I'm moving my "wood shop" into a new covered space. The floor will be OSB.
It seems to me that I have options on the treatment of the OSB floor. I can stain/paint it or cover it with something else. Some laminates are very cheap.
Jeff
OSB floor? Is this a kit shed sitting on blocks or something? Will you be able to keep the floor dry? (On both sides)
OSB is a lousy material for the wear layer on a floor. If this OSB is above dirt, you don't want anything on top that will trap moisture in there, like paint or anything. But being a wood shop, anything with hole will of course clog up with sawdust.
I'd probably go with a layer of sleepers, and some sort of plywood or other decking, with air slots around the edges. I'd also make it in sections, so I can pull it up easily for repairs to both layers. If that would be a budget-breaker, I'd hunt around for some used industrial matting, the kind with the holes, to lay over the main traffic paths, to slow down the OSB turning back into sawdust and wood chips.
Now if this is an area that will always be dry, I'd just deck it over with real plywood (even the thin stuff kitchen floor installers use to even things out) or whatever is cheap, assuming that would not get you too close to the load limit for the floor once you move your tools in. Laminate, if you can find a closeout sale, is pretty durable, and not that heavy, but the look of it would irritate me every time I went in there. I'd rather lay a vinyl remnant out like a carpet.
You're not the guy who was moving his shop into the 'bonus room' over the garage, are you?
Hard to beat plain vinyl flooring, either tile or sheet goods. Plywood would be a better subfloor choice in many cases. It could stand the weight of a Powermatic cabinet saw a lot better, for example.
Joe
OSB alone (either painted or stained) isn't a great wear surface for a floor. :(
How hardcore is your wood shop? Small / medium sized machinery or some wood working monsters?
Per APA (American Plywood Association ) plywood & OSB (apples to apples products) are meant to perform equally. Years ago I wasn't a huge OSB fan but the stuff has performed very well in all applications I've used it in. It doesn't have the real world water resistance that plywood has but interior wood isn't supposed to get flooded.
What is spacing on your floor joists? Don't skimp on the OSB thickness.
To address your original question, I would suggest covering the OSB with the cheapest thickest solid hardwood you can find via Lumber Liquidators or Craigslist. A rough sand & a sealer / strain and you've got a durable working floor.
May not be the prettiest solution but it will definitely do the the job.
cheers Bob
I'd go with the laminate at that price. OSB, no matter what paint you use, is not going to clean up as easily as a smooth surface.
To all, I haven't built this yet, so adjustments are possible.
This would be built like a deck on deck blocks with joists on 16" centers, red clay underneath. The main tool I have is a RAS.
The deck will be 8' x 16' with about a 6' concrete slab on one side (14' x 16' total). Roof is steel, two of the walls are the house walls and one is cedar I put up long ago. The remaining wall will have to be built. It may wind up being something like Suntuf polycarbonate with a flap to pass out long lumber or plywood. The room will breath but be sheltered.
What I thought I would do is staple 6 mil plastic on the joists (or perhaps on the ground) and lay the OSB on that. If I were to do the laminate (as it's cheap and flat) I think I would need a vapor barrier between that and the 3/4" OSB.
That make sense. If that
I've been looking for that. How do they level that out, lay it on shims? I bought some 3/8' AC that wound up being CDX when I got it home. I think I have some recycled 1/4" birch. I'm redoing the kitchen, a friend has fixed the plaster, I thought I would level the floor where the fridge is and when I built the "pedestal" the base cabinets sit on, I would cut that so the cabinets were level. I see some base cabinets (IKEA) have screw legs for the toe kick, how do they keep from getting crap under them?
or whatever is cheap, assuming that would not get you
Nope. I'm moving out of a similar sized poured concrete basement room with 6' headroom, I'm 6'6".
Thanks to all. Still thinking this through...
Jeff
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Just for giggles, I'd price out the cost of extending the slab. May be cheaper than you think, especially if you do the prep work and dig the footers.
Amen! Make the whole floor a single floating slab and use rubber mats where you'll be standing.
Jim
I have someone that wants to do it. I really want a level surface and don't think he is up to leveling the slab, the existing slab isn't level anyways.
Got access to a small mixer and it could just be mixed Jamaican style on the existing walkway/slab.
Jeff
Leveling is easy, as long as you can put a level board at 2 of the edges to drag a screed across, and use a light hand with the float. For hand mixing, I'd do 4x4 tiles, checkerboard style, so you have a dry place to stand. Pour the first four, let them set up a couple days, pull out the form boards that you used as screed guides, then fill in the holes. For a patio-thickness slab, the forms don't need to be real strong- stakes at the inside corners of the blank holes, and a couple toenails, will keep the boards in place. Expansion strips may be called for if you live in frost country.
No floor is perfectly level, by the way, at least not for long. That is why equipment (and even kitchen appliances) comes with adjustable feet. Existing slab was probably sloped for rain runoff, if it didn't always have a roof over it.
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