Tips For First Time Entrance Matting Buyers

We’ve put together this handy guide to reduce time spent researching the wide range of entrance matting options available. The guide will help you to make the right entrance matting choices first time. Our sales team is also on hand to answer any queries and arrange site surveys for the most accurate product specifications.

Things to consider

We recommend a zoning system when choosing your entrance matting. Creating three zones delivers optimum dirt barrier performance, ensuring interior floors and kept clean and hazard free.

Zone 1 – Exterior Entrance Matting

Outdoor barrier matting needs to be fit for purpose, by being able to handle various climatic conditions, like snow, ice and heat/sunlight. The type of ‘typical’ footwear that will pass over also needs to be considered. This mat needs to have good scraper properties to remove any heavy soil from footwear before entering the building. Open construction entrance matting enables debris to fall through leaving the surface free of hazards.

Zone 2 – Primary Interior Entrance Matting

Interim entrance matting needs to be tough and durable to continue the job from the exterior matting, by removing the most damaging debris like soil, grit and moisture.

Zone 3 – Secondary Interior Entrance Matting

Secondary interior entrance matting is essential for final drying and dust removal. The entrance matting needs perform well.

If the budget is limited and will not allow for the zoning system, Primary Interior Entrance Matting is the best option to go for.

How long should entrance matting be?

When choosing entrance matting one of the most important elements to consider is length. There needs to be enough matting to ensure optimum moisture-wiping performance.

People often don’t wipe their feet on entrance matting before entering public buildings like shopping centres, so it is important that matting is long enough to allow moisture and debris to wipe off as people walk. A minimum of about six footsteps is needed for this to happen, our COBA Flooring team has recommended.

The Length of matting needed is also dependent on the amount of daily footfall:

• Low = Less than 80 people per hour would need minimum of 3-4 metres
• Medium = up to 400 people per hour would need 6-7 metres
• High = Around 800 people per hour a minimum of 8-10 metres
• Heavy Duty = Around 2,500 people per day a minimum of 9-12 metres

We understand that all entrance areas may not be that large to accommodate some of the recommendations. We would advise going for the largest area of entrance matting of the best quality possible.

Material durability

Certain materials, such as rubber, nylon and polypropylene fibres (needlepunch) are more durable than others so we always recommend referring to a product’s specifications. Other materials have more quick-drying properties, while some offer resistance to crushing, such as nylon for example. COBA Flooring has published a guide on The Material World of Entrance Matting which gives more detailed information about this.

Is the matting to be installed in a recessed matwell?

Many commercial entrance mattings systems, such as aluminium for example, are designed to be installed in recessed matwells. In the absence of a recessed matwell, then beveled edging should be used to prevent trip hazards. It should not in any way restrict disabled access.

Is there much sunlight where the matting is to be installed?

If so, check out the entrance mat’s UV resistance to reduce fading. Certain colours and materials perform better than others.

Fire Resistance

Always pay attention to flammability tests, to make sure the entrance mats you have chosen meet your building’s criteria.

Legislation

It is also important to ensure that your matting complies with DDA Regulations/The Equality Act, so that wheelchairs can safely move on and off the entrance matting. Also, take into account that a full wheelchair revolution requires a minimum length of 2.5m to effectively remove dirt/moisture from wheels.

Incorporating matting into interior design

Entrance matting doesn’t just need to be functional it should look great and enhance your interior too, as this is often the first thing any visitors will see.

We recommend considering colour when choosing matting, so that it complements the décor of the whole business. It could possibly be matched to complement wall colour; neutral palettes are a good starting point to seamlessly connect the rest of the building with the entrance design.

Cleaning methods

When choosing entrance matting, consider your preferred cleaning methods and frequency of cleaning too, to make it a practical choice for your building. Entrance mats needs regular cleaning to retain their appearance and perform their best.

To find out more information about our quick install entrance matting systems contact one of our team +44 (0) 116 240 1161