New Wooden Boat Shop Floor

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

Hello Guys,
Raised a house up on pilings after damage from Storm Sandy(2012).This left me with a 32x34 space underneath to enclose and use as a shop. Standard for floor here is 4-5" concrete, thickened edge, poured directly on existing dense sand- $10K and up, plus fill, quoted.

I build boats and wanted to work on a wood deck for many reasons.
Old slab had been removed.

Brought in 30 yards dense graded aggregate for fill. Placed in 3" lifts and plate compacted to a total of 9".

Laid 2x6 and 2x3 .60CCA marine treated nailers to a 48"o.c.grid.Spiked to the pilings and perimeter mudsills.

Continued to fill and compact to the top of the nailer grid.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

At this point we have a solid base with embedded nailers. You need a pick or hammer claw to dig into it. Could have laid conc pavers or horse stall mats on it if wanted. Our choice of "paver" was 3/4" Ext B/C plywood (non T&G).

Laid down 10 mil sheet plastic. Put down the ply using only a minimum of screws.
All the load placed on this deck will be carried by the fill.

txvwnut · Apr 4, 2017

You gonna paint or stain the floor or just leave it as is?

Shop space looks really good.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

For finish we went with oil based stain covered with water based polyurethane.
The B/C plywood had just the right amount of tooth. Not slippery even when sawdust covered.

cgrutt · Apr 4, 2017

Interesting! Looks great and thanks for sharing. Good luck with the boat building.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

I poured cement aprons/ramps for the front and rear O.H.doors. We'll see if they last longer than the floor.

LYLE%20IPHONE%207FEB2017%20424_zpscldlsjtg.jpg

Garage Flooring · Apr 4, 2017

Very awesome!

Movover · Apr 4, 2017

Just a question, why no insulation in the floor? 2" EPS foam or something ?

dave*99 · Apr 4, 2017

I am curious as to what would happen if you get some minor flooding. Will that floor system float up? Is it anchored well in the center?

theoldwizard1 · Apr 4, 2017

dave*99 said:
I am curious as to what would happen if you get some minor flooding.

I suspect that "minor" flooding will have no affect ! The plywood is well above grade (9") and what is below ("dense graded aggregate") looks like it will drain quickly once the water resides.

theoldwizard1 · Apr 4, 2017

Hey Skiff Builder ! I really like that Yamaha 90. IIRC, it is sort of a copy of the old OMC 3 cylinder on steroids. Lots of power in a small, lightweight package. The OMCs were thirsty and had some issues (no tell tale on some models) but were good engines.

Around here there is very little love for Yamahas.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

dave*99 said:
I am curious as to what would happen if you get some minor flooding. Will that floor system float up? Is it anchored well in the center?

Dave, that's an important consideration for this floor system. In the below pic you will see the tops of concrete anchors poured near centers of each nailer. We had a ground level wood deck/screen porch enclosure that was anchored this way. It survived Sandy's flooding with no movement or heaving.Hope it works here if ever needed.

ksp683 · Apr 4, 2017

Thats pretty cool!
Thanks for sharing

dave*99 · Apr 4, 2017

OP, how much water did you have on the ground during Sandy?

dave*99 · Apr 4, 2017

Skiff Builder said:
Dave, that's an important consideration for this floor system. In the below pic you will see the tops of concrete anchors poured near centers of each nailer. We had a ground level wood deck/screen porch enclosure that was anchored this way. It survived Sandy's flooding with no movement or heaving.Hope it works here if ever needed.

Makes sense. Looks good. I saw some poorly anchored decks float up during Sandy. Now I see your anchor system.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

Movover said:
Just a question, why no insulation in the floor? 2" EPS foam or something ?

Moveover,
I wanted to put in 2"xps.
Reasons I did not at this time were:
Time and money.
3 years of every weekend and vacation day to raise, add addition, complete gut entire house and all mechanicals....you get the picture.Had to draw the line somewhere.
House is a second for weekend use now.
South Jersey winter is Dec-Feb and not to terrible.

The space is heated by natural gas, when I'm working in it. Very comfortable so far.That wood floor feels so much warmer than our old slab.
If i find myself there full time I may retrofit it in.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

dave*99 said:
OP, how much water did you have on the ground during Sandy?

Dave,
26" above the old slab on grade floor. Lasted one tide and quickly drained off.
First time the place saw water in it's 49 year existence.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

theoldwizard1 said:
Hey Skiff Builder ! I really like that Yamaha 90. IIRC, it is sort of a copy of the old OMC 3 cylinder on steroids. Lots of power in a small, lightweight package. The OMCs were thirsty and had some issues (no tell tale on some models) but were good engines.

