Best Chair Mat for Hardwood Floor Buying Guide

The shape of Chair Mat

You also need to consider the shape of the mat that you want to buy. Even though they have a fairly basic design, there are quite a few varieties of mats available to go below your chair.

They also come in a variety of shapes which you can choose between to select one that fits perfectly with the size and shape of your workspace.

There are three main shapes which you will encounter, so let’s take a little look at what they are. 

The most common type of chair mat that you will encounter is a square or rectangular shape. These are simply the most common because they are incredibly versatile and can fit into most workspaces.

They fit well with most desks, and because of this, they are a very popular choice. You can also get chair mats which come with a lip.

This design is incredibly similar to the rectangular shape of mats, but they also come with a lip located on one side. On first impressions, this lip might seem pointless, however, they are great for protecting the floor underneath your desk for when you try to pull your chair tight to the desk.

Finally, you can get bulb-shaped chair mats. These are perhaps the rarest type that you will find, but they are perfect if you have a corner desk or an L-shaped workspace.

So you need to consider the shape of your workspace before deciding which shape of chair mat to buy. 

The thickness of the Mat

Finally, you need to consider the thickness of the mat. We touched on thickness earlier on, and from what we have already said, you can probably already tell how important this is.

The thickness of the mat that you should buy will differ depending on the type of flooring that you are trying to protect.

It can be confusing to understand how the thickness will impact how protected the flooring will be. Surely, if the weight that is placed on top of the mat is the same, the thickness of the mat shouldn’t affect its protection.

But it does. Hardwood flooring and low-pile carpets do not require thick chair mats as they are sturdy enough to hold the weight without sinking.

This means that you can effortlessly move around on the mat without your chair becoming stuck.

As a thinner mat is perfectly able to protect hardwood and low-pile carpets, you should never use a mat that is thicker than necessary as this could cause unnecessary damage to the flooring. 

Simultaneously, if you have a thick carpet, you should never use a thinner chair mat. This mat will not be able to hold the weight, and because of this, it will sink into the carpet which could cause irreversible damage. 

So, in the case of thickness, you should never buy a thicker chair mat simply because you believe these types of mats are better. The most important thing if you want to protect your hardwood flooring is that you purchase the appropriate thickness.