Best Shop Flooring?

[dave2909]

I'm looking for any advice y'all might have on flooring for a 15x15 shop I'll be finishing along with the rest of the basement. I've been looking at epoxy paint, dynotile, or plain ol' vinyl tile, but haven't been able to figure out which I'd like a year down the road - any tips?

Mostly, I'm looking to make it look nice, be easy to clean, yet not too slick.

Thanks,

Dave

[Rob R]

I had vinyl tile in my shop( um, i mean laundry room) at our old house (we just moved 2 weeks ago)

point is it was slicker than slick with any sawdust on it whatsoever. I was constantly sweeping in front of the bt because a light dusting turned that stuff into ice.

i'm sure you can get a heavily textured tile that would minimize it a little, but if you can come up with something else you might be happier.

norm says on his website about 30 times that he wishes he had a wood floor in his shop.

i'll probably eventually do the rustoleum basement epoxy with the little flakes for trackion. concrete alone is kind of a pain to sweep---that was the nice thing about the tile, glue fell right off and it swept up easily.

rob

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by Rob R

norm says on his website about 30 times that he wishes he had a wood floor in his shop.

I'm only now beginning to noodle out the details of the new shop I hope to build in a few more years, but that's the one point I consider non-negotiable: it WILL have a wood floor over a crawl space.

Dave: can you stand to lose ~1-1/2" of headroom? If so, you could lay 1x4 PT sleepers on the floor, held down with construction adhesive, and top them with 5/8" (minimum) or 3/4" (better) plywood. To my eye, unfinished plywood makes an attractive and visually-appropriate floor for a woodshop. It'll be comfortable to stand on, and the relatively few seams will make it easy to sweep.

[stewchi]

Is moisture a problem, will water ever get on the floor (flood, washing machine floods, AC coils freeze over and them drain, hot water heater discharges etc.)

How gentle will you be with the floor? Is wood going to be too soft say for metal work, or to risky for welding or sweating copper pipe, pounding something with a hammer, moving big pieces of equipment around, dropping stuff, etc?

What kind of floor do you have now and what condition is it in? Can you paint/stain or do you need to cover it?

I will be doing my basement floor next year (we just moved into a new house and have other priorities). I want something maintenance free and easy to clean. It also need to be water resistant, and durable. For the shop it will need to withstand heat solder and welding, be able to clean glue off of it, spilled solvent and finish, withstand vehicle traffic (I am lucky to have a second driveway with a garage door leading into the basement).
I have narrowed my choice down to stained concrete. Its permanent, it chemically changes the color of the cement itself vs a surface coat, so it can not peel or scratch off etc. The I plan on putting indoor outdoor carpet rugs over those puzzle piece foam things for stress relief in areas were it makes sense.

I am really tough on flooring and have had bad experience with the Behr floor paint (not the epoxy) I have not tried the epoxy but the amount of work is 100 times more than the stain and I think the stain looks really good. This is what you see in many hotel lobbies outside of malls etc. You can use multiple colors to make patters or whatever you want. I just love the stuff.

On my patio in the last house I used sierra stain http://www.butterfieldcolor.com/links/sierrastain.html
It was made about 20 minutes from my house, I just sprayed it on with a plastic pump sprayer (the insecticide type) and that was it. The only prep work was a quick cleaning with the pressure washer. I used two colors to create a checkerboard patter and I was very happy with it.

[toslc]

I have just bare concrete floors in my shop, but I put the epoxy floor stuff (Rustoleum) in my basement weight room and love it. My wife is very picky about the house and when I suggested it she said "no way" but once I convinced her we could always cover it with another flooring if she didn't like it I was given the go ahead. Now that it's down she loves it and also wants it in her scrapbooking/laundry room. So I've kinda made more work for myself, but it's worth it. I think I'll eventually put it in the garage and the woodshop.

[scorrpio]

Hmm... lay a matrix of short pieces of 1x4. On top, affix sheets of perforated pegboard, rought side up. Add a dustport in the corner. Now you have a downdraft floor!!!

