Painting Shop Floors, Yea or Nea

I would just use a floor poly.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

My shop is a cave. I dug out the underneath of my barn and laid 2X4 pt with 3/4 ply on top. To say the least, it’s a bit more damp then a woodworker would like but manage with fans in the summer and a heater in the winter. I never did anything to my floor – left it unfinished and I’m glad with that option. The floor does breath and sucks some of the moister out of the air. As a matter of fact, although my shop is quite neat, I’ve been known to leave sawdust hiding in the corners. Helps with the moister problem.

-- Bernie: It never gets hot or cold in New Hampshire, just seasonal!

Plywood is pretty darn stable because of the cross-grain construction. You don’t have a problem there if it is well fastened down on centers appropriate to its thickness.

Wood does not breathe. It takes in moisture and releases moisture—quite a different thing.

The key issue here is the ventilation under the floor. If air is able to move through there, then all will be well.

The consideration with paint on the floor is friction. A wood floor with poly or some kind of gloss paint, plus a little hardwood sawdust, and you have a recipe for a fall. Hitting one’s head on the sofa is one thing, but on a cast iron tool top is quite another. If you choose to paint, I’d shop carefully for the right material. I’d chat with my professional paint store guy about that.

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"

My floor is 3/4” T&G Advantech OSB, over 1” styrofoam, on 24” centers of 5/4” PTSYP on the flat, on slab; finished with porch/deck paint. I love it.

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

It might be overkill, but I would paint both sides and seal the edges. Even exterior plywood will warp and delaminate over time. It is “water resistant” not water proof.

It might be overkill, but I would paint both sides and seal the edges. Even exterior plywood will warp and delaminate over time. It is “water resistant” not water proof.

I would paint it red!

-- Joe