Around here there is very little love for Yamahas.

Wizard1,
That's an 05 i found new in 2009 for 4K while I was building the skiff. That and it's 269lbs weight sold me. Good running and not bad on oil for an old school motor.
I like the fact that I can easily pull start it if needed.

Skiff Builder · Apr 4, 2017

cgrutt said:
Interesting! Looks great and thanks for sharing. Good luck with the boat building.

Thanks, Hard at it, at least on weekends.Got a sailboat lofted out on the floor.Doing a skiff refit/finish.

carhunter · Apr 6, 2017

Skiff Builder said:
At this point we have a solid base with embedded nailers. You need a pick or hammer claw to dig into it. Could have laid conc pavers or horse stall mats on it if wanted. Our choice of "paver" was 3/4" Ext B/C plywood (non T&G).

That's an ingenious solution! Nice work.

FJ4FUN · Apr 6, 2017

Very clever indeed!

TractorJeff · Apr 7, 2017

Nice! I like it and the great job you did to get it done!

yeldogt · Apr 7, 2017

Interesting floor ... I guess time will tell.

We had what was basically a wood deck built on the sand - under the house on LBI. We parked on it .... and think of how many ground level decks are built. it was 50 years old when we sold the place.

It really a question of moisture -- that marine pressure treated will outlast the house -- even the plywood should be fine with repeated wet downs.

Mike99 · Apr 8, 2017

Wow what a nice floor! I just finished my 2 car garage floor all in wood. Didnt have your energy so just used 4x4 posts everywhere and placed a bunch side by side where the wheels go. The car doesnt move anywhere else just in and out.

Skiff Builder · Apr 9, 2017

yeldogt said:
Interesting floor ... I guess time will tell.

We had what was basically a wood deck built on the sand - under the house on LBI. We parked on it .... and think of how many ground level decks are built. it was 50 years old when we sold the place.

It really a question of moisture -- that marine pressure treated will outlast the house -- even the plywood should be fine with repeated wet downs.

The 1068 sq ft of plywood cost me $900. It's exterior WPBP glue so feel I'll get longevity from it. Really not too much different than the ply the skiffs are made from. If I build enough boats I will end up with a totally epoxy resin coated surface

nutmegct · Jun 20, 2017

SkiffBuilder: "For finish we went with oil based stain covered with water based polyurethane."

I've got a plywood floor in my new shed. What was the reason you decided to add the stain and polyurethane? Just wondering if I should leave my plywood bare, or if there's a reason for covering it.

Thanks.
Tom M.

theoldwizard1 · Jun 20, 2017

Skiff Builder said:
The 1068 sq ft of plywood cost me $900. It's exterior WPBP glue so feel I'll get longevity from it. Really not too much different than the ply the skiffs are made from. If I build enough boats I will end up with a totally epoxy resin coated surface

WPBP = water proof boil proof ?

The only place I have ever seen that is on BS1088 marine plywood ! $$$$

Skiff Builder · Jun 24, 2017

nutmegct said:
SkiffBuilder: "For finish we went with oil based stain covered with water based polyurethane."

I've got a plywood floor in my new shed. What was the reason you decided to add the stain and polyurethane? Just wondering if I should leave my plywood bare, or if there's a reason for covering it.

Thanks.
Tom M.

Tom,
I wanted to finish it for stain resistance and ease of cleanup mainly. Car fluids,oil,glues,paint,water all wipe up easily. Hot car tires have not affected either.
I have 2 sheds, one floored in ply, the other with roughsawn hemlock. Neither was finished. Built 1988, still going strong, just shows dirt a little more.

nutmegct · Jun 24, 2017

Thanks Skiff. That is definitely a practical reason for adding finish to the floor. Not just "gee ain't it pretty!".

Tom M.

Skiff Builder · Jan 19, 2018

theoldwizard1 said:
WPBP = water proof boil proof ?

The only place I have ever seen that is on BS1088 marine plywood ! $$$$

Wizard,
I was re posting lost pictures on this thread and saw your post on WBP marine plywood.

Look for BBOES plywood seen on many larger concrete forming jobs.
B face/B face/Oiled/ End Sealed. All plies are glued using phenolic resin so it's rated as water proof boil proof. Seen in S.Pine, Fir and Mdo around here. Have seen it used on larger cold molded boat hulls. Menards sells it, as well as commercial yards.

A lot of exterior ply uses the same glue ,but only on the outside veneers so does not make the rating.

https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/panel-products/construction-panels/concrete-forming-panels/royomartin-3-4-x-4-x-8-greencore-plyform-concrete-forming-plywood/p-1444439107278.htm

New Wooden Boat Shop Floor

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