[dave2909]

I do like the idea of a wood floor, though I've been leaning away from it due to the cost, and possible water issues. (The basement's been very dry for 2 years, but a recent issue with too much turkey in the disposal backed up 1/4" of water in one corner of the shop.) I do have room for a few inches of floor (8' ceilings - some hefty soffits.)

I hadn't thought about plywood, though that would most likely keep a better record of my gluing and finishing adventures than I would like.

[dave2909]

I don't see doing much welding or other metalwork, but do have a handful of heavy machines to move around (some on casters, some not - yet.) The current floor is bare, unsealed concrete in good shape. It has some very minor cracks, and a certain lingering aroma of turkey soup, but should be fine for anything.

The downdraft floor sounds like it could be a real winner - definitely a plus with the wife - she's not real fond of my dust.

Thanks,

Dave

[Jim-Iowa]

Here in Iowa and I`m sure in Minnesota too, winters on concrete floors can be uncomfortable, too much cold is conducted through the concrete. I find as I get older when I get cold feet, I am cold all over. I have been considering this and believe laying 2X4 material flat and putting down sheets of 2" foam insulation between the 2X material under a plywood floor would greatly improve the situation.
The foam should improve load bearing qualities of the plywood as well. The wood floor could be a timesaver as well due to dropped chisels and tools would not be damaged as easily?

[vaking]

I have a shop in a basement with vinyl tile on top of concrete. Tile is not really slippery but heavy machinery leaves scratches, dents and chip-outs. I would not advise vinyl floor in the shop. Wood floor in a basement is a scary idea. My basement has been mostly dry for many years but still every now and then main drain in the house gets clogged and then appears a little water in a basement. I have drains and sump pumps, water never gets over 1/4" but it is enough to ruin wood floor. For a beasement shop I would suggest leaving floor concrete, maybe with epoxy paint.

[dave2909]

I'm still pretty leery of any wood in the flooring - just in case of any water issues in the future. The point about being easier on dropped tools is a good one though.

I was kind of thinking that vinyl tile would get pretty beat up - good to hear real results.

Has anyone tried a more 'rubbery' sort of tile? Seems it would be better than wood at water resistance and better than concrete for insulation and dropped tools. I'm just not sure how it would wear, or how well it stays in place if it's not glued down. I'm also not real familiar with what products are out there, but this looked interesting:

www.dynotile.com - Just wish I could order a sample without paying for a whole box...

-Dave

[cwsmith]

I'm in the process of setting up a new basement shop (when the rest of the new, old house is finished). Here's a product that I found at Home Depot that is perfect for concrete and for possible damp floors. It's a 24 x 24 inch treated plywood, tongue and groove block that has a PVC raised backing. Keeps the moisture out and provides excellent footing and ease on your legs. These are not cheap, but that's relavent I guess. Last price I saw was about $5 or $6 a block at Home Depot. Lowe's has a similar product. The Home Depot blocks are called Dri-Core. http://www.dricore.com/en/eindex.htm

In my current home, I have a lot of seepage whenever it rains hard and I've used the Dri Core and it's absolutely perfect for keeping the tools and other basement storage high and dry. The PVC backing doesn't mold and in effect seals the floor so the moisture stays against the concrete.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[Tom Miller]

If you're going for looks, you might end up with a constant headache trying to keep it looking good. I haven't found any reason to do anything to the existing concrete floor in my basement shop. I don't have to worry about glue drips, or spilled finish, etc.

But if I was going for looks, I'd put down some 1x sleepers, then some 2x tongue and groove cedar, or something. And I'd be really happy I only have a 225 sq. ft. shop when I got the bill. [:0]

Just a thought.

Regards,
Tom
Hmmm, that does sound kind of cool.

[JimD]

I find that a nice thick layer of sawdust on the concrete floor makes it much easier to stand on for long periods of time.

Jim

[Tundra_Man]

quote:Originally posted by scorrpio

Hmm... lay a matrix of short pieces of 1x4. On top, affix sheets of perforated pegboard, rought side up. Add a dustport in the corner. Now you have a downdraft floor!!!

Hook it up to the blow side of your shop vac, and now you have full-room air hockey!