Timber Mats
Timber mats are hardwood mats laid as temporary access roads, crane pads and working platforms on soft or wet ground. Each mat spreads the load of heavy equipment over a wide area, so tracks and wheels do not rut the ground and crews work from a firm, level surface. Dense hardwood gives the mats their stiffness and a long working life under repeated loading. Ekki mats, graded strength class D70, carry the heaviest work and resist weather and acid, with high electrical resistance. Tropical hardwood mats from West Africa and South America suit most wet-ground access, and European oak and beech mats suit budget-conscious projects.
Hardwood crane mats by timber species
The hardwood species sets the strength class of a mat, and the strength class sets the load it suits, so the choice starts with the heaviest machine the mats will carry.
Ekki timber crane mats
Ekki is graded strength class D70, the highest in the range, which puts it under mobile cranes, piling rigs and loads that standard oak or beech mats cannot carry. Our Ekki timber crane mats suit contractors who move the same mats from job to job over many years. The trade also calls them hardwood crane mats or Ekki mats.
Tropical hardwood timber mats
Okan, Dabema and other dense tropical species from West Africa and South America cost less than Ekki, with strong water resistance and resistance to decay. Their interlocked grain helps them hold their shape under heavy loading and long exposure, so they suit access roads and crane platforms on muddy, waterlogged or uneven ground where mats stay down for months. Choose tropical hardwood timber mats when the ground is wet and the machines are heavy but the work does not call for Ekki. Buyers also know them as swamp mats, access mats or digging mats.
European oak and beech mats
Oak and beech are graded strength class D30, the economical grade for day-to-day load bearing: construction traffic, excavators, general site access, and crane pads or machine staging areas on a budget. The mats are easy to handle and reposition, which suits housing developments, utility installations and projects where mats move often. Specify European oak and beech mats when cost leads the decision and the equipment is wheeled or tracked machinery for general work. Contractors call them wood mats, wooden mats or construction mats.
Crane mats, swamp mats and utility work platforms
Timber mats go down wherever heavy equipment has to work on ground that cannot carry it, across energy, power transmission, oil and gas, rail, pipeline, renewables, civil engineering and event work, and each use asks something different of the mat.
Crane mats and piling rig platforms
Under a crane or piling rig, the mats have to form one stiff platform that does not rock or settle as the load swings, because an outrigger or track that sinks on one side throws the machine out of level. That calls for the thickest, strongest mats, laid tight together and wide enough to take the full outrigger spread or track footprint, with the crane's own outrigger pads set on top. Ekki and the thicker tropical hardwood mats do this work on energy, industrial and infrastructure projects.
Swamp mats and temporary access roads
Over wetlands, soft fields and waterlogged ground, the job is a continuous road with no gaps or raised edges for wheels and tracks to drop into. The mats often sit in standing water for weeks or months, so resistance to water and decay matters as much as strength, and tropical hardwoods are the usual choice. When the work ends, the road lifts out and leaves the soil beneath it in place, which is why timber is used on right-of-way and environmental work.
Substations, utilities and power line work
Near substations, chemical storage, contaminated land and overhead lines, the mat has to withstand what is in the ground and around it as well as the load. Ekki is the species for ground stabilization around substations and chemical storage and for overhead line, rail and pipeline access. Around buried utilities, the mats spread machine weight over the ground above the services.
Working platforms and equipment staging
A staging area needs a level, firm surface where machines park, materials are set down and crews work on foot out of the mud. European oak and beech mats suit this well because they are economical across a large area and easy to lift and move as the work progresses. The same mats form modular working platforms for equipment, and event organizers use timber mats for temporary structural support and heavy vehicle access on fields.
Timber mats for heavy equipment on soft ground
Ground conditions
The softer, wetter or more contaminated the ground, the denser the species and the thicker the mat it needs. Walk the route before ordering and mark the softest stretches, because the worst section of a run sets the specification for that section.
Thickness and length
Across the range, mats run from 4 in to 12 in thick and up to 20 ft long. A thicker mat is stiffer, so it spreads a point load such as an outrigger or a track over more ground and bends less over a soft spot: go thicker as machine weight rises or as the ground softens. A longer mat bridges more of a soft patch and spans the full track or wheel width of larger machines, so road mats are ordered long enough to cover the whole travel lane. Thinner, shorter mats are lighter to handle and suit lighter equipment and areas where mats are moved often.
Timber mats, plastic ground mats or road plates
Before ordering, check that the job needs a timber mat at all. Timber mats bear on the ground beneath them and are not made to span an open excavation, so crossing an open trench with vehicles calls for steel road plates, and pedestrian crossings over narrow trenches call for trench covers. For cars, light trucks, lawns and turf, plastic ground protection mats are light enough to lay by hand. Where a crossing has to span a watercourse or a gap wider than a plate can bridge, temporary bridges do the job.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A crane pad, also called an outrigger pad, is a smaller pad placed under each outrigger foot to spread its load. A crane mat is a larger timber mat, and several are laid together to form a platform under the whole crane, its outriggers or its tracks.
Weight depends on the species, the thickness and the length of the mat. Ekki and the other dense tropical hardwoods weigh more than oak or beech at the same size, and weight rises with every increase in thickness and length. Full-size mats are lifted and placed by machine, and each product page gives the figures for its sizes.
Working life depends on the species, the loads carried, how long the mats sit in wet ground and how they are cleaned and stored. Ekki and the tropical hardwoods are chosen for their resistance to decay and water, so they suit repeat use over many jobs. Oak and beech mats are reusable too and last longest when cleaned and dried between jobs.
Yes, Ekki mats are made to order for projects that need a particular mat profile, length or coverage. Tropical hardwood and European oak and beech mats come in a span of thicknesses and lengths, listed on each product page. A custom specification starts from the machine, the ground and the area to be covered.
Mats are normally laid with their long side across the direction of travel and butted tightly together, so the count is the length of the road divided by the width of one mat. Add mats for turning areas, passing places, the approach at each end and any crane or staging pad along the route. On very soft ground, a second layer laid at right angles to the first spreads the load further and adds to the total.
Pressure wash mud and debris off before stacking, because wet soil held against the timber shortens its life. Stack the mats flat on bearers clear of the ground, with spacers between layers so air can circulate, and keep each stack level so the mats do not take a bend. Ekki mats stack well for storage and reuse between jobs.