Kennel Flooring

Over the years we have noticed that our plastic mats and interlocking draining tiles are being used as flooring for outdoor or indoor dog kennels, shower tubs/platforms, crates for rabbits and even goat pens. Mats can easily be rolled up and moved for cleaning. Our matting is made out of vinyl and unlike some flooring made out of rubber would not absorb any liquids and would be very easy to wash. Multi-directional drainage underneath a mat is important as you want liquids to be drained efficiently and floors underneath to dry as fast as possible..

Products that we would recommend for this purpose would be:

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VinGrate:

The floor covering comes in 4 and 3 foot-wide rolls. As long as one side of dog cage is 4 feet or less you would be able to cover the entire area with one piece. It is constructed from solid treads on the top and bottom that aren’t as easy to bend as most of other mats. It also has indentation on the bottom treads that provide excellent multi-directional drainage:

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VinTile:

11-1/2 x 11-1/2 inch squares with interlocking tabs would allow to cover area of any size dog run. These ate pretty rigid as well. If needed they can be fused together using HH66 vinyl cement to form larger pieces that would be impossible to take apart. If covering area wall-to-wall we would recommend leaving a seam through the middle so it is easier to remove from the cage if the cage is permanently attached to the floor Such dense duckboard design and threads being solid results in the 1.1 pound weight per square foot (almost 5.4 kg per square meter), making larger pieces very stable on any surfaces due to the weight. This material has tested well in direct sunlight and this is one of few products on the market that will hold up well when exposed to ultraviolet. We would still recommend choosing lighter colors when purchasing mats to be used in outside showers, boats, marinas and alike. We also have borders and corners that can be attached to the edges. If you choose to get these we would recommend gluing them to the tiles. They would be too easy to pick them unless they are glued. Tiles come in several attractive colors:

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Chewing:
Being locked up in a cage or a kennel for a long time makes any animal bored. To keep themselves occupied, some four-legged friends would resort to chewing. These mats are made of plastics and are not meant for consumption. Mats for portable cages should be slightly bigger than the cage floor. That way a cage can be set on the top of the mat and an animal would not be able to reach an edge of the mat. If there is a chance that your dog may be able to move the cage across the mat and reach an edge – use some cable ties and tie the mat to the cage. Permanently mounted to the floor kennels should have matting as close to the edges as possible so they aren’t easy to grab onto and pull up. If you notice that a dog is very interested in the matting and/or you already caught it chewing on the mat – remove mat from the kennel, especially if you are about to leave it unattended for a longer period of time.

Hollow Treads/Tubes:
Mats that are made using hollow treads or tubes (VinAir or VinTube) may not be appropriate as liquids can get inside. If you will be using the mat for shower tub/platform - no problem at all. However if you consideting this purchase because you need drainage for liquids "other than water" that may get inside these hollow treads you better off sticking to the suggested above options (VinGrate and VinTile)

Dense Patterns :
Matting or tiles with very dense patterns. Food and “other things” stepped on and embedded into such dense mats may be difficult to remove. Look for products with larger openings that would be easy to wash with pressure that a regular garden hose could produce.

Absorbent Materials:
This is not going to be an issue with any of the mats that are listed in "Drainage Floor Mats" categody (category you will be directed to if you click on the banner below). However there are many other products out there (some of them on our website) that are made out of or incorporate elements made from open cell foam. Many anti-fatigue mats that would be comfortable for a dog to rest on have open cell spongy backing. You do notr want the mat that would absorb what you want to drain away. .