Any surface over which rubber flooring will be installed must be smooth, firm, clean and dry.

When preparing the concrete floor, applicable local regulations must be followed. If there was no valid regulation, the provisions of standard ASTM F 710 “Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring” must be followed.

Concrete floors must have a minimum compressive strength of 3000 psi (210 kgf/cm2, or 21 MPa) after 28 days.

The concrete floors on which the rubber flooring will be installed must be permanently dry, clean, smooth and structurally firm. They must be free of dust, solvent, paint, wax, oil, grease, residual adhesive, residual adhesive removers, compounds creating a superficial film, sealers, hardeners, alkaline salts, excess carbonation, fungi, mold or any other type of foreign agent which may hinder the rubber flooring sticking process.

All the underlayments and subfloors on natural land must have a vapor barrier (or vapor retardant) fitted directly in the land.

The concrete floors over which the rubber floorings will be installed must be ground in order to avoid irregularities, roughness or any other defect from being transferred (become visible) onto the surface of the installed rubber flooring.

Before installation, any loose material needs to be removed by sweeping or vacuuming the surface.

When removing residual adhesive, paint or any element attached to the surface, do not use chemical methods. Use abrasive methods, instead, such as scarifying, polishing, sandblasting, etc. Rubber floorings cannot be installed over concrete floors with residual asphalt adhesive.

Surface crackles, cuttings, indentations, control joints or any other type of non-moving joint must be filled or smoothened with leveling compound.

Expansion joints or any other moving joint on the surface of concrete must not be filled with leveling compound or covered with the rubber flooring. An adequate system must be used in order to allow this expansion joints to move.