Shop flooring

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Hi all, looking for recommendations for shop flooring. I'm having a new house built with a 1500 sq. ft. basement I plan to turn into a woodworking shop. The basement will be unfinished with concrete floors and I'm looking for something to ease the pain on my feet. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[Jerry Strojny]

Hoang,

I am actually in the process of creating my new shop space. I just moved this summer into a 1935 era home. I have about a 525 sq ft room in the basement for my workshop. I decided to go with dri-core panels. http://dricore.com/nw/subfloor_about.php

I know some feel they are a little expensive, but I feel my time is pretty valuable. So it was worth it for me. They were super easy to install, I did the 525 sq ft with my dad in about 4 hours. I'm working on electrical next. But so far, I absolutely feel it was worth it. Feels great on the feet, definitely a little warmer too.

Now, with 1500 sq ft, this option is probably a little steep. (Approx $2,500) Perhaps a section of the basement may not need it? I believe there have been some threads on the forum discussing all the flooring options topic at length. Perhaps a quick search would offer some info with all the options and opinions out there.

It's not a easy decision. Do plenty of research. It is obviously not something that can easily be redone if you don't like it. Don't forget, a great pair of shop shoes can go a long way. Good shoes and rubber mats in front of the tools was how I did my last basement shop. worked well, and was quite economical. Good luck!

[Mike Wilkins]

If you don't want to cover the entire floor area, just place some nice mats in front of the work areas. I do this in my own shop which has a concrete floor. I purchase the mats at the local Lowes store in the flooring department. About 36" width and sold per foot from a big roll. Approx. 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and holds up well. Good support shoes would help also.
I don't have the budget to cover the entire floor, but these mats in front of the bench, saws, lathe, etc. is a big help on the footsies.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Hoang,

I am actually in the process of creating my new shop space. I just moved this summer into a 1935 era home. I have about a 525 sq ft room in the basement for my workshop. I decided to go with dri-core panels. http://dricore.com/nw/subfloor_about.php

I know some feel they are a little expensive, but I feel my time is pretty valuable. So it was worth it for me. They were super easy to install, I did the 525 sq ft with my dad in about 4 hours. I'm working on electrical next. But so far, I absolutely feel it was worth it. Feels great on the feet, definitely a little warmer too.

Now, with 1500 sq ft, this option is probably a little steep. (Approx $2,500) Perhaps a section of the basement may not need it? I believe there have been some threads on the forum discussing all the flooring options topic at length. Perhaps a quick search would offer some info with all the options and opinions out there.

It's not a easy decision. Do plenty of research. It is obviously not something that can easily be redone if you don't like it. Don't forget, a great pair of shop shoes can go a long way. Good shoes and rubber mats in front of the tools was how I did my last basement shop. worked well, and was quite economical. Good luck!

This looks pretty good but it's only a sub flooring. However it will come in handy the day I plan to finish out the basement and sell the house down the road so it's not a bad idea to lay it down now. I'll have to look into it some more and see what other options I have out there. I will likely only use about 1000 sq. ft. of the basement for my shop, the rest will likely be wood storage along with my DC and air compressor. That area can be left concrete.

If you don't want to cover the entire floor area, just place some nice mats in front of the work areas. I do this in my own shop which has a concrete floor. I purchase the mats at the local Lowes store in the flooring department. About 36" width and sold per foot from a big roll. Approx. 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and holds up well. Good support shoes would help also.
I don't have the budget to cover the entire floor, but these mats in front of the bench, saws, lathe, etc. is a big help on the footsies.

I'm using anti-fatigue mats right now in my garage shop but they're the lighter foam ones I picked up from Rockler. I have an I-Robot Roomba in the shop that runs around in the evenings to vacuum up any dust on the floors and it always ends up pushing my mats around. I love the little guy to death because he keeps me from having to vacuum the shop myself, but he drives me nuts when I come in the shop and find my mats all over the shop. I also wanted something to cover the entire floor but might consider this if I can't find anything else I like.

I do have shop shoes with gel inserts, they are great and even better if I'm standing on my mats. I guess I just want that feeling everywhere I walk in the shop.

