New Workshop Floor

[wobblycogs]

The builders are just finishing my new workshop (at last) and I'm trying to decide what to do with the floor. What I have right now is a trowel finished concrete slab. It's a reasonably good finish but I suspect, like most concrete floors, it'll be dusty. Does any one here have experience with epoxy floor finishes? I've painted concrete floors and the result was ok but I'm not sure it'd last in this situation. I'm wondering about just using applying a sealer to prevent dust. It's a workshop after all it doesn't really matter what colour it is. Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

If you're going to apply a finish directly onto the slab don't do anything until it's thoroughly dry, don't work on it in unless you can be sure you won't contaminate it with oil etc.

I'd be tempted to put down a layer of insulation followed by a chipboard floor - suitably re-enforced if you have heavy machines.

Regards Mick

 

[wobblycogs]

No worries, I won't be going near the floor with any finish until I'm completely sure all the moisture is out of it and I'll not work in there until it's sealed at least. There's insulation under the slab, insulation on top or even just a layer of chipboard would be a non-starter for height reasons - it's complicated but basically I can't make the floor level any higher than it is.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Shame you can't raise the floor level at all - epoxy coatings are good but require constant maintenance, they wear through quite quickly.
If it's already insulated and presumably damp proofed, could you squeeze in a 6mm layer of laminate / man made board?

I'm assuming here you want the workshop for other than 'garage' utilisation.

Regards Mick

 

[wobblycogs]

Yeah, it'll house my growing collection of woodworking tools and equipment and hopefully in the future a small amount of metal working equipment (e.g. oily stuff). I could probably get away with a 10mm thick flooring if necessary (one day the space may become a kitchen in which case it would be tiled). Laminate flooring is not a bad idea, I wonder if 6mm ply would work. It's quite a large space for a home workshop (think 30 to 35 sq m) so I need to keep one eye on cost at least.

 

[RobinBHM]

Ive used regal paints, they seem quite good

http://www.regalfloorpaint.co.uk

I used the single pack paint which is quite hardwearing and seals the concrete so you dont get the dust.

 

[wobblycogs]

That looks like what I'm looking for. Now to decide between the single pack and two pack. If I know me I'll get water, solvent and oil on the floor a some point so I think it might have to be the two pack epoxy. £112 for 20 litres certainly puts it in the right price bracket

 

[carpenteire2009]

I finished my own small workshop build late last year. The floor was concrete on insulation. After 3 months of drying I applied two coats of epoxy floor paint from Tor coatings:

http://www.tor-coatings.com/

It hasn't really been tested yet but it was an economical solution for me, looks good and makes cleaning up very easy with no porous concrete to trap dust. At workbenches I'm using cheap rubber matting from Halfords- easy on the feet and prevents damage to tools and floor when tools inevitably fall!

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/g ... 20-x-180cm

 

[n0legs]

A resin floor if laid properly over a fully dry floor will last you years. Expensive but usually done once.

 

[cammy9r]

Hi, something to think about is laminate or smoothed concrete can be very slippy when a fine layer of sawdust lands on it. So best to stick to paint, maybe the anti slip kind. In my old job i worked on a power floated, shiny painted floor that looked very nice. It was a death trap when sawdust was on it. Constantly hoovering it up.
I planned to use the laminate from my kitchen in my workshop but while cutting the worktops the dust on the floor became slippy. So i ruled out using the laminate.

 

[wobblycogs]

Good call on laminate being slippery I think. The concrete finish I have at the moment is hand trowlled (I wanted power floated but it wasn't possible) and so slightly textured - just textured enough to attract dust like nobodies business. I think I'll probably got for a resin finish. I use the workshop a fair bit but I no where near industrial level usage which is what the finish is designed for. I'll be getting a few bits of that matting too for around the bench.

 

[TFrench]

how about those interlocking rubber tiles? Not as slippy as laminate but easy to clean up and they are relatively cheap. Most paint or epoxy finishes are going to wear on the high points of the trowelled surface.

 

[wobblycogs]

I'm planning on having a lot of the larger tools on wheel bases so rubber tiles all over the place would be a problem, I'll have a few tiles around the workbench though.

 

[biskit]

I used supa-lock interlocking pvc floor tiles in the garage 7mil thick, they are strong enough to jack our 2-7 ton Land Rover off without marking. You can get 5mil thick. In my workshop I use Screwfix own grey floor paint, its good up to now.

 

[jnw010]

Have a look at plasfloor plastic tiles. I ordered some as a sample for my garage a couple of years ago, but didn't get around to doing the floor. If I ever do get around to doing the floor they'll be my first choice.

 

[undergroundhunter]

What about fitting horse mats, they are thick rubber and very hardwearing, you can also get them in different thicknesses.

Matt

 

[wobblycogs]

I help a friend fit horse mats a couple of years ago, the thing that really sticks in my mind was how much hard work it was. Having said that this guy could make pouring a glass of water difficult so I'll have a look. They were certainly comfy to walk on.