Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

How Rubber Flooring Impacts Costs

  • By Tasha Hughes
  • 06/01/18

From classrooms to hallways, steady foot traffic and heavy rolling loads can quickly compromise a floor’s original beauty and integrity. With pressure to lower operational expenses, many institutions are turning to lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA) to determine which flooring material offers the greatest durability and resilience over the lifetime of the product, and how that directly translates to value and cost savings. Rubber flooring has proven to be a leader in this category. Here’s why.

Installation. The cost of installation (including labor and materials) varies greatly between flooring products. Rubber flooring with a self-adhesive backing can be installed directly over an existing floor. It has fewer seams with less cutting and joint sealing, resulting in faster turn-times, reducing your timeline by up to half.

Durability. The dense surface of rubber flooring can withstand the pressure of heavy loads, dragging desks and chairs, and is resistant to liquid spills and harsh chemicals. This level of ultra-durability is able to support a facility for decades.

Maintenance. Flooring maintenance can account for 75 to 90 percent of total cost over the product’s projected lifespan. Premium rubber flooring has a nonporous surface that repels stains and can be cleaned with little more than water. Unlike other resilient flooring, rubber’s uncoated surface means the floor never needs to be stripped and resealed.

Sustainability. Rubber flooring is naturally sourced and has a low-VOC rating, contributing to a healthier environment and improved indoor air quality (IAQ) for students and staff alike.

Premium rubber flooring has significant impact on total cost of ownership. Using LCCA during flooring specification helps institutions lower expenses long-term while increasing the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management June 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Tasha Hughes is a marketing specialist, PR, for nora systems, Inc. (www.nora.com/us). She can be reached at [email protected] or 800-332/NORA.

Featured

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.