Chair mat frame ideas

[Max Power]

Hi all,

I am looking to start a side hustle - making office chair mats from laminate flooring. I would be looking to serve the local area on a small-scale basis to begin with.

If you're familiar with chair mats, you will know that the regular chair mats that are made from plastic eventually crack and have to be replaced every few years. That turnover is likely to increase, since a lot of people are now working from home.

So I think there will be some demand for this product - I'm not expecting anything huge but enough to keep me busy on the weekend. I got inspiration for this idea from this YouTube video:

The main materials I will need for this is the laminate flooring itself and some plywood/osb for the base.

The one final thing that I need - and something that I don't want to compromise on - is the "frame" or the "edging" that would go around the mat.

Now for me this is something that would really make the product stand out and would give it that professional look.

If you watch the YouTube video you will see the guy has used some 2 by 2 wood and cut a notch out to make the frame. I think that worked well for him, but it may not necessarily work well for me, for these reasons:

1. Cost efficiency: It's a lot of money wasted when probably half of that wood is going to get cut out for the notch
2. I would probably want the frame to go over the top, side AND bottom. I think it makes sense to cover up any unfinished/uneven edges of the base sheet.

So my question - and the whole purpose of this post - is what material can I use to make the frame for this chair mat? Bearing in mind, it needs to be something that looks good, is cheap to buy and is easy to fit.

It doesn't really need to be wood either. I've been looking at plastic U trims/J trims but these don't come cheap, unfortunately. Maybe I can get something cheaper in bulk though?

I'd expect the thickness of the laminate + base sheet to not exceed 15mm. The dimensions of the chair mat is going to be approx. 1200 x 900.

I look forward to hearing your ideas!

 

[big-all]

in my opinion form over funtion not ever a product
a rubber mat or carpet will protect the floor without a trip hazzard and cheap laminate is a plastic film on a paper picture so off no use in a high load heavy movement situation

but off course just my well thought out oppinion

 

[foxhole]

in my opinion form over funtion not ever a product
a rubber mat or carpet will protect the floor without a trip hazzard and cheap laminate is a plastic film on a paper picture so off no use in a high load heavy movement situation

but off course just my well thought out oppinion

Agree 100%
Chair mats are often used on laminate to prevent damage to it.
You are also more likely to slip off the laminate as friction is less and destroy any edging .

 

[opps]

Sorry. I appreciate that you may have considered that you found a viable niche market but have you sat down and thought about shipping costs and damage in transit costs?

I have limited experience of distributing and importing products (pet industry), but nevertheless I have some experience. I genuinely think you will be throwing good money after bad. If a board fails. or gets damaged in transit, you will have to cover the cost of retail or send out a replacement (at extra cost).

Additionally, if someone trips on it, they are legally entitled to take you to court. Typically they will lodge a claim in in their local court, not your local court. Can you afford to be there in each case to demonstrate that you are not liable?

I really am sorry, I don't want to pee on your parade but equally I don't want to see you bankrupt after spending a lot of time trying to get this off the ground.

You might be better off searching for "UK business forum".