OSB over carpet for shop floor?

[Tim Byars]

Would it be doable to lay something like OSB over carpeting for a shop floor?

Some background: we have a detached 12' x 20' room behind our house, and I am negotiating for its use as a shop. It must have been conceived as a shop originally, since some outlets are wired for 220...but the guy who sold us the house thought it would sell better as an 'entertaining room' or something. So he carpeted it and put in some crown molding and such. We barely use it, but SWMBO/LMOL has a dream of having our children one day use it for slumber parties, or of housing an aged parent in it or something...so she is suspicious of anything that looks like a permanent conversion to shop use; i.e., she doesn't want to see the carpet come out.

[Von Bickley]

You do what you have to do....... If it was mine, the carpet would go.

[Jamie Buxton]

I've used 1/4" OSB as a temporary shield over carpet when I was doing a remodel. It barely held up through the job. It can be pressed into the carpet with any heavy weight, and broken. Perhaps 3/4" OSB would do your job better.

I just duct-taped the sheets together, and that's not a long-term solution either.

You might do a Pergo-type floor. The pieces are built to hook together well, and the whole floor is designed to float on a compliant surface below it. (Pergo and its competitors sell a foam-plastic underlayment for their products.) It will also look better than OSB, which might be a selling point with SHWBO.

[glenn bradley]

Pretty sure that will fail. The severity of the failure will depend on the thickness of the OSB and the carpet. Carpet can be removed and re-installed as long as it isn't glued down. Pull it along the edges, roll it up, wrap it in plastic and store it in the rafters. If it is up there long enough to go bad, you'd have wanted new carpet by that time anyway.

Why have the space and not use it because "someday we might . . . ". Real estate is expensive. Use it to its fullest value and re-purpose it when the time comes. Let's be reasonable here . .. (do I seem a little one-sided in favor of the shop? . . . ooops ;-)

[Harold Shay]

I agree with Glen. Carpet can go and then IF you ever need a place for the kids to sleep. Kill the shop tool elec. and let them sleep in the saw dust. This sounds like fun to me.
Harold

[Myk Rian]

Carpet collects sawdust that gets stirred up when walking on it. OSB over it may make it cushy, but tools will cause that to tip, bend, sag, etc. Pull the carpet up and use whatever is under it, or lay down some OSB.
Nothing wrong with a wood floor in a wood shop.

[ROY DICK]

Carpet goes.

Roy

[Tim Byars]

Carpet can be removed and re-installed as long as it isn't glued down. Pull it along the edges, roll it up, wrap it in plastic and store it in the rafters....... Why have the space and not use it because "someday we might . . . ". Real estate is expensive. Use it to its fullest value and re-purpose it when the time comes. Let's be reasonable here . ..

Alas, "reasonable" is not really in play here, else I would have done the obviously practical thing a long time ago.

I've certainly considered taking up the carpet on the sly and pretending its still under there somewhere...would have to find an awfully good place to hide the carpet though.

Disclaimer: I assume you all understand that if I decided to put my foot down, my word would be law and that would be the end of it. I'm just indulging my dear bride's more sensitive nature, secure in the knowledge that I'm really the one in charge

[Phil Thien]

Alas, "reasonable" is not really in play here, else I would have done the obviously practical thing a long time ago.

Spill a few glasses of cheap red wine on the carpeting. Let sit. Tell wife stains won't come out, and you'll just replace it when its time to repurpose the shop.

[Tim Byars]

Spill a few glasses of cheap red wine on the carpeting. Let sit. Tell wife stains won't come out, and you'll just replace it when its time to repurpose the shop.

Phil, I think the separator just became your second best idea for my shop.