I bought a $200 one because none of the store ones are big enough. It was well worth it.
I bought a $200 one because none of the store ones are big enough. It was well worth it.
D1gger
Diamond Member
- Oct 3, 2004
- 5,411
- 2
- 76
UNROLLING INSTRUCTIONS **USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!**
Your mat has been rolled to allow economical and timely delivery. When vinyl mats are rolled they take on a "memory" of that rolled shape and may be difficult to unroll when cold. The following precautions will protect your mat from cracking while enabling you to put it to use as soon as possible. Vinyl becomes more pliable with heat, so the warmer the mat the quicker it will lay flat. The ticker the mat, the longer it will take for the mat to lay flat.
**ALWAYS allow your mat to warm up THOROUGHLY (to at least) room temperature before attempting to unroll your mat. This takes approx. 24 hrs. Again, the thicker and colder the mat, the longer it will take to lay flat.
After the mat has THOROUGHLY warmed up, carefully unroll it and place it on the floor with the "bow" up, cleats down. If necessary, add weights to help keep the mat in place. The mat should gradually flatten out over a period of a few hours; the thicker mats could take longer.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!**
OPTION #1- Try placing the mat in a small warm room (maybe a bathroom) or near a sunny window. Ideally once the temperature reaches 80 degrees the mat will begin to relax quicker. At that point you can lay it flat "bow" side up, cleat side down, adding weight if necessary, to keep the mat in place.
OPTION #2 - WRM WEATHER METHOD
Place your mat on a smooth flat surface outside in the sun until it flattens. Check the mat every 15 minutes. After it relaxes and is flat, move it to a flat cooler area ( in the shade or indoors) until it cools and becomes more rigid. Now your mat is ready for installation.
OPTION #3 - COLD CONDITIONS/ THICK MATS (.220 OR THICKER)
This process is recommended for thicker mats in cool climates. While the mat is still rolled int he box and standing on its end, cut a hole in the middle of the box big enough to allow the end of a portable hair dryer to be inserted. Place the end of the hairdryer that the warm air comes out of, into the box so that the air will be blown down the center of the rolled mat, and trun the hair dryer on. Check the inside of the mat every 5 minutes to see is the mat is beginning to warm. The process of heating the interior core of the mat should not take longer than 15 - 20 minutes. Once the core is warm, take the mat out of the box and place it on the floor with the "bow" up, cleats down. You now will need to heat the remainder of the mat, starting with the warm area of the mat and working your way out towards the cool and rigid areas of the mat. Move the hairdryer back and forth across sections of the mat until that section warms and relaxes. Repeat this process until the entire mat is relaxed and flat. Putting weight on top of the mat can help speed the process. Please follow manufacturer use and safety guidelines provided b y hair dryer manufacturer.
If you have questions or need assistance please contact us.
** Use extreme caution when using any of the suggested methods for relaxing your mat. They are only suggestions and we are not responsible for accidents or damage resulting from the use of any of these methods. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! **
Your mat has been rolled to allow economical and timely delivery. When vinyl mats are rolled they take on a "memory" of that rolled shape and may be difficult to unroll when cold. The following precautions will protect your mat from cracking while enabling you to put it to use as soon as possible. Vinyl becomes more pliable with heat, so the warmer the mat the quicker it will lay flat. The ticker the mat, the longer it will take for the mat to lay flat.
**ALWAYS allow your mat to warm up THOROUGHLY (to at least) room temperature before attempting to unroll your mat. This takes approx. 24 hrs. Again, the thicker and colder the mat, the longer it will take to lay flat.
After the mat has THOROUGHLY warmed up, carefully unroll it and place it on the floor with the "bow" up, cleats down. If necessary, add weights to help keep the mat in place. The mat should gradually flatten out over a period of a few hours; the thicker mats could take longer.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!**
OPTION #1- Try placing the mat in a small warm room (maybe a bathroom) or near a sunny window. Ideally once the temperature reaches 80 degrees the mat will begin to relax quicker. At that point you can lay it flat "bow" side up, cleat side down, adding weight if necessary, to keep the mat in place.
OPTION #2 - WRM WEATHER METHOD
Place your mat on a smooth flat surface outside in the sun until it flattens. Check the mat every 15 minutes. After it relaxes and is flat, move it to a flat cooler area ( in the shade or indoors) until it cools and becomes more rigid. Now your mat is ready for installation.
