There has been some interest in Delta-FL so I am posting the results of my application and installation as promised. My shop is a converted three car garage that is 36x24. It's located in northern WI and have been building it out since late August. I decided to put in a floor for a few reasons...concrete is tough on the knees and back, and the concrete slab is so cold in the winter (and sweats like crazy in the summer). I looked at the dricore but it's cost was prohibitive. I ultimately found Delta-Fl on the web.
I am only doing 24x20 of the shop...the other area will be used as a finishing assemble and wood storage area and still has the one car garage door (I walled off the two car door), so leaving it concrete seemed prudent. I ultimately will paint it with an epoxy floor paint like Rustoleum.
Delta-FL is available from Lowe's as a special order...the closest Lowe's to my shop is in Plover WI...they had it in the store on clearance. $9 for a 42" by 30' roll, and it came with the moisture proof tape! Check in the flooring department AND building materials.
First decision was what flooring material to use. I didn't want OSB or plywood although some have said they have had good results. Composite vinyl tile seemed like it would be too slick when dusty, and the manufacturer indicated cold temps can cause brittleness in the tile and adhesive...my shop can get below zero when not in use. I found some 3/4" 3-1/4" "rustic" red oak T&G hardwood flooring for $0.99/sf on craigslist that seemed perfect for a shop floor. ( If anyone is interested it is listed in "material" on the Minneapolis site.) The net cost will be about $1.15 due to a fair amount of waste.
Delta-FL requires a 3/4" OSB or plywood subfloor for installation of hardwood (or carpet). I chose T&G OSB. This subfloor must be secured to the slab with tapcons at 2' on center...15 tapcons per 4x8 sheet. I bought the OSB at Menards for $11/sheet.
First step was laying down the Delta-FL. It should be installed tight to the wall. It was real simple to lay down. It was stored in the garage at single digit temps and still rolled out easy. It will have some memory at the edges but I just laid a 2x4 over it to hold in place. Cuts easily with a razor knife...or you can use scissors. Roll out the next run and simply tape the butt seam. Again, temp seemed to have no effect on the tape, it worked easy and held the seam together.
I laid down two rows of Delta-FL (7 feet wide), and then started laying the OSB over the top. I used this same approach to do the whole floor...Delta-FL until I could run another course of OSB. This keeps the Delta-FL from moving around.
The OSB was laid in a brick pattern, using half sheets every other row. The biggest pain was of course was the snapcons...er tapcons. I bought a HF rotary hammer drill with SDS ($59) to drill the holes which made the job easiert having to do about 300 holes. Went through three drill bits because of breakage. Used a Milwaukee Magnum 1/2" drill to drive the snapcons home. The key I found is to have a drill with enough torque to drive the snapcons quickly...any pause and they catch and break...and then you have to drill another hole
In a few spots I had spalling so I simply cut small pieces of Delta-FL to build up the layer...worked fine. Whatever amount of "out of level" my slab is seemed to have no effect on the Delta-FL/OSB combo. The OSB pulled down tight and there was no "clicking" of the flooring as i walked on it.
Once the Delta-FL/OSB was finished I laid/stapled 15# roofing felt and installed the flooring. I used a bostich pneumatic flooring stapler with 1/2" crown 1-1/2" staples. You have to use the shorter 1-1/2" staples so you do not puncture the Delta-FL.
Very pleased with the result. The Delta-FL provides a continuous uniform moisture barrier between the slab and sub-floor, and because it lifts the subfloor 5/16" off the slab it provides air circulation and a thermal break. The floor quickly gets to ambient room temperature. There is just enough "bounce" to make it easier on the body. And my hardwood floor looks cool and will protect tool edges.
Total cost: Delta-FL+OSB =$0.43/sf
Any questions let me know.
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Originally Posted by Bob Winkler
But that is what the Delta-FL install calls for. The staples are driven in at a 45 degree angle, and have to penetrate from the tongue of the hardwod flooring throught the felt paper and then the 3/4" osb to get to the Drelta-FL. The top of the tongue is 1/2" from the bottom of the 3/4" hardwood, so the total depth is 1.25". The pythagorean theoremtells us that the hypotenuse is 1.77", so 1 1/2" inch staple should not penetrate the Delta-FL. 
