Shop Floor quandary

[Steven Green]

I've got the new shop pretty well tied in a bow, But the floor is haunting me. I have available real barn board, I can mill it and put it down for next to no cost. I can get random white oak 3 1/2 inches wide and tongue and groove but it's pretty rough and extremly random. I can also get t&g finish plywood. The oak and the plywood are almost exactly equal in price. I have a bit of time to ponder this because it looks like the knee replacement is going to need som warranty work. [Surgery to put it in almost exactly 7 months ago.] So give me your thoughts please. A little discussion would be a welcome diversion right about now.
Thanks

I inadvertantly placed this in the wrong forum. Would somebody kindly kick it over to workshops please?

[Mort Stevens]

Have you considered end grain wood flooring?

[Jeff Duncan]

What's the barn board? I would think that it would likely be soft like pine or fir or???? For a shop floor that hopefully will see some nice heavy equipment I'd want tough flooring. End grain makes for a really good floor but is pretty expensive and time consuming to do. I would probably lean towards basic 2-1/4" oak or maple flooring. Something tough and inexpensive that you can do yourself. Not sure what you have for subfloor but you want to make sure it's up to the task as well. At a minimum I'd want 3/4" material under my hardwood assuming 16" joist spacing. Oh and if you do plan on bringing in heavy equipment over time your also going to want to make sure your joists are up to the task. usually builders are going to put the smallest they can get away with which may not be ideal if you do choose to bring in some heavy stuff;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Art Mulder]

II have a bit of time to ponder this because it looks like the knee replacement is going to need som warranty work.

Plywood.

If this is your hobby, rather than a business... If this is a workshop rather than a showroom... then I would think that a plain old plywood floor would be good enough. AND... it will go in a lot quicker and easier. Sounds like with your knee issue that quicker and easier would count.

My two cents.


(Oh, and what do you mean by the oak being rough - rough as in unfinished, or rough as in lots of knots and splits to cut out or deal with ?)

[Adam Diethrich]

Plywood.

If this is your hobby, rather than a business... If this is a workshop rather than a showroom... then I would think that a plain old plywood floor would be good enough. AND... it will go in a lot quicker and easier. Sounds like with your knee issue that quicker and easier would count.

My two cents.


(Oh, and what do you mean by the oak being rough - rough as in unfinished, or rough as in lots of knots and splits to cut out or deal with ?)

I believe I agree with this.

'Tis why they use plywood for subflooring afterall. Quite suitable for a structurally sound floor, and not meant to be pretty, but rather functional and safe. It's a shop...

A.W.D.

[Larry Browning]

Another vote for the t&g plywood. That is what I did in my shop. I also painted it with an epoxy paint that allows for easy smooth sweeping with soft bristle push broom. This is a feature that really helps me keep the shop floor much cleaner. If it were harder to sweep, I wouldn't do it as often as I do now. The plywood has far fewer seams where dust and dirt can accumulate as well.

[Ole Anderson]

Pergo. Really easy to sweep and with felt pads, equipment slides around easily, yet stays put during use. Mine went over an old concrete floor.269599

[Mark Wooden]

I would choose the one that I won't mind spills, dings and scrapes in and on. It is a shop.
White oak may be a good choice because it is tough, and get's good "character" after some years of use. It can also be sanded and refinished if you want, something you can't really do with plywood.
I'm also not a fan of high polish, slick surface flooring in a shop, or grit finishes. First is too slippery with sawdust on it, second is abrasive if you have to put a cabinet or something on it- lets face it, you don't always get out stickers for absolutely everything
;)
I think the best floor I ever worked on was SYP with a simple linseed oil finish put on every few years.

[Larry Browning]

It can also be sanded and refinished if you want, something you can't really do with plywood.


I'm not sure why you think plywood can't be sanded and refinished. If you painted it, and then wanted to repaint it, you would probably sand/scrape the bad spots, and then maybe give a general sanding to remove grime, and then repaint. After all this is a shop, not a showroom.

[Jeff Duncan]

I'm not sure why you think plywood can't be sanded and refinished. If you painted it, and then wanted to repaint it, you would probably sand/scrape the bad spots, and then maybe give a general sanding to remove grime, and then repaint. After all this is a shop, not a showroom.

Don't want to speak for others, but I'm guessing the reasoning is b/c you would very rapidly, actually probably instantly, sand through the veneer and expose what's usually softer layers of wood below? If it were a price decision over long term wear I'd probably go with wafer board myself. Significantly cheaper than plywood and in this application just as, if not more, durable. Can also be sanded and poly'd fairly easily:)

Jeffd

[Larry Browning]

Maybe I am just putting function before form here, but I am thinking of my shop floor made from your basic 3/4 t&g plywood made especially for sub-flooring, not cabinet grade oak or maple. It's outer veneer is plenty thick so that a little sanding isn't going to bother it. This stuff is really not intended to be clear coated.
Now if he wants something that will look great so that Better Shop and Garden wants to come do a 2 page spread, I think I would go with the barn wood to add that extra ambiance to the decor. I was thinking in more economical functional terms.
I don't think wafer board would hold up as a flooring material. I would think that the glue that holds it together will break down and start flaking away under foot traffic even if painted. Plus it is not very strong and would tend to sag between floor joists.

