Shop Setup and Design

[bongo_bill_2000]

I have a workshop that the cement floor is older and not real smooth...Looking for a method and product to possibly smooth out floor.......

[mathisonr1]

Flooring stores sell leveling compounds. The draw back to this would be that you will need to install some type of floor covering over it. It could be VCT, linoleum, laminate or wood. You could also pour another floor over the top of the old one, but I'm pretty sure that you would have to go at least 2" thick. If it is so bad that you have to do something, I would use the leveling compounds and then "sheet" the floor with plywood.

[rfcomm2k]

And DEFINITELY DO NOT put down vinyl sheet goods or you will go crazy every time you drop something and tear the floor.

[Rrandy]

Would one of the floor sealing paint or mop on products possibly fill the "rough" and leave a smoother surface? Never actually used one but have seen a few garage floors done and they seem to work. I reckon there is a degree of rough that will take a more serious approach.

[Mr-Ron]

You can hire a cement contractor who can grind the concrete surface smooth; then seal and finish it with an epoxy paint.

[marten b]

I have the same thing in my garage turned shop.  After looking at all options, epoxy, toping etc.  They all needed to have the concrete sand blasted to bond.  Cost became the objection to that.  I just put in plastic tiles.   Race Deck is the most common but I got mine at Costco much cheaper.  goes down over the concrete but has a breathing space to allow air to move and keep the moisture down.  Hope it works well.  And it was a lot cheaper then trying to finish the concrete some other way  

Marten 

[westphaljoe]

Plywood floor...

If you go this route be sure to put down a vapor barrier like 6 mil plastic sheet first to prevent moisture/mold issues.

Also, where runs of plastic overlap, use a good grade of housewrap (tyvek) tape to seal the seams.

This would also be an excellent oportunity to use 2# foam sheet under the plywood for insulation.

[Greenworksvt]

Hey Bill,

I'd find a way to stand on something other than concrete.  It can be very tiring to work on concrete -- especially when it's cold -- and it is absolute hell on dropped tools.

My advice would be to forget the epoxies and paints, and lay down a wooden floor on strapping or 2x2's. and if possible, add some sort of radiant heat under areas where you stand a lot if you are in a cold climate, or at least some foam board insulation.  You can opt to use an epoxy or plastic sheeting as a moisture/wicking barrier, so the wood floor doesn't rot.

This coming spring I'll be renovating an old building to create a dedicated turning shop, which will be used a lot during our fairly brutal winters.  The current floor is 1.5" T&G Pine on 2x2's over old, un-insulated concrete, and it is a miserably cold floor in winter (I lived there for 5 winters).  My woodworking is almost exclusively turning, so there are two areas where I stand most (soon to have a few teaching lathes, too), so I'll only add a very low-temp heat source in a few places -- but insulation under the entire floor.  The lathes and big equipment will be abchored to the concrete through holes cut in the wood floorassembly.  My plans are not final, and the building heat is a wood stove, so I may design some sort of wood-heated hydronic (radiant) heat for the lathe areas, as I'm not big on electric heating pads.

If you klearn some important lessons from your experiences, please share and enlighten us.