Rubber Stall Mats for Outdoor Applications

[bdhsfz6]

I use 3/4" thick stall mats in the barn and they work well over a level compacted surface. Has anyone used them outdoors? Do they break down or discolor when exposed to the weather?

I have a hardscaped area behind the house and I want to use them as a walkway put down over pea gravel. We get heavy frost here and I don't want to pour concrete or put down pavers due to possible heaving. I just want something that's more stable to walk on than just the gravel surface. Looks aren't that important but I want something semi permanent that I can clear snow off easily.

I'm open to using other materials though, any ideas?

 

[John0829]

We have them in a few places around, it generally takes awhile before they start to break down in the places where we have them in full sun. Some have been out for over 5 years which I consider a good life considering the exposure. I even made the mud flaps for my ton truck out of em' and they have held up REALLY well, at least until you catch them between the tire and curb.

 

[2manyrocks]

I’m not sure how you clear snow. I think a snow shovel would catch the edges?

As far as durability, I have used one for years as an outdoor mat. It’s pretty tough. Some fading, but not bothersome to me.

 

[Rustyiron]

I have one cut down to fit the bed of my little Tacoma with no signs of even fading.
It is under a tonneau cover in snow season but it's been in use for 8 years and see's various petroleum products and other normal "working" pickup duties and it's still in perfect condition.

 

[not2old]

I've used some as a temporary sidewalk for about ten years. That's the problem with them. They work so well that the concrete work keeps getting postponed as other things seem to take priority.

 

[scootr]

We used to throw one or two down at the hitchin rail for hosing off horses. It lasted at least 10 yrs. without much sign of age. kept the horses from pawing up a hole too.

 

[jyoutz]

I use 3/4" thick stall mats in the barn and they work well over a level compacted surface. Has anyone used them outdoors? Do they break down or discolor when exposed to the weather?

I have a hardscaped area behind the house and I want to use them as a walkway put down over pea gravel. We get heavy frost here and I don't want to pour concrete or put down pavers due to possible heaving. I just want something that's more stable to walk on than just the gravel surface. Looks aren't that important but I want something semi permanent that I can clear snow off easily.

I'm open to using other materials though, any ideas?

If you put down a base of compacted crusher fines, the pavers typically don’t frost heave. At least mine don’t.

 

[5030]

I use them for standing mats in front of the machine tools to mitigate standing on the concrete floor. Much cheaper (and better as in more resilient than safety rubber matting and being solid, the swarf don't collect in the voids like the safety mats do. If Grainger only knew...lol

 

[brutus54]

I have a 6X6 3/4" under my outdoor shooting bench, been there for almost 7 years now and still looks the day it was put down. Have an 6X8 3/4" that is used for a backstop for crossbow,archery and knife throwing hanging vertical all summer and under the tractor during the winter in the garage, that too is like day one.

 

[Peter 315]

Stall mats will last. I have a few that have been outside for 30 years behind my barn where the horses come in...

 

[paulsharvey]

The thick truck bed mats works great as something other than sand to lay in working on vehicles, and I've had one since 2005, and it's still going strong. The one i gor came in a 4x8 piece, and you trimmed it to length of your bed. Now, it looks like the ones at TSC come in 4x6 length, and you trim it to the new shorter bed lengths.

 

[paulsharvey]

Used conveyor belts, if you come across them, also work. You don't want to buy them new for that purpose, but if you have a source of disposal ones, get them.

 

[Renze]

Theres a rubber company nearby, that next to new rubber in all varieties, sells used mining conveyor belts.
They move them around with a 15 ton forklift, and theres so much steel in them that they are sold as pavement for silage silos.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Conveyor belts can be pretty slippery.

 

[John0829]

At one time I used a lot of conveyor belting, working at a rock quarry at the time I could have all I wanted. Problem I found with it was that after a time the sides would curl up and then eventually the top layers would start flaking off.

 

[paulsharvey]

It might even be to ghetto for me, but belive it or not, carpet does wonders to stabalize sand in a driveway or parking area. Astroturf works too. Carpet is nasty to lay in to work, as it holds moisture, and the astroturf is only half a step above sandspurs for comfort

 

[ssgp2]

We have some that we got from Tractor Supply about 20 years ago to put in the horse trailer. About 10 years ago, we sold the trailer but kept the rubber mats and just tossed them on the ground. They look as good now as they did when we got them. Just as heavy too.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I use the stall mats around my work shop machinery as well as my truck bed mat. After 10 years in the back of my truck, they still look like new and felxible. Good buy for the buck.

 

[arrow]

Have had one in the open for 15 years.
Still good.