PDA

View Full Version : Shipping container floor finish



RedShirtGuy
28th August 2011, 09:23 PM
I've scored myself a shipping container in great nick (not refrigerated) and before I move all my gear into it I'd like to put a finish on the floor boards to give them a little protection, mostly from wet boots and mud and to make sweeping it out a little easier.

I realise that anything I put down is not going to survive a lot of machine movement etc but figure something is better than nothing. Most of my gear is on wheels already and once in position in the container I don't forsee the machinery being moved much. I *might* chuck a bit of loose lino under the table saw as I tend to wiggle that around a bit, but that'd be about it. Infront of the work bench I plan to chuck a bit of rubber matting or lino down for comfort and to keep the wear down in the highest trafficed area.

Anyway...they are dark boards and kinda nice looking so it would be a shame to cover them over with a garage/workshop paint, although if that's my best bet, so be it. Being dark, they might have a bearing on the light reflectivity too.

What I've seen in the big green warehouse of imported junk that I think would do the job is a cheap ($80) light grey, grippy garage polyurethane alca(something) paint that sounds good on the can and is suitable for timber. Or there are clear marine grade satin finishes going at around $120 but I don't know about how grippy it is. On their website they also have some Dulux garage paint kits for about the same $120 price. (Prices are for the 4lt I'll need for 1 priming coat and 1 top coat) It seems the paints don't require much work to touch up later on in life (just slap some more down in the damaged spot) but I've seen concrete garages where the paint has gone in sodding great chunks (which may just have been from a poor finish on the concrete) I guess ultimately repairing it in the future isn't that big a deal, but it's something I'm keeping in mind "just in case".

One thing I'm not sure about is how each finish would handle spills of turps, paint, oils, dye etc...blood? :wink:

Are any of those options good enough? Is maybe one better than the rest? Or is it more a personal preference thing as they're all just as good/bad as each other?

Ta muchly.

HOOKED.UP
29th August 2011, 04:44 PM
Hi RedShirtGuy.

I would line your floor with plywood, at least 12 mil and screw it down.

Then paint the surface with marine deck paint, (non skid). In a very light Grey or Cream.

This should solve your problems. :2tsup:

Paul.

Robson Valley
30th August 2011, 03:09 AM
I agree with HookedUp about the color. The floor-level lighting in my shop is poor, I don't go there very much unless I've dropped something. Even bare concrete is "dark" when you need to find the lock washer that you've just dropped.
Might you add 12mm ply just in the high traffic areas?

RedShirtGuy
30th August 2011, 05:26 PM
Forgive a maybe silly question, but what purpose does the extra ply layer serve?

RedShirtGuy
30th August 2011, 05:47 PM
For some reason I thought the existing floor was a bunch of smaller boards, but it's actually just a few sheets of ply :doh:

I'm all for the light color on the floor too btw. Just not sure how much effort and expense I need/should put into it. I nearly surrendered to my impatience and loaded it up this arvo.

The pic is of the floor as it is, without having swept or mopped it after we emptied all the benches and junk that was stacked to the roof in it previously. (There are two containers and everything got sorted, rubbish thrown out and the rest consolidated into the other one.)

RETIRED
30th August 2011, 06:36 PM
Forgive a maybe silly question, but what purpose does the extra ply layer serve?A level, even surface.

If the container had boards (your next post negates this), the generally cup and warp and open up over time.

We did this to one of ours so we could wheel stuff around in it.

RedShirtGuy
30th August 2011, 07:07 PM
Thanks .

And yeh, sorry again for the misinformation about the boards. No idea where I got that from. Probably from the amount of screws already in it...and being an idiot :B

So it sounds like I should be right just to paint straight onto the existing floor as it's already a good flat area with minimal damage.

Unless there's any other suggestions, this week I'll give it a light 60-80 grit power sand just to clean it up a bit, whack on a sealer coat of paint (20-25% diluted with turps) then one top coat of full strength, and use up any remainder to go over the high traffic areas again.

I'm a huge 'fraidy cat and hate to do things without checking with more experienced people, so thanks for the input folks :2tsup:

RETIRED
30th August 2011, 10:31 PM
Another little tip with containers.

Angle them slightly so that the water doesn't pool on the roof.

HOOKED.UP
31st August 2011, 09:14 AM
Looks as if your questions have been answered mate.

I still suggest you go with a very light colour, as your container floor will be in a lot of shadow, when you start moving your gear and benches in.

Paul.

hughie
3rd September 2011, 03:07 PM
Anyway...they are dark boards and kinda nice looking so it would be a shame to cover them over with a garage/workshop paint, although if that's my best bet, so be it. Being dark, they might have a bearing on the light reflectivity too.




They will be hardwood and with light coloured walls it should not be a problem with light.



Angle them slightly so that the water doesn't pool on the roof.

If your not going to place a secondary roof over your container, you might want to give it a heavy coating of roof paint. The steel on top of containers is not very thick and prone to rust. Quite often you only 2-3 years out of them before a few holes appear.

pjt
21st September 2011, 01:32 AM
An alternative to paint is Bondcrete or similliar, from the look of it it looks like pva glue, probably is? not sure whether it is more or less cost than paint but dries clear and easily repairable mixes with water I ve done a concrete workshop floor with it before and it stoodup quite well, quite suitable for timber and then you can see your ply


Pete

vk4
26th September 2011, 11:26 PM
I would suggest that you give it a light sand to clean and key the timber, then coat with a primer coat but max 10% dilution 20/25 is too high and will defeat the purpose, .

Also for a better non slip surface , if using paving paint, which will wear better than marine non-skid deck paint , do the following,
1 primer coat
2 1 top coat all over
3 with 2nd coat in high traffic areas, Mask the walk areas with a low tack masking tape
4 apply the 2nd coat then sprinkle with clean fine beach sand.
when the 2nd coat is dry remove that Tape and you are ready to go `

Jeff

RedShirtGuy
27th September 2011, 01:10 AM
Thanks for the extra ideas guys but I finished it earlier this month.

I can't for the life of me remember what it was now, but it was a workshop floor paint (maybe not so much paint as a kind of 1 pack solution) , designed for wood, with silicon sand mixed in. I gave the whole floor a run over with a belt sander and didn't do a primer coat (was in a bit of a rush) before putting on a couple of coats of the paint.

It might not be the perfect solution, but it's come up pretty good and is withstanding the traffic and wheel movement so far. It's been easy to sweep and wash clean too. When the summer heat really hits will be a test to see if it starts bubbling or coming away.