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Thread: Need Input for Flooring for Shop

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Lafayette, CA
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    203

    Need Input for Flooring for Shop

    Hello,
    We're just completing a renovation/expansion of my home shop and it's time to decide on the flooring. I was thinking of plywood over sleepers, but I'm having trouble finding plywood that looks decent. Hardwood plywood looks great, of course, but the top hardwood veneer is thin and this is for a shop with the usual heavy tools, etc. Construction grade plywood would work, but I was hoping for something a bit nicer.... What do folks think about 3/4 inch Baltic Birch (it's available near me in 4x8 sheets)... I think plywood, even Baltic Birch, would still be a lot less expensive than even discount solid 3/4 wood flooring.... Thoughts/experience of others would be most appreciated!
    Thanks!
    Izzy

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Leesville, SC
    Posts
    2,378
    I don't think I could put birch down for flooring. My vote would be for advantech.
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  3. #3
    I put down solid oak prefinished strip flooring. I was hoping it would stand up to heavy tools like the table saw and planer. Sadly it does not. Heavy tools leave tracks when rolled. I just have to limit the damage by moving infrequently. You might have to go to ipe ($$$) to have nice and tough enough for rolling heavy tools. Or go for really stationary, stationary tools.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,638
    BB is still thin veneer. Consider Advantek or get cheap oak strip flooring. Or use regular underpayment plywood and live with the rotsrty cut look and potential chipping of the veneer.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Mt Pleasant SC
    Posts
    721
    Concrete or wood floor?
    I use rubber mats over concrete just in areas that I stand at often.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    2,203
    You can usually find pre-finished Click Lock engineered oak for just over $2 / sq ft. Install is floating so no sleepers required.

    HD also has Traffic Master laminate for $1 - .75 / sq ft that looks decent. https://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring...=inspirational

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Nashville, TN
    Posts
    1,544
    LVT? Some of the premium versions have a backer that may be softer and make it easier to stand on.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
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    The prefinished click lock stuff may be too slippery when coated with sawdust?
    Bil lD

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    New York, NY
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    The surface of the red oak click floor I'd seen wasn't that shiny smooth, should be fine even with sawdust.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Okotoks AB
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Kelly View Post
    The surface of the red oak click floor I'd seen wasn't that shiny smooth, should be fine even with sawdust.
    Doesn't need to be shiny at all to get slick with a little sawdust on it. The factory applied finishes are so hard that even a matte finish will get very slippery. First hand experience with that.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    93
    I'm also in the process of considering shop flooring. I've got a "tender back" which is made worse by standing on hard concrete for hours. I'm considering an 8mm rubber flooring (in tiles). I've got a sample, and it looks like tough stuff. The least expensive option is solid black. The cost is probably around $4.00/foot delivered. I can also move it if I move from my current location. Does anyone else use this type of rubber flooring?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Nova Scotia, Canada
    Posts
    280
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Kepley View Post
    I'm also in the process of considering shop flooring. I've got a "tender back" which is made worse by standing on hard concrete for hours. I'm considering an 8mm rubber flooring (in tiles). I've got a sample, and it looks like tough stuff. The least expensive option is solid black. The cost is probably around $4.00/foot delivered. I can also move it if I move from my current location. Does anyone else use this type of rubber flooring?
    My back is fine but my feet and knees would ache from the concrete floors in my garage/workshop. I was considering putting down a wooden sub-floor or rubber mats but decided to try some good shop safety shoes ( shortly after dropping some plywood and breaking a toe...).
    I bought a pair of Timberlands Pro ESP with aluminum toe caps and am very satisfied! I can work in my shop all day and not have any pain or soreness. They are lightweight and have a thick sole that is has lots of give. They feel more like a running shoe and not at all like the work boots I had years ago. I still make mistakes though, so they’re not perfect.
    I'm sure other brands must have something similar.
    I like the look of a wooden floor but wasn’t keen to spend the money or do the work at this time but needed a solution to the aches and pains. So far, the shoes have worked out great.
    I hope you find a solution that works for you.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Mid-Michigan
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    264
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Kepley View Post
    I'm also in the process of considering shop flooring. I've got a "tender back" which is made worse by standing on hard concrete for hours. I'm considering an 8mm rubber flooring (in tiles). I've got a sample, and it looks like tough stuff. The least expensive option is solid black. The cost is probably around $4.00/foot delivered. I can also move it if I move from my current location. Does anyone else use this type of rubber flooring?
    I’m looking for something like this. Can you share your source?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    93
    https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/in...bber-tile.html

    Here's a link. Let me know what you think. I haven't pulled the trigger yet. There is young guy on Youtube who put this in his shop. I reached out for some feedback, but he didn't respond.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    Falls Church, VA
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    I considered a wood floor in my basement shop but I just couldn’t bring myself to give up the headroom. I was lucky to get the floor space I got and asking for a 10’ deep basement would have been a bridge too far. Right now, I could just stand an 8’ board up straight.

    my solution has been extra good shoes.

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