After a long, cold. snowy winter, the indoor-outdoor carpet on the screen porch was looking pretty bad.
We’ve discussed replacing this carpet several times throughout the last year. From the looks of it this spring we knew we wanted to do it before summer.
We considered ceramic and porcelain tile options but had concerns about the tiles cracking in the winter, being slippery when wet, getting scratched by the feet on the patio furniture, having to deal with the maintenance of the grout, hard on the knees, and the tiles being too cold to the touch when the weather gets cool outside.
After a thorough research period, we agreed on the Flexible Rubber Pavers, from Gen-Rubber of Galion, Ohio.
The pavers look somewhat like cast-concrete bricks but are made from 100% recycled tire rubber. They measure 16″x16″x3/8″ and come in several colors like brown, red and grey. We opted for the Brown Brick color.
These pavers met our criteria of low maintenance, cost-effective, easy to install (or replace), soft on the knees, very durable, and most importantly, they look good! An extra bonus, the tiles are Made in the USA!!
I purchased a few to test. I wanted to see if they would off-gas, get really warm in the sun, or lose their finish after being exposed to the elements. I places four pavers in the porch to see if they ‘smelled’ (which they didn’t) then I placed them under the hose spigots outside. After several weeks in the elements and being walked on they still look as good as the day I placed them in service.
We purchased another eighty for the porch from Menards. On sale, they cost $4.99 each. It took us 74 pavers to complete the whole screen porch, with a half-dozen extras for use around the landscape or in the garage, the whole project cost less than $400 to complete (before tax).
We really like these pavers for this application. After removing the carpet, I swept the floor and placed the pavers. I cut the edge pavers to size (with a sharp utility knife), no special tools needed. No glue, no levelling, no special floor prep, nothing fancy. Place them end-to-end and trim the edge tiles to fit. The whole project (not including pulling up the old crappy indoor-outdoor carpet) took less than two hours to complete.
I wish every project was this easy to complete!
I have no relation to either Gen-Rubber or Menards, besides being a cash paying customer of both.
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Related links
Menards (one of my favorite stores- someday I’ll write a post about Menards and why I like them so much)
I need one thing to ask. How do I figure the number of pavers for a unilock sidewalk?
I live in Florida wonder how it would work here, and how would we get it?
Hi Leo,
I would think it would work great! We are very happy with the rubber tiles (coming up on two years now). If any of the tiles get mud (from the dogs tracking it in) we just lift it out and rinse it off.
We bought ours at Menards- I’m not sure if they have any stores in Florida. You may want to check with Gen-Rubber to see if they have a distributor down there. I have no affiliation with either company- I’m just a happy customer 🙂
I even use the rubber tiles in the back of my truck and under the outdoor hose bibs. They work great!
Have a great one,
Steve.
Do tiles get wet? If so, how does it affect the flooring underneath? My patio is currently wood floor. My concern is water rotting it. thanks in advance.
Hi Cheryl, Sorry for the delay in responding…The water soaks through the tiles and drains using the grooves in the bottom, so you would probably have an issue it it gets a lot of rain/water on it. Our floor is concrete so the water that seeps through (and doesn’t drain away) eventually evaporates within a day or two.
We absolutely love it- both the material and easy of care (plus cost). I’ll be posting a two-year later ‘followup’ post (and youtube video) in the next week or so. It will be posted at my new blog- https://enjoytimeoutdoors.com and on my youtube channel- search for spisblog.
Thanks, Steve.
Just wondering if you have to trim each piece along the edges so that the fit between sections is perfect? I think we saw something similar at BJ’s Warehouse, but we noticed the edges were not cut perfectly. We are concerned that the pieces do not fit together all that well.