OPTION #3 - COLD CONDITIONS/ THICK MATS (.220 OR THICKER)
This process is recommended for thicker mats in cool climates. While the mat is still rolled int he box and standing on its end, cut a hole in the middle of the box big enough to allow the end of a portable hair dryer to be inserted. Place the end of the hairdryer that the warm air comes out of, into the box so that the air will be blown down the center of the rolled mat, and trun the hair dryer on. Check the inside of the mat every 5 minutes to see is the mat is beginning to warm. The process of heating the interior core of the mat should not take longer than 15 - 20 minutes. Once the core is warm, take the mat out of the box and place it on the floor with the "bow" up, cleats down. You now will need to heat the remainder of the mat, starting with the warm area of the mat and working your way out towards the cool and rigid areas of the mat. Move the hairdryer back and forth across sections of the mat until that section warms and relaxes. Repeat this process until the entire mat is relaxed and flat. Putting weight on top of the mat can help speed the process. Please follow manufacturer use and safety guidelines provided b y hair dryer manufacturer.
If you have questions or need assistance please contact us.
** Use extreme caution when using any of the suggested methods for relaxing your mat. They are only suggestions and we are not responsible for accidents or damage resulting from the use of any of these methods. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! **
Same problem I had with mine.
When you buy quality you get "thick".
I set mine in the sun for an hour and it went just fine.
When you buy quality you get "thick".
I set mine in the sun for an hour and it went just fine.
- Jul 11, 2004
- 21,867
- 7
- 81
1) Its rather large 4' x 6'.
2) There are cheaper ones for $50-100 but they aren't designed for thicker carpet. I plan on rolling my chair around this mat quite a bit so I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to sink in and "get stuck" like I do with my cheaper chair mat.
- Jul 11, 2004
- 21,867
- 7
- 81
The guy I talked with on the phone said that the mats can sometimes lock into position if exposed to extreme cold (like they can being shipped during winter). He said they do have to return some mats that can't be unrolled and send out a different one.
So far its been inside for 36 hours and I still can't unroll it any better than I could before. I'll give my heat gun a try and then I'll try leaving it in a hot bath to soften up.
So far its been inside for 36 hours and I still can't unroll it any better than I could before. I'll give my heat gun a try and then I'll try leaving it in a hot bath to soften up.
- Jul 11, 2004
- 21,867
- 7
- 81
If I put my full strength into it, all it does is start bending. I'm afraid I'm going to bend it too much to the point where it won't lay flat once its actually unrolled.
Like this:
costco sell chair mat for $15? that is cheap. I thought the cheapest was like $50 one from staples or office depot.
lxskllr
No Lifer
- Nov 30, 2004
- 57,925
- 8,188
- 126
$200!I bought a half sheet of plywood, sanded the edges, cut out a bit to fit the desk opening, stained it to match the teak desk, and it works great. Cost about $10.
Pwnd by a woman :^D
It's been 4 years since I bought one but I think it was $15. Only one I see on their website is $37 now. I kinda had the opposite experience as the OP though. They sell them flat at Costco and I rolled it up to fit it in my car. Then I had to fight with it to get it to be flat again. Took a day or so.
- Nov 30, 2005
- 50,231
- 117
- 116
So, I found the directions. They're about a layer or two inside the rolled up chair mat. It's blurry to read since I'm reading through a layer or two of plastic. I can only read the titles but one of them is "Unrolling Your Chairmat".
Terrible place to put the directions
Bwahahaha.
Can't believe it's still not unrolled.
KT
Jeff7
Lifer
- Jan 4, 2001
- 41,596
- 19
- 81
I was about to suggest that it might have been exposed to very high heat. That can do weird things to polymers, kind of like a partial remelt and then solidify back into whatever shape it's in. Or it could have helped some softening agents evaporate more quickly.
It kind of sounds like the manufacturer did a poor job of materials selection if the product can't reliably survive temperatures it'll see during shipping and storage.
Until it's resolved, enjoy your giant model of a cinnamon stick.
- Jul 11, 2004
- 21,867
- 7
- 81
Once again, cheap chair mats work for certain things. I have a $60 chairmat from Office Depot for my computer desk. My house has really soft carpeting, so the chair wheels sink into little valleys which make it hard to move. Not a problem though since I'm sitting in one spot.
This new chair mat is going in my electronics lab / indoor work area. I need the ability to roll my chair around from one area to another area with relative ease or I'm going to be come frustrated very quickly. That's why I bought the thick $200 premium mat. Also, this mat is larger than you what you can buy in any office store.
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