How to Protect Hardwood Floor from Office Chairs?An office worker moves his or her office chair more than 300 times in the average eight-hour workday. Chair mats are an ergonomic tool that reduces the likelihood of repetitve stress injuries and lowers fatigue. Chair mats also protect your rugs, carpets and flooring from damage caused by chair casters. There are three factors to consider when choosing your chair mat.Show All ItemsI work from a home office situated in a carpeted room, where I sit for hours at a time next to a computer screen.To protect the flooring and provide a smooth rolling surface, I acquired a plastic chair mat from an office store.However, I soon found that I was extremely unsatisfied with the performance of my new chair mat. Despite buying a thicker version, my chair wheels still rested in "divots" in the mat. In the chair mat's defense, I am on the "huggable" side at 240-ish . . . But nonetheless, sitting in divots defeats one of the main benefits of the mat in the first place--the ability to roll and move the chair freely.
Also, my work table is about 6 feet long. My computer sits on one half of the table and the other half is left open for other tasks. This plastic mat wasn't big enough to allow me to roll my chair to the other side when working on non-computer things.After a bit of searching I found that you can in fact purchase longer, thicker and more heavy-duty chair mats that would meet the needs I was trying to fill. These bamboo ones look like an excellent choice, but they are not cheap.With that in mind, I decided to make my own. All said, I spent less than $75 USD on this mat and am perfectly happy with its performance. It is made from laminate flooring, particle board, and a bit of wood trim, all of which is available from any home improvement store.If you find yourself in a similar predicament and don't want to shell out big bucks, here's how to make your own wooden chair mat. Thanks for taking a look! Step 1: Prepare laminate flooring piecesShow All ItemsThe cheapest box of laminate flooring I could find was about $30 USD.
One box covers an area roughly 4 feet by 5.5 feet, which is perfect in front of my 6-foot work table. A smaller mat can be made by simply not using all of the boards from the box.For this use, the cheapest laminate is the best choice not only for price, but because it is perfectly smooth. The more expensive laminate flooring styles have slight waves, gouges and mars to imitate real wood. That looks nice in a dining area, but is the opposite of what a person would want in this application. The boards are made with a tongue-and-groove system that allows them to snap together along both the longer sides, as well as the narrow ends. Both the tongue side and the groove side have portions that extend out past the upper finished surface of the board, which are generally hidden once the boards are installed. (The groove side has a 1/2" tab that extends out from the bottom of the board that locks onto the bottom of the tongue side of the opposing board.)For this use, however, these extending portions must be removed from any areas that will become the perimeter of the assembled mat.
I began by trimming away the bits from the narrow ends of all boards using a cross-cut sled on my table saw. Then, along the lengths of two boards I trimmed away the tongue from one board, and the locking tab below the groove from the other. These two boards will be the end pieces on the right and left sides of the assembled mat.See photo notes for additional details.Longest Two-Wheel Office Chair Balance Sydney, New South Wales, Australia / June 2, 2011 Nathan Smith balanced unassisted on the back two wheels of an office chair for 26.41 seconds while on a hardwood floor. WARNING: This record can be dangerous. Please use caution and wear safety protection if necessary. - must attempt using a standard, four-wheeled office chair- must attempt on a smooth, hard floor surface (carpeting not permitted)- timing starts only the two rear wheels of chair are touching the ground- may not touch walls or other external surfaces or objects with any part of body during attempt- timing stops when chair falls over or front wheels touch ground- may not alter chair in any manner- must follow form of current world record holder- must provide video evidence
Longest Time Camping Out For ESPN's College GameDay Fastest Time To Apply A Full Face Of Makeup While Balancing On A Soccer Ball Longest Time To Balance A Folding Chair On Forehead While Hovering A Ball With A Leaf Blower Most Tandem Charlier Cuts While Balancing Folding Chair On ForeheadHow to Protect Wood Floors with Area Rugs The easiest way to protect wood floors from scratches and other damage is to decorate them with an area rug. Area rugs provide a protective barrier against furniture legs, foot traffic, and pets while adding style to any floor in the house. If you haven't picked an area rug yet, check out our Complete Rug Buying Guide, and then use the following steps to ensure your area rugs keep your wood floors scratch-free. Remove Scratches and Dirt from Floor Walking on an area rug that has been placed over a dirty wood floor can grind the dirt, dust, and sand into the wood. Sweep and mop the entire area to prepare the floor. Fix any scratches with wood wax or filler before laying your rug down.
This will ensure your floors stay pristine for when you remove the rug. Use Runner Rugs in High-Traffic Areas Wood floors in hallways, entryways, and near the garage are normally high-traffic areas that will see more wear and tear. Use runner rugs in these areas to keep shoes from leaving marks and scuffs on the floor and to protect against debris brought in from the outside. Place Oversized Area Rugs in Large Rooms While it can look nice to have a smaller area rug that just covers the floor in a seating area, if you want to protect the wood flooring in a larger area, you're going to need a larger rug. Oversized rugs are large enough that they may reach all the way to the walls in some rooms. Pick the Right Pile Be sure to pick a rug that won't take away from the functionality of the room. If you're placing a rug in an office, make sure it has a low pile that won't interfere with a rolling office chair. Use high-pile rugs in living rooms and dens with heavy furniture because they are less susceptible to dents and can be easily fluffed when you rearrange furniture.