Rubber wall guards can be a good wall protection option for industrial applications and other high impact areas where aesthetics is a secondary concern. Often found in service areas and areas with heavy vehicular traffic, these are utilitarian products are designed to not only protect the wall surface but also the objects running into them.
Generally, ‘rubber wall guard’ is used to describe any black wall guard used in an industrial application. While they are often called rubber wall guards these types of products are most often manufactured from elastomers such as EPDM (Wikipedia), HDPE (Wikipedia) or other synthetic rubber or plastic materials. All of these alternate materials offer similar advantages as natural rubber without the cost and difficulty in manufacturing.
Advantages of Rubber Wall Guards
- Extremely durable
- Weather-proof for interior or exterior applications
- Available with different installation options
Disadvantages of Rubber Wall Guards
- Very limited design options
- Typically only available in black
- Can be costly
Uses for Rubber Wall Guards
- Service areas (e.g. back of house, kitchens, storage areas)
- Warehouse columns and walls
- Loading dock doors
- Parking garages
- Residential garage walls
If you are looking for long-term protection for an area of your building where durability is a higher priority than design, rubber or black wall guards can be a great option. Keep in mind that there are a variety of materials and profiles available that will all serve the same purpose.