# Sloping garage floor



## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Hi all! First time here though I have been lurking a bit! I have a question (which I think I may have answered myself but hope to get some opinions):

I am fortunate enough to have a 3rd stall in my garage walled off (11×22) and am beginning the process of converting it into a workshop. Because it was designed as a garage, the floor slopes towards the garage door - a total of 2" over the 22' length. As far as I can see there are no major bumps or dips in the floor.

I plan to put a workbench including a miter saw station down one long wall, and was wondering whether the benches should be level or follow the slope of the floor. If they are level I will have - of course - a nice level work surface, but I will then have the space underneath the bench differ in height. As I plan to use a lot of storage on wheels, I would have to make all my storage fit underneath the shortest height of the bench.

Alternatively, I can slope the benches with the floor. I don't think I will notice the 2" slope over 22' (that's about 0.007" per inch on average). This would mean that all my store-under storage could be the same height, and anything I build to the standard 32 1/2" work height would just be level with everything else.

Third alternative: I could level out the floor of course…but that is a lot of work!

Any thoughts appreciated!
Neville


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

Build the work surface level, level will make sense whenever you're doing any other work on the surface for assembly measuring etc. unlevel table will eventually drive you bug$hit somewhere in the future. Under Cab storage can be easily adjusted and that is where you'll not notice the 2" over 22'


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

I wouldn't mess with your floor. When you make your benches, think about equipment/machine/leg levelers . Ebay has some heavier ones. -Jack


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

2" over 20' is about right- for drainage off concrete, and sloping towards the door, as it should be. Something to consider, if it isn't level,you'll have to adjust all the equipment (like infeed and outfeed tables, or wings) if you move it around the shop. You may want to make the big stuff stationary and properly leveled.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

2" over 22' is a slope of 0.4%, which translates into a difference of ~1/2 inch between the height of the ends of a 5ft workbench.


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## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Thanks for the comments all! From the comments it does seem like level work surfaces are the way to go, so I will have to play with the design to see what I am going to make fixed and what not. I am thinking of a layout something along the lines of Fine Woodworking's "Smart Shop in a One-Car Garage" (although I have a little more space). I will post pictures and a Sketchup layout diagram as I progress (lots of renovation jobs still to be done as well!).

Many thanks again!


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

If you are going to build furniture, or anything of size, you will absolutely want to have a level surface to work on. You will have to level your machines as well. Jointer tables for instance. Drill press column must be plumb and the table square to the quill. You check these things with a level. You can put a digital angle guage on your table saw blade to set it at a certain angle, but if the table itself is not level the blade angle will be off in relation.


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## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Very good point crank49 - I had not thought of that. Level work surfaces it will be then - I am enough of a beginner that I do not have to battle things that aren't really square!


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

I have the same issue with my garage floor. I will be doing a complete overhaul of the flooring, hopefully this winter. I will be adding a floating floor. 2×4 sleepers with 3/4" t&g plywood over them. I will lay the 2×4's flat, not on edge, and add 1 1/2 rigid foam insulation in the open bays. I will also give me the opportunity to add a few electrical circuits in the middle of the room. The nice thing about the floating floor is if I ever sell the house it all comes up really quick and I will be able to level the floor.


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## mtenterprises (Jan 10, 2011)

Think about this one small thing; when you place a round item on youy bench or machine do you want to chase it every time? Once might be funny but after that it gets old FAST. 
MIKE


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

I would go with Jack's suggestion using the levelers.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I have a shop just like yours. 3rd stall of a three car garage. I made wall mounted benches all along the two 22 foot walls and they follow the slope of the garage floor. Works fine. Bench height is the same all along the benches.


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## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Thanks Jim - good to hear that someone went off-level… My strategy now is to start with high - I am going to be building some storage cabinets, tool racks etc based on Wood Magazine's Idea Shop 5, hanging everything from French cleats. That will give me some of the storage I need and allow me to sort out how I want to do things like dust collection, take power to the dividing wall (sadly, I only have power along the two outside walls), and get the layout right. Once I have an idea of how that will work, I will see what can be stationary and what needs to move - I have just about everything on wheels right now except for the Festool MFT3 and it is really nice being able to move things around. The bench is also home to the miter saw and drill press - they need cabinets on wheels too!


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

A digital level gauge like the Wixey zeros out on the flat surface of the TS first. The measure off the blade is then referenced off the flat table top. You could have the TS on a mountain side and still cut perfectly square, 90 degree cuts. Same with aligning a jointer fence or leveling its tables.

