Where can Life Floor be installed?

Life Floor is engineered for aquatics and designed for play! Our products can be installed virtually anywhere with proper techniques and have been installed at over 2,500 facilities worldwide. Explore some of our most common application types below and discover how Life Floor may be a good fit for your project.

Splash Pads

Splash Pads are one of our most common project requests and we often see both retrofit and new build construction types.

Life Floor is certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50 which was created by NSF International specifically for interactive water play venues, also known as splash pads and spray grounds. As a certified product, Life Floor meets 6 performance-based criteria including Slip-Resistance, Cushioning, Impermeability, Cleanability, UV Resistance, and Chemical Resistance.

It’s common for children to run around spray features to dodge water or re-engage with the amenity from different angles. This area is referred to as the overspray area or apron.

Including overspray areas in surface design is beneficial to increase safety where children are still engaging in play. The Life Floor Studio and authorized designers can easily expand designs to cover these areas in ways that complement the available space.

Without overspray

With overspray

Pool Decks

Pool decks are another of our most popular requests. Life Floor is flexible and durable which allows for tight coping and wrapping around pool edges and fixtures. We also offer high contrast depth markers, no-diving symbols, and other safety messaging that is manufactured from our same high-performance safety surfacing. Our tile modularity means that safety messaging will not lose contrast over time since each color of Life Floor is a different tile.

Custom safety messaging such as “Bench Below” or “Please Walk” signs are available upon request.

Zero-Depth Entries

These commonly slippery areas present a hydroplaning challenge for operators, staff, and guests alike due to the sloping surfaces leading into the water. Adding Life Floor’s cushioned and slip-resistant surfacing at these entry points can enhance safety, design, and accessibility at any aquatic center.

Sometimes, it’s difficult for guests to visualize how deep water is becoming and how quickly. Gradients and colors that symbolize shorelines and water depth can be a good visual indicator of zones. For example, a walkway or lounge chair area can have tan colors that resemble sandy beaches while light blues can represent shallow water, gradually developing into darker colors as water depth increases.

In some states within the USA, pool codes require specific surfacing color options under certain depths of water. Internationally, restrictions are often less limiting, allowing for colorful designs that can extend deep underwater.

For more information about the different types of Zero-Depth Entries, read our blog Reducing Slip and Falls at Zero-Depth Entries.

Waterparks

Waterparks have many areas where Life Floor can be installed to solve common challenges and aesthetically transform the design of a space.

Stairs

Due to the modularity of our tiles, stair nosings and treads will maintain high visual contrast over time. Since our products are slip-resistant, they also reduce injuries that occur on slippery slide towers and ramps.

Elevated Platforms

As WhiteWater’s recommended safety surface, Life Floor is standard on AquaForm structures and Landing Pads. Life Floor is recommended on AquaPlay structures and for splash zones under AquaPlay, AquaForm, and AquaSpray structures.

Landing Pads for Waterslide Exits

Life Floor Landing Pads are designed to meet the safety and quality standards of today’s most challenging aquatic conditions. Our Landing Pad tiles will never absorb water and will remain slip-resistant even when submerged underwater.

Edge Pads for Lily Pad Walkways

Lily Pad Walkways are a popular attraction at waterparks and provide a unique way for children to engage with a small space. Edge Pad Landings that are cushioned with Life Floor allow for safer entries and exits to these types of features. They can also include custom graphics, logos, or colors to complement a facility’s theme.

Sloped Ramps

Life Floor is ADA Compliant and can be installed on any sloped access ramp. These commonly slippery areas especially benefit from Life Floor’s slip-resistant properties.

Locker Rooms and Bathrooms

Locker rooms and bathrooms are typically added onto projects that already include a pool deck or splash pad to take advantage of lower installation costs per square foot or square meter.

Since these facility features are often connected to aquatic amenities, they are typically wet and slippery especially near showers and entrances. Wet carpet mats are unsightly and can harbor harmful bacteria or mold which require them to be replaced and cleaned often. Life Floor offers a beautiful alternative that complements facility design and is easy to clean.

