What to do with my new shop floor?

[Jim Ketron]

Ive been thinking of puting some paint on my new shop floor(wood) to protect it and to seal it. what kind of paint should I use? Epoxy? or should I just leave it alone? I was thinking it would be easier to sweep up the sawdust and it would look better.
Jim

[Dick Parr]

Paint on a concret floor is ok, but paint on wood floor could be slippery. Add some sand to the paint if that is what you use. :eek:

[Jim Ketron]

Thanks Dick
I have thought of that(sand), but I didn't know what would be the best paint to use. it might be a bad Idea to paint! Im sure someone here has done it before will help.
Jim

[Jim Becker]

If the floor is wood (plywood, I assume), I wouldn't put anything more on it than maybe an application of BLO to dress it up and help keep glue from sticking. But you may want to see if you can get a really good deal on some unfinished strip flooring from Lumber Liquidators. It will stiffen up your floor considerably, look really great and be easy on your feet. Yes, it costs money, but is a nice floor to work on in the long term. I'd do it in a second if I had the head room and could take the slope out of my shop floor. But I can't for a variety of reasons.

[Chris Padilla]

Jim,

You might just leave it plywood for now and save up and/or wait for a good price on some hardwood to lay on the floor in the future. It won't be fun emptying the shop to put down a new floor in a year but if that is what needs to be done, then so be it.

I've been thinking about putting down that Rustoleaum epoxy stuff on my concrete garage floor. It is only $80 at HD.

Anyone have experience with this stuff?

[James Carmichael]

If you're not overly concerned about asthetics, a DIY bedliner like LineX or Herculiner should make a very durable, non-slip floor.

[Jamie Buxton]

Chris --

Don't you, oh rule-maker, have a rule about hijacking threads? :)

Jim --

I'm with Jim Becker. Paint on a plywood shop floor is a thin layer of not-very-flexible stuff over a softer material. Every time you drag a heavy object over the floor, it can gouge the underlying wood, and no matter how strong the paint, it is going to get flaked off. And because the paint is a different color from the underlying wood, the ding will be very obvious. I'd either leave it bare or use some penetrating oil. The penetrating oil would add a little protection against water and glue, and wouldn't make dings too obvious. Oil is also to re-apply to a small area if you can't stand looking at a ding. Furniture finishes like Watco or BLO would work, as would deck oils.

Jamie

[Chris Padilla]

Chris --

Don't you, oh rule-maker, have a rule about hijacking threads? :)
Jamie
It was floor-related, wasn't it??? :o

[Michael Ballent]

I am sure that the epoxy stuff is pretty tough, but not sure how long it would last. I have thought about using it in my garage, but then imagine a time that I would need to put a new coat on after it wears down. I would equate it to varnishing an outside project, once its done then every 2-3 years you need to re-apply the varnish, although I would suspect that the epoxy would last longer.

[Bruce Gray]

My shop is two-story: the lower level has a concrete floor, and upstairs is wood (actually a good grade of 7/16" OSB over 3/4 ply). Both floors are painted with a latex floor paint (from HD). I was skeptical of the latex for a floor, but it has worked out well. The latex floor paints have a mat finish, so they're not slippery like the gloss paints. The paint has been down for about four years now, and it seems to holding up as well as the gloss floor paints that I have used in the past.

BTW, don't ever, ever, ever build a shop with two floors.

Bruce

[Chris Padilla]

...but 3 is cool, Bruce? ;)

[Dick Parr]

How about just filling it up with rubber matts everywhere there isn't a tool. :D

[Dan Mages]

I say get the cheapest grade of white oak or pine flooring and dont finish it. Let dirt, oils, grease etc turn the floor to a nice dark grey. You might think i am crazy, but the old family hardware store had a floor like this and it really added to the old time character of the store.

Dan

[Chris Padilla]

Dan,

Considering where you live, I believe you...I believe you.... :)

[Jim Ketron]

Thanks men looks like I'll wait for the hardwood $$
what about some water seal or something to protect it from spills or when its rainy outside and walking on it with wet shoes?
Jim

[Michael Stafford]

That nice gray floor has patina according to the antique folks. Give me a light colored floor that brightens the shop not a dark one.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks men looks like I'll wait for the hardwood $$
what about some water seal or something to protect it from spills or when its rainy outside and walking on it with wet shoes?
Jim

Yup, like I said -- deck oil.

[Chris Padilla]

Jim,

Re: deck oil...Penofin comes to mind but that is the pricey end of deck oils. I'm sure your local borg will have some cheaper stuff in a 5 gallon bucket. Worse comes to worse, try some used motor oil. My farmer grandfather would save up oil over a year and then work it into his wooden trailer at the beginning and end of every summer. However, I've no clue for a floor how well this might work. Maybe you end up tracking the oily mess all over your yard and house? Dunno how well it'll absorb/dry.

Maybe try it on a sample piece/section of plywood and see what happens.

[Frank Pellow]

I am planning to do the same thing for the floor in my new shop that I did with the floor in my shed/bunkhouse/workshop at Pellow's Camp.

By the way, that building is called "The Shed" and my new workshop will be called "Shed #2".

In The Shed, I put down a second layer of plywood (1/2" GIS fir) over the construction grade plywood than painted it with two coats of mud coloured oil-based floor paint mixed with a bit of sand (about 5% sand by volume) well mixed in. The paint I used was CIL Dulux and I don't think that it is available in the Unitied States. I first painted the floor 12 years ago and I repainted another coat 5 years ago. I do drag stuff across the floor a lot and I do get scuff marks and spill marks but, all and all, I am happy with the floor.