Will I Regret leaving floors uncoated?

[Keith Avery]

I finally have all the OSB up(50 sheets of 3/4" ugh) and am most of the way done painting the shop portion of my barn. I will soon be moving everything to its permanent position. Will I regret not coating the floors? It will be a major undertaking to do it down the road as I do not want to move all of this stuff again. Space is approximately 850 sqft. I do plan on using a pallet jack to move some very heavy stuff from time to time, and I don't thnk I am up to the chore of a wood floor, but epoxy I am considering. Those of you who have done it are you glad you did? I don't have any major moisture issues but I do run a dehumidifier in the shop, I plan to add a heat pump this summer(time permitting) or next.

[Sam Murdoch]

It is so relatively easy to apply a couple of coats of good epoxy fortified deck paint or urethane.
It will be so much cleaner (and cleanable) and pretty no matter what your flooring is.
Why not then? :)

[Stephen Cherry]

a coaed floor is much easier to sweep

[Biff Johnson]

The floor of my shop is plywood and it is a real pain to clean. Besides the sawdust and dirt in the crevices any time something is spilled it leaves an ugly splotch. I would take the time to coat or paint it while you have the opportunity.

[Jim Foster]

My shop floor is the 3/4 OSB type underlayment for new construction and it's not coated. It's miserable! (Not the shop, just the floor :) ) It collects dust like crazy and is very difficult to get reasonably clean. My plan was to put some type of inexpensive flooring over it, but it's turning into too much of a long term plan, and I wish I took a weekend to coat it before moving into the space.

I think concrete may be a little better, but similar. Some of the big box big store products are pretty much junk. Below is a link from another forum I hang out at once in a while, wish I saw this before finishing my garage floor. Offers a little advice on getting a good floor without breaking the bank.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/message/1142054314/OK+...No+problem

[Marty Paulus]

In a word.....YES. As was said you shop will stay cleaner and be easier to clean.

[Greg Portland]

Wood dust on epoxy floors is very slippery. Be sure to use the grip additive / sprinkles!

[Jon McElwain]

Just do it.

[ian maybury]

There's some very easy to apply water based floor lacquers (?) around now over here. They dry very quickly, and very hard. Not too sure how good they might be on a high wear floor, but Rustins are a good company, and have good products: http://www.rustins.eu/Details.asp?ProductID=901

They do a two pack urea formaldehyde floor coating as well that's also really easy to apply: http://www.rustins.eu/Details.asp?ProductID=779

The first is my favourite for workshop furniture that needs a quick and easy seal. The latter builds fast, and is really good on items where you want to cut it back to a good finish with steel wool and rubbing compound - it's got none of the tendency to clog paper seen with epoxy and oil based coatings. Some of musical instrument guys swear by it..

Chances are it's available in the US, or if not something similar is.

ian

[Don Jarvie]

Three reasons for a wood floor in your shop.

1. Insulation - in the cold weather climates it takes less time to heat the shop and it hold the heat.
2. Running wires to the center of the shop
3. Easier on the back as you get older.

I did mine for 1 and 2 and in turn my back is thanking me.

For my floor I have OSB and it was cheaper than plywood. The downside is it doesn't have as nice of a finish as plywood but on the flip side now that I'm using hand tools a bit more, it provides better grip for my feet as I'm pushing the plane. I just use a shop vac and it cleans up well.

[John Gustafson]

Assuming the floor is concrete, coat it. Raw concrete will generate it's own dust that gets over things. I had mine coated when the shop was built with a Duron product and never regretted it. My shop area is a combination woodworking and vehicle area. Coated floor makes spills and drips much easier to deal with. Cleaning up dry stuff, keep a cheap electric leafblowrr handy and open the garage door. After years of raw concrete I couldn't be happier.