Shop Wood Floor Treatment

[Paul Lawrence]

My new shop will arrive (portable building 40' x 16') soon, and I'm a bit perplexed on how to handle the floor treatment.

The floor is 1-1/4" thick on 12" centered joists (5/8" TG PT doubled) that has been "aged" or dried out in inventory. I'm starting with an unfinished building and adding typical low-budget shop woodworking machines (except for the SawStop!.)

The question is whether to seal the floor as-is with a sealer (like shellac) to keep it from staining or to apply rolled flooring.

I'm concerned that the wood floor will hold dust, but I'm also concerned that rolled flooring will be easily damaged (plus it adds considerable cost.)

[Jim Becker]

Since it's already a double layer floor, I'd probably either paint it or give it a coat of a non-glossy clear just to provide a little sealing and make it look nice...assuming the PT is actually dry enough to finish. But even bare, it's going to sweep up just fine.

[Frank Pratt]

Do you have machines on mobile bases that will be moved around? That kind of thing is murder on plywood. The wheels will eventually cause the top veneer layer to disintegrate & delaminate. If the budget allows, cover the ply with some hardwood flooring. Or cover it with 1/2" water resistant MDF & then paint it.

For me, the ideal shop floor would be hard maple, sanded to 80 grit & then just 1 coat of poly.

[Paul Lawrence]

Yeah, I know what I will wish for :D, but I'll have to wait for the customers to pay for it! :D Correct on the wheels for moving objects around, but hopefully there won't be that much moving of heavy stuff. I can't see me and my knees doing hardwood flooring, but if there's money available, that would be the target for it.

I've been thinking of something that I can roll on, either oil or water based. I won't know how "wet" the floor is until it gets here. The ones I've seen are purty dry on delivery.

There is a product that is "paint" for outdoor porches (https://www.armorgarage.com/heavy-duty-deck-paint.html) that I've used outside, so I did think about using that. Not sure how durable it would be in a shop environment.

[Jim Becker]

Porch Paint/Floor Paint will be reasonably durable, Paul, and you can easily roll on a couple of coats. I'd stick with waterborne, personally.

[Michael Cummins]

I don't think I'd ever consider painting such a hard wearing floor. Just too much maintenance, and all the scratches etc are going to stand out like a sore thumb.

I'd do just a clear finish on it. If the wood gets torn up a little, won't look nearly as bad and will still offer water protection and easier cleanup. A penetrating sealer and then topcoat would be my vote.

I'm interested to hear the other opinions from people here too, as I'm designing a new wood floored shop myself right now.

[William Young]

I built my shop about 10 years ago with 3/4" T&G ply floor. I thought about finishing it and almost put down some commercial grade vinyl tile. I ended up not doing anything and it has been just fine. It is a working floor with all manner of stuff spilled on it and there is usually little damage to tool or floor if something gets dropped. It's a small shop. So, not much heavy stuff gets rolled around. I think whether or not you put some type of finish on it depends upon how much you care about appearance and how much effort you want to expend on maintaining the appearance. Personally, I see no practical reason for a finish unless you have a structural need for a harder more durable surface.

[Jim Andrew]

I put fir flooring in my shop, sanded it and decided to add nothing. If I painted it, would be concerned about it wearing off, if I put clear finish on it, would be worried about maintaining the finish.

[Paul Lawrence]

All good information! Everyone has a good reason for finishing or not.

I know my Daddy's shop (when I was less than 10) was just a corner of his tractor barn and it had dirt floors, because we used to play with the doodle bug cone traps. Of course, anything done in those days was strictly utilitarian (except for that memorable Camel cigarette dispenser he built for the kitchen wall ... held a whole carton! :D )

[Colin Tanner]

Well, somebody is.going to have to talking becauseI need answers too!

[Paul Lawrence]

... I'd do just a clear finish on it. If the wood gets torn up a little, won't look nearly as bad and will still offer water protection and easier cleanup. A penetrating sealer and then topcoat would be my vote....

So, I'm thinking the same way, because I don't like the results of "... all manner of stuff spilled on it..." (as William so aptly said.) Not putting Michael on the spot, but do we have a suggestion on a "sealer" that would not add more moisture to the shop? That would keep me from moving ahead!

Please don't say "boiled linseed oil"! :D

[Jerome Sidley]

I would use a clear coat waterbased is good there are some good urethanes. get the Polyurethane casters they do less damage, I have two on my crescent band saw and two hard wheels the hard ones leave marks the polyurethane don't.

[Michael Cummins]

I like Bona's flooring products, its what I use when I refinish old wood floors, etc. They have a sanding sealer that penetrates and makes the wood harder and more moisture resistant. You could do a couple coats of sealer and call it a day - sealer is roughly speaking, thinned down polyurethane. Today's formulas are a little more complicated than that, but that's how they did it in the old days. So you could also thin your own poly down and use that, but your results will vary based on how well you do the thinning.

Bona is usually only sold by flooring suppliers that might not sell to public. Amazon does sell it, but you'll pay more. I use a local supplier.

It really shouldn't matter that much though, just any sanding sealer from the store should be fine. Zinsser makes a nice one called sealcoat, if you can find that. Or the minwax stuff, or whatever. It will hold up best with a topcoat over it, but probably overkill for a shop. Sealer only isn't going to feel like a finished floor, or clean like one. If you want that, you'll need a couple coats of poly. Def use the lowest sheen you can, or every scratch etc will show, and you'll have lots of annoying glare from your lighting.

I don't think any of these will add any moisture to the shop, once dried. Drying process will, but then dry it out and should be good.


So, I'm thinking the same way, because I don't like the results of "... all manner of stuff spilled on it..." (as William so aptly said.) Not putting Michael on the spot, but do we have a suggestion on a "sealer" that would not add more moisture to the shop? That would keep me from moving ahead!

