Entrance Mat Wells / Recesses

Matwell Mats: The Complete Guide to Recessed Entrance Solutions

Transform your entrance with professional matwell mats that combine safety, style, and practicality. These recessed entrance solutions sit flush with your flooring, creating a seamless transition that eliminates trip hazards whilst keeping your property clean and welcoming.

What is a Mat Well?

A mat well is a recessed area built into your flooring, specifically designed to house an entrance mat at floor level. This sunken frame allows fitted mats to sit flush with the surrounding surface, creating a smooth, trip-free entrance. Mat wells are commonly found in commercial buildings, offices, retail spaces, and increasingly in modern homes where safety and aesthetics are priorities.

Types of Matwell Mats

Coir Matwell Mats

Natural coir matting offers an eco-friendly solution made from tough coconut fibres, excelling at scraping dirt and moisture from shoes. For traditional settings, our Premium Coir Roll Matting is available in depths from 13mm to 30mm. Important note: Most coir matting is not suitable for wheeled traffic areas, for such areas we recommend our Commercial Compliant Coir Roll Matting or other options detailed below.

Synthetic Coir Options

For modern applications requiring durability, consider our Synthetic Coir Roll Matting (10mm depth) or Ribbed Synthetic Coir (13mm depth), available in colours including charcoal, grey, and natural.

Heavy Duty Barrier Well Mats

For high-traffic commercial entrances, heavy-duty options deliver outstanding durability. The Shades Custom Heavy Duty Mats are a rubber backed entrance mat, DDA-compliant and suitable for wheeled traffic, perfect for schools, hospitals, and as a busy office entrance mat. Or choose the Shades Eco Heavy Duty Mats for an environmentally-friendly alternative.

Microfibre Absorption Well Mats

The Absorb Eco Microfibre Heavy Duty Mats offer exceptional moisture absorption in fossil grey or graphite grey, ideal for wet weather conditions.

Ribbed Entrance Well Matting

For excellent dirt-trapping, the SentryRib Pro Entrance Roll Matting features a durable ribbed design available in seven colours, whilst the Frontrunner Entry Roll Matting provides premium performance in five colour options for very high traffic entrances, such as retail sites and public buildings.

Modular Tile Systems for Matwells

The Premier Track Modular Entrance Matting offers maximum versatility with easy installation and replacement options, compatible with wheeled traffic and configurable for complex entrance layouts.

Measuring for Mat Well Mats

Accurate measuring is essential as fitted mats need to fit correctly in all dimensions: width, length, and depth.

Important Considerations:

1. Check for irregularities: Mat wells rarely have perfect 90-degree angles, so dimensions may vary at different points
2. Take multiple measurements: Measure along multiple points of both width and length
3. Account for tolerances: Order mats slightly bigger than measured dimensions
4. Plan for trimming: A slightly oversized mat can be trimmed on-site for perfect fitting
5. Measure depth carefully: Take multiple depth measurements as mat wells aren’t always perfectly level

Pro tip: Gaps around edges will look unsightly and can cause trip hazards.

Achieving the Correct Mat Well Depth

Typical mat well depths in the UK range between 10-17mm. Ideally, choose a well mat with the correct depth for your mat well.

If your mat well is deeper than your chosen mat:

• Floor screed: Can raise the height to ensure the mat sits flush
• Marine plywood: A quicker and simpler waterproof alternative that must be cut to exact mat well dimensions
• MDF boarding: A cheaper, effective option for achieving perfect depth

Key Features of Effective Well Mats

Quality matwell mats require rigid backing materials (typically thicker than standard mat backing) to hold in place and lay flat. They have appropriate depth to sit level with the floor and are available in custom sizes to ensure perfect fitting for fixed mat well dimensions.

Maintenance and Cleaning of Recess Mats

Keep your recess mats performing optimally with simple maintenance: regular vacuuming removes surface debris, periodic lifting allows cleaning underneath, and machine washing is available for suitable carpet-style mats. Well-maintained matwell mats can last for years, even in demanding high-traffic environments.

Professional premises including schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, offices, and retail spaces trust fitted mats to create safe, accessible, and attractive entrances that eliminate mat movement whilst providing superior dirt and moisture collection.

Still have questions? Contact us and we will help you get the right well mat solution for your specific needs.