DRY PLAY

Life Floor is engineered for aquatics, but some customers enjoy the superior cleanability and cushioning of our products. This is especially true on Cruise Ships where lightweight, IMO Certified products such as Life Floor are highly sought after.

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To get started on your project, begin a conversation with one of our Account Executives to find out how Life Floor can solve your surfacing-related challenges.

What Exactly is Life Floor?

For anyone familiar with our product, they know that Life Floor is an aquatic safety surface with endless design opportunities. What many people don't know about our flooring, especially if they haven't seen or experienced it in person, is exactly how it looks, feels, and functions. Let's dive into the details! 

MATERIAL 

Most people have seen or experienced pour-in-place aggregate products commonly used for safety surfacing at playgrounds and they assume that Life Floor must be similar. While our product is also cushioned, our tiles are entirely different.

Life Floor is made of a closed cell foam-rubber which means it’s impervious to water and easy to clean. The compressive nature of this unique material is what also makes it a safer option than concrete. Our tiles’ impact attenuation has been third-party tested by NSF International to prove that they can cushion guests if any slip-and-falls occur.

CUSHIONING  

To achieve any level of impact attenuation, materials require a certain thickness. What does that look like with Life Floor?

Our standard 3/8" (10 mm) tiles are most commonly used on splash pads and pool decks and have been tested to a minimum fall height of 1'-0" (0.3 m). For more robust needs such as slide landing pads, we offer 7/8" (22 mm) tiles with a minimum fall height of 4'-0" (1.2 m). We also offer a layered system that can be customized to protect at even greater heights. 

SIZING

Many customers wonder if Life Floor can be rolled out like rubber matting products used in other applications. Our surfacing doesn’t come in sheets or rolls. Instead, it is a modular system with a standard square tile size of 24" x 24" (610 mm x 610 mm) that is adhered to a substrate such as concrete. As a result, any customer looking for minimal replacements, especially in the event of any accidental damage, can swap out individual tiles without replacing an entire floor. 

For additional shapes, our triangles and rectangles are half tiles, our hexagons are 20" (508 mm) from edge to edge, and our custom cutting possibilities are endless. Our proprietary precision-cutting system allows us to cut any shape, logo, or image from any number of our square tiles making Life Floor a popular choice for designers and customers looking to accurately depict specific imagery. 

INSTALLATION

But what about the grout? Again, Life Floor works differently. Our tiles are adhered to substrates like concrete with a commercial-grade waterproof contact cement adhesive. No material is applied in the joints between tiles. Instead, they are installed tightly adjacent to one another. Due to the natural closed-cell properties of our tiles, these joints are easily cleaned and do not harbor microbial growth. The finished look of our installations is continuous, allowing for more organic designs, like the one pictured above, to be achieved.

SLIP-RESISTANCE 

Our grooved Ripple tiles are uniquely slip-resistant as verified by third-party testing. Even our Slate tiles feature a MicroTread texture for added traction. Life Floor products are engineered to perform best when wet which creates a solid grip for bare feet on our surfacing. As a result, guests of all ages experience aquatic spaces more confidently—playing, swimming, and splashing in ways that would be impossible on slippery surfaces.  

SEE & FEEL LIFE FLOOR YOURSELF

The best way to experience Life Floor is by visiting an existing installation. For anyone curious about local facilities that feature our product, we've created an installation map to reference. 

To see and feel Life Floor for yourself, we also encourage you to order a product sample. We have a variety of options depending on your needs available in our sample store. 

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Looking to learn a bit more about Life Floor? Our team would love to connect about your aquatic needs. 

REDUCING SLIP AND FALLS AT ZERO-DEPTH ENTRIES

Having the right surfacing on zero-depth entry applications is often overlooked when renovating existing facilities or building new ones. This commonly slippery area presents a hydroplaning challenge for operators, staff, and guests alike due to the sloping surface leading into the water. Adding cushioned and slip-resistant materials at these entry points can enhance safety, design, and accessibility at any aquatic center.

What is a Zero-Depth Entry?

Zero-depth entries provide a gradually sloped surface leading from a dry deck into a shallow depth of water that progressively gets deeper. Occasionally, spray features, jets, and toys will be installed where there is no depth of water present or in shallower areas, essentially functioning as small splash pads.