Please don't say "boiled linseed oil"! :D

[William Young]

So, I'm thinking the same way, because I don't like the results of "... all manner of stuff spilled on it..." (as William so aptly said.)


I don't mean to argue. I respect your preferences. Just as a reminder; you WILL get all manner of stuff spilled on it. That's a given. It is just a matter of how much time you want to spend maintaining your floor vs doing woodworking. Also, keep in mind that a finish/sealer will tend to make the floor slicker; particularly when it gets sawdust on it. My unfinished floor isn't too bad about that.

[Michael Cummins]

With sealer only, probably won't be much/any slicker. With a topcoat, a little slicker. I don't generally find wood flooring to be too slick in work shoes, so that's not an issue for me. What is nice though, is both liquids etc and sawdust will clean up much easier with a smoother surface, letting you keep a cleaner shop.

I wouldn't put a fine finish down on a shop floor with all the sanding between coats etc I do on a nice floor, but the finish wouldn't take too much time. Biggest holdup would be time before you can put equipment on the floor for dry time. Then I'd just leave it alone if it gets scuffed up, etc. Make it too nice and you won't want to get real work done on it.


I don't mean to argue. I respect your preferences. Just as a reminder; you WILL get all manner of stuff spilled on it. That's a given. It is just a matter of how much time you want to spend maintaining your floor vs doing woodworking. Also, keep in mind that a finish/sealer will tend to make the floor slicker; particularly when it gets sawdust on it. My unfinished floor isn't too bad about that.

[Michael Clobes]

I epoxied with chips and clear coat my advance T&G OSB and it was the best thing I did. Glue drips pop right off after drying. Spills wipe up. I have a 24x32 shop I built and all I did was filled all the nail holes,joints and belt sanded the entire floor. The only issue is I did a minisplit a year after and I had cracks appearing around the 4x8 sheets as it pulled the moisture out. I went from 70/80% humidity to 40/45% in 24 hrs of turning it on. Not a big deal. It's been over 5 years no chipping of pealing yet.

[Paul Lawrence]

Thanks, Michael, good information. When I see my floor, I'll know whether it needs sanding or not, but I won't be trying for as good a floor as you've got. :D

[Mike Kees]

I installed a 'sleeper floor in my shop about one year ago . 3/4 plywood on 16'' centers. I found a deal on plywood used so I simply stained it the same color a bunch of it was already,works great.cheap,good traction and easy to role on. Mike.

[Paul Lawrence]

But I already have a floor! :D I'm thinking now from these comments that any good sealer will work fine to keep stains and drips away (except that guy behind me on the left! :D )

I'm also thinking that I'll work the sealer in real good into the gap where the wall meets the floor. I'll be surprised if they've sealed that interface.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Interesting to read on mundane things, like flooring, from abroad.

My own basement shop's floor is a mere "standard" concrete slab painted with some kind of acrylic blue paint and looks perfect to me. No humidity, year around at 18-22 degrees Celsius.

Of course, I live in a more friendly weather than a number of you - but can you imagine how different it is when I read your concerns and ways to cope with them? Thanks guys, very interesting!

All the best.

[Paul Lawrence]

Interesting to read on mundane things, like flooring, from abroad.

Sophisticated because I've moved on from a rustic dirt-floored garage to a shop in a corner of a warehouse to a garage with a concrete floor so ragged that you could twist an ankle walking across it. Then I spent 30 years running a business where I had a shop that I never had time to work in because I wasn't one of the employees. :D

Now, I'm building my own personal shop. Sophisticated? I see what you mean, Osvaldo.

[Andrew Seemann]

I'd want something on the floor just to seal against dirt and keep the floor from turning that awful grey dinge wherever you walk the most. Urethane- water or oil, shellac, porch paint, anything to seal the wood.

[Paul Lawrence]

... that awful grey dinge ...

You said it right! I've seen that before, and I don't like it either.

I understand functionality, but I also think disorganization and sloppiness can come from being too "functional."

[Jim Becker]

When you have a "clean slate" to work with on a brand new from scratch shop, I'm very much in favor of making things "look nice" just because that can create a cheerful and welcoming feeling to the space beyond the joy from the activity itself. IE, if I was starting from scratch, my floor would be a lot nicer than the "bare" concrete with scattered anti-fatigue matts like I have now. At a minimum, it would be painted; ideally, it would be wood. Whatever you choose to do, at least it will be easy to accomplish in blank space!

[ChrisA Edwards]

How about a snap together finished laminate flooring such as Pergo, easy to lay down, provides a fairly tough smooth surface, look good, just a thought.

[Frank Pratt]

How about a snap together finished laminate flooring such as Pergo, easy to lay down, provides a fairly tough smooth surface, look good, just a thought.

- very slick with sawdust on it
- chips & scratches very easily (in a shop environment) & those show badly
And personal opinion, if it looks like wood it should be wood, especially in a wood shop :)

[Michael Cummins]

- very slick with sawdust on it
- chips & scratches very easily (in a shop environment) & those show badly
And personal opinion, if it looks like wood it should be wood, especially in a wood shop :)

Second all of this. Especially the safety concern of laminate with sawdust on it. I've installed many thousands of feet of the stuff while I was contracting, and just the dust from installing it makes it a death trap. Woodshop level dust, at least w/o top notch collection, would not be a safe environment with lots of spinning blades etc.

Cheap short cuts of inexpensive wood would probably be about the same cost and much nicer, safer, and more durable. I'd just put some sealer and thinned down finish on the plywood and call it a day, its what I plan on my floor. Just don't get too much finish built up on there for the slippy reason...

[Paul Lawrence]

Very good suggestions from all of you! Lots of "food for thought", and I'm still thinking! :D