Shop Floor

[Brian Dormer]

I'm nearing the end of a year-long total shop renovation. My shop floor is concrete (I'm tucked away in the basement). I have some 2 foot square foam "shop floor" tiles (the tiles have jigsaw puzzle edges so they fit together). I think they were "on-sale" about 10 bucks for a pack of 4 at Pep-Boys - I had a weak moment and snapped up enough to do most of my shop.

Before the renovation - I found them a little problematic, as they can be tough to keep clean - even with a good shop vac the sawdust tends to stick to them. And despite them fitting together - they do tend to walk around a bit, requiring repositioning every now and then. The most damning thing is that you can't move any shop tools around on rollers without moving the foam tiles out of the way.

I really like the feel of standing on the foam (beats standing on cold hard concrete).

Concrete seems to have most of the advantages - but I worry about what my back and knees will be like in 20-30 years. So I'm asking for some "expert" advice. Should I keep the tiles or chuck-em?

[Randy Acton]

Not sure exactly the tiles you are talking about, but anything softer than the concrete will help. Big question with the tiles would be clean up after a spirited day of making dust.

I have the fortune of using my dad's shop. It is an out building with a concrete floor. We started by using 5/4 wolmanized and anchoring it to the concrete. On top of that is 3/4 oak flooring. We do have rubber mats at the workbench. I have spent countless hours/days in the shop and have never felt my legs or feet tiring due to the floor.

[John Vigants]

Like most guys, I tend to buy shoes and wear them until they look disgraceful . . . Recently, however, my daughter broke a bone in her foot and ended up in 'sports rehab' with some very competent medical professionals who pointed out the error in my ways.:o

Seems like those who know about backs and knees, etc. recommend buying new shoes (trainers) every 3-4 months since the weight applied crushes the shock absorbing material in the sole.

So maybe your solution is to dump the hard to clean mats for a nice epoxy finish and then buy new shock absorbing shoes on a regular schedule to save the knees and back . . .

Just a thought.

[Brian Dormer]

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/images/products/large/VT009.jpg

FYI - The mats that I'm talking about look (and feel) like these - except mine are plain battleship gray.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

The floor in my basement shop is concrete too. It's hard on the feet and back. But I need a smooth floor to move my machines around because my shop is somewhat small and shared with the home heating system. So, cushioned mats are out.

Last year I developed planter faciitis or 'planter foot'. This condition comes from wearing poor shoes or walking barefoot on hard surfaces. A decent pair of sneakers (any brand as long as they are relatively new) with gel sole inserts are fantastic. It remedied my planters foot problem.

However, I'm finding myself using cushioned sandals in my shop because they are easy to slip on and off when I leave. I just hope I don't drop something on my toes!

-Jeff :)

[Anthony Anderson]

Do the research and buy yourself a quality pair of shoes just to wear in the shop. You will not believe the difference it will make. You can spend more than $100 on a pair, but don't need to. A pair of cross training or walking shoes in the $40-$50 range will do fine. Just an idea, check out a walking magazine and see what they recommend, then check out the customer reviews. Good Luck, Bill

[Jerry Olexa]

i'm an older guy (over 40:D ) with a bad back and knee. I installed gray interlocking tiles like yours basically AND they have helped immensely. Keep them IMHO. They work effectively for me...

[Chip Olson]

Friend of mine who is just putting a shop together got those bright-colored letter tiles for her flooring. (No, she has no kids, and doesn't want any either.)

[glenn bradley]

I keep sections of the 2x2 foam pads at the TS, RT and bench. This keeps me on something soft while working in these areas and keeps the rest of the floor clear for rolling things (like an assembly table or work table) around while working. I'm not on foam all the time but I still enjoy the benefit.

[Ted Miller]

I have a wore out back and I weigh near 300, so I need some serious cushion. I work on concrete all day so the last thing I am going to stand on is concrete in my shop. Like work and at my shop I stand on rollout mats, they do not move but when I need to move a machine I can just slide it out of the way. Three large sections cover my shop floor. I buy it by the foot, 9/16 thick by 3' wide:

[Jim Becker]

I use anti-fatique mats similar to what Ted illustrates (I buy from ULine in sizes appropriate for the job) in addition to good shoes. Any workstation area in my shop that I typically use more than momentarily has anti-fatique mats in place.

[Glen Blanchard]

Don't some folks advocate wood flooring to ease the knee/back issue? I'll be retiring in a few years and will have a new house built with much larger shop at that time. Watching threads such as this help me plan.

[Jerry Olexa]

Don't some folks advocate wood flooring to ease the knee/back issue? I'll be retiring in a few years and will have a new house built with much larger shop at that time. Watching threads such as this help me plan.