Level isn't as important as something being flat. As long as your machines and shop fixtures are secure and not rocking on you, it shouldn't matter. Everything references off a flat table…not a level floor.

I must be missing something here. I have a garage shop and haven't felt the need to level anything with relation to the floor. It doesn't affect my precision and it isn't even noticable to me.


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## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Jay, my quest for levelness started with looking at using an outfeed table for the table saw as a multi-purpose mobile work table as well. The idea is that as I move it around, it stays level with everything else, including the workbench against the wall. But of course, if the workbench is level (i.e. not a standard height above the floor) the mobile work table would not match up in height except in one place.

Then again, how often would I need to push the outfeed/mobile work table against the workbench? Probably not a lot…


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Not only is your floor sloped (as it should be), if you checked closely, you will find that it has high and low spots everywhere. Dump a bucket of water and see what happens. - lol

If you're going to want mobility, you'll need to level the floor or you'll be making adjustments every time you set up to work. If you're going to leave major stuff in place, use shims, leveling feet, etc to get things flat and call it good.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Neville:

Right. I just think it opens a can of worms, especially where rolling carts are concerned. If every table surface is a standard height (I use the 34" of my table saw), then there is absolutely no problem.

Use adjustable feet on your fixtures to assure that everything is the appropriate height and secure.

I still don't understand the need to completely level the floor. Again, am I missing something here?


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

The idiot that poured the floor in my basement got the floor sloped 2" across the 30ft width as well as toward the garage. Guess I should be glad it was not sloped in the reverse direction. I fired him. He later went bankrupt. Deserved it.


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## widdle (Mar 10, 2010)

i say do it right the first time..Level , straight and flat 3/4" ply floor to start , not that big of a deal.. easier in the long run and nice on the feat back and ears… A couple carpenters 2 days and your good..


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## rogerw (Jan 14, 2011)

I've been using a garage floor for years with the same slope. You don't notice it. that slope only amounts to just over a quarter of an inch for ever three feet. negligible.


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## Neville (Aug 17, 2011)

Jay - I guess there is technically no need to have the floor completely level, but my thinking was that (firstly) if the floor is level and all my work surfaces the same height, everything lines up and becomes multi-purpose (infeed, outfeed, larger work surfaces etc). Whether there is merit in having the floor level for things like assembly is doubtful - all you need is something flat you can reference off as someone else here already pointed out. Secondly, I guess there is a perverse sense of perfection - which I should probably not take too seriously as this is about making stuff and not making a workshop!

Thanks again for everyone who commented.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Neville: Yeah, I get that. My point is that a 34" tall table is still the same height whether it is near the garage door or 15 ft. inside. A sloped floor doesn't affect your ability to make multi-purpose equipment.

I don't notice the slope, not even a little bit. Unless you wanted to level the floor to take advantage of softer surfaces, or to also run wiring and dust collection ducts sub-floor, then I'd say put your money into other improvements.

I didn't want to belabor the point, but it just struck me curious as to why people would feel compelled to do this.


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## Flyin636 (Jul 29, 2011)

Having set-up and worked in waaay too many shops…........It ain't just slopes over broad ranges.As has been noted,theres dips N valleys everywhere.One recurring problem is concrete "curl".A phenom of concrete to set-up faster,'round perimeter than other areas when originally poured.So its always has a little funkness around outside 1-2 feet….or anywhere theres a column,ect.Floor drains also enter picture.

We usually custom resaw hdwd pcs to "shove"(technical term)under equip on anything not needing full-on grouting.There are benny's to a slopin shop floor…....mainly why it was installed that way to begin with…..hosing and mopping it out.

I realize in this day and age folks like having pristine,marble cvrd work areas but…...that ain't the way it is in alot of major shops.Flyin


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## OldBoatMan (Sep 29, 2011)

I worked through a similar problem. My third bay sloped about 3.5 inches in 20 feet. The garage drains nicely and in Minnesota that's a real plus. I also found that it sloped some left to right as well. I chose to build up a floor using 2×4's as sleepers and as cross supports. I insulated the floor with 1.5 inch foam (R-7)- one layer at shallow end and two layers at deep end. When I walked on the sleepers, I judged them a bit too springy. So I went back and cut lengths of 2×4 and installed them under the sleepers between the cross supports. I topped with 3/4 inch underlayment and finished with 3/4 inch plywood laid to cover seams below. Then I built my partition wall on top of the floor. Insulated the partition wall and the outer walls (R-13) as well as the ceiling (R-33). A small electric heater provides sufficient warmth. My lack of carpentry experience was not a plus, but I'm satisfied with the result.


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