Shop flooring question #2

Good afternoon all,

I have been looking around for some information on how to use 2xX as the final top floor. I was pricing dimensional lumber and 2x's were running around 1.10 to 1.50 a ft. My question is two fold, are there any problems with using for example, 2x6x16 layed flat on top of 1 1/8" Advantech? I was thinking of running the 2xX's through my planer so they would all be the same thickness and it would also eliminate the top round over.

Has anybody done this? What was your experience and would you do it again?

T&G plywood is my 2nd option but running close to that is unfinished oak.

Bryan

If I was doing a wood floor in a shop, it would be hardwood. You can find some good prices on Utility /cabin grade. Or I've ven seen used that was in layable condition for very cheap.

I would put a tongue & groove on the 2x6's because they are made from fast growing trees which like to twist and move a lot, plus it gives you a place to blind nail it into the subflooring. . I would also lay the floor without any machining work, and then sand it all down when its all been laid, just like with a conventional wood floor.

If you are going to lay a lumber floor, why would you put down a sheet subfloor? If I were building a new building, think I'd tongue and groove the lumber flooring, and just lay it over the joists. Be a very strong floor. Barns used to have 1 layer of 3/4" pine t&g flooring.

I suggest T&G OSB for the floor. It's cheap and the floor will have some grip to it. Only downside is it will splinter/chip some so you will need to repaint it every now and then.

I would think with a 2X6 floor you may have problems with expansion and contraction. I am thinking about doing my floor as Don suggested, T&G OSB. A friend of mine did his with OSB, with a clear coat, and it really looks, and holds up well.

Sam

If you want a wooden floor that will last forever, you can lay one like they had in the old mills in New England - endgrain.

Using 2x4's, you would need to surface them to remove the rounded over corners and get them to consistent size. They are simply glued to the floor and not to each other so a damaged one can be removed. Most of the factories around here used white oak and it varied in length, i.e., the thickness of the floor, from several inches to over 24". A 24" thick endgrain oak floor would support ANYTHING you could possibly put on it - I saw several machines that weighed well over 100 tons in a factory in Lowell, MA - when they were removed, there was maybe a 1/4" deep depression left! That mill had a shop floor that was over 120,000 square feet - at auction, some guy bought just the floor for $5k - worked out to over 2.8 MILLION board feet of white oak. I asked him what he was going to do with it - planned to cut it down to around 18" to clean up the ends and sell them to some factory making crafts up in Washington state. From what I heard, it took a crew of 20 guys a month to remove it all after they machinery and everything else was removed.

Doing such a floor is a lot of work, but it's a lifetime floor and it is very comfortable to work on. As it is not structural, however, it does need to be placed over either a concrete slab or a sheet stock floor. An added advantage is that it will not damage cutting tools that are accidentally dropped. I would think one 3 or 4" thick made out of fir or hemlock would be incredible. Because you only need short pieces, you might be able to pick up culls from a sawmill for cheap money.

Brian

You can buy a lot of very comfy rubber mats for a fraction of the price of wood, and move them around whenever you change your layout.

What you are talking about (2X6 T and G) was used extensively in the 70's for subfloor. It is called car decking and is probably still available.

Wow, I had never heard of 2x6 Car Decking.....looks pretty interesting. I supposed if push came to shove I could make my own T&G....would almost need to by a shaper or my table saw,.......hmmm another excuse to buy iron.......great input Creekers!!!!

Over the years, I have installed a fair amount of 2x6 T&G, but always on ceilings or as a subfloor under finished flooring. It will span 4' without in residential usage without a problem. Since it is typically a finish grade lumber (#2 or better), it is not cheap, and it may be softer than you want for a shop floor. Further, it is going to expand and contract, especially if it is not brought the proper moisture level when you install it, and the space it will be used in is prone to swings in moisture level. I think you would end up being happier in the long run with T&G subfloor under a lower/cheaper grade of hardwood flooring.

Years ago, I was in a shop in Southern California that had a floor made from pieces of scrap 2x4 that were 7" long which had been loose laid in a herringbone pattern over a slab. All the wood came from "dumpster diving" at construction sites. The pieces were planed down to about 1 1/4" thick to remove the curved edges and the nasty finish that comes from the rough planers at the mill. I believe it had an oil finish. If a piece got damaged or stained, it could be pulled out and flipped over or replaced. I'm not sure how expansion space around the edges was accounted for, but in SoCal that is probably not the issue we have in the Midwest.