Glen: A wood floor is ideal because its more comfortable and "gives". But most basements and garages are cement with a height constraint so the pads are an efficient, practical solution...

[john dennis]

I have a two-horse trailer that is now a camper. So I took the two stall matts that were there to help keep the horses feet safe from injuries. These mats are a very heavy rubber and I put them on either side of my bench. They work great. And as for footware, I always wear my rancher boots with the flat heel. The sole of these boots are about three-quarters of an inch thick and they comfortably last for about three years of daily use. I have a bunion on my left foot that is basically painless until I get an attack of the gout. When that happens, I'm glued to the couch until the medicines kiick in. Wouldn't wear any other boot. They're Justins BTW.

[jim gossage]

Before the renovation - I found them a little problematic, as they can be tough to keep clean - even with a good shop vac the sawdust tends to stick to them. And despite them fitting together - they do tend to walk around a bit, requiring repositioning every now and then. The most damning thing is that you can't move any shop tools around on rollers without moving the foam tiles out of the way.

brian,
i have a small shop also and have all my tools on wheels. i bought some workout mats from sears, 3 ft x 4-6 ft, about 1/4" thick. its plenty of cushion for the body, they are smooth so you can sweep them off easily, and the edges are tapered a bit, so you can even roll machines over them

[Brian Backner]

One option that I haven't seen mentioned in a while is an end-grain pine floor. These were popular in machine shops 50-100 years ago. Basiscally, the floor installers would get square edged 2x4's and cut them into short lengths - typically 2-3" long - and glue them to the subfloor (wood, steel, or concrete) vertically so the end-grain is facing up. One caveat is to glue only to the floor and not to surrounding wood - otherwise it becomes impossible to remove a damaged block for repairing the floor.

Remember that end-grain is much stronger than the face - and this is why they used it for machine shops - it could easily support the heaviest machinery, and was relatively easy to install, repair, adjust for level, and bolt things to. It was also easy on your feet/back. The one disadvantage to it, at least for a machine shop, is that it will soak up cutting fluids and oils like a sponge, hence its gradual falling from favor. However, I have been in several machine shops here in New England within the past several years that still maintain their wooden end-grain floors - one of them has MASSIVE machine tools (on the order of 50-75 TONS each) mounted on an end-grain floor 24" thick! The shop foreman had been working there for something like 40 years and had no complaints with it - the machinists all seemed to like it and other than the occasional ding or crack from a dropped something or other, it gave excellent service life and was easy to repair, and easy on the feet.

While obviously tedious to install (a 24 x 36' shop would need about 30,600 block at 1.25 x 3.25"), it would relatively easy to do and could easily accomodate uneven subfloors, etc.

Just a thought

Brian

[Greg Caputo]

Brian:

I've covered nearly my entire shop with the same mats. As others have said, great on the feet and back, but almost impossible to roll heavy machinery around. I solved part of this problem by grouping some machines that get sporadic use into an area of the shop with no mats. I have the jointer, planer, and band saw in that area. Since I tend to spend only a few minutes at a time using any of these machines, I can live without the mats there and I have the ability to roll each one around easily. The router table is light enough, and I've installed wheels large enough not to dig in to the mat, that it rolls pretty easily. One additional advantage, for me at least, is the mats are very forgiving when something slips out of my hand and hits the floor. Just this past weekend, one of the outside blades of my dado set fell. The floor protected it and nothing bad happened. If it had hit concrete instead, I'm sure I would have had to replace a few of the carbide tips!

Greg

[Joe Trotter]

What about the diamond looking tiles the car guy's use in their garage's?

Has anyone tried those?

[Mike Wilkins]

Keep the concrete floor free of the floor tiles, except for areas like in front of your workbench, the tablesaw, and other work stations.
This way you can easily retain your tools' mobile status. I have the gray runners from the local Lowes, and you cannot roll a mobile base over them without the mat sliding around.

[Brian Dormer]

What about the diamond looking tiles the car guy's use in their garage's?

Has anyone tried those?

Joe - That's what TOH used on one of their projects - I think Bob Villa's Home Again did a piece (it was Bob's basement) where they had custom tiles (black & yellow with a TS blade motif). The look like they are hard - I dunno about those - seems like lots of expense for little or no benefit. Although - dropping a router bit onto one of those tiles .vs. concrete might make me a believer.

At the least - you've all convinced me to keep the mats and try some cofigurations to see what might work. I *WISH* I had room to group all the mobile tools in one place, but with only 16" x 18" or so to play with, concessions had to be made.

