Bitumastic or asphalt flooring and/or cheaper options

[ChaiLatte]

At first I thought, what??

Also, if the machine is ever removed, it is possible to make a reasonable repair to the hole. Remove the concrete and plastic pipe, run round the hole with a 45 degree chamfer bit and make a tapered plug to suit. Drop in some polystyrene and glue in the plug.

If you make the concrete plinths, there is no reason they have to be flush with the floor. Some machines are very low; some people are tall.

 

[SammyQ]

Also, with that style of construction, if you had a 2 tonne metal lathe, you can holesaw neatly through it with a 110mm holesaw, put in an offcut of soil pipe to seal the cut edge and cast a concrete cylinder for the foot of the machine to sit on.

Crackin' hidear!! Just mind the D.P.M.?

 

[Gus900]

dpm, 25mm Celotex, Wisa T&G sprucefloor glued all aorund. Best workshop improvement I ever did, stands up to mid-sized band saw / tablesaw on castors no problem. Thread + pictures here

 

[Cabinetman]

dpm, 25mm Celotex, Wisa T&G sprucefloor glued all aorund. Best workshop improvement I ever did, stands up to mid-sized band saw / tablesaw on castors no problem. Thread + pictures here

Looks v good, even better than the same but OSB that I used, yes that will give a floor that will last a lifetime.

 

[TomGW]

Our house, which we built in the early '80s, has a floating floor of 18mm T&G chipboard on 18mm white polystyrene. No issues with sinking/compression even where a traditional piano has been sitting for most of that time.

 

[budgie98]

I think battens would defeat the purpose of the floating floor. As above, with the comments on asphalt being indented, some spreader plates under severe point loads (either from fixed machines or narrow castors when moving them) would be prudent.

A common polystyrene is Jabfloor. It comes in various compressive strengths. The technical data sheet is here (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...sulation-Technical-Datasheet.pdf?v=1595262017). The number after the product name is the strength in kPA of KN/m^2. Standard builders merchant stuff for domestic floors is Jabfloor 70. At 1% compression, it is rated for 2 tonnes (2000kg) per square metre. The diaphragm/membrane action of the glued T&G chipboard will help to distribute loads. As above, the challenge is to operate in a way so as to prevent local damage from point loads.

Will the hydrocarbons in the asphalt affect the polystyrene if the two are in close contact?

 

[ChaiLatte]

Will the hydrocarbons in the asphalt affect the polystyrene if the two are in close contact?

As you say, it is probably unwise to have the two touching. I wonder what would make a reasonable separation membrane. Maybe contact Jabfloor's technical department for advice.

My guess is that a Celotex-like material might be more suitable in that case, especially as it is available with aluminium foil covering.

Perhaps cover the floor with tinfoil to separate the two. Keep a small offcut for a hat.