When you purchase indoor wall padding for your gymnasium, safety should be the first priority, though it's hardly the only thing to consider! Whether you're constructing a new facility or renovating your current one, the type of wallpad you purchase should also serve dual purposes to promote your school's brand and make your space feel like one built for champions.
Let our experts help ensure your installation is successful and you get it right the first time! Purchasing and installing wall padding for your sports facilities may not be as simple as it seems, but proper research can help you order the right pads that ensure the safety of your athletes and the success of your team and school spirit.
Fieldwallpads.com offers a wide range of wall pads for indoor and outdoor sports facilities and handles installation from start to finish. We've created this guide for buying and installing indoor wall padding to help you make informed decisions.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and custom pads!
Purchasing Indoor Wall Padding
While most people look at buying new wall padding as a way to add aesthetic and cultural appeal to their facilities, the most important aspect of athletic padding is, as mentioned, athlete safety. As an athletic director, coach, or school administrator, you no doubt consider the important cost of not having adequate wall pads, which risks severe injuries for your athletes.
Run through these different factors and considerations before deciding which wall pads to purchase.
Which Activities?
The purpose of wall pads is to absorb the shock and impact that can happen during events. Depending on the sport the pads are for, they must be of a certain thickness and have a specific surface-level make. Therefore, establishing which sports you are preparing for is vital to the success and safety of all those involved.
We make wall pads for all sports and facilities, whether indoor or outdoor sports or a concrete wall or a metal fence!
What Surfaces?
No matter the sport, athletic wall pads must cover any surface that could injure a player, whether in a contact sport or not. High-intensity sports, such as football and basketball, usually come to mind. However, wall pads are also needed for baseball, softball, and volleyball.
There is a wall pad design for every type of surface in your gym, field, or stadium. It is important to anticipate which areas of the facility will see the most impact or action. On a basketball court, the bleachers or the walls behind the baskets see frequent impact, while in football, it is the wall behind the end zone.
What Thickness?
The most basic wall pads are typically two to three inches thick but can be thicker if necessary. Even the most basic athletic wall pads are built to sustain impact and prevent injury.
To better understand your needs, establish how much shock absorption you think is required. Each sport requires different levels of support, so know the purpose of how the pads are used and gauge the thickness based on this determination.
What Level of Impact?
High-impact pads are different in how they are made. These pads are made with polyethylene foam that is laminated to a custom bottom layer of polyethylene. Because of its versatility, polyurethane is a highly durable and flexible material used in multiple products, from insulation to shipbuilding.
This makes it the ideal material to reduce your athletes' risk of severe injuries by absorbing the impact and preventing them from running directly into unforgiving walls and poles at your facility.
Combining the two ensures that the pads stay sturdy and absorb impact during activities.
How Can the Wall Pads Be Customized for Your Facility?
Another important factor you need to consider when shopping for wall pads is whether they can be customized for your specific athletic facilities. The wall pads you choose need to cover all potentially dangerous areas and be attachable to practically any surface.
At Fieldwallpads.com, each of our wall pads and other safety products can be customized to attach to any surface. We design wall pads for dugouts, fences, walls, bleachers, stages, and more.
Each of our products can be attached to several different surfaces, such as:
● Bricks
● Metal
● Wood
● And more!
In addition to being customizable for any surface, our wall pads can also be cut to the exact specifications of your facility.
The wall pads and other products will cover all surfaces they need to, and they will have cutouts to match areas of your facilities that include specific places like fire extinguishers, outlets, door handles, and more.
Branding Your Wall Padding
If you're making such a significant investment in new athletic padding, it needs to pull double duty as both assets to your players' safety and a brand-boosting powerhouse. Otherwise, you're simply not getting the most out of your purchase, and the ambiance of your facility will suffer.
As we cover in our stadium padding blog about how branding can be your secret weapon in building a fanbase, it can also be the core to your marketing success. But don't just take our word for it; Oregon Sports News also attests to this concept's importance:
"Strong brands command customer loyalty and premium prices, constituting valuable assets that drive the company's revenue and growth."