Customizable surfacing options, such as Life Floor, can integrate games, shapes, or activities into these areas before the depth of water increases to add additional engagement, create themed designs, and provide improved safety.

SURFACE Design of ZERO-DEPTH ENTRIES

Sometimes, it’s difficult for guests to visualize how deep water is becoming and how quickly. Gradients and colors that symbolize shorelines and water depth can be a good visual indicator of zones. For example, a walkway or lounge chair area can have tan colors that resemble sandy beaches while light blues can represent shallow water, gradually developing into darker colors as water depth increases.

In some states within the USA, pool codes require specific surfacing color options under certain depths of water. Internationally, restrictions are often less limiting, allowing for colorful designs that can extend deep underwater.

Wave Pools

Wave pools are a popular example of zero-depth entries and include the added challenge of active waves and currents.

Children often linger and play in the shallow depths of wave pools. This can be dangerous when inner tubes float towards the shore either empty or with guests in them since they can knock small children over and cause impacts with the surface. The youngest of guests may require extra balance to stand confidently in these dynamic areas. Older children and adults may also drift into shallow depths or recline on the surface while partially submerged.

Safety surfacing such as Life Floor that is slip-resistant and cushioned helps to increase comfort while adding safety to avoid incidents. Harder or more abrasive surfacing options can limit the types of play and interaction that happen within these areas.

Zero-Depth Entry Play Areas

Zero-depth entries for younger children have gained in popularity at indoor aquatic centers as alternatives to kiddie pools. These areas complement larger pool decks, hot tubs, slides, and other amenities for older guests that are offered.

These spaces are often a hybrid of small-scale elevated structures and spray toys tailored to small children. Toddler slides, collaborative activities, and safety surfaces all contribute to longer visits, increased play value, and overall comfort.

By increasing the surrounding comfort of these areas, caretakers and parents can have greater peace of mind and enjoy these experiences alongside their children and families for a full day of fun.

SMALL SPACES

Having an accessible, comfortable, and fun aquatic amenity regardless of size will contribute to positive guest memories and return visits. Small zero-depth entries can utilize safety surfacing in unique ways.

Some of our municipal clients choose to bundle surfacing for multiple small areas across their city to improve multiple small spaces such as zero-depth entries, splash pads, and landing pads for water slide exits.

Regardless of size, use, or design, adding safety surfacing to zero-depth entries helps to reduce slip and fall incidents while also improving aesthetics and overall guest experience. Keeping these zones in mind when designing aquatic facilities can completely transform the way visitors experience these accessible entry points.

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To learn more about how you can improve the safety and design of your zero-depth entry, contact us and find out how you can receive a complementary design rendering tailored to your facility.

Waterslide Tower Restoration and Refresh in Spencer, Iowa

In January of 2022, the City of Spencer, Iowa contacted Fischer Brothers about replacing the failed fiberglass steps on their waterslide tower at the Spencer City Aquatic Center. An inspection in February revealed that the tower’s fiberglass steps and landings had deteriorated to the point where there was an immediate need for repair. The once-white surfaces were stained after years of use, most of the previous surfacing product was worn smooth, and cracks had developed in the fiberglass.

The stairs and decks were originally made with a fiberglass exterior and a balsa wood coring interior. Cracks in the fiberglass had allowed water to rot the balsa wood coring from many harsh Midwestern seasons. The saturated coring would freeze each winter and thaw every spring, incrementally delaminating the fiberglass from its internal coring.

Before: Cracks in the Fiberglass

This project provided a great opportunity for Fischer Brothers and Life Floor to partner in solving this city’s slide tower issues. In August, Fischer Brothers sent a crew to tackle the project. They began by identifying all the structural problem areas and started work. Large portions of fiberglass were completely rebuilt using synthetic coring instead of balsa wood and more than 20 gallons of resin were used to repair the landings and stairs. Every square inch of the fiberglass was either rebuilt or sanded down to remove the old surface texture and create a smooth and stable surface for the installation of Life Floor safety surfacing.

