Shop Floor

[Michael Koch]

Just got the wood to do a new floor. It is white oak, 3,4,5 inch widths. Started laying down today. First time doing a hardwood floor myself. Now I know why the job is for the younger crowd. Got a great deal from a friend that is in the business and had to clean out the warehouse. 1.00 a sq foot. I will post pictures when done. MK

[Dewey Torres]

It is going to look great for a while but don't get to attached to its beauty for a shop floor as you are bound to drop tool on it and move heavy machinery around. It will still look better than mine even though. Yes pics please. We all want to see!

Also since this is the first time you did this there are a few here including Pat Germain who recently installed HW flooring and may be able to offer some tips.

[Ben Franz]

My back and knees are hurting just thinking about it. If you haven't already, invest in a GOOD set of knee pads (and the big bottle of Ibuprofen). Is the wood pre-finished? If so, that's quite a price.

[Michael Koch]

Got the knee pads. They are a lifesaver. The drugs are ongoing. It is not finished but it is milled and very nice. MK

[Thomas Bank]

I just finished laying a hickory floor in my woodshop and am waiting for warmer weather to stain and finish it. Kneepads definitely help as does a pneumatic nailer. Started out with just the hammer actuated model from the rental place the first weekend. Rented the pneumatic one the second weekend and made significantly more progress. Found a pneumatic model on eBay that needed some work, bought it for less than the two rental weekends.

[george wilson]

If there was any way of having the wood for several weeks in a heated room first,it would be nice,as they may end up with gaps between them no matter how hard you squeeze them together. Having laid a few floors,I found that out. Do you have a way of clamping the boards tight as you nail them down?

[Michael Koch]

Alot of the wood that I got was from an old Jim Beam factory in Kentucky. According to my floor guy, it is over 100 years old. Some of the other wood is pretty beat up. I don't think that I will have a big movement problem. Mk

[george wilson]

Good find!! Hopefully it won't smell like the large number of heavy planks of cypress that Col. Williamsburg got from some huge old wine vats somewhere !!! I don't think that sour smell will ever get gone.

[Pat Germain]

You know, I tried using knee pads and found them to be awkward and clunky. I worked better just pushing around a old, folded towel to rest my knees on.

I ended up buying a pneumatic flooring stapler from Grizzly. It was a very worthwhile investment. The local rental staplers were very beat up and expensive by the day.

[Michael Koch]

Well finally finished the floor yesterday. Needed a day of rest. What a job, especially working with the reject pile. Had just enough to finish. Picking up the new table saw tomorrow. 3hp Steel City, titaniun top, 50 inch rip. Now I can get to work...MK

[Chris Padilla]

Looks good, MK! What is under the wood floor? I'm curious how you prep'ed it.

I didn't use knee-pads, either. I was ripping out old carpet and putting down engineered flooring. I used a piece of carpet folded on itself as both a knee pad and to hold my little box of tools. Slid like buttah on the prefinished flooring!

[Michael Koch]

I put down a vapor barrier and nailed tongue and grove plywood to the concrete. Worked out real good..MK

[Hunter Wallace]

Ummm...

I'm sure the floor is nice and all, but
the last time I played basketball OUTSIDE
was like 2 weeks before Thanksgiving!!!!!
Now it's a neverending sculptural landscape
of white fluffy dunes....
Why do I live in the North East again?!?!?!

(oh yeah, the floor IS pretty nice!)

[John Sanford]

Ummm...

Why do I live in the North East again?!?!?!

Maybe because you can step outside your door and see trees. Lotsa trees.

[willie sobat]

Michael,

The floor looks great as does your shop. My new shop has a wood floor (OSB) it sure beats standing on concrete.