Best Coverage: Dimex Clear Rectangle Office Chair Mat
Prices taken at time of publishing.
This office chair mat is made with a durable, wear-resistant material that provides floor protection to large work areas. It has 46-by-60-inch dimensions, but you can also purchase it in other sizes if your workspace is smaller.
Courtesy Amazon
Made from BPA- and phthalate-free materials
Undergoes testing to ensure performance in a variety of temperature and humidity conditions
Has a smooth, stain-resistant, surface
Only works with low-pile carpet up to 0.25 inches high
Doesnt have a lip, limiting coverage under your desk
Best Value: Ofm Ess Collection Chair Mat
Prices taken at time of publishing.
This office chair mat has an anti-slip top and a molded cleat underside for added stability on carpet thats up to 0.25 inches thick. It also has an extended front to provide you with protection under your desk and a clear exterior to blend into your carpet. All of these features come at an affordable price.
Courtesy Amazon
Has ramped edges that make it easy to slide your chair on and off it
Features an extended lip for under-the-desk coverage
Also available in a hard floor design without the spikes
Not intended for use on hard floors
Can take up to three days to flatten once it arrives because its shipped in a roll
The 5 Best Chair Mats
Office mats protect your floor from scuffs and make moving your chair easier. In this review, the This Old House Reviews Team researched the five best chair mats on Amazon to help you find the product thats right for you and your home.
An office mat is a multifunctional product, giving your chair a smooth surface to glide over and protecting your floor from scuffing. The This Old House Reviews Team researched the best chair mats on Amazon and created a buyers guide to help you make an informed purchasing decision. Here are our top mat recommendations.
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Prepare Laminate Flooring Pieces
The cheapest box of laminate flooring I could find was about $30 USD. One box covers an area roughly 4 feet by 5.5 feet, which is perfect in front of my 6-foot work table. A smaller mat can be made by simply not using all of the boards from the box.
For this use, the cheapest laminate is the best choice not only for price, but because it is perfectly smooth. The more expensive laminate flooring styles have slight waves, gouges and mars to imitate real wood. That looks nice in a dining area, but is the opposite of what a person would want in this application.
The boards are made with a tongue-and-groove system that allows them to snap together along both the longer sides, as well as the narrow ends. Both the tongue side and the groove side have portions that extend out past the upper finished surface of the board, which are generally hidden once the boards are installed.
For this use, however, these extending portions must be removed from any areas that will become the perimeter of the assembled mat.
I began by trimming away the bits from the narrow ends of all boards using a cross-cut sled on my table saw.
Then, along the lengths of two boards I trimmed away the tongue from one board, and the locking tab below the groove from the other. These two boards will be the end pieces on the right and left sides of the assembled mat.
See photo notes for additional details.
Option : Replace The Wheels In Your Office Chair
If you already have an office chair that you love and want to make sure you dont damage your hardwood floors, you can easily replace the wheels yourself . Its a super easy process. All you have to do is pop the old ones out and push the new ones in.
Heres a quick video for more details.
If youd like to purchase chair wheels for wood floors , just click here.
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Add Final Piece Of Trim
With all the pieces of flooring in place, I added the final piece of trim and touched up as needed.
The final step is to quickly move this onto a perfectly flat surface , and walk all over it.
This will settle the boards into the adhesive and remove any slight buckles or waves that may exist. I walked around and jumped on every square inch until I could no longer hear the adhesive popping and squishing, and could no longer feel the boards settling.
I sat in my office chair and rolled around freely on my solid wooden chair mat. No more sitting in divots!
What Customers Are Saying
Customers were thrilled with this chair mats performance on all carpets, even thick ones. Customers said that it felt sturdy and was flat right out of the box. However, some customers noted the price point of this heavy-duty chair mat, stating that it was more expensive than other options.
Best Heavy-Duty
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Protect & Enhance Your Hardwood Flooring With A Vitrazza Glass Chair Mat
You’ve just installed new hardwood flooring, maybe distressed wide plank, reclaimed pine, or refinished vintage. Every detail is perfect, all your office furniture is in place, but youre missing one important detail, you need something to protect your floor from daily scuffs.
