[Graysax]

I am looking into a few things, one of which is what the best covering for a shop floor. If you don't like what you got, then lets talk what you think is ideal,

I may be converting my one car garage into a shop in the near future. I think I am going to put down an insulated sub floor with a section where I pour a small concrete slab for the vice stand.

On top of the sub floor I am thinking of just painting it with floor paint and leaving it be with maybe a throw rug by the padding bench.

Carpet throughout has pros and cons - but I am thinking the cons are winning.

This is a moment where I need somebody to throw ideas around with and ..... well .... the wife just doesnt understand about this one. (which is a good thing).

Thanks
Charlie

 

[Stephen Howard]

Floor paint works well, but on a concrete floor it need to be good and tough - like a two-pack epoxy paint.
I used to have a carpet but it was more hassle than it was worth...bits of metal got stuck into it (old springs, screws etc.).

For around the bench I use a rubber mat. I got mine from a company that does workwear rental - it's a sort of rubber base into which a section of carpet can be fitted.

Regards,

 

[Mikeysaxcat]

My sax tech out here in Puerto Rico has a rubber mat throughout the entire shop. He told me that saves some horns because a few have dropped their horns and mouthpieces when trying their horns after repairs.

sent from Mikey's Super Inspire 4G

 

[Enviroguy]

They makes some great ergonomic mats that are designed to be easy on the legs, knees and feet. Over the long run, these might save you some pain. At work (not a music shop), I always have the engineers install these around standing work stations. They do help reduce our injury rates over time.

 

[Carl H.]

I've got concrete with the random bit of carpet remnant here and there. I don't do WW, but string repairs. Occasionally I get the fumble fingers after working for an hour on a bridge, and carpet has kept me from having to start over on a nearly finished bridge more than once.

My Chiropractor has recommended that I get something with more give to it than concrete, so my knees and feet don't take such a beating. In the short term I have switched to "fitness" shoes. They have stiffer insoles and an outsole which resembles more of a rocker than a ramp. They seem to be helping, as I haven't needed an adjustment in a while and generally only have a dull ache in the knees and back at the end of a long day and not outright pain.

 

[Chris Peryagh]

In my workshop I put vinyl tiles down on top of 5mm MDF boards which are nailed down to the floorboards to eliminate any gaps where small items like point screws can't scuttle off and hide in any cracks. Having a vinyl or lino floor (either laid in one piece from a roll or tiles) also allows you to hear anything that falls onto it (point screws again) and it definitely reduces the risk of any damage if mouthpieces are dropped onto it in comparison to a concrete floor.

I don't rate carpet tiles or carpets in workshops as you can't hear where point screws land! And things like needle springs and other small metal parts can get embedded in them whereas a smooth floor is better to find dropped things on as you can sweep them up easier.

I've gone for light grey instead of a dark colour flooring as that too makes it easier to find those small metal parts making a bid for freedom.

 

[abadcliche]

My floor for my indoor shop room (pads and general bench work) is brick floors with a carpet over the area where I put my chair and where I would drop any small parts. In the garage (dentwork, metalwork, cleaning, mad science) its concrete.

I am particular about carpet- it must be super dense pile, fairly short. Ikea sells some fairly cheap area rugs that fulfill this purpose nicely. If a Conn grub screw can burrow down inside it without help, I don't want it. The carpet does seem to make a difference with fatigue, and as an added bonus it keeps me from sliding around in my chair. I don't use chairs with wheels and I like to be planted firmly.

Handy trick for finding tiny screws that roll off the bench and camouflage themselves: hold your leak like under your forearm, shoplifter-style, so the light isn't in your eyes and sweep your arm low across the carpet, scanning it in a mow-the-lawn fashion.

 

[Mark Fleming]

First thing, tape an 18"x18" piece of 6 mil visqueen to the floor to see if you have any moisture coming through. Anything thinner, like a plastic sack or drycleaning bag, doesn't have a low enough perm rating. After a couple of days, take off the plastic. Even if it isn't wet, if the concrete is darker that means that there is too much moisture coming through for the direct application of carpet (mold) or for a glue down product. Carpet wouldn't be my first choice, anyway.

Some of the vinyl floor coverings at Home Depot, etc., are free floating (no glue), are 14' wide, and are expanded so that they have 1/8" or more of dense foam. Not enough to stop a horn from denting, but it gives slight insulation, some comfort over bare concrete,is cheap (especially remnants), and probably wouldn't damage a dropped mouthpiece. They are soft enough that a dropped screw doesn't bounce as far as a bare floor.

For finding dropped springs and screws, nothing beats a big rare earth magnet, also useful for dent work, but be careful. If your finger gets in between the magnet and a needle spring, it could be a problem.

Mark

 

[KEN K]

old pads, pieces of cork , trash, paper ,old springs, dust bunnies, old emery boards, small pieces of metal, brass fillings, razor blades ,dirt, food crumbs, etc, etc

 

[jicaino]

old pads, pieces of cork , trash, paper ,old springs, dust bunnies, old emery boards, small pieces of metal, brass fillings, razor blades ,dirt, food crumbs, etc, etc

same here

 

[Grumps]

same here

What, no peanut shells? :bluewink:

 

[simso]

concrete

 

[TMadness1013]

Charlie, I put an epoxy floor down in my band room last year, you should look into it. Tough as nails and SO easy to clean. It'd be bad if you dropped an instrument on it, but if you spilled a bunch of contact cement you could just wipe it up with a damp sponge.

 

[dzve]

I have a conctrete floor painted light blue. The work bench( 6 meters long) has a rubber matt that goes the length,its really thick ans works well at keeping my knees from getting tired......

 

[Wind_Mill]

Anti-fatigue mats, on a concrete garage floor. I also have my workbench covered with them.... Costco was where I last bought a set of 9 (2'x2') for $20, but they've gone up, like everything else....

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

Around my bench I have a dense, short-pile, 100%-wool carpet, with a grid pattern which aids grid searches for dropoped screws.
Wool because it does not suffer much if I drop some red hot part on it.