Rotted Balsa Wood Core

New Fiberglass Restoration

Life Floor Safety Surfacing

Life Floor was the preferred choice for this WhiteWater and Fischer Brothers project in the City of Spencer, Iowa since the safety surfacing not only provides increased slip-resistance and cushioning, but also refreshes the visual appeal of the whole tower. The city chose to use Iceberg and River Rock colors in Life Floor’s Ripple 2.0 texture for this project. The pale blue Iceberg tiles were used on all the landings and stair treads and the grey River Rock tiles were installed on the step nosings and risers to provide contrasting colors and added safety. The surfacing on the slide tower is now more comfortable for bare feet, and it looks great!

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About Fischer Brothers, LLC.

Fischer Brothers, LLC got their start in 2007 restoring waterslides, and eventually moved on to other parts of the waterpark. From waterslide towers, aquatic play structures, spray features and more, Fischer Brothers has led the charge in pioneering innovative solutions for the aquatics restoration industry. Fischer Brothers is currently undergoing the process to become a Certified Life Floor Installer.

SETTING A SAFER PRECEDENT FOR CANADA: YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

Recently, NSF International expanded Standard 50 to extend across Canada, which includes recommendations for surfacing in aquatic play areas under NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 (formerly NSF/ANSI 50:26).

With its recent Life Floor installation, the YMCA of Greater Moncton, NB is one of the first aquatic facilities in Canada to recognize the importance of having NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 certified safety surfacing. The facility is a combination of an indoor splash pad with a zero-depth entry and a playground. Because of this unique configuration, the staff sought out a product that was able to transition seamlessly from wet to dry applications while maintaining their commitment to safety. To accomplish this, they selected Life Floor to be installed.

“Having seen Life Floor at a major trade show, we knew it was the product we wanted to install in our new facility.”

— Scott Munro, Vice President of Facilities

A custom beach-inspired design was chosen to complement the existing tropical theming. Life Floor’s foam-rubber tiles were able to create the perfect transition the YMCA needed between the wet and dry play areas, especially since splash pads are essentially wet playgrounds. The cushioned and impact-absorbing surfacing allows children to run, jump, and play without limits - never needing to stop and put on shoes or change the way they play from one area to the next. As a result, the fully immersive experience enhances imaginative play. 

The YMCA of Greater Moncton is skipping ahead of their competition by creating a facility full of imagination, play, and fun. They have created a holistic experience to provide their members with the perfect beach day right in their community’s backyard.

We thank the YMCA of Greater Moncton for their commitment to safety and for being one of the first in Canada to adopt NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 safety surfacing standards for the benefit of their members. We look forward to the future as more Canadian facilities follow their example and recognize the importance of this safety standard as an integral part of their business.

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To learn more about the official code in your region or state, check out this free resource.

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If you’d like to specify or install NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 surfacing for an aquatic play area in Canada, please contact our Canadian Partner, Paul-Émile Beaudry at pebeaudry@polyvalens.ca to assist you in both English and French.

For U.S. clients and all other inquiries, please contact us directly via our online contact form or send us an email at solutions@lifefloor.com. 

French Translation

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB crée un précédent sécuritaire en milieu aquatique au Canada.

Récemment, NSF International a étendu la norme Standard 50 partout au Canada, incluant des recommandations pour les surfaces de jeu aquatiques sous l’appellation NSF/ANSI/CAN 50,26 (précédemment nommée NSF/ANSI 50:26).

Avec ses récentes installations de Life Floor, le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB est l’un des premiers centres d’installation aquatique à reconnaître l’importance d’avoir une surface sécuritaire certifiée NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26. En effet, l’établissement se compose d’un mix de  deux (2) aires de jeux, l’une étant une surface mouillée (indoor splash pad) plane et l’autre étant une aire de jeux sèche. À cause de cette configuration spéciale, les employés ont recherché un produit qui permettrait la transition en toute transparence, de la surface mouillée à la surface sèche pour leurs activités tout en gardant un engagement de sécurité irréprochable. Un seul choix leur permettait de tout rallier : Life Floor.

