Your patio, yard, barbecue area, pool side and walkways all have one thing in common.
They would be better suited with a proper outdoor flooring solution.
While it may not always occur to you to ponder flooring possibilities for the outdoors, it is something to think about.
Proper flooring solutions will keep mud and dirt at bay, give you traction around wet areas and help make clean up much easier.
But what areas of your outdoor life actually need flooring? More importantly, what types of floors are best suited for outdoor use?
Biggest Benefits of Outdoor Flooring
Outdoor flooring is not without its benefits. Here are some of the best reasons to cover the ground in your backyard (or other) spaces.
- Traction. It is generally better to walk on stone, tile or wood decking when outside than directly on the ground, especially during inclement weather.
- Even surfacing. When you cover the ground with flooring, you level the surface and have a sturdier place to walk.
- Curb appeal. When pulling up to your home, it is much better for guests to see a clear path to walk on rather than making their own through your yard.
- Value. Well manicured lawns, including those with flooring solutions have a higher value than homes that offer only grass.
- Entertaining. Having guests over for an outdoor event is much better hosted on flooring than dirt and grass.
Why Cover Exterior Spaces
As a homeowner, you may love your yard, and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you enjoy spending a great deal of time out in that yard, flooring in specific or designated areas can actually improve your feelings for the space.
Aesthetics
A brick or stone area around your barbecue, perfectly layered titles around the pool or spa, and a solid flooring surface for your patio bring everything together. The final look of the entire space is accentuated and improved with proper outdoor flooring.
Protection
Installed correctly, your outdoor flooring can help protect your home’s foundation, the area of coverage and even yourself. You can go from trying to avoid bad areas to walking with confidence, getting better rain runoff, or even better footing.
Traction
When you select the right materials for the job, you also get better traction. If you install natural stone pavers as a walkway, for example, this is much better than plain grass.
Likewise, the flooring you choose to place around your pool, spa or sauna can improve traction for wet feet. Any effort to keep slips and falls to a minimum is always a good thing.
Value
Home value is a reflection of many aspects. Location, school district, walking distance to attractions and other factors all play a role in how much your home is worth. However, if you have a finished outdoor area, such as a grand deck, patio, fire pit or pool, the value can increase.
Even if the resale value doesn’t get higher, the curb appeal and overall value of the neighborhood does increase, which will only work to benefit a future sale.
Safety
When you are adding flooring to the playground area or a basketball court, safety is a big concern. This is why flooring such as artificial turf and rubber tiles are so important.
Great Outdoor Flooring Options
Every one wants to select the flooring type for their outdoor area that can bear all weather. People also dress up their outdoor areas to give their homes an attractive and modern look.
Floor Tiles
What makes a great outdoor floor? Besides the benefits listed above, there are different flooring solutions to choose from. Everything from the most expensive decking available to a cost-effective and budget-friendly solution.
Outdoor Vinyl Flooring
When you think about the outdoors, you probably don’t jump right to vinyl flooring. However, there are a lot of benefits to using vinyl in certain areas of your outdoor living.
Vinyl decking isn’t as common as most of the other options on this list, but it is a market that is growing. Vinyl is synthetic so it doesn’t break down and all but the lowest quality options are 100% waterproof.
Installing vinyl outdoors is still a risk, though. Unless you can control the temperature and humidity levels of the space (such as an enclosed patio or solarium) there will be a risk of warping, lifting and of course, fading.
However, there are companies out there that are working to make outdoor vinyl more durable, aesthetically pleasing and functional. You can find sheet vinyl decking from companies like Econodeck, or plank decking from the likes of Tufdek.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that while you can shop Amazon and Home Depot for indoor/outdoor Luxury Vinyl Plank, they usually aren’t designed for actual outside installation. These LVP options are more fade resistant and thicker for added durability. They are designed for areas that are near the outdoors, such as entry ways, or covered patios and interior rooms that see a lot of direct sunlight.
Outdoor Rubber Flooring
Rubber flooring is a specialized flooring option, but one that you should consider, for many reasons. Ideally, this flooring is used for outdoor playgrounds, and even outdoor basketball or court flooring.
