New shop area, something to put on top of carpet.

[Mike Holbrook]

Bought a new home in North, GA. I think I have finalized a space I will use for my shop, in addition to a single car garrage.... The area was a recreation room so it has carpet. I have spent too long on concrete floors. I am thinking about leaving the carpet, too ease stress on feet & legs. I was thinking about putting 1/4 or 3/8” pressed rubber mat down over the carpet as it comes in sizable rolls. I just put some in a puppy run as flooring and discovered that it can be hard to get some things off of due to the rough surface. Any suggestions about what to put over the carpet that will allow me to roll casters over the surface?

[Jim Becker]

How thick is the carpet pile? That's going to have an impact on your mobility question as well as your cleanup challenges.

Another option to consider, particularly if the carpet pile is short, might be to float a T&G plywood or Advantek floor over the carpet, glued together, of course, so it's a single surface.

[Mike Holbrook]

Hi Jim,
I believe the carpet is what might be called a multi level loop pile. I had not thought about Advantec. I have used it on several foors. It can handle spills and can handle heavy duty paint. I used it on a dog training room floor, with sand & paint chips added to the paint. I guess carpet can serve as an extra duty carpet pad removing just about any restrictions to what goes over it.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Why not just cut out the carpet around each tool. If it was my shop, I would remove all the carpet and put horse stall mats where I would be standing, like at the bench.

[Wayne Cannon]

Use caution in deciding on a soft floor, including rubber mats and cushy shoes. If the floor is too soft, it's tiring on your legs and ankles constantly adjusting to maintain your balance. A hard floor with comfortably cushioned, but not too soft, soles or hard rubber mats (as oppressed to foam mats) is best.

[Jim Finn]

When I moved to my current house/shop the shop floor had carpet in it so I tore it out. I found a, glued down very thin nap, carpet under it which is glued to concrete underfloor. The glued down carpet was in perfect shape so I just installed T&G plywood over it securing it to the floor in a few places. That was five years ago and it has served me well.

[Mike Holbrook]

There are concrete floors in the single garage on one side of this room and a ground level porch on the other side... I am assuming there is concrete/slab under the carpet. I have thought about pulling up the carpet and putting down some other floor but I may need to direct those funds & effort to the wife's remodeling projects. I have a large supply of horse stall matt from Tractor Supply, but it was cut to fit in a dog training room. It is currently slated to go in a larger garage, which we will use to train/house dogs on. Dogs tend to slip & fall on slick concrete. Those full size 3/4" matts weigh around 90 lbs too and I am not as young as I use to be.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, stall mats are really heavy, but they also stay put once in place. They can also be acquired relatively cheaply if you do some shopping. That might actually be a good solution here since they will mash that carpet right down.

[Peter Christensen]

The horse stall mats would be good to stand and work on except for this part of Mike's original post. "Any suggestions about what to put over the carpet that will allow me to roll casters over the surface?" Anything heavier than a tea cart with tea and scones is just going to be a bear to move around. If the carpet had to stay I would use tongue and groove plywood with a small bead of glue applied to the top of the tongue just before fully seating them.

[John K Jordan]

...Those full size 3/4" matts weigh around 90 lbs too and I am not as young as I use to be.

I can't comment on whether the stall mats would be useful in a shop over carpet but for those who are considering them and haven't tried they are far more difficult to move than one might imagine. Unless you know the trick: fold one in in half with the "down" side out. Put a rope through the tunnel and make a loop. Drag into position by pulling the rope, flip open, and scoot into position.

Before I learned this even two or three of us would struggle with moving mats since you can't easily get a good grip. Now I move and position them easily by myself, across gravel or grass, through doorways (with a bit of squeeze). I floor my equine and camelid stalls with these and use them outside in lounging and feeding areas. You probably know this but Tractor Supply will often discount them significantly if you buy a pallet at a time.

JKJ

[Lane Hardy]

Use caution in deciding on a soft floor, including rubber mats and cushy shoes. If the floor is too soft, it's tiring on your legs and ankles constantly adjusting to maintain your balance. A hard floor with comfortably cushioned, but not too soft, soles or hard rubber mats (as oppressed to foam mats) is best.

I would suggest removing the carpet, short of poring concrete over top it will always be a saw dust trap and then that becomes a mold issue. I can not think of why carpet in a wood shop would be a good idea? Or did I miss something totally about this post?