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shop floor

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I have a new plywood sub-floor in my shop and am looking for a floor material suggestion. I'd prefer 3/4" solid wood but prefinished wood flooring seems like it would be slippery. Any comments on unfinished wood? id like a light color like oak or maple.
Its about 75 sq ft.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rob
 
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I used 3/4 inch chipboard in my shop, and then painted it with : Supergrip Epoxy fortified acrylic enamel which I purchased at a lumber store.
It is a non-skid satin finish in a tan color, and is resistant to oil and gas. Some type of plywood or solid wood flooring painted with this might give you a good surface. ( I have repainted once in 15 years)
 
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If you go for paint use a nonslip additive. I got a can, it is a powder, at I think Sherwin Williams and it was in the range of $10.00.

I used it in a 2 part epoxy on a concrete floor, not on wood but the nonslip I think is important.

Stu
 

Dennis J Gooding

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Just don't use anything that you will worry about getting dinged by a dropped tool or heavy object, because it WILL happen. I have a 4' x 4' rubber pad under my lathe. It has saved many a cutting tool, is non-skid and is comfortable to stand on for long periods.
 
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My last house, built in 1959 had 3/4" X 2" pecan floors which I sanded and refinished. It was beautiful, as would be oak or maple. Kind of too nice for a shop floor though. Somewhat like putting a brass knocker on a pine outhouse... Why not just plank it with 3/4 doug fir or southern yellow pine, depending on which side of the country you are getting it from. I don't think I would bother painting it, perhaps hit it with a coat of BLO which would be easy to replenish every couple of years.
 
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If you go for paint use a nonslip additive. I got a can, it is a powder, at I think Sherwin Williams and it was in the range of $10.00.

I used it in a 2 part epoxy on a concrete floor, not on wood but the nonslip I think is important.

Stu
If you make it too non-skid, it might be harder to sweep up. Think sweeping up shavings on sandpaper.
 
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[QUOTE If you make it too non-skid, it might be harder to sweep up. Think sweeping up shavings on sandpaper.[/QUOTE]

The particles in the additive are smaller then then the paint film thickness so only the tops of some stick thru.

I used about double the recommended amount and have no trouble. I did not use a clear coat on top of the epoxy as that would defeat the purpose of the finish., but I did use the colored flakes provided.

I painted a concrete garage floor that was was not finished to a super smooth surface and as the epoxy cured it filled in some of the grooves in the cement. The epoxy sweeps up better then the concrete.

Stu
 
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Its about 75 sq ft. Rob[/QUOTE said:
Are you sure about that square footage?

Any kind of wood floor will be easier on your feet and legs, as well as the inevitable dropped tools.
I taught Ind Arts in schools and the wood floors were great, unlike the cement floor in my home shop.
 
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My shop floor which was the garage is finished concrete . Several years ago, I closed it off to keep sawdust from going everywhere. I never thought of finishing it with anything. I do have cushioned mats at each work area.
 
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Another vote here for wood. Painted, finished or not is your choice. Mine are Alaska yellow cedar—a cypress, which is fairly soft. I left them roughsawn and they've worn just a little and they're as non-slip as anything.

I like your idea of lighter colored wood. Oak might not be the best choice if you do a lot of rough turning wet wood, since oak tends to stain dark with water.
 
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I've been researching the same issue - new shop, need to put in flooring. So far, I'm happy with the 1-1/4 plywood thats there, but found my cheapest wood option to be pine flooring - looking at lumber liquidators. I'm thinking that it's soft enough to provide a little relief for the feet, and only requires a simple finish like Thompsons waterseal (it is a shop floor afterall).
Is there something I'm not considering?
 
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I've been researching the same issue - new shop, need to put in flooring. So far, I'm happy with the 1-1/4 plywood thats there, but found my cheapest wood option to be pine flooring - looking at lumber liquidators. I'm thinking that it's soft enough to provide a little relief for the feet, and only requires a simple finish like Thompsons waterseal (it is a shop floor afterall).
Is there something I'm not considering?

I'll vote for that option.
 
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I am getting ready to build a new shop. The lathe room will be concrete floor with pads around the lathes. The flat work room will be calico hickory, and it may or may not get a finish on it. Floor joists on 16 inch centers rather than 2 foot centers, then 7/8 plywood on that. Main reason to finish would be to prevent as much movement with weather changes, not to protect the surface. I had thought about some of the laminate flooring. Most of them have grooves rather than flush edges which could provide areas that will fill with dust. Since they are padded on the under side, that may add some wobble to the lathe.

robo hippy
 
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I found some tongue and groove 5" wide premium white oak flooring that was an over run for $2 a sq ft. 8-10' long. Cant do better than that. I do however like the idea of a softer wood like pine.
Ill put a penetrating finish on so it wont be slippery and it doesn't stain from wet wood. I'm thinking about running it through my wide belt sander and prefinishing it before i install for ease but worried some edges will stick up. i could create a micro bevel which may mitigate. any thoughts?
Thanks for the helpful reply's.
Rob
 
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White oak is great for flooring (and furniture). I have use it for both and I've build exterior foot bridges using it without any coating or protection.
I'd sand it and finish it after the install-- micro bevels means micro dust collectors.
 
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Bill Boehme

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An oak floor won't be slippery. A wood floor is normally sanded after installation ... doing it beforehand is a waste of time because the reference datum is the tongue and groove joint ... unfortunately your belt sander uses the other face as its reference datum.

A dropped tool wouldn't notice the difference in hardness of oak and pine. Oak is more stable and less likely to cup.

A penetrating finish such as an oil or sealer isn't going to do much about protecting the floor from stains (dropped can of paint or bottle of dye or glue or metallic dust from the grinder for example). A polyurethane floor varnish would give better protection.

