard color from Color Series I, II, or III.
• Treads are optionally available with either two 3/4" safety strips, one 2" safety strip, or one 2" photoluminescent strip.
• Strips are available in black, beige, brown, gray, red or yellow.

• Medium duty stair tread.
• This tread was designed for use in apartment projects and light commercial applications. 
  
• Lower initial cost, ease of installation, ease of cleaning and long service appeals to apartment owners and builders.
• Extra thick at the front, Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E Type B.
• 3/16" thick, 12" deep, 1 1/4" square or curved nose.
• Contains no asbestos fiber, made of first quality homogeneous vinyl, color throughout.
• Specify either square or curved nose.
  

• Heavy gauge sharp-rib design koroseal vinyl tread for your heaviest traffic. 
  
• 1/4" thick at the wear area.
• Meets Fed. Spec. RR-T-650E Type B.
• 1/4" thick, 12" deep.
  
• Contains no asbestos fiber, made of first quality vinyl color throughout.
• Square nose only.