My back and body felt beat up several week s ago working on the concrete floor. It hurt to get out of bed and loosen my joints. What with the long days of summer, the sun breaking over the horizon at 4:50AM I am usually awake thinking about the day ahead. Robins are my summer motivation and' one by one they call outside the window. Today, it felt best to lie in bed. But this is summer and winters are long up here. I felt a low persistent ache in my lower back, and my body was still sore from standing on the concrete floor from the previous days chores. I couldnt wait any longer and needed my cup of coffee. It hurt navigating the steps down toward the kitchen to the coffee maker and prepare for my morning walk, the dog looking back at me with patience as I walked slow thinking about the concrete floor and my sore back; while Rosie ran ahead chasing squirrels and splashing in the brook with ease.
I’ve been meaning for the past 15-20 years to finish what I started and decided a wood floor in the woodshop is a must for my aching back. Initial antique truck mock-up, fitting, final assembly occurs here in the woodshop too᠁ the Stovebolt welding, de-rusting, paint scraping, disassemnbly, swearing, draining fluids, sanding filler, priming, painting and wire wheeling 70 years of mud and grease happens outside.
For the past three weekends I have been making trips to Home Depot and picking up DriCore 24x24” panels and installing them on the shop floor. The unnecessary hogging the floor is getting the boot, and what doesn’t belong in there ᠁ is moving outta there to places I know not where. Here is a progress picture. I like this material - it interlocks without sleepers, I dont lose much if any any ceiling height, it flexes᠁ and spiffs up the old concrete floor. I notice a an improvement in my body at night...but more importantly I'm not as sore in the morning. Days are now getting short again- time to start splitting the firewood....after the floor is done, of course.
Tom, Do you need to use a sealer over this or is it pre-finished?
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Its a subfloor - but a sealer or finish is do-able. Some have used waterbase poly. My plan is to lay down several rolls of 3 mill sound/accoustimat from HD, then lay down 7/16" 4x8 sheets of OSB over this. This will enable a stronger flexible and softer floor for the machines to roll around. Its a bit of overkill - because this DriCore is close to 3/4" and it comes in 1" thickness too - yet as it is - the floor can handle the machinery just fine. It has a glued on plastic spacer that serves as a moisture barrier and allows an air gap between it and the concrete. This subfloor floats - with a 1/4" gap around the wall perimeter so it will offlload moisture and breathe around the wall perimeter ...installs relatively fast - tapping the tongue and groove joints together - and cutting one panel in half for a starter row so the seams/joints stagger like a brick lay.
If you can zoom in on the second photo you can see the underside of the panels and how it was designed to be lifted from the floor and lock together the plastic laminated to the OSB. As Phak1 wrote - it resembles a modified waffle design
It’s meant to install flooring over a concrete basement floor. It consist’s of a plastic bottom like a waffle to act as a vapor barrier and to stop any water that seeps in from wicking in to the wood. Normally you would add a finished floor on top. You can just leave it as is but it would be better to apply a finished floor or poly it to seal it.
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy) 1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather) | 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif) | 1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe | 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Hardwood flooring would be the best choice. However, with hardwood comes the need for regular maintenance. Over time, hardwood can become worn and scuffed, resulting in the need to refinish it every few years. Refinishing your hardwood floors https://bcfloors.ca/hardwood-flooring/hardwood-floor-refinishing/ can help keep them looking their best, while also providing a protective seal to ensure your floors look great for years to come.