If youd like to avoid unsightly scratches, scuffs, or dents from rolling your office chair on your hardwood floor, invest in a chair mat. They can double the lifespan of your flooring. What is the best chair mat for hardwood floors? The choice is clear! Opt for a Glass Office Chair Mat, and youll benefit from a sleek and professional appearance. Office chair wheels damage hardwood flooring over time because the hard plastic casters that come with office chairs dont glide smoothly across the hard surface.
There are 3 practical benefits to protecting your new floors with a Glass Chair Mat which include:
- Theyre easier to clean
- They last incredibly long
- They offer a certain luxury that other materials can not
Thats why in this article were discussing why mats made from glass are the most effective solution to protect your hardwood floors while being simple and cost-effective. An investment in the protection of your office floor now can benefit you for years.
Rollerblade Style Chair Casters
Yep, these casters are exactly as you might think. They use rollerblade-like wheels as chair casters. Maybe this brings back some memories of rollerblading as a kid, but they are actually extremely functional when used on rolling chairs. Instead of hard nylon plastic, these wheels are encased in a soft polyurethane. Polyurethane is a rubber-like material that is extremely durable and strong. But most importantly, it grips hard surfaces so it can never damage, scuff or scratch hardwood floors. The polyurethane wheels actually protect your wood floors.
A set of rollerblade style chair wheels is the absolute best way to protect your hardwood floors. These polyurethane rollerblade style wheels also protects all other types of hard flooring, like wood, laminate, LVT, tile, bamboo, pergo, etc.
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Buying Guide For Best Chair Mats For Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are beautiful, long-lasting, and easy to keep clean. They shine up like a champ. Their durability and ease of maintenance have made them a perennial favourite for decades. But the wood can be worn down sanded, if you will by the repeated movements of an office chair rolling across the same area again and again. When that happens, it leaves behind a worn patch that is visibly lighter in colour than the rest of the wood around it.
Restoring worn-down hardwood to its original colour is next to impossible without sanding the whole floor and staining it. Thats not only expensive, but it is also time-consuming. Fortunately, there is a better way: a chair mat.
A chair mat can protect your hardwood floor for pennies on the dollar compared to retroactively restoring it. A wide variety of chair mats exist on the market, with different colours, materials, and sizes available. So many, in fact, that it can be difficult to find the right one for your needs.
Which Chair Mat For Hardwood Floors Is Best
Hardwood flooring has continued to grow in popularity over the last several years. Its no wonder either, as hardwood flooring services both fashion and function thanks to its natural beauty and the ease with which you can clean messes from its surface. However, they are easier to damage, especially from rough-wheeled office chairs that constantly move across the surface.
The best chair mat for protecting your hardwood floors is the Gorilla Grip Premium Polycarbonate Chair Mat for Hard Floors. This best-of-the-best chair mat exceeds expectations across the board from its durability to its transparency and can be purchased in one of two sizes and with or without edge lip.
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Chair Mat For Hardwood Floors Faq
How can I tell which is the top and bottom side of my new chair mat?
A. Most chair mats designed for hardwood floors have a smooth side and a textured side. The bottom side is smooth to protect the flooring, and the top side is textured to provide more traction for an office chair with caster wheels. Some manufacturers attach a sticker or other marker before shipping to indicate proper orientation.
Why does my chair mat have an extended tongue?
A. Many chair mats for hardwood floors are square or rectangular, and they are designed to protect the flooring beneath the chair. A chair mat with an extended tongue or flap is designed to fit under the desk and provide a barrier between the floor and the user’s feet.
Best For Hard Floors: Muarts Crystal Clear Heavy
Prices taken at time of publishing.
This office chair mat has a transparent design thats 0.2 inches thick to protect your hard or carpeted surfaces from chair scuffs. It can withstand up to 1,200 pounds of pressure and is available in multipacks if you have several desks in your home or office.
