Workshop Flooring

[scottwilson26]

I am a workshop hobbiest. I have a 25 X 30 shop with a concrete floor. I piddle with everything from woodworking, welding, assembly, to ATV, motorcycle, and auto mechanic work. I have organized my shop in a modular fashion to make the best use of space. As a result I have toolboxes, custom workbenches, floor jacks, welding carts etc. that I am frequently moving. I have searched the flooring threads for hours looking for the right solution. I have not yet found what I am looking for. So, I am posting yet another thread. I am looking for floor ideas that will hold up best to all of the moving around of equipment and minimize scuffing. I love the look of epoxy finish; but, I am fearful of the lift and scratching. I would love to see photos of shops that have been using their floor coating for a year or more to get an idea of wear. Is epoxy solid, tile, stain, or only sealer the best solution?

 

[pringa8]

Sounds like you're at the same stage I'm at. I've looked at the options, but I think I'm closer to picking, I just have to wrap my head around the price. It seems like this Ghostshield sealer is the only option, it just seems ****** expensive just to seal the floor. It seems epoxy looks nice but is no good for welding sparks and spatter. Same with the race deck flooring. That leaves me with once option, to seal the floor for oil leaks and to handle welding.

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[Shea]

Guys.... If you plan on doing welding without making an effort to protect the floor, welding blankets for example, then stop wringing your hands wondering what flooring option is best. Just go with a good penetrating sealer or sealer combo. This also goes for garages used for metal fabricating if you know you will be dragging sharp pieces of metal across the floor from time to time.

Ghostshield was mentioned. We did an article on it which you can find here. It's definitely a great option. If you have a very smooth floor you can apply a stainguard sealer that you can buff to a shine as this GJ member did here. It works best however if you apply a densifier first.

There are plenty of garages out there with interlocking tiles, porcelain tiles, and quality epoxy coatings that stand up just fine to the type of work you do in your garages. They just choose to protect the floor from welding. If that's not an option for you or something that you don't do for your own reasons, then that is fine. Just go with a good sealer. It will make cleaning up your messes easier and help protect your floor over the long haul.

 

[scottwilson26]

Shea, I can protect the floor from the little bit of welding that I do. I most concerned about dragging a floor Jack across the floor and moving workbenches around. Do you have a recommendation that will stand up to that type of work?

 

[Shea]

Hi Scott. Quality floor coatings, interlocking tiles, and porcelain tiles all stand up well to floor jacks (assuming they have wheels). Rolling tool boxes, carts, floor lifts, and etc. are used on these type of floors with great success. In fact, all three are used in professional environments all the time. In fact, Jorgen from RaceDeck has posted pictures of fab shops set up with RaceDeck tiles.

It really depends on your preference. Any floor is not going to be impervious to damage, but they sure go a long way when just a little preventative care is taken.

 

[scottwilson26]

Shea, thank you for the quick responses. Any chance "Jorgensen" is misspelled? My search turned up 0 results. RaceDeck turned hundreds. Thanks again.

 

[cad70]

Shea,
Your website is not displaying any content on any of the pages for me.
The homepage displays completely normal, but no other pages function correctly.
I am in IT, and am not having problems with any other site on the web....I clicked on the accept cookies, etc. I can see the RH sidebars under "Popular".
When I click any topic, the initial image appears for a millisecond and goes away.
Just a FYI.

Clark

 

[cad70]

Im using Chrome...

IE works...

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Sounds like you're at the same stage I'm at. I've looked at the options, but I think I'm closer to picking, I just have to wrap my head around the price. It seems like this Ghostshield sealer is the only option, it just seems ****** expensive just to seal the floor. It seems epoxy looks nice but is no good for welding sparks and spatter. Same with the race deck flooring. That leaves me with once option, to seal the floor for oil leaks and to handle welding.

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Much less $$$ http://www.legacyindustrial.net/products/concrete-sealers/silaxseal.html


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[Shea]

Shea,
Your website is not displaying any content on any of the pages for me.
The homepage displays completely normal, but no other pages function correctly.
I am in IT, and am not having problems with any other site on the web....I clicked on the accept cookies, etc. I can see the RH sidebars under "Popular".
When I click any topic, the initial image appears for a millisecond and goes away.
Just a FYI.

Clark

Thanks Cad70. I'll check that out.