I had to go out this weekend to get a new chair mat. Since I’ve been working at home every day for the last three months, my old chair mat was cracking and splitting everywhere.
The first problem I had was getting the old chair mat up and out of the way so I could lay the new one down. Then I had to try to roll the new mat out and get it to lay flat. Then I had to take the old mat out to the trash bin.
When it was all said and done, I had a couple of pokes in my fingers, some scratches on my arm, and four big gash marks on my right shin from where the chair mats decided to fight back. Ouch!
Also, damn! Chair mats are expensive! Almost $50. I sure hope it lasts more than just a couple months.
Just make sure that if the situation continues to escalate that you only shoot the mat and claim self defense. The words of Bob Marley, Esq. may be of assistance.
I was tired of those plastic chair mats wearing out every 9-12 months. I made one out of plywood, with vinyl floor tiles on top, and quarter-round edging for my office chair to smoothly roll on and off. It’s lasted years, and will likely last many more. And it’s just the right size for my desk.
I had the big box home supplies store cut the plywood to size. I cut the quarter-round with a hand saw. Then I nailed on the quarter-round and stuck on the self-stick vinyl floor tile. So easy even I could do it. I think the supplies were less $$ than 2 plastic chair mats.
Hardest part was getting the big slab of plywood home. I also had to measure everything very carefully - multiple times, including making sure I could get the finished mat through the doors, in the room, and under the desk.
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Sounds like a good idea. Chair mats are fine for protecting hardwood floors as in my former house, but the upstairs of the current one where I have my office is carpeted and I’ve had nothing but bad luck with them. My first attempt was a piece of a sort of synthetic hardboard on which the chair rolled smoothly, except that it started to disintegrate over time. By the time I got around to replacing it there were so many little pieces of disintegrated hardboard that I had to use a shop-vac to clean them up. I think they were starting to spontaneously reproduce. I replaced it with a heavy-duty plastic mat intended for carpets, complete with those famous spikes. It’s lasted for several years but has now developed big cracks in the middle of it. At least it’s not shedding, like the first one. Your solution sounds like a good candidate for attempt #3.
I bought a new chairmat a couple of months ago on Amazon. The one it replaced was purchased five years ago, and was cracking excessively. I bought both because they were made of polycarbonate and the Amazon listing said they wouldn’t smell. (Ones I’d previously bought from Staples smelled for a long time after bringing them home.) The 2015 chairmat came flat in a large cardboard sleeve, while the new one was rolled up in a square box. But immediately after removing the shrinkwrap holding the mat rolled up, it snapped to flat immediately. (In fact, there was a warning in the packaging that when the mat snaps, it could actually injure you.)
BTW, if you poke around Amazon, you can find wooden or even glass chairmats. Obviously, they are heavier and more expensive.