Shop floor

[Joe Jensen]

I have decided to go with concrete floor in my new shop. I know, lots hate standing on concrete but I will use cushioned pads where I stand to work. The shop will be about 2,100 sq ft with a flat floor. I am pretty sure I don't care about how it looks. Should I pay to have the floor polished or for a better finish than a normal garage floor?

[Yonak Hawkins]

Good choice. You may decide to go with good cushioned shoes instead of distributing mats around your shop. They inhibit machine transit which, especially for heavier tools, often tend to roll better on concrete floors than wooden, anyway. Also, if you use rolling carts as work surfaces and out- and in-feed supports as I do, concrete floors with no mats works best.

[Frank Pratt]

Polished concrete looks good & is easy to sweep, but can be slick when it's got sawdust on it.

I prefer good shoes over cushioned mats any day. They follow me all around the shop, are easy to sweep around, & don't get in the way of moving machinery.

[Joe Jensen]

Luckily I wear quality cushioned shoes for comfort anyway, maybe that's why I've never bothered by concrete floors. On polishing, I think the builder estimated $1.25 a sq ft extra for that finishing, does that make sense?

[Randy Henry]

My new shop floor was poured about a month ago. I waited 2 days, then power-washed the floor to get all the dust out that was caused by cutting the joints. I then used the recommended Sureshine concrete sealer. I was very careful about how I put it on and made sure all the dust was gone. I sprayed it on with a pump up sprayer. It looks like a polished floor now, with only 2 coats of the material. I did 2750 sq. ft, and a 5 gallons bucket did the entire job. When I power-washed the floor, I used a wide fan tip, and kept it off the floor app. 12", then used squeegee to push the water out. Would do it again the same way.

[Mike Heidrick]

My floor is smooth. No need to polish.

[Jim Becker]

Joe, I think you'll be fine with out extra polishing over a normal smooth surface. As to the mats, I'm a believer and ULine has provided well for my shop in that respect. For a new shop build-out, buying a full roll of 3' or 4' wide anti-fatigue mat material may cost out better than individual mats.

[Martin Wasner]

I'm with Frank, good shoes are far better than any mat.

I wanted to have my floor ground after being poured, but I didn't have the money and I didn't have the time to let it go to full cure.



I just had the cement guys really burn it in with the trowels.

[Joe Jensen]

I'm with Frank, good shoes are far better than any mat.

I wanted to have my floor ground after being poured, but I didn't have the money and I didn't have the time to let it go to full cure.



I just had the cement guys really burn it in with the trowels.

Wow, that looks polished, Was that just a power trowel run extra long?

[Martin Wasner]

Wow, that looks polished, Was that just a power trowel run extra long?

Pretty much.

[John Sanford]

"No" to the polish. Too slick in a woodshop.

As for mats vs shoes, well, why not both? Get a mat or two and see how you like 'em. With a shop that large, it's unlikely you'll be moving machines around much. One thing that good shoes don't do is protect anything that falls to the floor from damage. Unless, of course, you stick your foot under the falling chisel.

[Jim Becker]

As for mats vs shoes, well, why not both?

I agree totally. Great shoes are essential no matter what for anyone spending a lot of time standing...bad shoes don't just affect your feet. They also can affect your legs, hips and back, which in turn can affect your overall health.

[Scott T Smith]

I spend quite a few hours every day on concrete. Several years back I discovered how boots with soft cushioned insoles will minimize joint aches. Even though I have rubber mats by some of the equipment, I usually don't use them.

My current favorite are Keen Detroit and Keen Mt. Vernon safety toed work boots. The Detroit models are made in the USA from domestic and imported material; the Mt. Vernon are 100% US Mfg. I wear them 7 days a week here on the farm, usually for 14 hours a day. They fit my feet well and have solved my knee and ankle pain issues.

Personally I would not want a polished concrete floor in a woodshop. My floor is standard smooth concrete, and even then when it gets covered with fine sawdust it can be very slick.

[Wayne Lomman]

Don't waste money on polishing. A half decent concreter will trowel it off fine. You will find it will self polish over time around any machines that leak sawdust onto the floor. That gets to be a problem and can required flicking a spatter coat of contact on it occasionally to combat the slip. Cheers

[Ronald Blue]

This is my shop floor and this was how they finished it. I never had to pay anything extra. Power troweled and nothing more.

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