Morning fellow tinkerers

Recently moved house and I’m gradually making myself at home in my new workshop

It’s an old brick built stable, about 12′ x 8′

The floor is timber decking, which I’m finding very impractical because it’s noisy and has gaps between the boards to lose my pencils forever

Last night I pulled up one of the boards and discovered underneath is a very rough concrete floor. In fact I’m not sure they even swept out the stable before they laid it, it’s full of twigs and straw!

My question is, how to turn this into a good practical surface for a workshop?

If I wanted a smooth concrete floor should I just lay this on top, do i use any fancy screed or self levelling stuff, do I need to polish it, seal it etc etc

Thanks in advance!

Just put some lino down.

or put tongue and groove chipboard over the timber decking

You don’t want a smooth concrete floor if it’s just a workshop, far better a ‘warmer’ one.

I’d rip it all up and start again.

Floating floor. Lay out a frame and then floor with moisture-resistant floor (chip?) board.

Is the floor at all damp?

I’d be tempted to overboard what you have with ply or flooring chipboard and retain the air gap under it. Will be a bit warmer under foot too.

Cheap and quick – Halfords have foam rubber floor tiles that have cut down the dust and noise in my garage.

They were 2 for £25 but now even cheaper at £10 a pack, 6 tiles covering 1200*1800mm. I used six packs to cover a bigger than average garage and 3 left over for lying under the car/van 🙂

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/garage-equipment/overalls-safety-equipment/rolson-6-piece-floor-mat-set-120-x-180cm

Even on the previous offer they were cheaper than Screwfix/toolstation etc.

My father has self levelling stuff in his garage, it’s great if you want to mount any cabinets/benches or have other things like rolling tool cabs that need a hard flat surface. Also great for working on cars/bikes as oil/water/brake fluid/general fluid spills and things are wiped up easily and won’t soak in.

I’d use a self leveling compound then epoxy floor paint

I’d also go with the self-levelling (high strength) and a good epoxy floor paint assuming it is for workshop use only as opposed to garaging.

A lot of self levelling compounds aren’t designed to be a finished floor so will need additional protection. Personally I’d over board what you have or put insulation and a floating floor. Four sheets of osb will do it.

I had the same thing with a rough cobble stone floor. Ordered 2 ton of concrete from the local supplier, shoveled it in and leveled by tapping across the surface with a length of wood. Perfectly adequate although I have now put down some chip board for neatness but I reckon some quality workshop floor paint would have done. You don’t have to spend a fortune.

Concrete floor is safer for recharging those cheap Chinese batteries 😉 😛

bigdug does some rubberised matting. it just slots together like a very simple jigsaw. i have it over the whole of my garage floor and it is magnificent – silent, warm and you can sit on it without getting a numb arse. highly highly recommended.

Cheers for the replies so far

I can see that a suspended floor is better for insulation, but I’m keen to go for a sold floor mainly because of the noise issue. Even a bit of light chiseling or planing gets amplified and I don’t want to piss off the neighbours. Would just boarding over the top (instead of decking) be any quieter?

I’ve only had a quick look under the decking but I’m pretty certain the original concrete will be in a poor state.

With the self levelling stuff, does this give you a smoother surface than ordinary concrete?

If the concrete is sound and not damp self leveling compound is good. Go for the slightly more expensive 2 part Stopgap latex based stuff rather than water based. Also very important to prime the old concrete first (stopgap p131 best i have found)

Not sure if it will fit but I’d be inclined to fit 150mm thick Kingspan insulation on Visqueen with a 75mm screed on top.

I’ve put this matting system into the last 4 workshops I’ve managed.

It’s bought from slip-not.co.uk

http://www.slip-not.co.uk/productdetail/Anti-Fatigue-Tiles-A

Fantastic product to fit and work on, will take a heavy load even in commercial workshop, and each panel (approx 3 x 3 foot) can be replaced seperately if damaged. Its fully modular and can be easily cut to fit your space. Has an air cushion construction which makes kneeling on it very comfortable and stops back ache when on feet wrenching all day 😉

Not sure if it will fit but I’d be inclined to fit 150mm thick Kingspan insulation on Visqueen with a 75mm screed on top.

And don’t forget the under-floor heating pipes 🙂