Sports flooring FAQ

Conclusion: The vast majority of campus projects choose suspended interlocking flooring; only professional training gyms should consider silicone PU.

GB 36246-2018 is the mandatory national standard for synthetic surface sports grounds in primary and secondary schools. Procuring non-compliant products for school campuses is a legal violation.18 mandatory test items：

Verify the three red lines:
① The issuing body must CMA + CNAS Dual Accreditation(verifiable at the CNCA website cnca.gov.cn)
② The report's product model, color, and thickness exactly match the delivered goods
③ The report date is no older than 1 year

Three core requirements for kindergarten flooring:Eco-friendly + cushioning protection + easy to clean。

First distinguish the product type:The "kindergarten interlocking floor mats" sold for a few dozen yuan on Taobao are EVA foam, not sports flooring.

Recommended product (AnchorCare):
① ANK4 Cloverleaf(the top choice for kindergartens, soft POE, 8-year warranty)
② SVS1 POLAR STAR(soft rubber 65A, impact absorption adjustable 55–80%)
③ Quantum Stack Full Mat(high-end scenarios, 1.85cm thickened + 36 shock-absorbing pads)

Bulging is essentially due to insufficient allowance for thermal expansion and contraction gaps, directly tied to product quality.

AnchorCare solution: snap-lock gap of 2.5mm+ designed specifically for thermal expansion and contraction; recommended for large courts ANK2F Four-Grid Tile(each tile has four-segment thermal-expansion seams) or ANK5 Jumbo Basketball Grid(50cm large format, reducing the number of joints by 75%).

Conclusion: the 10-year total cost of ownership of suspended flooring compared with silicon PU More than 40% lower, local damage requires replacing only single tiles, with no need to redo the entire court.

Whether it gets hot mainly depends onColor, not the material. Dark colors (black, deep blue, deep red) absorb heat, and under blazing sun the surface can reach 50–60℃; light colors (silver grey, sky blue, grass green) lower this by 10–15℃.

In addition, the back of the suspended flooring is elevated with 8mm of natural ventilation, dissipating heat faster than a monolithic silicone PU coating.

9 colors in stock(ready to ship anytime): China red, potato yellow, deep blue, Hermès orange, silver grey, white, dark grass green, sky blue, jet black

7 custom colors(minimum order quantity to be negotiated separately): TF blue, pink, light green, gem blue, violet, tennis blue, ice blue

Line marking method: dedicated PP marking strips embedded (does not affect levelness) or acrylic topcoat spray painting. Court logos, paths, and track lines can all be customized.

Both flagships feature a true three-layer fully-padded structure with an 8-year warranty.

Three-step verification method:

① Check the body's credentials: it must carry both CMA + CNAS seals, verifiable at cnca.gov.cn Inspect

② Verify product details: model, color, and thickness must exactly match the actual order

③ Check the report date: valid within 1 year; past that it is void

AnchorCare after-sales commitment: 24-hour response, on-site within 72 hours.

Must provide:

① Full set of 18 GB 36246-2018 test reports (CMA + CNAS, valid within 1 year)
② Business license and production credentials (direct from the factory, not an agent)
③ ISO 9001 quality management system certification
④ Product type-test report (ball rebound above 90%, impact absorption above 25%)
⑤ List of typical school case studies

Bonus points:SGS 7,000-hour UV aging test (ANK3, report TJIN2205004906MR_CN) · EU SVHC non-detectable

Look at the intended use first, then the budget.Schools, communities, and multi-purpose venues should prioritize suspended interlocking flooring; professional training or fixed competition venues may consider silicon PU; acrylic can be considered if the budget is extremely low and the base is in good condition; EPDM should only be considered for children's activity areas or track buffer zones.

Most old cement and asphalt surfaces can be laid on directly, but the base must be inspected first. The core requirements areLevel, solid, properly draining, with no obvious sanding or cracking. Large pits, hollow spots, bulges, and cracks need to be repaired first.

