http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=5051626&cat=71&lpid=

With everybody doing their garage floors with epoxys, concrete stains, plastic tiles and such, would a cool old hardwood gym floor be worth the effort? I know being this is wood, you would have to take precautions jacking and leaks and all, but if all your cars were finished it seems the price may be in line with other alternitives. Heck, it might even look more cool with some distressing, and their is probally enough wood for a couple of garages. Just a thought.....:beers:

Certainly would be worth it. I know of three private wookshops and two kitchens with gym floor hardwood from gyms tore down.

A good coating of polyurethane and it will hold water and last a long time. Workshops do have a humidifier in them.

Imho, the coolest floor I ever walked on was the one in the tomb's of the old UMC Civil Engineering Machine Shop Class room here in town that as I type should torn down(??) where the great big coffee urn was that kept us young engine school kids cranked up in the morning!

The floor was like a 5"x5" sawed oak parquet that fitted together w/ little v-tits on all four sides w/ the grain up!

You take a 4"x4"x6' and cut it into 4"x4"x3/4" thick pieces and then lay the pieces flat on the floor and there you have it!!

I asked the old guy that kept the coffee urn filled what was w/ the floor and he said that it was for if you dropped a machine tool bit, it wouldn't bugger it up so that you would have to re-sharpen it!

And fwiw, the shop floors at W.A. SCHAEFFER PEN CO where I worked for a time had regular oak flooring just for this reason!!

pdq67

I asked the old guy that kept the coffee urn filled what was w/ the floor and he said that it was for if you dropped a machine tool bit, it wouldn't bugger it up so that you would have to re-sharpen it!

pdq67

That's the exact kinda floor I was going to post about. Cincinnati Machine has that same floor in it. It had a nice springly feel to it, and was put in for the same purpose. I can't imagine the amount of time it took to set all those blocks.

That is why good machine shops with concret floors have the so called non slip rubber around them
Somewhere in the marketing BS and safety the orginal purpose has been lost.

I have 2nd hand carpet squares that the cars park on
It is comfortable to lie on, If u drop a spark plug, u dont have t get a new one, and if u let the sump go or something, it soaks up the oil real well, and cheap/free to replace
The down side is u dont always have a choice to colour co ordinate the workshop

Hey... look at the good side of using this type of wood flooring. Ya can take out the cars and play a little 3 on 3!:)

capt