This may be more a Fine Woodworking question, as it concerns my shop, but I’m asking in both forums as it’s also a construction question about a pretty large floor.
I have a 24 x 45 outbuilding that I placed on a raised foundation so that I could have a wooden floor laid over joists with crawl space underneath.
I have completed the joist structure and am now putting down 3/4 in. T&G OSB subfloor. I’m seeking suggestions for what the finished floor should be. For strength, I’d like it to be another 1/2 – 3/4 in., but don’t really know what to use or where to get it (or who to ask).
Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Richard Scoby
Madison, WI
Replies
What do you want out of the floor surface?
And what is your budget?
Two very important questions.
It's a wood workshop, right? IMHO, the t&g OSB is enough, and I would use waterborne floor coating products to seal and topcoat it. BonaKemi is the brand name. They have all the stuff.
Put the money you save, by not layering on another thickness of wood, into your next good tool or machine. Does your planer have spiral teeth, replaceable carbide inserts? Did you really plan right for all the gear needed for state of the art dust collection?
Or instead are you going for looks, and want the camera crew to pick up on that floor, when filming your next "New Cheesehead Workshop" segment? ;-)
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
So, I should skip the maple flooring, you think?If a 3/4 in floor is enough for strength, then I'm happy to quit at that. The money I'd save on another round of flooring would probably pay for the Oneida Cyclone system I'm planning to install. And I'd be done with it a lot sooner!Yes, it's a woodshop, and no, I don't need it to be pretty. I'm gluing and nailing the OSB to the joists.Richard
You gonna run the DC ducting under the floor or overhead?
I'm planning to run it under the floor, with a six inch main line and four inch branches terminating in blast gates at floor level. Flexible from there to each machine.Richard
Then the floor needs to able to have access in case of a creature or wedding ring taking residence.
That eliminates the maple. Unless you put in access doors.
I've installed two headouts, one on either side of the girder that runs the length of the building, and plan on installing trapdoors and stairs to the crawl space.I'm also installing some fluorescents down there on either side of the girder so there's no place to hide.
In that case, bring on the maple.
Your OSB is enough, floor-wise, and anything you put onto it is "finish," or eye candy.
I can get "character grade" (i.e. knots, color and graining all over the map, etc.) hard maple or oak for under $1.50/sf, but then I am going to have to lay it, buy resin paper for under, staples or nails, borrow or rent the flooring tools, then get more gear, and spend more money, to sand and finish it.
I can get some sort of on-sale closeout in a prefinished t&g plank of some kind, but it's back to doing the tool-up, etc.
I can get the gallonage of sealer and finish, plus the squeegee applicator gear, and in two days, do the waterborne seal and two coats of finish.
Better yet, I can do nothing, accept the OSB surface as-is, and start to move in and wire up and pipe up all the machines.
It is time to get doing some projects, right? I just got the used copy of Krenov's The Impractical Cabinetmaker I ordered online. My hardbound copy long ago got lost in a flood. I will do a version of the doublesided music stand he shows in the book. His was all pearwood, but I am thinking of doing this one in brown maple.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Only one other person suggested another layer of flooring, and that was another round of 3/4 t&g OSB. Everyone else just made suggestions to pretty it up.I'm quite happy to use it as is for now (or forever) since it's over 1000 sq ft of floor. The money would be much better used on the vac system now. If I can't stand not remodeling something in the future, I can think about other treatments for the floor then.I've had a brand new Powermatic cabinet saw in a box since March and I'm dying to open it and use it.Thanks for all your suggestions!RichardP.S. Good luck on the Krenov cabinet.
Although the 3/4 OSB is enough structurally, I have not been happy with the "give" you get between joists when a large point load is placed upon it, such as a heavy tablesaw on castors or legs.
This may seen unorthodox, but run1/2 or 3/4 MDF over the OSB, then poly it. The floor will seem much stiffer, the MDF is very durable (slap it with a hammer, its hard to dent) and its easy to sweep.
If you leave the OSB, the surface will wear in time and get so rough it will be hard to sweep
I did some stair treads out of MDF in an industrial use situation and they have held up well. These were installed over regular carpet & vinyl adhesive, then finish nailed just to hold it untill the adhesive set up
I even wished I could get MDF in 2 different shades, I'd cut it into squares and install it checkerboard style
http://www.spectratechmdf.com/
Very cool, but now I need a project for it.looks pricy, though
The MDF was what I was going to suggest to the OP.
And a couple of coats of finish, IMO, is necessary. Partly to seal the floor. Partly to keep the MDF from getting so slippery with sawdust on it.
I agree I'd be installing 1-1/8" T & G sturdifloor.ML
I've done a couple of shop floors with Armstrong commercial linoleum, 12"X12". They're inexpensive and easy to install. At a full 1/8" thickness, they're very durable.
Lighter colors reflect light well which helps to see the workpiece better with less illumination. Small objects dropped on the floor are easily located.
After the initial buffing and waxing, this flooring is very easy to sweep.
If a tile gets damaged, it takes only a few minutes to heat the tile, remove and replace it.
As much as I love the natural look of a wood floor, even sealed plywood, commercial linoleum is more practical.
Sounds like your on your way with the 3/4", I think for the shop 1 1/8" would be a better choice. Do you have any plans to partition some of the shop off for storage, office or finish area? If so you could do hardwood in one area and vinyl or the like in an other. If anything the OSB needs some type of finish paint, or sealer.
Since 3/4 inch is fine for 90% of your shop I would just heavy up where your machinery is going to be located. If it is in a fixed location a couple of 2x6"s or 8"s across the joists would stiffen things up. Also a piece of 3/4 ply beveled to 45 degrees or greater on all edges where 2 by material would be unadvised would be aproppiate.Just screw it down so things can be moved around later.
In the worse case you cold go underneath and block up at specific location. Paint with a good porch and deck enamel and start making sawdust.
I got utility grade 3/4 inch thick maple 2 1/2 inches wide from Lumber Liquidators for 99 cents a board foot. Looks great and a pleasure to walk on.
Is that maple T&G?
Yes.
Wow, your shop sounds like mine that I just finished.
I used 1 1/8 t&g glue and nail for sub floor. Then bought utility grade birch from Lumber Liq for .79 cents per square foot. If you use the utility floor, be sure it's square edge and not the beveled or that will always be filled with sawdust. Also the utility grade has many voids and knot holes and I had to fill them with black epoxy and sand smooth when I sanded the floor. More work, but cool looking.
I also found this new finish that's made from, belive it or not, bugs! Use alcohol to thin, dries quick and easy to repair.
I placed a trap door to gain access to under the floor to run the dust collector. I will wait a year before I place the dust collector outside to have the best shot at having the tools in the right place.
Good luck with the project.
If you go with hardwood, it's not entirely necessary to sand and varnish it. Just seal it.