Après avoir vu Life Floor lors d'un grand salon, nous avons sû que c’était le produit que nous voulions pour nos installations !  —Scott Munro, Vice Président du YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB

Au niveau du design,  le thème tropical dans l’aire de jeu d’eau et le thème plage dans l’aire de jeu sèche sont en parfaite harmonie pour s’adapter au thème pré-existant. Et maintenant, les enfants peuvent donc courir, sauter, culbuter et jouer sans limites sur une surface conforme aux nouveaux standards. Les surfaces coussinées  et absorbant tout impact permettent aux enfants de jouer sans s’arrêter pour mettre leurs chaussures ou changer leur façon de jouer d’un endroit à l’autre. Comme résultat, l’expérience devient totalement immersive et renforce leur jeu imaginatif.

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton devient donc un chef de file en adoptant des installations pleines d’imagination, de jeu et de plaisir ! Ils ont créé une expérience holistique en offrant à leurs membres une journée de plage parfaite en plein dans leur cour !

Nous remercions le YMCA du Grand Moncton de leur engagement pour la sécurité de leurs membres et d’être les premiers au Canada à appliquer la norme NSF/ANSI/CAN 50.26. Nous espérons que plusieurs autres organismes, centres aquatiques  et municipalités suivront l’exemple du YMCA et reconnaîtront l’importance de l’application de cette recommandation comme faisant partie de leur politique d’opération .

Si vous désirez de plus amples informations sur les tuiles Life Floor, communiquez avec Polyvalens Inc, notre distributeur au Canada.

National Park and Recreation Month: Featured Installations

Happy National Park and Recreation Month! We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our clients working in Parks and Recreation departments for your continued work on making our communities beautiful, fun, and safe. To celebrate, we’re featuring four municipal aquatic facilities where we’ve installed Life Floor across the country. If you happen to live nearby one of these, be sure to visit when you can!

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Tropics Indoor Waterpark + Bamboo Bay - Shoreview Community Center, Shoreview, MN

The city of Shoreview renovated the existing Indoor Tropics Waterpark pool deck in late 2018. They chose Life Floor in sandy shades and a natural Slate texture to reflect the tropical beachside theme of the park. Guests and staff immediately recognized the additional comfort and safety Life Floor provided. Shortly after, the city moved forward with the decision to add Life Floor to the locker rooms. “Adding Life Floor to the locker rooms was something a lot of people noticed right away: ‘Oh great, you got rid of the slippery floor!’” Buck noted once Life Floor had been installed.

The build-out for Bamboo Bay, the multi-level spray structure expansion, was completed a few months after in early 2019. The city again chose Life Floor to cover the entire surrounding deck of the structure and the nearby locker rooms. 

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Pleasant Glade Pool Deck and Parr Park Splash Pad - Grapevine, TX

“We have really enjoyed Life Floor. It has definitely made our deck that used to be so hot much better to walk on. It’s great.”

— Hunter Hardeman, Aquatic Supervisor of Grapevine

The City of Grapevine, TX provides an impressive aquatic program to the surrounding community with both indoor and outdoor facilities to play, exercise, and compete. With an average summer temperature of 96 degrees, the city experiences extremely hot concrete decks that can hit 140 degrees in the afternoon. Grapevine chose Life Floor because of the tile’s unique ability to dissipate heat underfoot. Unlike concrete, Life Floor tiles do not absorb heat, which is why the tiles feel comfortable to walk on in the summer sun. The city also installed Life Floor in the locker room areas to help reduce slip and fall injuries.

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Trailhead Park Splash Pad - Winter Haven, FL

The City of Winter Haven, FL built the splash pad at Trailhead Park in 2016. The city opened it originally with a concrete finish for the surface and they’ve resurfaced it about 3-4 times with different products. After experiencing some slip and fall incidents, they tried a rubberized paint with a sand-like substrate in it; however, injuries were still problematic. The committee at Winter Haven ultimately opted for Life Floor, pleased with the fact that Life Floor met all of the requirements they needed to solve while also being certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 50.

“Not only does it look awesome but it meets many criteria of fall and slip resistance and we’ve gotten nothing but great feedback from the product and that we did something to address our slip and fall issues.”

