What's under you? (Floor question)

[graham-xrf]

Many thanks to all you folks for the clues on what you use.

My floor is still empty, no benches, nothing. The concrete under is 150mm (about 6") laid on top of the heavy DPC membrane, which itself is on some thickness of washed rejects stone, and some sand and insulation blinding. It looked like about 1mm thick. Then over the concrete, an even tougher red sheet, apparently to block the build-up of radioactive radon gas. Then 50mm (about 2") of polyurethane insulation, the kind that comes between layers of aluminium. Over that, the 22mm pressure treated resin chipboard floor that cannot absorb moisture. I am told it is treated with fire retardent. It is a bit smoother and harder than wood plank.

The pressure distribution onto the insulation is such that the result seems very stiff, but is still a wooden floor. To drop something on it would have the wood consequence, rather than like concrete.

I was thinking something to allow better clean-up of spills and chips, and to achieve something in between raw blocks finish and epoxy on concrete, I might try industrial grade vinyl tiles or sheet. If I ever do have a machine that needs to anchor down to substrate, I can drill, and put in chemi-anchor bolts or similar into the concrete, and add spacers.

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The place is to be a CAD design office with a mill, lathe, possibly a 3D printer, some bench, various electronics stuff, and whatever else might find a role. I am giving quite a lot of thought as to how to use the space carefully. I am looking for a tough, cleanable floor finish that can also look good.

 

[StevSmar]

I dream of having an “oiled” wood floor like we had in out high school metal and wood working shops. It was like a parquet flooring in 1’x1’ tiles. The wood pieces were maybe 4”x3/4” and about 3/8” thick. I don’t remember the pieces being end grain up.

 

[pontiac428]

I've had my (diy) epoxy coated concrete floor up an running for a year now. I'm really happy with it. Spilled oil does not soak in and comes up with dry sweep. I added glass beads to the topcoat mix for grip, so no issues whatsoever there. My only complaint is that it looks bad because the color depth varied from mix bag to mix bag, even after making a fuss at the hardware store over matching lot numbers. It would have been way better to package it in cans and use a paint shaker instead of those settled-out mix bags. In spite of the color variation, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It's just me and the shop spiders, and we're not that style-conscious.

 

[Weldingrod1]

My first shop was two layers of 3/4" plywood with white paint.

My current shop is wood floor: the stock shipping container floor ;-)

I have rubber hole mats by the mill and lathe; they help!!!

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[ArmyDoc]

All the talk of end grain wood has got me thinking.. Has anyone considered railroad ties? They are 15 to $20ea. 7x9in x8.5 ft. Cut 3 in thick would be under 70 cents / sq ft. Lot of work to cut them though. None of my saws will cut that in even 2 passes...


Hmm. Looks like this would handle the size...

7" x 12" 1 HP Horizontal Metal Cutting Band Saw - Grizzly Industrial

<h1>G0561 7" x 12" 1 HP Metal-Cutting Bandsaw</h1> <h2>Its mobility is perfect for moving around the shop or between jobsites.</h2> <p>The G0561 7" x 12" 1 HP Metal-Cutting Bandsaw was designed to cut 7" round and 7" X 12" rectangular metal stock. It can cut in either horizontal or vertical...

www.grizzly.com

Should still work with a wood saw blade on it, shouldn't it? Don't have a nice saw like this...

Oh you guys and your evil temptations... Now you've got me thinking about yet another project and I haven't even finished the last one yet.

 

[Downunder Bob]

I believe a company in US called AW Chesterton made a range of industrial coatings. They used to have one that was a poly urethane compound that was very tough, acid and oil resistant, could be applied to metal or concrete. Although it had a gloss finish it was very definately non slip even when wet.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

There was an old (1896?) mill where I worked in the '70s. The "shell shop" didn't date back quite as far as the foundry, but was where most of the shops and spares were located. The floor was of wood stood on end for "non-sparking" use. It was floored around WW1, as a "Shell Shop". The name being a givaway. . .

I have found details of such a floor in one of my old Audel's books. Per the book, the timbers were over a foot long. The significant part is the base and the pressure used to set each piece in place. Then there's the finishing, getting a smooth and level(?) surface. Among other points was the sand base, several inches thick.

In essence, it is a floor that is quite desirable, but at a preposterous cost by today's standards. It most assuredly is not a matter of casting a concrete base and topping with short pieces of wood. There is much detail work before the wood is placed. Concrete would serve, but the wood would have to be "insulated" from the concrete.