[Brian Dormer]

The floor in my basement shop is concrete too. It's hard on the feet and back. But I need a smooth floor to move my machines around because my shop is somewhat small and shared with the home heating system. So, cushioned mats are out.

Last year I developed planter faciitis or 'planter foot'. This condition comes from wearing poor shoes or walking barefoot on hard surfaces. A decent pair of sneakers (any brand as long as they are relatively new) with gel sole inserts are fantastic. It remedied my planters foot problem.

However, I'm finding myself using cushioned sandals in my shop because they are easy to slip on and off when I leave. I just hope I don't drop something on my toes!

-Jeff :)

Jeff -

I've done the gel-soles... read on...

Just some off-topic advise. Regular doctors diagnosed me with a heel spur (chunk of loose bone in the heel) - then plantar faciitis (inflamition of the plantaris muscle) and everything else under the sun FOR YEARS. THEN - I went to a orthopedic surgeon. We talked for about 3 minutes - he had me stand on my tip-toes (one footed) which I could not do on the sore side. He felt my ankle - said "Uh-Huh!" gave me a perscription for Relafin (it's an anti-arthritic - note I didn't and dont have Arthritis) told me "take this" and that was it. Within a couple days - it was GONE! I stayed on the stuff for about 2-3 months and haven't had a problem since - (about 3 or 4 years). If you haven't already - get yourself to a good orthopedic surgeon. You might have been mis-diagnosed.

bd

[Brian Dormer]

I've seen those floors (well - similar - it was on an episode of Bob Villa's Home Again). My wife would love those floors - upstairs. I wish I had that kind of headroom (and money) - but I don't. :(

[Greg Deakins]

that is a lot of info... Well I dont use anything, and it may make me apologetic one day, but for now, I just wear running shoes...

[Mike Holbrook]

We just did a major garage renovation project. It was actually more the wifes project as she is a Mini Cooper car nut. We installed Interlocking tiles covering the entire garage floor. The wife sellected a tile that has a low profile design pattern specifically because she wanted to be able to role cabinets on casters over it. We used Daytona Tile by Sport Court available on ebay.

High end tiles made by Tuff-Seal were the wife's first choice but they would have strained an already stretched budget. Tuff-Seal's tiles are solid, rubbery material, available with a "levant", flat, textured surface that was designed for airplane hangars and is reported to work well in shop type environments.

There are many options with these tiles. We used a solid rubber type tile in our basement media room and bathroom, where we let dogs hang out. We are about to order another type to serve as a floor for our first story patio. The patio tiles will double as a water proof roof for the ground level patio below. The ground level patio will be enclosed as a combo dog kennel shop extension. We will use yet another type tile in our work out room...
Yes we may be the poster family for floor tiles. We also love to hang Store Wall (advanced super peg board) on all our walls so we have more places to put more tools.

Most of the the manufacturers of these tiles offer "reducer strips" which are just chamfered molding strips you can place around the edges to make it easier to roll things onto & off them. The edging also reduces the chance of stumbling over the edges.

Hope this link to my photobucket pictures works:

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f132/MacMitch/The%20Garage%20Project/

[Daniel Shnitka]

Keep your mats, use them as underlay / insulation for 5/8" or 3/4 plywood subfloor. Over this plywood subfloor use parquet wood flooring.
What you get:

comfort; whether walking or standing in shoes/slippers or socks
ease of moving your machinery
ease of repair from gouges and severe dents - just repalce the single piece that is damaged.
low maintenance cost
12" by 12" squares give instant measurement at a glance for sheet stock or lumber.
it is forgiving to accidentally dropped steel edge tools
attractive appearance
economical if you you make your own-even if purchased as a retail product as it is somewhat out of fashion for homes. It is still used in instutions, so the price now is more favourable as compared to the 80's and early 90'sTalk to a flooring speacialist for the details on installation. There are still suppliers out east.

[Al Willits]

I do have arthritis in one foot and find I keep several chairs handy in the garage/shop, then I do whatever I can sitting down, does make a difference over a long day in the shop.
Just a thought...
Al

[Dan McGuire]

I have worked in the distribution field my entire career. Early on in my career I found that after I have been "pounding the pavement" for 10-12 hours per day my feet, ankles, knees and back were always sore.

I finally bucked up to a good pair of Wolverine Duroshocks, problem solved.

I think the best solution in the shop for flooring is first a good pair of shoes, second anti-fatigue mats postioned in areas where you will be standing for periods of time. This allows the person to move tools rather easily and provides the protection needed for the aging joints.

Just my humble opinion

[Tyler Howell]

I use the pretty ones.
Shocks my visitors, extends the time on my feet and saves those planes that dive off the bench!!!!!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10364