Covering for workshop floor

In article , Mike Crossfield writes

I laid down some 1" batten, filled the gaps with polystyrene, then laid the stuff that the DIY mob sell for loft boards over that. Coat of paint on them and Bob's your mum's brother.

I'll do the same again when I extend the workshop. Which I *will* make a start on over Christmas.

In my experience battens only work well if the floor is very smooth. I've done several workshops over the years by laying 1" expanded polystyrene foam sheets directly on the concrete then just laying T&G chipboard flooring directly on it. Rock solid, warm and doesn't damage things dropped on it. The boards are pretty cheap from places like Travis Perkins and they even do a waterproof grade if you are fussy.

Don't make the mistake I did first time of coating with PU varnish and ending up with a skating rink. My present one is unfinished asn works fine.

Do you have your Bridgeport sitting on that?

Cheers

Tim

Tim Leech Dutton Dry-Dock

Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs

I have been in this business for quite a while and understand a lot about tools and machine tools in particular but could some kind soul please expain or describe a floor to me. It's something I don't think I've come across.

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

I thought the normal approach was to side-step the issue by acquiring so many machines & assorted bits & pieces that the floor was no longer visible. Works a treat in my cellar ;-)

Seriously, before I put any machinery into the room, I stuck down a layer of cheap vinyl "lino" onto the (concrete) floor. It has been reasonably durable in the places where I haven't dropped large lumps of metal with sharp edges on it...but then, the concrete underneath didn't appreciate that too much either

If I was to replace it I would probably go for a harder plastic floor tile which would be rather more robust.

Regards, Tony

In article , timleech writes

Ah. Good point. You'll want more battens where machines go. The Bridgeport sits on closely spaced battens, as does the Colchester.

Mike,

In my ex garage now workshop I layed 'osb' board (oriented strand board - the stuff used for concrete shuttering etc.sometimes called Stirling Board) directly onto the concrete, holding it down with screws and rawl plugs, and then painted it with floor paint. It has proved very durable over the last few years - even tolerating the movement of several heavy (up to 2 ton) machines being moved around on it with rollers.

Has the advantage that its relatively cheap, and waterproof so coolant spills don't bother it.

Have you thought of how you are going to trap the swarf getting into the rest of the house (or arn't you married!!)

Andrew Mawson Bromley, Kent, UK

When we took over one of our suppliers in 1990 we had to rehabilitate an old factory first floor area which had been damaged by fire. The quickest way was to get a roll of industrial grade linoleum and put that down.

The drawback was the weight of the roll. I couldn't believe how heavy the 'proper' stuff is! Handling it became a real problem, but it has survived 13 years without a mark, and that for a fairly busy manufacturing PCB company.

I kept the remainder of the roll to use in the workshop at home, but have yet to find that thing called a floor :-))

Kind regards,

Peter

Peter Forbes Prepair Ltd Luton, UK email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk home: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

I use one of the heavier grades of vinyl "lino" which is a pretty forgiving surface for stuff dropped on it.

The working areas around machinery are overcoated with Morrisons supermarket outdoor scuff mats. These are a rectangular array of 1" holes in a hard elastomer matrix which safely traps most of the stray swarf. Jim

I believe it is some form of support system that children use to stope their elbows from falling although there have been rumours that carpets can benefit from one as well but I am not sure how.

Merry Xmas and a happy new year to everyone.

For what it is worth here's my pennyworth.

I did use concrete paint on the concrete floor, to keep the dust down ...... a couple of coats and then put down rubber car mats around the working spaces to stand on. The benefit I have found is that the floor paint has now lasted 5 years or more (quite forget how long ago it was done, but long time gone) and the rubber mats allow standing whilst swarf is generally trapped in the mats squares or ribblets (depending on the type), easy to shake out, below the feet, and the workshop vacuum cleaner gets the stuff out as well.

OK, the mats have funny shapes 'cause I have not got any mudguards and things to go around in the workshop, but they do save the odd 'ding' from slippery fingers.

The other plus is that they are warm to the feet rather than cold concrete.

The meet the criteria of not costing too much as well.......

Seasons greetings and good cheer to all

Alan

Mike Crossfield asked ...........

I acquired some half metre square, commercial grade, carpet tiles which were being scrapped. They are not very pretty, and are several colours, but they have lasted getting on for twenty years and are still going strong.

They have the advantage that they can be cut in around legs and bases. They are pretty good to stand on. And like most of the other suggestions they absorb damage when one is too clumsy.

Mike

I can recommend Marley tiles, or their equivalent. My indoor workshop floor has lasted 20 years with them laid on the concrete base. Nothing has ever been damaged by landing on them, yet they are more than tough enough to mount workshop machinery on top off or to drag machinery around (heaviest item being a Tom Senior Major with a Bridgeport J-head on top) . They make it easy to sweep the place out occasionally - my workshop is half office so it needs to be reasonably presentable - and they take some of the chill off the floor. You need a pretty smooth surface to mount them on, preferably screeded to a smooth flat finish. Otherwise it's an easy DIY job to lay them to fit any odd wall angles. I kept a few spares in case I ever needed to replace an individual tile or two, but so far haven't needed to. I'd avoid the Dunlop/Evostick type, rubbery-form of adhesive though - it's a pig to reposition a tile if you get it a little out of position first press, and it doesn't like paraffin and similar solvents.

-Neil F.

I've found the best way to locate a lost floor is a bottle or more of Rum drunk whilst standing. The method is to start drinking as the sun goes down, and when you open your eyes to daylight, you should find the floor directly under your nose................ You will also discover that the floor can be remarkable comfortable! Merry Christmas all.

No! Don't put the machine tools on the wooden floor at all, if poss! "Battens" won't give anything like a rigid support. If there's a concrete slab below, have the machines resting on that - on steel pillars or mortared piles of bricks or pads of concrete to bring their feet upto floor level. Have small holes in the wooden floor for the machine feet to rest on the solid stuff below and fill around them with polyurethane foam, so no vibration is transmitted to the floor/workshop, and the machines are based on solid material.

Its better for the machines, and better for you!

Dave.

In article , speedy2 writes

It's worked fine for me for the last five years or so. It's probably not ideal, but it's certainly practical and easy.

Many thanks to all those who responded to my request for advice.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

Mike