Plywood Flooring

Good prep, Deaner.

How small are you going to cut the ply? If there is any bowing in the sheets, the smaller the better I would suppose.

There will be no shrinkage with the ply indoors.

I’m envisioning the biscuits being stapled in from the top. It wouldn’t be a super joint, but it would keep it all together as you assemble.

If you alternate grain direction it would look pretty cool….until you start putting machines and benches and cabinets on it!

In summary, I’d say go for it, and again kudos for your prep and thought.

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

As Lee said keep the sheets size to 4×4 or 2×4 as recommended by the NWFMA. I would at least seal the underside of the plywood and the edges. Stagger your joints when laying the plywood and allow a minimum of 1/8” gap between panel edges. There is an “Underlayment Grade” plywood that is not T & G. The underlayment grade doesn’t have any voids in the core.

-- Don, Pittsburgh

Thanks Lee,

Good idea on the staples. That’s all it would take….if anything at all is used.

I think you are right about a couple things:

I’d prefer to use full sheets for fewer seems, with 2×8 sheets around the perimeter against the walls. By not gluing anything, I could still pull up indivdual panels in the event of damage, wear or need for access.

The idea of using smaller panels alternating direction , i.e. 2×2 pieces, is saavy and would be just as you said: cool:) I calculated that I need 20 sheets of plywood…and that translates into many fewer cuts…and that in turn would translate into 80 cuts if I used 2×2…and only 40 if I use 4×4 panels. Either size would be great, no?

So OK: you talked me into smaller squares with alternating grains Lee!

Cool indeed- thanks! I’ll be posting pics of the project pretty soon, as I find it interesting how little info is actually posted out there.

taker’ easy- more soon!

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

Good suggestions Don. I’m gonna look for the “underlayment grade” plywood. Lordy, it couldn’t be any more expensive in my neck of the woods (WA) than the 23/32” AC ply I’m using from Home Depot…could it? LOL.

Clarification please: 1/8” gap between every panel edge…or…1/8” gap just between outside panels and the wall? Wouldn’t a bunch of 1/8” gaps at 2’x2’ apart seem…I dunno…odd?

I appreciate your interest Don.

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

I would glue the biscuits and panel edges together but leave 1/2” away from the outside walls for movement. Otherwise you will have movement in different directions and gaps where you are working/walking.

-- Sam Hamory - The project is never finished until its "finished"!

Good call Sam- I see what you’re saying. Especially when sliding stuff arond on the plywood floor.

HONEY- grab some Gorilla glue when you hit Home Depot! Oh- and don’t worry about the 20 sheets of plywood, I’ll get the kids for that;)

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

Consider 3/4” T&G Advantech decking. IMO, it’s superior to ply, and costs less.

-- Clint Searl.............We deserve what we tolerate

Indeed I will consider that Clint. I’ll look for it. Thank you:)

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

Well Jocks,
Took a lot of your ideas and mingled them with my own, and here are a few pics of my start.

I began with 10 sheets, cut them into eighths, table sawed each side on each eighth for squareness and size; the set up a production jig to biscuit each side with 3 biscuits…anybody doing the math??? LOL

I then arranged them in a checkerboard fashion, again, 3 biscuits per side and gorilla glued the only the corners.
Anyway, this yielded 80 23-3/4” sheets which covered 27’x12’—-or 1/3 of my total 1,200 sq. ft shop.

I’m BEAT!

Now I got to apply a finish to this section of floor so I can move things back into place to begin the next 1/3rd section.
The moving of all the shop stuff is killer too btw! Got any ideas on the finish? I’m leaning towards either satin polyurethane, or linseed oil- any thing else worth considerin’ you ‘spose?
Hope you’all are building some cool stuff out there!

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

I think it looks great!

-- Brian

Thanks Brian- the proof will be in the puddin’.
Am pretty scared to be thinking of rolling anything over it! lol. heck- the only thing on it so far are my socks!

-- Once harm is done, even a fool understands it. Homer

I would use oil based poly, but thats just me. I did a ton of reading on a hardwood flooring site about 3 years ago and Bona Traffic was considered the way to go for water based.

-- Brian

I used spar urethane on my shop floor, it’s durable, easy to sweep and easy to wipe up spills and stains.

-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

pretty expensive solution for a shop floor! but since you started, oil base anything if you can open the doors and let it dry dust-free. or maybe one of the garage floor epoxy coatings.

personally I would have cleaned the concrete and applied the epoxy coating…a mess and it stinks but it works.

I recently moved my entire shop including the floor. I had 3/4” tongue and groove ply floor screwed down onto floating 2×3’s. In my new shop I just put the same ply, plus some needed in this slightly larger shop. This time I just layed it down on the concrete floor that had a glued down felt rug cushion. IT went in quickly and I like it. I put no finish on this floor at all.

-- In God We Trust