Why Do my Interlocking Garage Floor Tiles Make Noise?

For all the amazing looks, features, and benefits that interlocking garage floor tiles offer, one of the less common concerns is the noise they can make when walked on. How noisy can interlocking tiles be? Well, the answer is – it depends on the tile and the floor.

Most interlocking floor tiles are made of one of two materials. One is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the other is polypropylene, a hard thermoplastic polymer. Let’s take a look at both of these and discuss what noise, if any, they make and how to eliminate or at least reduce the noise of the tiles that do.

Which Interlocking Garage Floor Tiles make Noise?

As a general rule, most garage floor tiles do not make noise. The good news is that if you are interested in the more pliable PVC tiles, then you don’t have anything to worry about.

As a specialized garage floor tile, they have a rubber-like texture and are solid throughout. They fit together like puzzle pieces and tend to conform to the floor’s contours.

Due to their texture and relative pliability, they won’t click while walking or driving on them. They also tend to absorb and deaden sound rather than amplify it.

If your interest lies in interlocking garage floor tiles made of polypropylene (hard plastic), there is a chance your tiles will make some noise. How much noise they may make, if any, is dependent on a few factors.

The first concerns the style of hard plastic tile you choose. If you like the tile with the self-draining surface, then your chances of them making any noise are slim.

The reason is that this tile style has open venting on the top, which prevents sound from bouncing off the concrete surface and the underside of the tile.

As a result, you will not get any hollow-sounding clicks or clunks that are amplified by the hard surfaces.

If you choose a solid surface top, there’s a small risk that your interlocking tile will make noise.

The reason is that polypropylene tiles are rigid, unlike PVC tiles, which are flexible. They have a hard, textured surface with a hollow core underside. They snap together with a peg-and-loop system for a secure fit.

Due to the materials and construction, some tiles can make a click-clack or hollow footstep sound when driven or walked on. The sound is amplified due to the hollow substructure.

In addition, they can have a hollow and plastic “clunk” sound as you walk on them if your garage floor is not flat and has multiple low spots.

This is created because the rigid tile does not flex under its own weight and is not fully in contact with the concrete. When you walk in these areas, the tile flexes and contacts the ground, creating this sound. There are ways, however, to reduce the chances of having a noisy floor.

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Tips to prevent noisy interlocking tile

The first thing to consider when choosing an interlocking tile system is the quality of the tile. Higher-quality manufacturers of polypropylene tiles achieve a more snug fit when tiles are snapped together. This reduces the small movement of tiles against each other. It’s this movement that can make a clicking noise when they flex slightly under weight. It also reduces the chance of dirt getting underneath the tiles.

If your garage floor is uneven or has noticeable low spots, tile movement against each other increases as the tiles are forced to follow the floor contours as you walk or drive on it. You can help eliminate this by applying self-leveling polymer cement to the extreme low spots on your floor before installing the tiles.

Besides filling any low spots on your floor, the most effective thing you can do to reduce the chance of noisy tile is to lay synthetic landscaping cloth on the floor first. It acts as an underlayment. This helps to absorb the clicking sound made by the tile. This Reader’s Projects article is a good example of how synthetic landscape cloth is used.

Since most polypropylene tiles have a hollow core underside, this creates a good environment for sound to bounce off the back of the tile and then off the hard concrete, amplifying the sound.

With the underlayment installed, the sound is deadened and reduces the noise. It also prevents any noise created by the tile when having to conform to low spots on your floor.

Synthetic landscape cloth is inexpensive and can usually be found at your local home improvement center. You can also find it here on Amazon.

Again, the underlayment helps absorb sound, thus reducing the tile’s amplifying effect. With a synthetic underlayment, you don’t have to worry about mold or mildew created by moisture if it gets wet. And because these tiles are designed to drain water and promote airflow, the underlayment will eventually dry.

Do not use rubber, cardboard, carpet, or any other material that can deteriorate, mold, mildew, or trap water.

Noisy tiles aren’t usually much of an issue, but it can happen. In most cases, it is preventable if you plan for it, install it on a clean, flat surface, and use a good, premium product.