Rubber comes in two basic forms, tile or mulch. The mulch is the easiest to take care of, since you really don’t do anything. It drains well, doesn’t hold dirt and when it rains, it basically self cleans.
Related Reading: Best Way to Clean Rubber Flooring: Tips for the Best Clean
The tiles, though are the more attractive option. While they are also quite expensive, you have many styles and vibrant colors to choose from. While it is made for use in playgrounds and play areas of your yard, it can also be used on your patio or setting area.
Rubber has good traction when wet, plus the tiles are perforated to help with drainage and maintenance is minimal. As a bonus, it is fun to walk on and comfortable when you are sunbathing poolside.
Rubber tiles and mulch are also the only outdoor options with a fall rating to help protect you or your kids, should you fall down or drop off the swing.
Outdoor Flooring Tiles
Flooring tiles made for the outdoors can be almost any material. However clay-based tiles are among the best options. These come in ceramic and porcelain but do require a lot of prep work and installation. Grouting is needed and maintenance can be tough during the wet seasons.
Further Reading: How to Clean Floor Tile Grout [Like a Pro]
If you live in a region with freezing temperatures you will want to stick to porcelain as it holds up better and has less tendency to break free from grout during cold snaps. Which ever method you choose, though, you can have the look of wood or stone for much cheaper than the real thing.
Just make sure your tiles are rated for outdoor use, have a slip resistance rating and can handle your local weather.
Outdoor Wood Flooring
Wood flooring is the most common type of material used, and has been for decades. Wood, though, is organic and needs special care. You need to treat or seal the wood planks at least once a year, pressure wash and remove moisture as often as possible and keep the decking areas swept clean to prevent leaves and debris from holding moisture in.
Related Reading: Can You Power Wash a Composite Deck?
That being said, wood comes in many different types, durability and capabilities. You can build walkways, entire decks, or even a walkway, deck and room all out of the same wood. For outdoor use it is recommended to use a hardwood or even ironwood like Ipe.
The stronger woods are more resilient to weather and many are left to naturally fade in the sunlight. Ipe, for example, fades to a beautiful silver tone when left untreated. Whatever your needs, there is a wood for it. Just remember to care for it properly, install moisture batteries to prevent rot and wood can last you several years.
Composite decking has wood as a flooring base, and is also a great option.
Outdoor Stone Flooring
Natural and artificial stone is another common flooring option for the outdoors. With brick, cement, travertine and natural stone, you can create pathways, walkways and patios with ease.
Care is minimal, depending on the type you choose, since you can pressure wash the stones or concrete, sweep, brush or even scrub clean. Many stone types don’t need to be sealed or UV protected, which cuts down on annual care regimens.
With stone, though, the cost can get high quickly. Most options either need professional installation (concrete, brick laying, etc.) which can get costly, or you need to pay for the stones or bricks by piece. When projects cover large areas, the $0.50 to $5.00 per stone can add up fast.
Temporary Outdoor Flooring
Temporary outdoor flooring is, as the name implies, not permanent. Perhaps you have a plain concrete slab you want to cover for a season, or a yard with only dirt you want to be more attractive for a weekend gathering. Whatever your reasons, temporary flooring is absolutely doable.
Synthetic turf is one of the major players in temporary flooring. It comes in both rolls and tiles and the turf also comes in different lengths, can mimic real grass or even come in a variety of wild colors.
You can easily hose it off when it is time to put it away, too. Just make sure it is completely dry before rolling up or storing so it doesn’t grow mold.
Pavers are another inexpensive item that work well. You can have just a few pavers as stepping stones to get from the sidewalk to your door without having to walk on mud, or you can use a lot to create a decorative space to walk and lounge on.
Pavers are generally cheap and come in a wide variety of sizes, styles, colors and thicknesses. Small pavers are good for stepping stones while larger, decorative pieces can be used to create some extravagant floors.
You also have the option of natural items, sand, gravel and pebbles are used to create temporary driveways, paths or foundations for other items. Using pea gravel under pavers is a great way to keep rain and water from pooling around or over the stones meant to be walked on, for example.
