False floor dopey idea?

[Tonyz]

Okay maybe this is really stupid but in planning a workshop etc
Timber floors are always more comfortable and easier on tools than cement,
so... what about laying your standard concrete floor, bolting down say 19x19 bearers(?) then screwing thick chipboard/MDF sheets too these.

That way you have the comfort and safety plus if wanting to lay power cables across the floor to saw table etc they hide under the sheet boards and there's less to trip over.

[RicB]

I don't think it is that dopey. When you first build your shed it is hard to think where everything will go, so it makes it hard to pre arrange ducting and or power cables to T/S.

So once you have your shed set up and you have been using it for a while and you know where you want everything, you could lay down your cables, ducting and whatever and then cover with flooring.

[Scally]

I think it is a good idea.

why not raise the floor 6" so you can put your dust ducting under the floor too!

[Chris Parks]

The floor in my shed is the first generation of waterproof pineboard, at least twenty years old. Considering it has been down for a such long time it has stood up well only showing signs of lifting at the board joins. I finished it with a two pot resin mix of some description so maybe that has helped. Don't put it right up to the doors, use reinforced concrete sheet as it definitely won't last these for more than ten years. I might hit it with a floor sander and either lay another floor over it or just re-finish it again. One of those jobs to do before I fall off the perch.

[BobL]

I think it is a good idea.

why not raise the floor 6" so you can put your dust ducting under the floor too!

Just a reminder that if you want 6" ducting 90º bends made using 2 x 45º joins all under the floor then this cannot be done within just a 6" gap.

[Tonyz]

yeah, that was my thought too. Although it would be lovely to have everything under the floor there are some things that defy the price logic.

[Cliff Rogers]

Good idea BUT... bear in mind that you may have a problem with rot if there is any moisture coming out of the concrete, it may be an ant problem,& it will be hard to inspect for termites.

[Robson Valley]

When I worked, the central computer core had floors 30cm above the concrete. The wood floors were modules 60x120 on legs. Anything could be taken up anywhere at any time.

Put a 6 mil or a 10 mil plastic vapor barrier on the concrete of your shop and put all your wood flooring on that.

One of Murphy's Laws states that the first thing you bury in the floor will be the first thing to go wrong.

[BobL]

yeah, that was my thought too. Although it would be lovely to have everything under the floor there are some things that defy the price logic.

I don't think it's a big enough reason not to do it, just as long as you are aware that the corner of the ducting will have to go through the floor at 45º. If I would building from scratch again and I had the height I would definitely go for a raised floor. It's not just DC ducting, but power, compressed air, water, gas etc pipes that can all go in that space. There would still need to be a fair bit of planing needed as I would not want to be lifting the floor every second minute.

[dabbler]

I've worked with quite a few computing installations that "boasted" false or raised flooring. Some had smaller panels approx 45x45 (mine were some sort of plastic) and others had larger ones about 0.9x1.2 (ply) from memory. The smaller ones had tamper proof screw fittings and needed a suction handle to lift the first one in a series. The larger ply panels were rough and ready, and had a real dust & grit problem underneath.

Neither size were really that simple for large scale changes especially in rooms that housed very heavy equipment unless they were also being rearranged. Shifting power around was simple enough with smaller panels because you could usually lift every fourth one and pass the cabling from opening to opening. In reality, we never lifted floors very often once the equipment layout was determined.

Raised floors are great when it comes to punching through outer walls if they are already above the outside ground level but a PITA if not as you need to trench unnecessarily once outside. And you might need to step up somewhere, either to enter the room or the building. I stopped including them as a standard feature of any machine room as they were far too costly. Cheaper and easier to run services around the outside walls or overhead. They are a nice way to get services to the middle of a room but so is going overhead.

[swk]

What about a compromise? When I were a lad (!) the machines in the fitting shop had duck boards (or whatever their proper name is when used in workshops).

Regards
SWK

[BobL]

While Duck boards are easier on feet and legs than bare concrete they also gave gaps which are a PITA when things are dropped, especially if something on top of them has to be moved to lift them up,

[old pete]

Hi Tonto,

Neither chipboard nor MDF are really suitable as hard wearing surfaces particularly if you are trooping in and out in the wet. I'd be going for exterior grade ply or construction ply. If the floor has a moisture barrier below the concrete slab then just glue your surface straight on with an elastomeric bonding agent.

If not then it gets a bit tricky. Put down H D moisture barrier on the slab and follow your proposal with the battens.....should work but no guarantees if there's a lot of moisture migrating through the slab.

The easy way out is to just buy some rubber matting units to place strategically in front of your bench and machines. Get a variety of matting with a long tapering edge all round to reduce the trip hazard. That's my solution and it works although my slab is well waterproofed from below and I had the choice of how I went about the task.

I wouldn't get too excited about running power and dust ducting under the floor. That's the industrial way with a fully designed shop. It's nearly as good just to bring these services down vertically from the ceiling and works perfectly in a home workshop if you don't mind occasionally walking outside to turn very long timber around. It's how they do it in two schools where I teach from time to time.

Cheers Old Pete

Okay maybe this is really stupid but in planning a workshop etc
Timber floors are always more comfortable and easier on tools than cement,
so... what about laying your standard concrete floor, bolting down say 19x19 bearers(?) then screwing thick chipboard/MDF sheets too these.

That way you have the comfort and safety plus if wanting to lay power cables across the floor to saw table etc they hide under the sheet boards and there's less to trip over.

[rustynail]

Worked in a joinery in Sweden many years ago. All flooring was raised on 190mm treated pine joists. The flooring was structural ply. Dust ducting was run underneath and turned up to just below floor level with a lift out trap door a little bigger than the duct junction and baffle below. A short length of flexable was then run to the machine. This made things very flexable as far as layout was concerned.

[Chris Parks]

Hi Tonto,

Neither chipboard nor MDF are really suitable as hard wearing surfaces particularly if you are trooping in and out in the wet. I'd be going for exterior grade ply or construction ply. If the floor has a moisture barrier below the concrete slab then just glue your surface straight on with an elastomeric bonding agent.

Apart from one doorway, proper pineboard flooring, not chip board, has not been an issue in over twenty years in my workshop even with wet cars driving into it in the early days. In my basement rumpus room pineboard flooring sitting on 100mm joists has given no issues even though water has been leaking beneath the flooring for some years. I have just pulled up a section of the floor to rectify the leak and the constant moisture has not affected it at all.