Personally, I like the patina that a bare shop floor develops over time. Every stain has a story to tell.
 
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Pine, like Doug Fir, doesn't wear well. Any walk way, or glides other than felt, on the bottom of chairs, or stilletto high heels will leave marks and worn in trails. Sanded after you put it down for sure, and I have seen many before they were sanded. Even if you were milling all the boards yourself, not even suggested from me.

robo hippy
 

RichColvin

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I'd opt for cork. That way I'd have less resharpening when I drop tools !
 
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Pine, like Doug Fir, doesn't wear well. robo hippy
Robo - I've seem pine floors that have been in place - both commercial and residential spaces - that have been in constant use for 100+ years without suffering from too much damage. Mine is a shop floor - anything (and probably everything) is going to be dropped on it. It's called character...and history.
Besides - I stopped wearing stillettos while turning several months ago. Had to lower my spindle height by nearly 6 inches...
 
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Robo - I've seem pine floors that have been in place - both commercial and residential spaces - that have been in constant use for 100+ years without suffering from too much damage. Mine is a shop floor - anything (and probably everything) is going to be dropped on it. It's called character...and history.


When you say that you have seen pine floors that have been in place for hundreds of years, that may be true to some extent, but most likely you have seen vertical, aka quarter sawn fir and pine. T&G fir flooring was very commonly used in bed rooms and hallways in older homes. Sometimes in main living areas as well. Hard maple was also used frequently in kitchens. I have seen some homes with a maple floor in the kitchen, and an oak floor in the adjacent dining room and they have combo door door jambs at the transition, Maple/Oak.
 
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Robo - I've seem pine floors that have been in place - both commercial and residential spaces - that have been in constant use for 100+ years without suffering from too much damage. Mine is a shop floor - anything (and probably everything) is going to be dropped on it. It's called character...and history.
Besides - I stopped wearing stillettos while turning several months ago. Had to lower my spindle height by nearly 6 inches...

Stilettos* aside, I would really like to put in a pine block floor where it’s laid so the end grain is the wear surface — very durable. Many 100+ year old industrial buildings used such a floor and it holds up incredibly well.

A flat or quarter sawn fir floor has a big drawback in that it tends to be splintery. My c.1920 home has fir floors and every now and then a sock will catch where two boards abut and pull up a splinter. :(

*The city hall, in Flagstaff, AZ, installed a ponderosa pine floor in about 1980 when the new facility was built. It made for a great looking floor, but the women’s high heels would catch in the uneven portions. They had to sand it a couple of times to even it out and refinish it. I don’t know if the floor's still there; I moved away in ’95.

lq1j6hf.jpg Wood_Paver_Alley_Block_Placement.jpg
 
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RichColvin

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Owen,

I saw a floor like that in a very old GM plant (I was trying to sell them some computers, not working there). It was old, and greasy, and beautiful with great character.

Rich
 
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When you say that you have seen pine floors that have been in place for hundreds of years, that may be true to some extent, but most likely you have seen vertical, aka quarter sawn fir and pine. T&G fir flooring was very commonly used in bed rooms and hallways in older homes.
Tom - Here on the west coast, it's not uncommon to find turn-of-the-century buildings - particularly commercial buildings with pine and fir flooring. I appreciate the fact that splinters can raise hell on sock-clad feet, I seldom turn in my socks - they collect shavings.
It seems to me that shop flooring doesn't need to conform to the same standards we use for our homes and public spaces. I can put down a pine floor for $1.79 sqft. (lumber liquidators) A couple of coats of polyurethane varnish will add a few pennies. The result is going to look better than the 1-1/4" plywood that's there now. Once you pay for the adhesive, decent vinyl is going to be pretty close.
Besides, whatever goes down, it's going to have a baptism from turning wet madrone and big leaf maple - I doubt anything is going to come out unscathed.

(...actually, I just checked and vinyl flooring would cost 4 times more without the adhesive - I've been living in a dreamworld)
 
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Shop around at the salvage houses.
I was able to purchase clean (no nails) "select" qtr-sawn red oak for $1.00 per square foot. Because it came out of an old home, the pieces were straight and much longer that you get today.
I wanted red oak but could have bought maple from a basketball court for around $0.85/sq ft.
The trick of used flooring is the ends - those that abutted the walls never got sanded and are thick. I just cut them off with a chop-saw and then used a biscuit joiner to insert a FF biscuit - easy and efficient.
Of course there's no ducking the sanding, staining and finishing if it's in you home - maybe not a problem in the shop.
I put used in my master bedroom and in the shop - it cost less than cheap tile
 
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I represented a company in Cleveland, OH, that had a floor of six inch pieces of wood set on end. No telling how old it was- oil and grease soaked with lots of character.
 
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I built my dream shop on the ground floor of our old barn about 12 years ago. This has a full basement under it. I had to level the floor pretty drastically due to movement of the barn and not getting it dead on level after putting a new foundation under it. I used a regular sub flooring with shims under the whole floor to get to level and 2" of closed pore foam insulation. Once that was done I debated on the finish floor but went with a hardwood floor. Just used the cheap flooring available from Lumber Liquidators, which turned out to be ash. I used a coulple coats of poly as a finish. I totally expected to ding the floor and get spills etc.. and all that is true. It is a shop after all. The floor is a bit easier on the body for standing on, but it can get slippery with a pile shavings. It is fine without the shavings, but the combination of the smooth hardwood and shavings can be a hazard. I am pretty aware of this and am careful. Try to keep it swept, but that often doesn't happen. I also still use a foam mat in front of the lathe to make standing easier on the feet and legs.
 
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An acquaintance's shop has a concrete floor. Somewhere he got some old wide rubber belting from a quarry business. He put it down worn side up, over the entire floor. Works great.
 
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