There was mentioned above the use of "cross ties", "sleepers" to the British folks. To start with, cross ties are impregnated with a preservative, usually creosote. And not lightly like you find at the lumber yard. It goes deep, in a pressurized container. And it stinks, and most assuredly is not pleasant to stand on. Then there is the "trim size" at the lumber mill. The cut tolerances are of a "sorta kinda" dimension. Which is to say that there are large differences in size, to woodworkers and machinists. Cross ties are heavy timbers, not really the size to make a solid floor.

Then, the most common source for cross-ties is the stacks along a railroad as they have been replaced. These days, you have to show up at night and "liberate" them before the clean-up crew gets them. The key phrase is "being replaced", used cross-ties are OK for landscape timbers, but are not solid enough for flooring. That's why the railroad is replacing them. . . They're hollowed out.

I seem to be full of negative thoughts today. My apologies to any offended. It's just that I have practical experience with such a floor and strongly advise against it unless the "installer" was willing to invest many, many hours in the construction.

.

 

[ArmyDoc]

There was an old (1896?) mill where I worked in the '70s. The "shell shop" didn't date back quite as far as the foundry, but was where most of the shops and spares were located. The floor was of wood stood on end for "non-sparking" use. It was floored around WW1, as a "Shell Shop". The name being a givaway. . .

I have found details of such a floor in one of my old Audel's books. Per the book, the timbers were over a foot long. The significant part is the base and the pressure used to set each piece in place. Then there's the finishing, getting a smooth and level(?) surface. Among other points was the sand base, several inches thick.

In essence, it is a floor that is quite desirable, but at a preposterous cost by today's standards. It most assuredly is not a matter of casting a concrete base and topping with short pieces of wood. There is much detail work before the wood is placed. Concrete would serve, but the wood would have to be "insulated" from the concrete.

There was mentioned above the use of "cross ties", "sleepers" to the British folks. To start with, cross ties are impregnated with a preservative, usually creosote. And not lightly like you find at the lumber yard. It goes deep, in a pressurized container. And it stinks, and most assuredly is not pleasant to stand on. Then there is the "trim size" at the lumber mill. The cut tolerances are of a "sorta kinda" dimension. Which is to say that there are large differences in size, to woodworkers and machinists. Cross ties are heavy timbers, not really the size to make a solid floor.

Then, the most common source for cross-ties is the stacks along a railroad as they have been replaced. These days, you have to show up at night and "liberate" them before the clean-up crew gets them. The key phrase is "being replaced", used cross-ties are OK for landscape timbers, but are not solid enough for flooring. That's why the railroad is replacing them. . . They're hollowed out.

I seem to be full of negative thoughts today. My apologies to any offended. It's just that I have practical experience with such a floor and strongly advise against it unless the "installer" was willing to invest many, many hours in the construction.

.

Killin' my dreams man... Now how I'm supposed to justify that nice band saw.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

It would be quite a bandsaw to "resaw", as in cut down, cross ties. And otherwise useless in making such a wood floor. Justification for a good bandsaw is a lot cheaper for good woodsmithing. A band saw like a cross tie mill uses would be better suited for a saw mill, not small shop use. Try getting into industrial grade wooden cabinets for your other machines. Good ones are hard to find, most users build with steel and 2x4s and plywood. Look to "Rex Kreuger" for guidance maybe.

EDIT: I neglected to mention the "wiggle nails" that are often used to close up cracks. Such would be a terror to a wood saw.

Regarding the "wink" below, I realized it was a wink and the comment a (soft) joke. It is my nature to only talk when I have something worthwhile to say. And your comment left an opening that I could drive a truck through. It was necessary to "shoot you down" to prevent the idea from being seriously followed through by anyone. That's the life of an engineer, taking everything seriously.
.

 

[ArmyDoc]

It would be quite a bandsaw to "resaw", as in cut down, cross ties. And otherwise useless in making such a wood floor. Justification for a good bandsaw is a lot cheaper for good woodsmithing. A band saw like a cross tie mill uses would be better suited for a saw mill, not small shop use. Try getting into industrial grade wooden cabinets for your other machines. Good ones are hard to find, most users build with steel and 2x4s and plywood. Look to "Rex Kreuger" for guidance maybe.

.

Wink meant I was only joking...

But more seriously, I appreciated your pointing out the problems with creosote - you really don't want a known source of carcinogens off gassing into a closed shop.