COCOA MATTING and FLEX GRATE

Stop Grit and Dirt at the Door.
This is not your average cocoa matting. It is made in great rolls in two widths - 48" and 72" - and it has vinylized backing. It has a serious quality look. It comes in 5/8", 3/4", 1", and 1 1/4" thicknesses. We tend to use ¾" material.

As in the case of measuring fabric, one dimension is the width of the material - you can choose either 48" or 72". Then measure the other direction, and calculate the square footage. It is wise to add an inch to the second dimension because the small extra cost is worth the protection it provides against possible error.

Whenever possible, installation of cocoa matting is best when it is sunk into the floor so that its surface is level with the floor. We also recommend surrounding the installation with angle iron, angle brass, or wood, screwed to the sub floor. In our own house, we used angle iron in all but three places. It is inexpensive, hardly shows when sprayed matte black, and provides a subtle edging to the matting.

We used angle brass at the front door and at the base of the stairs leading from the main hall because we were being a bit more uppity. And we used a wood surround in a bedroom where there is a door onto a flat roof because it looks right with the surrounding wood floor.

If you use angle iron or brass, it is not necessary to weld the corners. You can put the side that is flat on the floor under surrounding tile or under the cocoa matting or flex grate, whichever you prefer. It is necessary to drill holes in the angle iron so that it can be screwed to the floor. We often make the cocoa matting run wider than the door because it provides a place to put shoes, if need be. Sometimes we fill a complete space, wall-to-wall, depending on what looks right.

At all of our outside doors, except one, we cut a rectangle in the cocoa matting and set a flex grate in it. We bounded that rectangle with angle iron also - it makes a neat installation and keeps the various elements in place. Ours are over concrete because we have a concrete slab. But they might be over a plywood sub floor. In any case, we painted the concrete in a matte paint in a color which is sympathetic to the floor around.

Flex grate - flexible metal grate - comes in a number of standard sizes. It takes care of the heavy mud or bits of grit that may be caked to shoes. We use sizes that are the width of the door and usually about 18" to 22" wide - enough to scrape one's shoes on.