Family Room As Workshop

I had standard commercial grade floor tiles (the flooring you find in schools and commercial buildings) in my last shop. Seemed to work just fine. It scratches due to the chips, but I don't think I ever melted a chip into it.

Thanks for the input francist and jim. I have to admit I've been rather overwhelmed with finding the right flooring, so I apologize to anyone following this thread having to put up with me. But when the hot chips came into the picture, it seemed to throw every idea I had out the window. And it's not because I'm particular since issues like dents and scratches won't bother me. So I'm going to take a few deep breaths, let the floor go for a day or two and make a decision based on what I've looked at so far.

To answer your questions francist, the lathe and mill are from Quality Machine Tools (Precision Matthews) PM1236 (12x36 lathe) and PM932M-PDF (9x32 mill with power down feed). And good point about the large cuts/chips because I don't see myself making those types of cuts. Both machines are definitely larger than what I really need and this is all strictly for pleasure.

I know the feeling. Sometimes I spend so much time thinking I forget to think

-frank

Like a bad dream I'm back.

Good point frank... and so true. That's exactly what happened when it came to the flooring so I stayed away for a couple days to clear my head and it helped. Not only did I make a decision on the flooring today, but I feel comfortable with the decision as well.

I decided on the Tuff-Seal Interlocking Floor Tiles. They're rather expensive but I feel it will be worth it in the long run. http://www.advantaflooring.com/tuff-seal/

I thought the large sheets were a good idea until I realized if one area gets damaged the entire sheet needs replaced in order to keep liquids from reaching the concrete below. The Tuff-Seal interlocking system doesn't let liquids pass through, yet if one tile gets damaged it can be replaced. But they have so many features that if anyone is interested they should check out the above link.

I plan to spend tomorrow wiring the room. I have a long run of 10/3 wire to run and two 240v outlets to install. That should give me a lot of satisfaction.

Just for reference what did the Tuff Seal Tiles end up costing on a Sq. Ft basis?

I'm going to be moving into new construction and want to do something with the bare concrete in both the basement and garage before I actually moving equipment into either.

Can't find my notes but I think they said $5.79 per square foot because it would have run about $1300 for my 228 square foot room. Just so you know I haven't done anything with my floor yet so I have no experience with these tiles other than receiving a few small samples in the mail.

I've been silent lately but the far area of the room where the lathe and mill will go is finished except for the floor.

I painted the entire ceiling and the walls in the area where the lathe and mill will go. The semi-gloss paint will at least give the walls some protection but between the gloss and light colors (white and silver) the room is much brighter, especially with the new lights. Gone are the (2) single bulb recessed lights which were worthless. I replaced the main recessed light with a fluorescent light fixture that uses (4) T8 32-watt 4100K 4' long tubes. The other one near a corner of the room is now a fixture with (3) bulbs that can be adjusted individually to point to different areas of the room. Big difference in brightness.

All electrical work is finished... that includes the new 240v outlets as well as replacing all the standard wall switches and outlets in the room... primarily for safety reasons but also because I'm sick of brown so I went with gray.

The mill is still in the garage... hopefully not for long. Haven't heard anything more from Matt about the lathe, but I'm not quite ready for it yet anyway. I'll post some updated pictures later.

I looked at all kinds of flooring options when I built the new shop, epoxy, tiles, garage floor tiles, box store sealers and finally went with a commercial concrete densifier, which hardens the surface of the concrete and provides some short term spill protection. The concrete contractor offered to get it and apply it for me at cost, cool nothing for me to do. He over applied it which created a crystal like "growth" on the surface because it is a lithium based product that reacts chemically with the concrete. He felt bad so I got a free application on the garage portion of the building. I had to scrub off the surface with black floor scrubber pads, (borrowed the scrubber from work) and got a very nice semi gloss finish to the floor which does not dust and can be swept and mopped. I waited till full cure of the concrete and added a couple coats of a compatible sealer to the floor for added stain resistance. The more I sweep and use the floor the nicer the finish gets. I am very happy with this easy to do and maintain system. No marks from moving machines in or material around. No marks from hot chips or oil and at any point any type of flooring can be laid over what I have. Reasonable cost and easy to apply.

FYI the densifier used was specifically formulated to be applied the day of pour. Many are not, which allows the same process to be used on concrete of any age. Floor must be clean but again that process easy. bucket and brush, rent or borrow a machine.

Drop me a note if you want some more information. Looks like a great space, window is great for light and I think a larger sized bathroom type exhaust fan would work great to remove any fumes from the area and can easily be removed to convert the space back to another use.

dave2176 said:

Spinning things tend to throw some cutting oil at least a short distance so some stains will occur. Concrete is a great option for clean up but hard on the feet. Check out some of those work mats for in front of the machine.
Dave

Click to expand...

I have a cement floor. It was rather fatiguing to stand on. I looked at buying a roll of rubber matting, but a computer search turned up an alternative - car floor mats. They are thicker and have a deeper pattern of grooves. They're also already the right size and they cost less.

Charles

Rubber mats for horse stalls also work very well!