Cheap Outdoor Flooring Solutions
Many carpet remnant sales companies will even take your old carpet for disposal or reuse, which is much better than just throwing them away.
Playground sand is also fairly inexpensive and comes in a variety of sized weighted bags. You can get a few pounds or hundred of pounds and for a relatively low cost. Sold almost everywhere, you will find the best deals on playground sand at home improvement stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Mernard’s.
The great thing about playground sand is that it is specially cleaned and sanitized, so you don’t need to worry about bugs, chemicals or pesticides which may be present in fill dirt.
Outdoor Flooring Pricing Chart
If you want a more exact quote, finding an installer or contractor or other services, check out the free pro finder to locate professionals right in your neighborhood.
| Type | Brand | Style | Price (est.) |
| Outdoor carpet | TrafficMaster Marine Indoor/Outdoor | 12-foot cut to width | $4.16 per linear foot |
| Pavers | Pavestone | 12×12 tile | $1.50 each |
| Artificial Turf | TrafficMaster Grizzly Grass | Cut to Length | $0.85 per square foot |
| Vinyl Decking | TufDeck | Vinyl Plank | $5 – $13 per square foot |
| Stone | N/A | Stone Bricks/Tiles | $1.50 – $5.00 per square foot |
| Wood | N/A | Wood Planks | $3 – $15 per square foot |
| Rubber | N/A | Rubber Tiles | $2.50 to $10 per square foot |
Outdoor Flooring Ideas
Here are some beautiful outdoor flooring ideas:
Check out our Outdoor Flooring Pinterest Board for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section we will answer the more common questions asked about outdoor flooring, in general. If you have other questions, feel free to use the comment section below the article.
Q. Is artificial turf recycled?
- Artificial turf is generally made from up to 100% recycled plastics. However recycling turf is more difficult. The actual turf can easily be recycled, but the rubber backings and other materials used in the construction may not. You will need to check with your local city recycling centers to find out if they can take artificial turf or not.
Q. Can I place outdoor wood directly on the ground?
- While there is nothing stopping you from doing so, it is not advised. Wood is a natural and organic flooring option and direct contact with the ground will promote moisture damage, insect damage and rot.
Instead you should use spacer beams, joists and raise the wood up off the ground. At a bare minimum moisture barriers and sealants should be used. Though the wood does need air flow on all sides, which is something to keep in mind.
Q. Will rubber outdoor flooring need to off-gas?
- Off-gassing is the process of rubber, foam or other synthetic materials releasing built up gas. This only happens when the material is stored and doesn’t allow the fumes to naturally dissipate. For outdoor flooring, there will be off-gassing and some foul odors.
However, because you are installing outside, these won’t pose a problem. When dealing with mattresses, chairs and other indoor materials you need to let them off-gas outside for several days. Since the tiles are outside already, there won’t be anything more to do.
Q. What is the cheapest outdoor wood?
- When buying planks for outdoor use, generally the hardwoods like redwood and cedar are going to be your cheapest option. They are also the highest maintenance and lowest durability. You can opt for ironwoods, like Ipe, which will last virtually forever, but are quite expensive up front.
Q. What type of outdoor flooring has the lowest maintenance?
- The maintenance level of your outdoor flooring will depend on the type, installation method and area of use. Covered patios will require less maintenance on their floors than an open walkway, for example. Wood needs to be treated and sealed, rubber must be swept, hosed and squeegeed, and stone can require scrubbing with a brush and soapy water.
Each type will have it’s own cleaning and maintenance routine which can vary from simple and quick to tedious. However, in general, flat, even surfaces that are higher off the ground (decks and patios) are easier to maintain then uneven, non-flat ground level materials.
Conclusion
Outdoor flooring options aren’t limited to just stone and wood. You have multiple solutions for various purposes. Temporary flooring, like turf, rubber or sand can be an inexpensive way to give a face lift to your backyard.
For more permanent solutions, vinyl, pavers, tile and decking are all options worth considering. Now you have a better idea of what is available, which options are best for your particular needs and weather conditions and what you can expect to pay. Good luck with your new outdoor flooring purchase!
