Wood floor in the shop

[Rick Samuel]

A question; would ¾" OSB stand up to foot traffic? Thinking of 16" (both directions) OC PT 2X4 sleepers, with gaps for air and electric lines. Most likely sheets cut in half for removal, if needed. First layer of finish is thinned for better penetration, then another coat, or 3.

Haven't used OSB before, so don't know much about it. Having said that, one would assume plywood would be much better, but cost is three times, have

960 sq ft, yeah you get what you pay for..at best.

Or OSB as a base for vinyl tile? Will the constant flexing separate the "layers"?

[Swingman]

"Rick Samuel" wrote

Depending upon how many times you want to redo it, not only no, but hell no! ;)

Go with plywood .... by the time you replace OSB used as shop flooring, which you will the first time you have moisture, or a spill that effects an edge, or drag a heavy piece of machinery across it, no matter the finish, you will have lost any original savings whatsoever.

Personally, and from a builder's perspective, what I _will_ use for my next plywood shop floor is 1 1/8", tongue and groove, plywood subfloor, on 16" centers. You will save money, and probably your back and knees, over the long run, and it will be able to handle any shop machinery, as well as continued movement of same,

YYMV ...

Again, it is not something I would do, or recommend ... but, the best/fool proof way to determine the optimum underlay for ANY flooring system is to check with the manufacturer of same.

[Swingman]

"Rick Samuel" wrote

Found this after sending the first reply ... it pretty well coincides with my feelings/experience when using OSB as a building material in residential construction:

The main reason builder's use it is that it's CHEAPER ... that alone should be enough to raise questions in the minds of the few non-idiots remaining in the country.

To me, the savings, on average, of approximately $1K on a framing package on a 3000 sf house is simply not worth it when I have to warrant the work. That said, I am most definitely in the minority among builders in this area.

[dpb]

Swingman wrote: ...

...

...what he said... :)

--

[J. Clarke]

Structurally, OSB rated for use as subflooring should be fine, but do check your local code to make sure it's approved. It might not be smooth enough to go under vinyl--you may need to put a layer of plywood on top for smoothness--it doesn't have to be thick. If you can find OSB that is rated for underlayment then you should be able to put vinyl right on top of it.

[Mark & Juanita]

Used OSB on my first shop floor. Believe me, that won't be money saved. OSB has a tendency to sliver and splinter -- not so much fun when you are reaching under that bench for the part you dropped. It also seems to have a much higher proportion of binder that outgasses really badly for quite a long time. Even after 4 years, our son would say, "you smell like the shop" when I would come inside (and it wasn't cedar he was smelling).

[Rick Samuel]

Seems everybody is of one mind on OSB. Thanks, may look at underlayment, but maybe not, too. Just use plywood, and be done.

Thanks for the imput

[Bob La Londe]

Just plywood and be done.

[Ed Edelenbos]

My shop is (maybe) unique. I dug out under my back deck and laid in some concrete piers and built up a floor (treated framing and 3/4" ply decking) on it. Then I built walls around and corrugated plastic roofing under the deck. It's small and crowded but it does what I need (for now). The roof/ceiling situation is a little iffy. After having been there for 15 years (and about 2 years of little use), the floor got a little saggy and then finally one day as I walked through, my foot went through the floor. Apparently, I hadn't kept the floor as swept as I should have and moisture collected in the layer of sawdust (esp. under the table saw). Sawdust and moisture are an invitation for rot. Plywood lasted for as long as it did. OSB would surely have lasted for much less. I redid the floor this summer and put down 5/4 treated deck boards. It was expensive (actually about the same as 3/4 ply would have been), but it will *never* rot (well, not in my lifetime).

The point being, with as much work as redo-ing the floor was, the material expense is minor. Oh, and fwiw, I added dust collection and (so far at least) have kept right on top of cleaning.

Ed

[Leon]

Used as roof decking it eventually sags. I'd say with any significant weight, you or your machinery, it will not be long before you have low spots between the supports.

[Dave in Houston]

Where we have done room additions or had to replace subflooring that involved pier and beam framing (and thickness dimensions permitted) we have always tried to use Sturdi-floor plywood, a 1-1/16 inch thick tongue and groove plywood. Even on 24-inch centered floor trusses we have never encountered any sag. But, at $32/sheet (the last time we bought it 2006) it may not be in your budget though not that much more than 3/4 -inch BC "ply-good" (as our local Hispanics refer to plywood).

Dave in Houston

[jo4hn]

The floor in my shop (17' x 25') is 3'4" OSB. No problems in ~6 years. The floor joists are on 12" centers and the humidity is around 20-25%. Don't know that I would trust it in high humidity situations though. mahalo, jo4hn

[Charlie Groh]

...I concur with these gentlemen. You'd wear a hole in OSB in normal use, and if it ever gets wet, *especially* in a flooring application, forget it. The above recommendation is the bomb.

cg