What is the best flooring for a garage home gym conversion?

Question

We are planning on converting our detached 1-car garage into a home gym / yoga studio. The interior has already been professionally renovated with all new drywall, but the floor is bare concrete. We are looking for a durable yet cost effective solution for a gym floor to overlay on the concrete. It needs to be durable but also comfortable to walk on. The garage stays very dry, even throughout the VERY wet winter we just had, but we need to be sure the flooring can withstand moisture just in case. What options can people recommend? Is there anything else we need to consider before going ahead with this plan? Do we HAVE to have a sub-floor of some sort put in? Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

I'd stay away from any floor that could be damaged by moisture, because a garage floor may not have a vapor barrier and ground moisture may come through.  

Sheet vinyl (some still call it Linoleum) is glue down or perimeter glue application that will discolor if moisture gets into the back, and would be more difficult to replace.  

Laminate floors have gotten better, some many still would be susceptible to swelling and warping in contact with moisture.  And your application would suggest a product like a sports floor tile such as one in this link:  

http://www.mygymfloor.com/Home/tabid/36/...

Answer 2

id suggest going lino or maybe a type of pergo if you want real flooring. but one thing to consider if you garage isnt too big, is some martial art type mats.. like they use for jui jitsu etc. those are padded and can be easily cleaned. great for anything you may want to do, besides seating heavy equipment.

Answer 3

Well your best bet would probably be Lino.  Laminate (floating floors) although durable and pretty simple to install are not made for extreme temperature changes and drastic himididty changes.  Unless your garage is heated/cooled year round to maintain a typical temperature like a home than I would stay away from Laminate and go Lino, or VCT tile which is a commercial grade vinyl tile.