But what does it mean to brand a wallpad? It's more than sticking a logo or a sponsor's name on it. We dive into this topic in detail in our wall padding blog, so check it out here for the full picture.
In short: stick to your style guide, consider using them as you would a banner, and fully embrace the fact that they make up a lot of visual "real estate." Then you'll be golden!
Installing Wall Padding
The padding takes up more space than you may originally measure. The foam may interfere with pad alignment once it settles or even upon installation. Therefore, you must account for the additional space the foam may take up.
The additional space does add up quickly. Thus, it may alter how you measure each pad across the length of the wall. This is especially important if you want each pad's height or width to be identical.
Your on-site maintenance staff may not have the knowledge or tools to cut and re-staple the pads themselves, so we provide a team of installers to help. Otherwise, one wrong pad can prolong the installation if you have to reorder.
Where Will the Wall Pads Be Placed?
The question of where you put your wall pads has more to do with what sport needs their support and what environment they'll need to weather than how they'll be hung or if they can be customized into the necessary shapes.
A baseball field, for example, is unique in that it needs dugout padding to be considered safe, while it may or may not need pole pads, depending on your facility's layout.
On the other hand, volleyball courts will need pole padding, but they probably won't need dugout pads, save for the extremely off chance they also cater to your baseball team in some way.
Indoor and outdoor pads, while they fundamentally serve the same purpose, have to deal with different stressors, and this should be considered accordingly during the purchasing process.
While both, for example, might have to deal with some form of UV exposure, your outdoor pads will most likely need to be much stronger against it than indoor ones.
Measuring the Pads
When measuring for the wall pads, elevate the pads four inches off the floor for a concrete or tile floor. Elevate the pads four and a half inches off the floor for a wood floor.
Here are additional factors you may want to consider:
- Measure up to the desired height and level off from the marking. Do not measure up with each pad, as the floor may not be perfectly level.
- Hire a professional to measure the cutouts. Leave room for all wall items around the pads.
- Leave room around the padding edges so doors can open and close freely.
Specifications
When ordering indoor wall pads, you need to specify how you want them to be installed. There are three common methods of installation: furring strips, Z-clips, and concrete screws.
- Furring strips: Pieces of wood are mounted to the wall; then, the pads are nailed directly to the wood. This is best for a more permanent installation that you prefer not to be easily removed.
- Z-clips: The Z-clips are attached to the back of the panels, while Z-clip bars are attached to the wall. Then, the pads can easily slide into place. This is best for pads you prefer to remove when necessary easily.
- Concrete screws: Tapcon screws are used to attach gym wall padding directly to concrete walls. These are used for permanent installation.
How Our Wall Pads Prevent Injury
While each wall pad needs to meet specific safety standards set by governing bodies, it is crucial that you also research wall padding companies that go above the norm to ensure the safety of their customers.
When you choose Fieldwallpads.com, not only are you getting products that meet each standard, but you are also getting products that we design to be a step above the rest. With our independent testing, we can guarantee that our products are state-of-the-art and will reduce the likelihood of concussions and other serious injuries.
With all these aspects in mind, you must set a budget and consult an expert to determine the best choices for your facilities. It is quite a complex and comprehensive process, and we're here to help. Our team at Fieldwallpads.com is happy to discuss everything you need to consider before purchasing wall pads.
Are you seeking a practical, affordable solution for keeping your athletes safe? Then contact Fieldwallpads.com for wall padding for all types of outdoor and indoor sports facilities.
Contact Fieldwallpads.com for School Decor & Safety Products
If you are searching for state-of-the-art wall pads to enhance safety at your athletic facilities, contact our team at Fieldwallpads.com. For over 30 years, we have been helping top teams across the country improve brand engagement and athletic facilities' safety.
To learn more about our products or schedule a consultation, call us at 800-257-6406 or connect with our team today!