Courtesy Amazon
Made of a nontoxic and odorless material
Can also be used on carpets
Perfect for multi-person offices because its available in multipacks
Doesnt have beveled or sloped edges
Might slip if its used on carpet because it doesnt have spikes
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My Chair Mat Keeps Moving Underneath Me How Can I Get It To Stay In Place
There are several methods to keep your chair mat from moving around your hardwood floor. One of the better methods is to add a thin layer of glue all over the bottom of the chair mat, which is then allowed to dry before the chair mat is returned. This adds traction to the chair mat. Another option you can try is to attach the double-sided tape to the corners or edges of the chair mat to keep it still though you generally need to replace the tape every so often.
Why You Shouldn’t Use An Chair Mat For Wood Floors
It is recommended to avoid using chair mats for hardwood floors or other hard surfaces.These may seem like a good idea at first, since they are covering part of your flooring. And some office chair mats are even advertised as safe for hardwood floors. However, chair mats can actually cause more harm than good.As you roll in your office chair, the mat can slide or rub against the hardwood floor beneath. So, any dirt or debris between the layers will actually wear down and damage your floor.They also come with many other limitations. Your movement area is restricted by the size of the mat, which defeats the purpose of your rolling chair. They cover part of your beautiful wood floors. And they also require extra care and maintenance.Even the expensive glass chair mat should be avoided for all hard floors.Chair mats have a time and a place in offices. But only for plush or high-pile carpet.
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How Should I Clean My Chair Mat For Hardwood Floors
The best method of cleaning your chair mat for hardwood floors is to simply wipe it clean with soap and water-soaked cloth before thoroughly drying the surface and especially drying any water that sneaked under the edge of the mat. You could also mop it, but water will still get under the edges that youll need to dry to prevent mildew.
How To Work From Home Effectively
In an effort to help curb the spread of COVID-19, many organizations are encouraging employees to work from home. Between using dining room tables as desks and bar stools as office chairs, we’re feeling the need for a designated, enjoyable workspace to help us stay productive and inspired. Here’s how to start working from home. Create the best home office for your mind, body, and productivity during the pandemic.
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Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at .
Chair Mat For Hardwood Floors Cost
The least-expensive chair mats for hardwood floors will most likely be constructed of vinyl or PVC and cost less than $35. A quality midrange chair mat made from a more durable polycarbonate can retail in the $35-$70 range. High-end tempered glass chair mats can cost $70 or more, but the performance quality is exceptional.
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The Best Chair Mat For Hardwood Floors
If youre looking to protect your floors long term and want to avoid the headache that comes with buying a new mat every couple of years, then consider the beauty and durability of a Vitrazza Glass Chair Mat. Strong, tempered glass will protect your wood flooring better than anything else you can buy.
Vitrazza is the leader in Glass Office Chair Mats. Our products provide protection, style, durability, and ergonomic comfort either in a home office or in the corner office, where rolling office chairs can do so much damage. We also have a special readers discount if you want to order a Vitrazza Glass Chair Mat today.
Protect Against Any Further Damage
The first thing youll want to do is protect your flooring from any further damage. Your floor may already be starting to show signs of wear, but you can at least stop it from happening further. The best way to do that is by no longer using the hard plastic casters on your office chair. You can remove and replace these with chair wheels that are specifically designed for wood floors.
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The 3 Best Chair Mats For Hardwood Floors
We only recommend products we love and that we think you will, too. We may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was written by our Commerce team.
A nice office chair on wheels is a game-changer, especially if you spend tons of time at your desk. That said, rolling around can cause serious damage to your floors without one of the best chair mats for hardwood floors to protect the wood. So what do you need in a chair mat for hardwood floors? The two most important features in a chair mat will be the size and the nonslip backing. Finding the right size is essential to ensure you have plenty of room to roll around without ending up on your wood floors. And, the nonslip backing will keep the chair mat in place on hardwood, so it doesn’t move with you.
From there, you’ll want to consider aesthetics and your budget. A basic fabric or transparent mat won’t set you back too much, and will likely match almost any color scheme in your office. But, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can add a touch of style to your space with a chair mat that resembles an area rug. The one on this list comes in more than 20 printed designs to combine function and aesthetics in one.
To help you get started, here’s a roundup of some of the best chair mats that are comfortable for you while protecting your floors from scuffs and scratches.