Terrazzo vs. Wood floor for a HS gym.

[figure9]

While complaining about the school board, my friend mentioned they had wasted money putting a terrazzo floor in the gym of a new school. Was the terrazzo floor a waste of money? or is terrazzo a good choice for a gymnasium floor?

[Mr.Moto]

I suspect the costs would be recouped by the fact that is is a very low-maintenance material - you cannot say the same for wood.

[Add99]

Please, don’t knock me down, I will give you the ball. The friggin’ floor is concrete. I like my head intact.

[Notassmartasithought]

@Add99

Please, don’t knock me down, I will give you the ball. The friggin’ floor is concrete. I like my head intact.

My dad was an architect. He used terrazo in lots of schools, hospitals, etc, because it’s easy to clean and sanitize, requires virtually no maintenance, and is attractive and hospitable if done carefully. But on a gym floor? Never.

[Notassmartasithought]

And I’d be surprised, by the way, if terrazzo was more expensive than a good wood floor, so I can’t imagine it being a waste of money vis-a-vis wood, unless the wood option was really cheap, which certainly wouldn’t have been a bargain.

[Duckster]

@Add99

Please, don’t knock me down, I will give you the ball. The friggin’ floor is concrete. I like my head intact.

This.

If it were left up to those involved in athletics, most gymnasium floors would be wood. The aesthetics and performance of wood surfaces are what athletes competing at high levels expect. Proponents of wood floors also assert that because of the foundation that lies beneath a hardwood floor to absorb shocks, athletes are less likely to sustain injuries.

(Bolding mine.)

http://asumag.com/mag/university_gymnasium_flooring/

About 20 years ago, the international sports community formulated a set of standards called the DIN Standards, by which the resilience of a sports floor could be measured. The Otto-Graf Institute, an affiliate of Stuttgart University in Stuttgart, Germany, developed the standards. When a floor is tested and passes the DIN standard tests, it is “DIN Certified.” The “Ball Rebound” DIN requirement for a sports floor is 90 percent. The ball rebound compares the wood floor rebound to the ball rebound of a concrete floor from the same height. School officials can determine the resilience of a floor material by visiting a manufacturer’s research facility for demonstrations.

It is not the ball which is most affected by the resilience of the floor — it is the athlete’s feet and body. The more resilient the floor, the quicker the athlete will tire — imagine running on snow or sand. The less resilient the floor, the more damaging a fall can be. If the floor does not absorb some of the impact of the footfall, the human leg bones and joints will have to do the job.

http://asumag.com/mag/university_ball_bounces/

Sounds like the school board is penny wise and pound foolish. The first kid that gets injured and has a good lawyer will wipe out any alleged savings, and then some, in an instant.

[Notassmartasithought]

@Duckster

This.

(Bolding mine.)

http://asumag.com/mag/university_gymnasium_flooring/

http://asumag.com/mag/university_ball_bounces/
Sounds like the school board is penny wise and pound foolish. The first kid that gets injured and has a good lawyer will wipe out any alleged savings, and then some, in an instant.

Remember the OP’s friend said that the terrazzo was more expensive than wood for the gym floor. That’s one of the whacky things here. I’d love to know the town that built a terrazzo gym floor even though wood was less expensive.

[Philster]

For a business, cost is often calculated over time.

If Terrazo is 100,000 dollars up front and only 1,000 bucks in maintenance for the next 25 years, it costs 101,000 dollars.

If wood costs 75,000 up front, but costs 25,000 dollars in maintenance every five years, the wood costs more.

The Terrazo would appear to have a better Return On Investment (ROI). Invest 25k to save 100k. As long as the ROI is legit, it makes sense. If lawsuits are common because of Terrazo, the ROI is not honest. If the product (terrazo) doesn’t meet the requirements, but costs less, it’s still the wrong product to buy.

[Renee]

Who the hell puts a concrete floor in a gym? Ouch.

[KneadToKnow]

I’m guessing the person who approved this decision was a personal-injury lawyer.

[TruCelt]

They may have had a thick coating on top of it to provide resilience. That’s what we had in our highschool gym (epoxy? it was clear, silicone-like but tough). They had to re-coat it every 6 years or so, but it held up very well. It was really a wise initial investment, compared to the long-term costs of other flooring.

[SanDiegoTim]

I’ve played basketball 2-3 times a week for almost 20 years. Our YMCA/gym (wood floor)closes for maintenance for a week every year. We have to move to another YMCA/gym for that period. This floor is some knd of tile, don’t know exactly what it is. I can say, however, that it’s hell to play on, hard as a rock. After an hour your knees have really taken a beating.