Squishy sound under interlocking rubber tiles
Hope everyone is doing well. I have a small 6×9 area in the basement that I have been using for a small workout area. I laid 6mil plastic down and then used 1/8 inch utility rubber floor tiles, the one with the coin design for grip. When you walk on the floor you can hear a squishing sound. Recently there was overflow of the kitchen sink so now I have to clean it out. This is my chance to fix it. I was wondering if I can use a self adhered liquid that would be equivalent to using 6 mil plastic. My wife also wanted the shock absorbent floor, the gym tiles they sell in most sporting goods stores. They are thicker but less durable. They are mostly made of EVA foam, not sure if there is a difference other than durability in terms of what I could use underneath.
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My guess is that 'squishyness' is from the tiles sliding around a little over the poly. Polyethylene is a pretty slick material, so it acts almost like a lubricant sometimes. If you put down an epoxy floor under those tiles, you'll probably have the noise go away. I've put down a lot of rubber floors on commercial projects (we like them in industrial buildings for a variety of reasons), but I've always adhered the tiles and I often use a product that comes as large sheets, so not individual tiles. When done, there is NO noise.
You could do a simple expieriment by placing your foam tiles over a linoleum floor (which should act similarly to an epoxy floor for this purpose), and see if you still have the squishy noise. If you don't, then you have your answer -- using epoxy instad of poly will solve the problem for you.
Bill