is this a suitable material for a workshop floor?

[thomaskennedy]

is self leveling concrete any good for a floor???
the floor at the moment is really really uneaven so i am wanting to level it out!!

i am re-doing my whole workshop, cladding on the walls and whatever to suit on the floor!


Cheers

Tom

 

[Steve]

Hi Tom,

It will make it level! Also hard, cold and bad on the 'ol feet and legs.
My advice though, if the budget will stretch to it, would be to put down a few joists (or even just CLS), insulate between them and put some boards down. You can even run your power under the floor if you think ahead. The bonuses are a much more comfortable working environment, its warmer and keeps expensive heat in, and if you drop a chisel or one of your Holtey planes, the tool wins!
Wickes do 2.4 CLS for about £2 apiece, and also t&g chipboard flooring. They also do a damp resistant grade for slightly more.
It's not that expensive to do and I promise you won't regret having done it. it's money well spent! Concrete is the worst possible flooring for a woodworker, as I'm sure our fellow forumites will agree.

Steve

 

[thomaskennedy]

thanks for the advice, i am now going to do as u said!!

Thanks again


Tom

 

[Anonymous]

My pleasure Tom - glad to be of help!
No doubt a few pals will view this soon and add their ten bob's worth too.

Seriously - if you're going to do it, you probably don't need to go to te expense of joists - CLS will do fine. It will lift the floor away from the concrete, and provide a bit of room for some insulation material.
Space them about 300mm apart, and double up where the edges of the boards are going to be. Joists are ideal of course, but budgets being budgets...
You could also lay a polythene damp course and tuck it up at the edges to make things even better. Moisture won't 'creep up' through the floor.
I built a workshop last year which 'swallowed' my original garage (I extended all round it) , and did just this on the old concrete floor. I was as warm as toast throughout the winter, and far more comfortable. If you're as clumsy a git as I am, it will be a lot easier on your tools and timber!

Good luck Tom - let us know how it goes!

Steve

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Steve

I'm still undecided about what to do in terms of a floor. My workshop currently has a concrete floor.

I am going for cast iron machinery and so it will involve a lot of weight. I was working on the basis of having "some sort" of floor covering around the machines but not underneath them.

I'd imagine CLS and T&G with a tablesaw on top might lose the battle. What do you think?

Cheers
Neil

 

[sawdustalley]

I don't think so actually, if its actually supported by the floor. If you want it to be suspended it will need more meat. It isn't really supporting any weight, just bearing it - compression factors here.

I maybe would use a double layer of the chipboard under the tools, or even make more of a frame underneath.

If you look at the floor in "Johns Workshop" - that is suspended. Looks like standard joists with 18mm ply on top. Standard spacing. He has a fair weight on that now doesn't he.

 

[Alf]

Level is important, concrete is horrible. I know this because I have an unlevel, concrete floor. :roll: And like Steve says, it's a real downer when you drop one of your Holtey's... :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Charley]

I have a concrete floor in my new workshop. Lucky for me it looks pretty level. I don't think I have to worry about dropping a Holtey plane on it though :wink:

 

[GreenOak 8]

I would like to take this chance to say hello to all the members of UK workshop, I`ve not been a member for long but have found this site a very real source of useful information which brings me to the point of this posting,I`ve had a workshop of my own put up on a concrete base and I`m in the process of deciding the best way to insulate and clad the walls and floor( I should say at this point the w/s is made up in the same way as a sectional garage only there is no big up and over door)The proplem I have is when the base was laid I failed to make sure a damp proof membrane was incorporated .So I`m thnking of going down the route of laying a floor on top, as I have been told that if I were to have w/s heating it would draw moisture through the base.So I`d be very interested to find out the type of insulation I should use between the batons under the floor.Just a thought, but would the gap under the floor act like a sound box and increase machine noise?
All the best Steve

 

[Charley]

Welcome to the forum Steve

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Steve

Welcome to the forum.

Just a thought, but would the gap under the floor act like a sound box and increase machine noise?

I think it's Adam who has an insulated floor and I don't think he has any complaints from the neighbours.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Adam]

I have a floor made from 2 inch square runners on which I have 19mm outdoor plywood. I've never noticed any problems with sound. If you do follow the route you describe (for the garage) I would recommend laying the runners on something like strips of plastic, or preferably strips of roofing felt (the width of your runners), as it provides a water barrier to any moisture in your concrete floor, being drawn up into your wooden floor.

Adam

<edit - further though> I'm sure I've seen something somewhere on recommending having the runners down the long edge of the garage, and at the opposite end to the door, leaving a gap of about 4 inches on the plywood/sheet (e.g. you don't run the sheet right up to the wall), and at the door end, you have a gap anyway, as this allows some air to circulate - I would not expect you want to "seal" off this gap entirely, as it might get mould/damp underneath.

 

[GreenOak 8]

Hi all
Thanks for the info Adam makes sense to have a bit of air circulation,but I must admit I was intending to use gripfill and bond the batons to the concrete floor to give the boarding a nice secure base,but I can see what your saying in having a bit of a membrane.Thanks for the welcome Charley and Neil much appreseated.
All the best
Steve