Workshop flooring

I have recently moved to a house with a sturdy wooden outbuilding of 3.5m x 2.5m, previously used as a recording studio.

I intend to use it as a workshop and for messing around with clocks and watches. The only machines will be light weight stuff like Sherlines and watchmakers lathes.

Underneath the present underlay and thick pile carpet there appears to be quite a solid wood floor.

I would like a nice smooth floor surface without gaps and nooks and crannies as I am forever dropping small parts.

Has anyone any suggestion for flooring? I am think of some type of vinyl or lino but there seems be many types. Maybe a close fitting tile might be easier to lay.

As another consideration, I need to keep the cost down as much as possible.

Cheers

Steve

I find that hard floors allow dropped items to bounce and travel a fair distance to the darkest hole they can find to hide in.

My shed has floor boards so I screwed 9mm plywood over the whole floor and then put two coats of floor paint on it.

Steve,

I put lino on the floor of my similarly sized wooden shed. Makes sweeping up easy, and helps contain spills.

But as Dave says, items can bounce and roll for yards on lino so I have mats placed at the mill and lathe stations, and at my 'desk' area. The mat deadens the bounce of a small screw quite effectively. It is also easier on the feet than hard lino if you are standing at the lathe, say, for a while.

You also get a 'sound clue' from the fallen item ...a dull thud means 'mat', and a clickity-click means lino.

I use black/grey mats similar to this...I think Costco also sell them..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mibao-Washable-Non-Slip-Entrance-Absorbent/dp/B087BN4NG2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=31QXWTI1FPTQD&keywords=amazon+carpet+work+mat&qid=1668097935&sprefix=amazon+carpet+work+mat%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-7

Ches

Cushionfloor offcut? Nice light colour if you can get it.

If you want a soft, insulated floor, there's nothing (apart from the inevitable soiling) saying you couldn't just leave the carpet, cutting holes in it to allow you to have machine/bench feet directly in contact with the floor as required.

This is unconventional, but would be both the cheapest option by far and reduce the amount of effort to do the workshop up.

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I would consider NoMorePly boards, intended as an underlay for tiles and for stabilising old wooden floors, but has lots of workshop friendly properties:

• impervious to moisture,
• fireproof,
• insulating,
• impact resistant,
• dimensionally stable.

You then have a choice to either use a floor-paint (I like 2-pack polyaspartic [a type of PU paint] for it's self healing properties, but epoxy is a bit more hardwearing to begin with and lots of 1-pack paints are very good just very solvent-y), or buy cheap foam tiles which you can cut to neatly fit anywhere you don't have machines/benches on the floor, and bond down with contact adhesive if you desire.

The foam tiles add cushioning and insulation, whilst wearing unreasonably well considering how inexpensive they are; I guess you could lay them direct onto a wooden floor, but the likelihood of it remaining good long term is limited.

In both cases I am assuming being a tiny wooden building, you'd do any heating / soldering / brazing with open flame, outside the workshop, making a flammable floor covering (carpet or foam tiles) acceptable.

If you do intend to do this inside, nomoreply or steel chequer plate, with paint are better options.

Those discount flooring guys in grubby warehouses sell 30 quid a metre lino for bars and restaurants for a tenner or less a pop (end-of-run/ print rejects etc)

We did the entire house with it because of the dogs

Very tough and very comfy on the feet, no sign of wear after 5 years of use

Also useful if you need to defecate urinate or vomit onto your floor, woof woof

I put an extra cutout pad of lino under furniture feet etc to prevent damage so buy some extra if you take the lino route

Edited By Ady1 on 10/11/2022 16:53:04

There is a flooring company near me that has a skip on the go outside continuously. Often see bits of carpet 3-4ft wide by ? roll width of 12ft. Also bigger bits of used carpet the tis often in good shape and only a few years old, just not the preferred colour of a new owner.

Would support the light colour. Mine is clip together (now off!) white plastic tiles. The light colour

a) makes small things easier to spot

b) encourages cleaning up more often.