How to Make a Matwell

It’s officially Spring, so officially DIY season. Hence we thought it’s a good time to explore one of the most commonly asked questions by our customers – How to Make a Matwell?

What is a Matwell?

Quite simply, a matwell is a hole (or recess, to be more technical!) in your flooring around your external door, in which matting is fitted as an integral door mat. Ideally, the matting should be flush with the surrounding flooring to create an even, continuous surface.

What are the Pros?

A doormat that does not move – hurray!
You can create a size of doormat (and matwell) to suit your space. We would recommend going a big as possible to allow visitors to take a few good steps onto the mat. Our Made to Measure range is the perfect choice for matwells, with a wide choice of thicknesses to match the depth of your matwell.
A neat and contemporary entrance area that is easy to maintain. Particularly with our Synthetic Coir range, you can vacuum the doormat at the same time as the surrounding flooring – no more struggling to lift your hoover up onto the doormat.

What about the Cons?

If you want to remove a fitted mat to shake it outside, this is a little trickier. For this reason, we do not recommend using strong adhesive to fix the mat to the floor. A good quality double sided tape should be fine to keep the mat in place.
How to make a matwell in existing flooring does take more planning. It is definitely easier to leave a hole when new flooring is being laid, rather than making a hole in flooring that is already fitted around the door. That said, it is not impossible. With the right tools, such as an angle grinder for hard flooring or a very sharp Stanley knife and straight edge for a carpet, a hole can be made in existing floor for the matting to be installed into.

Do I need a frame or trims?

This question is popular when customers ask us how to make a matwell. Our answer is usually that it is personal preference. You may want to source a matwell frame or flooring trims to help finish off your matwell, but this is not essential. Sometimes it is worthwhile seeing what the mat itself looks like in situ before making this decision.