[Jerry Strojny]

This looks pretty good but it's only a sub flooring.

Yeah, for me, it a shop, I don't plan to put anything on top of the dri-core panels. I don't care that it is just a chip board look. If you want a cleaner look on top of it, that's really cool. I'm curious to see if you go this option and what you go with. (vinyl, solid wood, cork, oh man, the options are endless.) Have fun with it.

[Peter Kelly]

Delta FL with T&G OSB panels on top. Far less costly than DriCore and will give the same result. Use the savings on a finished flooring material.



http://www.cosella-dorken.com/bvf-ca...roducts/fl.php

http://www.spycorbuilding.com/Cosell...oor_p/dlfl.htm

I believe Lowes carries it as well.

[Michael Stockdale]

Peter,

Are you using 4x8 sheets of tongue and groove OSB subfloor, or something smaller over the Delta FL?

[Peter Kelly]

Yes, 4x8s of 23/32" Advantech T&G over top of the Delta-FL. This system does need to be fastened down on 2' x 2' centers with Hilti sleeve anchors or Tapcons.

Square foot cost should be less than half of DriCore and can be gone over with a nail-down strip wood floor.

[Jim Becker]

Sleepers (2x PT on faces) with 1.5" foam insulation between covered by 3/4" T&G plywood. You could also put a layer of wood strip flooring over that if you want to spruce up the look. 'Nothing better than a wood floor for this purpose, although I still strongly recommend anti-fatique mats at oft-used workstations for additional comfort.

[James W Glenn]

I did a floating floor, Advantec over 3/4 foam, screwed and glued to 4" x 3/4 pressure treated strips as backing on all joints, over Delta-FL. 3 out of 4 walls have structural "Trim" which will prevent any warp or lift along the walls and a rabbeted 2x8 edging along the garage door side. One year later, all is well. I floated it so that when and if we move the shop can be reverted back to a garage with an intact slab.

[Ted Prinz]

Hoang - I built my shop about 10 years ago, an out building on our property. It's about 24' x 32' and the basic structure has a concrete slab for the floor. Michigan winters can be harsh and I also wanted something "softer" on my feet. So I put 2x4 treated sleepers on the floor, insulated with a vapor barrier and rigid foam and topped it with 3/4" t&g plywood. PERFECT!! Warmest shop floor anywhere!

[John K Jordan]

I do have shop shoes with gel inserts, they are great and even better if I'm standing on my mats. I guess I just want that feeling everywhere I walk in the shop.

De Feet: Just my 2 cents - I have had great success with some soft rubbery foot ware that look like Crocks but are so much better in my experience. They are made by Telic. I've bought them directly from Telic and from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPOZCZE

They are somehow soft and spongy AND provide support at the same time. This is practically all I wear anymore. I wear them to church, in the shop, around the farm, hiking in the mountains, to Walmart. I do switch to other shoes when wear a suit and shoot a wedding or go to a funeral...

For the shop floor, I came this close to putting down T&G wood floor on top of my concrete in the woodworking/turning areas. The shop itself took so much work (built it myself) that I ran out of time and energy. I love working on a wood floor so I still might do it some day (I have a huge amount of cherry in the barn loft). For now my old feets stick with the anti-robot mats on concrete and the Telic shoes. Coupled with the doctor's stretching exercises My Feet are Smiling. (apologies to Leo Kottke)

JKJ

[Mark Furjanic]

I forget how I bumped into this stuff but it might be of interest.
http://www.amvicsystem.com/insulation/amdry-subfloor/

[Ole Anderson]

I kept mine simple and inexpensive. Unbacked Pergo over roll foam underlayment over concrete. Pergo is hard but will dent a bit high point loads. Smooth enough to sweep easily, but not so smooth it is a hazard with a sawdust coating. I do have two old anti-fatigue mats I kept for when I work in one spot for a long time.

[Eric Rimel]

I'm looking at cow mats for the areas around my main stationary equipment. I've used some at work on a padded fixture table. The rubbery smell went away in a short time. $1.75 per SF. Some insulation value. Easy to reconfigure.........horrible color.