Anything wrong with just a concrete floor?

[Stuart Welsh]

I'm in the final stages of getting my (new construction) workshop in minimum condition to function. After some long overdue projects are underway I may get to items like exterior paint, front deck, landscaping but now its time to move the equipment in and get to making sawdust. The last big thing I want to decide on before I do that is the floor.

I've been reading discussions here about paint, epoxy, wood, rubber, and vinyl for floor coverings. I originally was going to go with white paint or epoxy to add to the brightness in the room but the weather here in north Texas has not cooperated. Combine that with not having a garage door until last Monday and I have one very cold slab. Since I'll have no heat this season it'll be days if not weeks before it will warm up enough for a coating. Even if that were not a factor some options are too expensive and others might further delay my "grand opening" too much.

The slab was poured about 20 months ago and while the building was not framed and dried in until November the concrete is in like new shape. Though it would not take much to prep for a coating I'm beginning to wonder "What's wrong with just a concrete floor?"

Thoughts?

[David C. Roseman]

Without at least sealing the bare concrete in some way, even if it's just a clear coat, I think you'd be fighting fine concrete dust forever.

David

[Rich Enders]

Stuart,

My last two shops had plain concrete. Our factory shop has plain concrete. My current shop came with epoxy. My next one will be plain concrete.

The epoxy is too slippery by itself so they add some gritty stuff to it. Now you have a gritty floor that will scratch anything that contacts it. If saw dust, chips or shavings are on the floor that area becomes slippery. This is especially annoying when you are planing or carving and you need some traction.

My 10 year old floor is developing the measles. Several dozen 1/4 to 1/2 inch blisters have appeared over the last year. Underneath is a 1/16 to 1/1/8 inch pocket. In plain concrete it would be an easy patch. I am not sure what is involved to repair epoxy.

I know the wives like the look of epoxy because it makes a shop look less like a shop. Probably epoxy helps keep the floor dryer in a humid area. Probably there are lots more reasons, and hopefully you will hear them here.

Years ago there was a thread on epoxy or no epoxy it became something of a war of words that reminded me of Washington DC. Remember to be civil gentlemen.

[Larry Browning]

Concrete is very porous and will soak up stain and oil that pretty much cannot be cleaned. Plus, it will allow moisture to wick up and into your shop. But for me the most important thing will be how much easier the floor is to sweep up saw dust and dirt when it has a nice sealed coat of paint or epoxy. Putting finish on that new floor will solve all these problems, along with all the ones you have mentioned yourself.
You are the one to make the decision about this, but you will have to live with it from now on. A year from now, will you be saying to yourself "I wish I had painted the floor when I had the chance"?
Of course, you can always move everything back out when it warms up and paint it then.

[glenn bradley]

My shop is in a suburban garage and I have done nothing to the floor except put work mats in the areas where I stand for period of time; workbench (also saves dropped chisels), tablesaw, bandsaw and one by the outfeed which doubles as a work area. I use the 1/2" thick stuff from Sam's club. I have been tromping on it for 8 years without failure. The thinner stuff from Sears and Rockler. that was more expensive, eventually failed and started coming apart(?).

[Larry Browning]

The epoxy is too slippery by itself so they add some gritty stuff to it. Now you have a gritty floor that will scratch anything that contacts it. If saw dust, chips or shavings are on the floor that area becomes slippery. This is especially annoying when you are planing or carving and you need some traction.

My experience has been that proper shoes will solve most of the slipperyness. Notice I said "most". A water or oil spill will still cause problems no matter what shoes you are wearing, even on bare concrete.

[paul cottingham]

Something between the floor and your feet will definitely make standing for a long time (or even a short one for that matter) much easier on your feet and knees. Easier on dropped tools, too.

[Stephen Musial]

I sealed mine with a clear acrylic sealer that soaked into the concrete. It's been 12 years and still no stains. My wife parks on her half and if I want to clean it, just a broom will get all of the road grime, etc. off in the spring. I pour gas and oil into various tools and it inevitably spills. Not sure where it goes but it doesn't go into the concrete. I've spilled my share of BLO, shellac, etc. and no stains.

[Rick Potter]

Concrete here. I have a couple of mats where I stand a lot, but the dog finds them tasty. I do have some stains, like the trash can sized purple stain from when I dropped a can of PVC primer off a ladder, or when I dropped a can of wood stain (I sense a pattern here). I (have to) consider them conversation pieces, besides it's proof to the wife that I actually do something in the shop, other than rearrange the tools.

Rick Potter

[Jim Andrew]

Maybe you are a young guy and your joints do not pain you. I added a storage room, which I built with a wood floor, and now wish I had done the whole shop with sleepers and flooring. It just feels better to stand on wood. Have foam pads around my assembly table, but you have to move them to clean up. Think before you get your machinery moved in and dust system connected, I personally would add wood flooring over the slab either with the foam underlay or with sleepers, insulation and flooring. I would not nail it to the slab, as you might move and someone else might not want a wood shop.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I have a concrete floor in my new shop and it's okay as it is--I haven't had issues with concrete dust or moisture since there is a vapor barrier under the foundation. It is porous and impossible to clean once you spill something on it and I plan to put something down over it sometime in the future. My first thought is vinyl flooring since I can simply replace the squares if they are damaged. I've also considered floating hardwood for the same reason.

[Brian Tax]

I have had two shops with epoxy coating, the first one was way to slippery, so the next one I added the grit to the epoxy and the concrete has a broom finish, have not had any slipping. Also I have a bunch of HF mats.

[Michael Mahan]

I'm a just leave it as concrete kinda guy , to me it's a safety thing , the only time I've ever slipped & fallen in any shop (i've worked in many)has been on painted &/or epoxied floors
(once I dislocated my shoulder in my 20's in the late 1970's still bothers me to this day)
If your OCD & a neat nick then paint , you'll never get over a stain if you don't

[Jim Laumann]

Plain concrete here. Mine has 1" of high density foam under it - prevents water from condensing on the surface when it is still cold while the air is warm w/ high humidity. The masons who poured it troweled it smooth.

Mine has stains - some paint, some oil, gas, etc aquired when we used the building (8 years worth) before there was money to insulate and finish the interior. My walls and ceiling are white pole shed steel, so it's plenty bright it there - no need to paint it.

[Phil Thien]

I painted my basement floor (after remove tile and mastic and diamond grinding).

If I had a brand-new slab for my shop floor, I'd investigate the clear sealers that soak into the concrete a bit. That should keep the slab from shedding dust, make sweeping easier, and prevent things that drip onto the slab from staining it.