Hi all,
I plan on installing my shop in the three car garage attached to my home.
In addition to having the usual woodworking tools, I also have some heavy iron machinist tools (Bridgeport, Reid surface grinder, and a massive old South Bend 16" lathe).
Given the machine tools, I had planned on keeping the floor as concrete and using anti-fatigue mats at each machine as needed.
The house and garage were built in 1926 and the floor in each bay of the garage pitches to a central drain (three drains total). The shape of each bay's floor is an inverted pyramid with a rectangular perimeter and a depth of about 3".
While it is certainly possible to shim the various machines level, the LOML insists on being able to park her car in the bay closest to the house, hence some machines will need to be on movable bases. Moving even something as light as a table saw (light when compared to the Bridgeport, anyway) gets to be a real pain when needing to go over the "hump" between bays.
I've been investigating the possibility of pouring a skim coat of concrete to fill the depression in each bay, but am concerned that the edges -where the concrete would essentially feather to virtually 0" thickness - will make for a weak link leading to eventual deterioration of the entire floor.
One contractor I spoke with suggested breaking the floor up and repouring everything to be level. I don't know if any of you have ever tried to work with 80 year old concrete - it is harder than the proverbial rock and is extremely difficult to break with even a jackhammer. This would also be mega-expensive and time consuming.
Anyone out there have any suggestions on how to create a level and durable floor that would hold up to both a heavy car as well as movable woodworking equipment? The machine tools will be shimmed level and bolted to the floor permanently.
Thanx,
Brian