[Joe Isley]

I used t&g 3/4" OSB for subfloor, then used 3/4" t&g pine about six inches wide on top of that, so my floor is 1 1/2" thick.
The floor doesn't have and creaks or soft spots. As far as dust in the seams, it doesn't happen. When I sweep, I think that the seams will fill up
eventually, but two years without dust collection the seams are still clean. I have machines sitting on this floor that weigh up to 2000 lbs, with no problems.
I did not sand or finish this floor. There was no need, foot traffic will wear it smooth some day. As far as dents and scrapes on the pine, these are not noticeable
on unfinished floors. Besides there are not many dents, etc. anyway. I turned a 2000 lb. jointer over and it barely made dents in the floor. These dents were sanded out
in a few seconds.
I like the floor that I have, it doesn't move.
Joe

[Cody Colston]

I would do the T&G plywood just because it is the easiest to lay. I think it really depends on what you want for a shop...function, appearance or both. I've seen pics of woodworking shops that were nicer (and cleaner) than my home. There's nothing wrong with nice, either, it's just not a priority for me. The concrete floor in my shop has so many stains and glue drips on it that I can't imagine it being laid out of nice, wood flooring.

[Steven Green]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I'm leaning toward plywood for all the reasons brought up. I'd love to put down the oak since it's sourced locally and I know it's been sitting more than a few years in a dry shed about 20 miles from the house. The doc says no more surgery so I need to get used to some new limitations however. Probably plywood at the end of the day I think. My old building partner, my oldest son is coming in for a week from Seattle and says he would love the workout so I guess he and I and a couple of grandsons will do it.
Thanks again for your thought. By the way the barnboard is fir, so probably a little soft.. but free.

[Jim Andrew]

Think I like the white oak. You must already have something to nail it to, and if you use one of the nailers that you use a big heavy hammer with, it will bring a bent board into line. And I probably would use just an oil for finish. Just so the glue doesn't stick to it.

[Bill Huber]

My shop has plywood floor, before I put anything in the shop I put 2 rolled on coats of gray porch and patio floor paint. It looks good plus it cleans up easy and seals the plywood and cracks.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Sawdust on white oak flooring might turn your shop into a skating rink.

I had that happen to me last year when I refinished the white oak hardwood floors in one of our rentals.
I set up the miter saw in the living room to cut the quarter round for the baseboard and had a slip sliding time on the newly Varathaned floors.

That's something that would be terribly unsafe in a shop.
If you go the white oak route, make sure you find and use a good non-slip finish.

[Ole Anderson]

I have sawdust on my Pergo frequently, and no it is not a skating rink. I was concerned about that too, so I did a test in my adjacent rec room before extending it into my shop. Is it as non-slip as rough concrete? No. Does it sweep up way better than rough concrete? You betcha.

[Rich Engelhardt]

All I can say is that my experience with newly refinished white oak flooring was like trying to walk on wet ice once there was sawdust on the floor.
The floors were sanded own and given three coats of satin Varathane (oil based poly).

[Phil Thien]

I wonder if it would be possible to use a hardener similar to the stuff they sell at Home Depot (the stuff they sell for fixing punky wood on homes) and applying that to plywood as a finish. The stuff really does toughen-up wood.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Which hardener do you mean - the good stuff that works or the low/no VOC garbage that's all you can buy now in a lot of places?

I needed some a month ago for some sections of fence & all that I could find available was Elmer's.

Very expensive and very useless.

[Ole Anderson]

All I can say is that my experience with newly refinished white oak flooring was like trying to walk on wet ice once there was sawdust on the floor..
The floors were sanded own and given three coats of satin Varathane (oil based poly).I suspect that satin Varathane is not a non-skid finish.

[Phil Thien]

Which hardener do you mean - the good stuff that works or the low/no VOC garbage that's all you can buy now in a lot of places?

I needed some a month ago for some sections of fence & all that I could find available was Elmer's.

Very expensive and very useless.

It has been a while, but the last can I purchased was (I think) Minwax? It soaked into the wood and set up in no time.

Sorry to hear it is no longer the same stuff.

[Jim Barstow]

I used end grain Douglas fir. If is indestructible, beautiful, and friendly to dropped tools.
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[Jim Barstow]

I used end grain Douglas fir. It is beautiful, indestructible, and friendly to dropped tools.

[Phil Thien]

I used end grain Douglas fir. If is indestructible, beautiful, and friendly to dropped tools.


Beautiful floor, Jim. Did you make/install it yourself? Is there a write-up somewhere?

[Larry Frank]

I think that I would add another consideration and that is what is going to be easiest on your knees. My shop floor is concrete but I have a whole bunch of the 24" square foam pads to stand on. With my replacement parts in my back and hip, I need some cushioning so that I can work longer.