Need some advice on shop floor

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  • bigdaddyjohn
    Established Member
    • Jan 2006
    • 129
    • Fort Wayne, IN.
    • Jet 10" Contractor

    Need some advice on shop floor

    I have a dilemma. My old, 2 car detached garage developed some serious cracks and heaves. To the point I could no longer walk across it. Over the last year, I busted the remainder up and slowly hauled it off. The intentions being to remove, level with gravel and pour a new concrete floor. However, the reality is I will park a car in it. The rafters are low and then entrance (sliding barn style doors) is fairly low also. An SUV isn't going in there (don't have one anyway). I want to use the space as my wood shop.

    The problem. I have already hauled and spread and even compacted crushed limestone. Ready for the vapor barrier, wire mesh and then the pour. Working with a seriously tight budget so laying out the $500 for the pour and bringing the neighbors in to help finish it, may have to wait a little while longer. In the meantime, I have the bright idea of going for a wood floor instead. Specifically, building a deck frame, inside the structure and laying OSB subfloor. This I could do a little at a time and it most likely would be easier financially as I don't have to pay for the pour right up front. Before any flames on spending money start, realize I work for a living and 1/2 still goes to child support.

    Despite having $200 in limestone (over a several month period, one truck load at a time) and no way to recoup that money, I am toying with the idea of building the wood structure.

    Advantage: Easier on my back. Lower initially outlay of funds (can buy wood little at a time). Easier to run dust collection. Easier to insulate.

    Disadvantage: Already have the gravel laid. The garage wouldn't have a concrete floor for future resale (questioning how big an impact that would really be, the structure is, small, etc.)

    I guess I am really looking for some opinions. This is running through my head and I've been up all night. Help a brotha out and chime in with your advice.

    Thanks.
  • cwsmith
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2005
    • 2737
    • NY Southern Tier, USA.
    • BT3100-1

    #2
    IMHO, concrete is still your best option. It's stable, solid and for the price you mentioned ($500 ?) would probably offer you the best bang for the investment.

    I would think that laying down a supporting wood frame/joist (even if only treated 2 x 4) on which to lay your planned OSB would still probably run you $200 - $300, but I'm only guessing and haven't actually dimensioned/priced materials. That expense would at best be "temporary" as I doubt that it would last too many years and probably would offer questionable stability for long-term support of your heavier tools and work benches.

    On an "easy to use and install" note, I use T&G 2 x 2 treated OSB panels in my garage work area and in the basement shop. Both have uneven concrete floors and the basement has moisture problems. These panels have a PVC backing which incorporate molded in "stand-offs" and provide a very nice floor over a stable surface... which I'm not sure gravel would be, unless it is well compacted.

    For temporary use, they may offer some solution; but, I imagine some movement would accur over any length of time. For $300 I was able to purchase enough of these to do both areas and I put them down in one day, with no nailing. Both Lowes and Home Depot carry these, with Home Depot retailing the "Dri-Core" brand.

    (http://www.dricore.com/en/eIndex.aspx)

    But again, $300 (or whatever) is still a temporary solution, although I imagine that if you follow up in a year or so with your concrete, these could then be re-installed for a top, comfortable surface.

    I hope this helps,

    CWS
    Think it Through Before You Do!

    Comment

    • 9johnny5
      Established Member
      • Mar 2005
      • 179
      • Orange Park, FL
      • BT3100

      #3
      I agree with CWS...plan for what is going to be your best long-term solution, which seems to be concrete. Although you can't tackle it financially all at once, what can you accomplish in the terms of site prep before you can save up the $ to have the pour done? The vapor barrier and wire mesh should be fairly inexpensive for materials, and you mentioned that you have a pool for labor, so that can help. I tend to look at the temporary solutions of a wood floor throwing good money after it, considering it is a compromise from what you really want. You can still plan dust collection while you are laying out the wire mesh, and you won't have to pull anything up to put down what you really know to be the answer. Take your time and progress as budget allows, and don't make any decisions that cause you to make reverse progress in the future. If you plan for the best case, just like buying a perfect but expensive tool, it will only hurt once. You also mentioned resale - why take a chance on jeopardizing a sale on something you have to capitulate on to begin with?
      No flame brutha, we've all been there... in short, make the plan that you're happy with, and take the time to do it right the first time.