— Andy Palmer, City of Winter Haven Parks Planning and Strategic Initiatives Manager

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Westfield Memorial Pool Complex - Westfield, NJ

“We haven’t had a single major incident of people getting hurt on Life Floor, and it’s worth the peace of mind that the kids are safe.”

— Heather Re, Aquatics Supervisor Westfield Memorial Pool

After 5 years of enjoying Life Floor, Westfield Memorial Pool decided to redesign their splash pad to create a centerpiece attraction at their aquatic facility. The city’s main objectives were to refresh the space as a way to drive membership sign-ups and to create a beautiful environment where families could share memories on social media. By collaborating with the Life Floor Studio team, the Westfield splash pad now features a vibrant, unique octopus design that guides kids through and around splash features adjacent to the facility’s zero-depth leisure pool. 

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Interested in adding Life Floor’s safety surfacing to an aquatic facility at your park? Feel free to contact us!

The Importance of Free Play in Aquatic Environments

Childhood is a time of limitless imagination, boundless creativity, and wild invention. It’s the one time in life when exploration is encouraged freely without the weight of daily responsibilities other than formal learning and helping with chores. The freedom of being young displays itself in many ways, one of which is free play. 

Free play is critical to a child’s development. It enables them to problem solve, think critically, develop stories, and innovate. It can be seen in activities such as building Lego sets, playing house, creating structures and gaining achievements in video games like Minecraft, strategy forming in board games, and simply running through backyards envisioning new worlds. One method of free play continues to evolve as children explore aquatic environments, such as splash pads. 

Children play at Lopesan’s Costa Bavaro Resort, Dominican Republic.

An octopus tentacle leads guests through a spray feature at Westfield Memorial Pool, NJ.

Historically, splash pads have included spray features that inspire thoughts of running under mountainous waterfalls, becoming pirates on a treasure-hunting adventure, or riding gigantic animals through vast seas. Far too often, these features have laid upon a blank canvas of abrasive concrete beckoning for inspiration. Covering this blank canvas with a specific flooring design is one way to further encourage free play. For example, a pirate-themed splash pad could round out the experience for children with an “x marks the spot,” different clues on the island to give more context, and a beach theme with blues symbolizing the water, tans symbolizing the shore, and aquatic creatures sprinkled throughout. It could even include hopscotch inlays to encourage children to jump from shape to shape to get across a certain section of the surface. This concept of adding theming to the flooring design can also help with zoning. For instance, a facility could denote a more adventurous zone with darker blues creating the “high seas” or a calmer zone with tans to portray a peaceful sand-colored beach. 

Before: Disintegrating Pour-In-Place at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, FL

After: Life Floor’s Pirate Theme at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, FL

Alternatively, surfaces can display a more simplistic, geometric pattern to encourage a different kind of free play. For example, “the floor is lava” is a common game for children to play by jumping from color to color or chasing each other around by only touching certain patterns. These activities could augment the free play made available by the water features they encounter as they run around. 

Children play on the hexagon surface at Parr Park, Grapevine, TX.

It should be noted that free play is only as free as children feel while engaging with the aquatic environment. Do they feel like they can tumble to the ground without fear of a bruised knee? Do they think they can jump around without losing their footing and slipping? Are they certain in their games that the only thrill is that of excitement and not of fear of injury? 

Life Floor strongly believes that aquatic surfaces should lessen and, if possible, eliminate fear of major injury. It’s natural to get a couple bruises playing; however, if injuries halt play then something needs to change. Our company was founded on the idea that play shouldn’t be painful. Scrapes, cuts, and concussions shouldn’t be a common occurrence on splash pads and pool decks, especially when young children could be getting their initial introductions to aquatic free play. That’s why a central tenet of our brand is safety. Our product provides safer surfaces with cushioning, impact absorption, and slip resistance, allowing kids to play freely as they were meant to play: without fear. 

For more information on the benefits of free play, please visit https://wetheparents.org/importance-of-free-play

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If you would like to discover ways you can transform the flooring at your aquatic facility, please send us a message at solutions@lifefloor.com.