Flooring

[Haldane]

Hi Everybody

I've been looking through posts for advise on workshop flooring. I have an area approx 6 x 4 mtrs of concrete to cover and plan to use 25mm polystyrene insulation covered with 18mm Chipboard T&G floorboards. Some people have used battens and others refer to a floating floor which I presume means the whole area of chipboard is laid directly onto the insulation and its own weight and fit at the edges holds it in place? is this right and does it work or would using battens be best?

Dave

 

[MickCheese]

Dave

I have seen both ways done but the floating floor is, IMO, much easier and will hold a great deal of weight believe it or not.

Mick

 

[Dave S]

I have chipboard floating on 50mm polystyrene. I don't have any heavy cast iron machinery - however some of my bench units are extremely heavy and I have seen no ill effects.

The floor is held down by its own weight - I glued my boards together with pva to stop them sliding apart. Be sure to leave an adequate expansion gap around the edges.

I wouldn't hesitate to do the same again - the benefit over a bare concrete floor is immense.

Dave

 

[Night Train]

My floor isn't on concrete as there is a basement underneath.

I have the floor joists with lots of noggins, the floor boards all screwed down and then a layer of 18mm birch ply screwed on top and finished with three coats of garage floor paint. I do have a cast iron 60" x 12" surface planer bang in the middle of it together with a thicknesser, morticer and band saw in a central cluster.
The garage floor paint, in light grey, has proved very hard wearing and easy to keep clean.

I don't know how hard wearing a chip board surface will be but it depends on how you treat it, what finish it has and what sits on it.

 

[crazylilting]

I'm glad i found this thread. I am just moving into a new shop and the floor is concrete but it has been poured very poorly and is pitted horribly. The shop i moved from also had a concrete floor and it is definitely hard on me physically. I never thought of putting a plywood floor over it. The only thing is it is a fair size shop, 20 foot by 34 foot. How much was it to install?

 

[Night Train]

For my floor I used 10 sheets in all to fill the bay window and the alcoves as well as making a hatch for large machine access to the basement below. I was lucky with it. When I bought it it was actually 18mm birch ply for another job but it was barcoded incorrectly so it was a fair bit cheaper. I didn't realise until afterwards when I checked the invoice and so decided to get some more sheets for the job and use the cheaper ones for myself.

 

[MickCheese]

If you are considering a floating floor over concrete then lay it on top of 2" polystyrene 8 X 4 sheets for both sound and heat insulation. It will also take up a small amount of unevenness.

Mick