Oh my aching back!

[David Schmaus]

I "acquired", "took over", the one car garage about 6 months ago and have been working on insulating, lights, walls, ceiling and electric. Lately my back has been aching and the only thing that has changed is that I have been working on that cold concrete floor. ...

Not after this weekend..

Its a beautiful Friday in Dayton and decided to bite the bullet and head to Lowes...

$417 dollars later here is what we have....

My weekend is planned....

[Jason White]

Yep -- those Dri-Core tiles are great!

Are you putting a finished floor over it?

Jason


I "acquired", "took over", the one car garage about 6 months ago and have been working on insulating, lights, walls, ceiling and electric. Lately my back has been aching and the only thing that has changed is that I have been working on that cold concrete floor. ...

Not after this weekend..

Its a beautiful Friday in Dayton and decided to bite the bullet and head to Lowes...

$417 dollars later here is what we have....

My weekend is planned....

[David Schmaus]

I thought about picking up hardwood floor at lumber liquidators. Can usually find stuff for under a buck a foot but hardwood floors in the workshop before the bathroom remodel would get my a$$ kicked by the wife..... Unless someone can think of a way to justify ;)

[Mac McQuinn]

David,
Without a doubt it's a safety issue and must be addressed as such!;)

Mac

[Phil Thien]

Unless someone can think of a way to justify ;)

"I'm trying this floor out in the shop before I commit to using it in the bath. If it stands up to shop use, then it will work great in other areas of the home. If not, well, it doesn't matter because it is just a shop and we'll find something better, together, for the bath."

Or, "there is a learning curve to this stuff. Better to figure it out where it doesn't matter and when I get to the bath, I'll know all the ins/outs."

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Yep -- those Dri-Core tiles are great!


Jason - any experience with those over a concrete floor in a basement?

[David Schmaus]

Phil.... You da man!

[Jason Hanko]

"I'm trying this floor out in the shop before I commit to using it in the bath. If it stands up to shop use, then it will work great in other areas of the home. If not, well, it doesn't matter because it is just a shop and we'll find something better, together, for the bath."

Or, "there is a learning curve to this stuff. Better to figure it out where it doesn't matter and when I get to the bath, I'll know all the ins/outs."

You, sir, are a genius...
You may be getting a PM the next time I get myself into some trouble which requires some 'splaining to SWMBO. :rolleyes:

[Mike Cruz]

I looked at every floor I could think of and ended up with Hickory floors for my shop. Unfinished "rustic"...just under $1 a square foot. It took forever to lay the 720 ft2, but I got 'er done and it looks great. Justification? If we ever wanted to make the building into anything different (game room, whatever) the floors can be resanded and finished. Also, adds to the resale value in case new owners don't have a use for a shop. Like I'll ever leave my shop....:eek:

[Jason White]

We put a floating bamboo floor over dri-core tiles in a basement once. The nice thing is that they let air circulate underneath, so any moisture that wicks up through the floor dries out on its own and doesn't damage the floor (unless it's a lot of moisture, of course).

I've been thinking about them for my garage shop, mostly because of the cold in winter, but also because moisture wicks up through. The garage is old and no vapor barrier was ever installed under the concrete.

Jason


Jason - any experience with those over a concrete floor in a basement?

[David Schmaus]

Well, Im finished installing the floor and I just wanted to say if any of you are on the fence about installing it in your workshop, do it!!.. Its was soo easy and quick to put in. The difference in feel from the concrete is wonderful. The floor is not cold any longer. It "warmed" up the room in looks too.. Maybe I will head to lumber liquidators and see if they have any good deals on hw floors...

[John Craig Brown]

How are you attaching the subfloor to the concrete?

[David Schmaus]

How are you attaching the subfloor to the concrete?

You dont... Its a floating floor. Leave a quarter inch gap at the walls and you are good to go.

[harry strasil]

I use the 2 ft square 1/2 inch thick interlocking antifatigue mats from Big Lots, 4 pieces plus edging for about $15, HF also has them a little over $8 for 6 pcs I think, makes a big difference on how long I can stand and work and my old basement floor was put in a section at a time and is not level so this works great for me.

[David G Baker]

David,
I just had my front porch turned into a Sun room and I put Dri Core down as a sub floor. Great stuff to work with. The room is 10'x20'. I am putting Pergo over the top of the Dri Core and am 90% done. The concrete under the Dri Core was a little rough and I had to get a disk for my angle grinder that is designed for concrete to knock down some of the sloppy work done by the original finisher. I had to fill in a few seams to block a path that was used by ants in the past.
I am thinking of converting a portion of my 2-1/2 car garage to a small wood shop and if I do I am going to use Dri Core as a sub floor.
Dri Core is designed primarily for basements according to the Internet literature.

[Jason White]

You could also just paint or poly the dri-core tiles. It is just a workshop, after all.

Jason




Well, Im finished installing the floor and I just wanted to say if any of you are on the fence about installing it in your workshop, do it!!.. Its was soo easy and quick to put in. The difference in feel from the concrete is wonderful. The floor is not cold any longer. It "warmed" up the room in looks too.. Maybe I will head to lumber liquidators and see if they have any good deals on hw floors...

[Karl Card]

you have a shop and a floor... hmmm somebody doing real, real good..lol.

Good luck with the floor I am still trying to get my basement, might i add very old basement, that was made of little bricks instead of a poured basement turned into a shop. I am surprised though that I only have one leak in a brick basement and it is soon to be stopped so that I can put up or paint or whatever the walls and floor and put up a ceiling.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Your knees and ankles will thank you too.

[Doug Carpenter]

Phil is a genius! However my wife wouldn't have let me get that far. She would authorize the purchase of one dricore tile. Then I would follow these exact steps.

1 Place shoes on dri core tile and trace with sharpie.

2 Cut out shoe shapes.

3 Duck tape to feet.

4 Resume work on bathroom floor.

5 Happy Wife, happy life. :D

[Phil Thien]

You could also just paint or poly the dri-core tiles. It is just a workshop, after all.

Jason

I'm going to use carpeting, so my wife can vacuum it w/ the rest of the house once a week.

[David Schmaus]

You could also just paint or poly the dri-core tiles. It is just a workshop, after all.

Jason

exactly, hence the hardwood floors, mini fridge and flat screen:)