During acceptance we recommend checking flatness with a 3m straightedge — the smaller the deviation, the better. If there are noticeable local height differences, the flooring will feel unstable underfoot, the locks will be stressed, and localized noises will occur. Plaza tiles can be laid over, but loose tiles must be secured first, and overly wide tile joints must be leveled.

Suspended flooring is itself an elevated structure—rainwater enters the bottom through the gaps in the tile surface and then drains away along the slope of the base.What really determines whether water pools is the base slope and drainage outlets, not the individual flooring tile.

New courts should retain a 0.5%–1% drainage slope; for renovations of old courts, first confirm the locations of the low point, drainage channels, and floor drains. If the base itself has a bowl-shaped depression, any surface layer will pool water, so it must be repaired before installation.

A slight clicking sound at the joints is a normal characteristic of an interlocking structure, but a noticeable hollow echo usually comes from one of three issues: an uneven base, locks not fully tapped tight, or insufficient support feet on cheap thin tiles. For school and community venues, choose a thickened support structure and re-tap the locks zone by zone after installation.

For indoor training halls or commercial venues, where underfoot feel and noise demands are higher, you can choose the SVS series soft or full-mat structure, for a steadier underfoot feel and lower impact noise.

Low-cost recycled material and boards with insufficient UV resistance tend to fade, chalk, and become brittle after a few years outdoors. To judge weather resistance, don't just listen to "how many years of warranty"—look atXenon lamp aging test, raw material type, anti-oxidation/anti-UV formula, real-world outdoor cases。

For AnchorCare, pay particular attention to the SGS xenon-arc aging data and outdoor case follow-up visits. In high-sunlight outdoor areas, light or neutral colors are recommended; for dark-colored courts, give more attention to thermal expansion/contraction and surface temperature rise.

The price of suspended flooring can't be judged by "price per square meter" alone, because thickness, structure, raw materials, warranty, transport, and installation scope all vary widely. When requesting a quote, at minimum require the supplier to spell out: model, single-tile dimensions, thickness, material, warranty terms, whether edge and corner strips are included, whether line marking is included, whether transport and installation are included, and whether a tax invoice is included.

Check 5 things: whether they can provide actual factory photos and production equipment; whether the inspection report's letterhead matches the manufacturer's legal entity; whether they have a stable model system rather than just quoting low prices; whether they can provide follow-ups on similar projects; and whether they can provide a bid-document package and after-sales commitments.

Traders can sell product too, but for schools, kindergartens, and government procurement we recommend a manufacturer that can stand behind its reports, warranty, and after-sales service. The report model, contract model, and delivered boards must all match.

Acrylic suits budget-sensitive, very flat, long-term fixed-use venues; modular flooring is better for renovating old venues, multi-purpose courts, and projects needing fast installation and later repairability.

Acrylic's advantages are low initial surface-layer cost and fast ball speed; its drawbacks are weak elasticity, sensitivity to base cracks, and the need for re-sanding and re-application when refurbishing. Modular flooring's advantages are ready-to-use right after installation, removable, single-tile repair, and quick recovery after rain; its drawback is the need to choose a structure that resists thermal expansion—cheap thin tiles are not suitable for large venues.

Yes, but confirm the main sport first. Basketball and pickleball focus more on ball bounce and anti-slip; badminton focuses more on underfoot feel, quick stops, and knee/ankle impact; tennis focuses more on ball speed and slide. Community and school multi-purpose courts can usually use one set of flooring with multi-color line markings overlaid.

For professional events, we don't recommend one venue serving all sports; the foundation, surface, and line markings should be designed separately per event standards. For daily teaching, community sports, and commercial events, multi-purpose shared use is more cost-effective.

Not enough. A warranty depends on exactly what's covered, what's excluded, response time, and whether spare parts are provided. We recommend spelling out in the contract: no chalking, no brittle cracking, handling of non-human-caused lock detachment, color-difference range, single-tile replacement method, after-sales response time, and quantity of same-batch spare tiles.

For schools and commercial venues, what truly matters is actionable after-sales service: whether localized damage can be quickly patched with replacement boards, whether color-matched spare parts are available, and whether it can be handled on-site—not a long warranty period stated verbally.