Need ideas for workshop floor coating

[Dean Coss]

I’m working on finishing my workshop over the next few months. It has a plywood floor and I was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for putting a protective coating on it. While I’d love to get an epoxy floor coating, it is rather expensive. I thought about putting some of the textured Behr Deckover coating on it, but I’m open to any ideas. I don’t really care about color, I just wanted something that preferably has a little slip restance to it and is durable to hold up to foot traffic, rolling around machines when necessary, and occasionally dropping a tool. Any thoughts?

[Peter Christensen]

My floor is 1” OSB and about a year and a half old. I have nothing on it and unless I get a windfall of hardwood flooring to put on it it may stay bare. It isn’t slippery and I don’t worry to much if a few drops of glue get on it. If you really feel the need to paint maybe some of the rubber deck paints might be what you are looking for.

[Kevin Jenness]

I used oil based deck paint over Advantech which has held up well for 10 years.

[Tim Bueler]

IMHO, a textured coating on the floor can't be swept easily, it will have to vacuumed. I overlayed particle board underlayment, like that used under vinyl flooring, over my plywood subfloor figuring I would just replace the occasional piece if/when it gets damaged. It's not slippery, sweeps easily and didn't cost much. I know some guys on this forum have VCT on their floors, which can be had for under $1/sq ft from the borg, but that, too, requires some sort of underlayment to be installed properly.

[Jim Becker]

I personally would use ordinary floor paint if painting it. Some folks have actually stained and clear coated their plywood floors to good effect, too. Others...leave them bare which is the least expensive option and still easy to clean up.

[Dean Coss]

I wasn’t really wanting to paint the floor because it’s too opaque. I was hoping to find something that shows some of the wood grain through it. I’ll probably just end up doing some sort of clear coat.

[Jim Becker]

If you want to see the grain but add a little color, you could use a semi-transparent deck stain and then clear coat if you prefer.

[Lee Schierer]

My shop floor is unfinished plywood and I have worked on it for 30 years and it is still in great shape with a few places were I dripped paint or stain. There is one area where we walk through the shop to get to the garage and it shows very little wear despite a family of four walking on it for years. I can still see the grain when I sweep up the sawdust.

[Tom Bender]

What you have will be functional but there are options. I grew bored with plain concrete with a few stains and constant dust. So I installed peel and stick vinyl tile in an off white with a bit of pattern. It sweeps well but always looks like it needs mopping. Fine dust can't be vacuumed completely. It brightens the shop and makes it a nicer place to spend time. I would do it again.