New Woodshop/Shed

I’m in the planning stages of a similar project. I’ve had a number of people tell me to go with a wood floor, because it’s more resilient and easier to stand on, but I’m leaning towards slab because with a 18”+ crawlspace and the joists for the floor the building starts to get pretty tall pretty fast.

Have you found some of the joist calculators online? 16’ is a pretty hefty span. The 400lbs is a “dead load”, that is it isn’t going to cause flex in the floor once it’s in place (and if you design for a 40 lbs per square foot “live load” and the tablesaw takes up a little more than 3’x3’ you’re there anyway), but even so you’ll probably end up with a support running down the middle of the floor.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/

Having worked on both concrete and wooden floors, I can tell you there is nothing to decide: if you can make it work, a wood floor is the only way to go. When I built my shop I used a post-and-beam structure to support my floor. But even if a concrete slab is part of your project, I would but a wooden floor on sleepers above the concrete. This is particularly true if you ever plan to use hand tools. Drop a chisel – or worse, a nice hand plane – on concrete and see what happens. A wooden floor is MUCH more forgiving.

Good luck!!

thanks for the ideas and comments…..I never considered dropping a tool on a concrete floor…and I drop things frequently. Thanks for the tip. Dan….not sure why a “dead load” will not cause floor sag. Your comments suggest I should go with a wood floor. Thanks again. Uncle Snail

So the whole “live load” vs “dead load” calculations aren’t about sag, actually, they’re about the effects of dynamic sagging. Every joist sags a little bit, the point with live loads and dead loads is that if you’re walking around (a live load) on top of a plaster covered ceiling, the sag and release is going to cause cracking in that ceiling.

The bottom of the trusses in that attic space with limited access may easily be able to support 40lbs/sq.foot, but they’ve been engineered for 10lbs/sq.ft. because nobody foresees someone holding a party up there, and lots of people moving around flexing that relatively brittle ceiling underneath them.

In your shop floor, you’re worried about sag (you don’t want to drop the aforementioned chisels hand have them all roll to the center of the room), but that’s mostly a dead-load issue, because that floor, especially if it’s just going to be a plywood sheathing surface, can take a lot of flex and warp without showing signs of cracking.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/

Hey Uncle – I just finished building a two-story hobby workshop for myself. Roughly the same dimensions as you’re going for. I too have some very heavy ww equipment and I used floor trusses for the support on both floors. I left the floor unfinished, using Advantix 3/4” subfloor. It’s easy on the back and like others have said, forgiving if (or when) you drop your tools. It’s also ‘warmer’ than cold concrete. You can see pix of it at http://www.c1679.com Go to the page “Recent Outside Photos.’ The “barn” pix start 2 photos down from the top. Hope this helps.

I would vote for the crawlspace if I had the choice. Adding to some of the positive reasons above, it would be very nice to run some electrical wiring under the floor and have plugs in the floor for tools that are in the center of the workshop. No more chords running accross the floor.

I second the floor trusses, they are very stable you can order them just how you want them. If you plan on having a heavy piece of equipment sitting in a certain spot in your shop (table saw for example) you could tell the engineer and he would have no problem beefing up a few floor trusses so that you would have no worries with sagging.

My family owns and runs a roof and floor truss manufacturing company, which is actually where I am typing this from. I may be a bit biased but there are definate advantages to truss systems. Have fun with your new shop whatever route you choose!

Try wood, aside from natural way, it can be repaired easily than of concrete. I have done it so I know, and I was just inspired by http://eatmywords.com/portfolio/before-and-after/.

-- Works for Alexandra Watkins Nmaing Firm - see her at http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/AlexandraWatkin

good Waiting Download WhatsApp for PC now as well as let WhatsApp for iPhone your hands are complete connect media data to your nice.

Now, you’ll be able to keep Foodsaver Gamesaver Deluxe vs. Cabela’s Preservac Premium Food Vacuum Sealer Review those leftovers from Best Vacuum Sealer 2017 last night for longer. VACUUMSEALERS84.OVER-BLOG.COM If you’ve obtained an active kitchen The Best Food Vacuum Sealer Reviews area and you’ve constantly obtained food you have to store, CRENOVA AUTOMATIC VS-1 VACUUM SEALER REVIEW this could be the purchase for you.

This website is best for home furnishing. All the much needed information is here in this site. Recommended.
online games for all

Great wood restoration Tallahassee idea.

tutuapp