      Hope it helps, you can payback with some pics so we can see what we're dealing with.

      Johnny C.
      not exactly Norm...al

      Comment

      • dbhost
        Slow and steady
        • Apr 2008
        • 9209
        • League City, Texas
        • Ryobi BT3100

        #4
        Just from a using your bucks wisely point of view, I would strongly suggest that you just finish up with the pour of the concrete floor. It seems like you would lay out extra bucks you don't need to in order to get a temporary floor in, while damaging the underlayment for the permanent floor, which would mean wasting additional time and money. Both of which are precious.
        Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

        Comment

        • Mr__Bill
          Veteran Member
          • May 2007
          • 2096
          • Tacoma, WA
          • BT3000

          #5
          I think you have to ask yourself what you really want, how long you think you will be living there and just what you will not be buying if you spend too much. I can see many advantages to a wood floor and if you are not planning to park your car in there very few disadvantages for a shop space. If the stone had been well packed with a vibrating packer and is reasonably flat then a vapor barrier and some sleepers under a ply or osb flooring may serve you well for many years. If you plan on some heat when you work some foam between the sleepers would help too but is not really necessary as the wood will feel warmer than the concrete.

          The sleepers laying on the stone would have to be leveled and perhaps best if done for the whole space at once but the flooring could go down as you can afford it and you would at least have part of the space for a shop as the floor goes down. If winter comes first some planks for the car to ride on would hold you till next summer if the car has to park in your shop.

          I have been in your shoes and know that holding out till you can afford what you really want or think you need may mean that you never have anything. It's sort of like buying a Harbor Freight tool, if the price is affordable and it does what you want or need it's a wise investment but if you buy just to have it and it's not what you really want and won't really do what you need it to do then it's a waste of money. What ever you do just make sure the money spent is well spent and the results work for you.

          Bill

          Comment

          • bigdaddyjohn
            Established Member
            • Jan 2006
            • 129
            • Fort Wayne, IN.
            • Jet 10" Contractor

            #6
            The Ramblings of the Sleep Deprived

            Thanks for the inputs. Still debating in my head. The total costs would be roughly the same.

            Another advantage. If I remove the limestone, potenitally I could excavate a little lower, then install the "deck structure". Ultimately, that could even give me a little extra headroom.

            As to long term? We will be here for a long time. Which only adds to my problem. I want to build wooden drift boats along with the typical house hold projects of cabinets, etc.

            It's pretty cold here in the winter. I have contemplated 1" foam insulation under the slab but then again, I would lose another 1" of headroom. Thought long and hard about hydronic heating within the slab but that's another cost.

            Ever hear of the phrase "Analysis Paralysis". I suffer from this ever growing disorder. Very debilitating like it's well known cousin "OCD".

            You should have seen me searching for a replacement saw over the last few weeks. Sold my BT3100 about the time I started busting the concrete up. Needed to remove everything from within the garage and knew I would want a larger saw. So 3 weeks ago, I started scouring Craigslist. Hundreds of ads, phone calls, emails and miles later, I snagged a Jet 10" in good shape. A little surface rust but it runs smooth and quiet. $200.

            Yes, that would have been $200 towards concrete. However, the extra cash was from a distant relative's will. I felt the only right thing to do was to purchase something that will potential be handed down to other members of the family. Not a whole lot of money but like I said, a distant estranged relative. There were no tangible items willed.

            The picture is not my actual saw. It is however, the same model and pretty much in the same shape. The guard was included along with several plastic push sticks, 4 blades and the dado throat plate. Granted, most likely the blades are junk and I would never use metal throat plates, opting to make custom ones.
            Attached Files

            Comment

            • woodturner
              Veteran Member
              • Jun 2008
              • 2047
              • Western Pennsylvania
              • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

              #7
              If you have a compacted limestone "floor" now, why not just use that until you are ready to place concrete?
              --------------------------------------------------
              Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

              Comment

              • pelligrini
                Veteran Member
                • Apr 2007
                • 4217
                • Fort Worth, TX
                • Craftsman 21829

                #8
                +1 on that idea. Maybe just putting down a few sheets of cheap CDX plywood directly on the substrate if you need a firmer area.
                Erik

                Comment

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