Reclaimed gym floors in a bathroom

Reclaimed gym floors in a bathroom

In this bathroom, we wanted to explore the possibilities of timber salvaged from old gym floors. It's relatively inexpensive and pretty widely available, so it has become a popular reclaimed material.

Old gym floors

The timber from gym floors is commonly salvaged, and people often like to leave the old gym markings on; these can be white, blue or red lines delineating sports areas or courts for games such as basketball or squash.

Timbers will always have a certain amount of reactivity to moisture and humidity, and this is accentuated when timbers are used in a bathroom. Teak is generally considered to work well in a high-moisture environment.

These reclaimed gym floors are Canadian maple, and I was intrigued to see how they would react in a bathroom.

Why we love them

• Relatively inexpensive and widely available.
• Can be left with original gym markings or sanded back to a much paler tone.
• Canadian maple can yellow over time, but it can be sanded again and given a whitening treatment.

How we use them

• Bathroom: we used the old gym floor to entirely panel the walls and pitched ceiling of our bathroom. The maple has generally responded well to the humid environment, but we added extra protection with brass push plates where there were direct splashes next to the bath and sink.

Be aware of metalwork

It's worth noting that if there is still metalwork present in the salvaged timber, you are very unlikely to be able to cut it down to use it as a veneer. It will need to be used in its current thickness, as metalwork will interfere with any machinery that tries to cut it down.