Wooden Floor

[Ivan DeSlayer]

I've see very few wooden floors in garages. Most where there since they where installed way back when. Can anyone tell me what wood was used and what it was sealed with? I kind've got an idea in my shop area (read tool storage area) but first I'm curious about the materials.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Here in NZ we use native hardwoods like Matai, Rimu etc.
Not that you would even know what these are. lol

 

[Ivan DeSlayer]

Here in NZ we use native hardwoods like Matai, Rimu etc.
Not that you would even know what these are. lol

Nope not even a clue.

 

[southern thunder]

My granddad had a wood floor in his shop. he used heart pine. If he put anything on it, i think it was motor oil spilled by accident. it stood for atleast 50 years until it was torn down after he died. I'm building a shop, and going to put in a wood floor. rough sawn pine, or maybe oak.

 

[acer66]

We put a plywood floor in a scenery shop to protect tools getting damaged when dropped,
but it stayed unfinished, might be also good for your knees if it gives a little.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Are you talking about putting a wood floor on joists, or using something to cover over concrete? And are you looking for something that looks nice or is it purely functional?

 

[Teach]

I put an addition on the back of our carriage house style garage to be used as a workshop (no welding). It was built on concrete piers (on bigfoot footings) and the first layer of floor is 3/4" pressure treated plywood. On top of that (and flush with the concrete in the main garage) is 1"x8" tongue-in-groove pine. The beveled shiplap on the walls and ceiling is called 1x8, but in reality is about 3/4" by just under a 7" reveal. The flooring is actually 1x8.

I gave it 3 coats of tung oil for water resistance, but it deepened/darkened the color a bit (in a good way).

Pine is soft, so it gouges, but it really looks great. It could be sanded again eventually if it was all scratched up, but I figure it will "gain character and patina" pretty evenly so it will continue to look fine.

It isn't the toughest solution, but it definitely gave me the look and feel I was after.

 

[carhunter]

Are you talking about putting a wood floor on joists, or using something to cover over concrete? And are you looking for something that looks nice or is it purely functional?

Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I've toyed with the idea of rough sawn wood on 2 to 3" tall joists over my dirt floor in the barn. The look and feel would be cool, but its about as costly as cement and has its drawbacks.

 

[ed_v]

Do a search for Nimrod here on GJ. The wooden floor in his place is incredible.

Ed

 

[Herb]

I have 3x9 hemlock sitting on 4x9 hemlock joists in my garage, all sitting on an 18" i-beam over my basement garage.

 

[Ivan DeSlayer]

Are you talking about putting a wood floor on joists, or using something to cover over concrete? And are you looking for something that looks nice or is it purely functional?

Sometime in the next year I'm going to have the garage floor epoxied. Friend I know has a business that does this and I'm swapping some labor on his truck for him doing the floor. I have a "toolroom/bench area" off of the garage. the floor in there is pretty uneven concrete and I'm not about to whack out all that to relay it just for epoxy. I remember walking through some of the old shops/buildings in Detroit and some of them had wood floors. That's kind've what I'm after. I'm thinking to lay some type of subfloor over the uneven crete and then the wood floor on that.

Teach, yes that's basically what I'm after. I like that. Where did you get the wood?

 

[Teach]

Teach, yes that's basically what I'm after. I like that. Where did you get the wood?

My framer did the floor and sourced it from a local supplier.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Although it not where a vehicle was parked, one side of my garage had a wood floor. It was T&G pine and they sealed it with used motor oil. yuck puke I tore it out and replaced it with 3/4 PT plywood.

 

[magnusk750]

Also search for the incredible Ford dealership, with athread somewhere on GJ, with a wooden floor workshop area in daily use.

 

[trbomax]

Ive got a wood floor in my sled garage. We graded and compacted the sand,layed some well used blue tarps down for a vb,set 2x4 joist at 24" oc and layed 3/4" treated plywood on it,screwed down. Its great,no damage from or to the track studs or carbides,water and mess from the sleds thawing when we come back drains right thru it. Its been down for over 10 yrs now w/o any issues. I even lagged my sled hoist down to it. Lawn maintence equipment is in there too during the summer. I rolled 3,maybe 4 heavy coats of some cheap sealer on it (probably thompsons) when we put it down. Down side is that it doesnt sweep well,we vacume it ,but only 2-3 times a year .

 

[trbomax]

Heres a pic,yes I know its a **** hole,gets that way by this time of year, plus I didnt clean up after sled season this year. The heat is an LB White milk house heater on propane.

 

[hardhat]

I would guess mold and mildew would be an issue. Dump some poly all over it.

 

[BakoRich]

My granddad had a wood floor in his shop. he used heart pine. If he put anything on it, i think it was motor oil spilled by accident. it stood for atleast 50 years until it was torn down after he died. I'm building a shop, and going to put in a wood floor. rough sawn pine, or maybe oak.

I'm thinking of doing the same. If you have started or have completed the floor - any pics?

 

[wryt01]

Check out "Displacement" Garage he just updated today. his flooring looks amazing!!!!

 

[jstreet]

I put down Tamarack (Hackmatack or American Larch) rough sawn 2x6 on a frame of the same on 16" centers back around 1997. We put poly down on the graded sub base, and the wood sat on top of that. The wood was never treated with anything, Dad recently cut out a section to pour a concrete floor (installing a 2 post lift) and when the section that was cut out showed no signs of rot, etc. That particular species of wood is known for natural rot resistance and may be available in your area.
J

 

[Scotty72SS]

I had a very similiar situation as you in my garage. I ended up going with #3 red oak or utility oak that you can pick up for less than a dollar a sq ft. I installed it over 3/4" plywood fastened to the concrete and 30# felt. I finished it with boiled linseed oil and turpentine 3:1. this is great, because if you scratch or damage it, you just wipe on a little more BLO and it is good to go. You can check out the full process over at my page.
Good luck!

 

[Garage Flooring]

In the day I did a lot of home shows. I got to talking to a company who did a lot of barn floors. They used reclaimed wood and hand oiled each piece with 18 layers of tongue oil. They stuff was amazing.

 

[pals444]

Check out this thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70890

 

[Perrorojo]

Look for reclaimed bowling lanes. We have a couple guys around here that sell them on CL. They usually come in 8' lengths by about 36" wide.

 

[www.eldorado-seville.com]

a friend of mine has a wooden floor in his garage. He is very happy with it