# Laminate flooring



## Bieser (Oct 30, 2012)

This is my first post guys, I have been lingering here for years but decided to sign up for some advice. I am in the process of building my dedicated shop. I am considering in putting laminate wood flooring, pergo style in the shop. I like the idea over concrete with the way the space is laid out I cant put sleepers in. Some of my concerns are slickness of the floor, it will be installed on a slope, and the concrete has a few low spots. I have installed a lot of this flooring. I just wonder if any of you have tried this and what pros and cons you would see.

Thanks Brandon


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

I think it would be extremely slippery when coated with sawdust.

Lee


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

#1 I don't think it's durable enough for a shop. 
#2 you'll have to isolate it from the concrete or it WILL absorb moisture and swell
Personally I think you should put fatigue mats where you stand the most. You can move them. You WILL rearrange your shop. Probably several times. Laminate is still hard like concrete when you're standing on it. Why laminate?

My concrete guys hard troweled my shop floor and came back the next day and saw cut the expansion joints so they're really really thin. Wait… you already have concrete?


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## Bieser (Oct 30, 2012)

We have two threads going here for some reason. Yes I have concrete already.


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## ETwoodworks (Jan 10, 2011)

I think it could be very slick. I also hate the sount that flooring makes. And like Charlie said it will swell if it goes straight on top of concrete.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Yes I discovered the other thread also. Slick and damages easily. We know those things will happen. The entire floor will slide if the floor is sloped. This will or probably will cause problems later. In my area we use a pad under the flooring so this acts as a moisture barrier. We don't have problems with this. The pad will probably compress adding more high and low places. I would paint the floor or in my case I have left the floor bare concrete and added rubber mats to cushion the floor. I can pick these up to clean. That is what I would do if I were doing this again. Invest your money in rubber anti-fatigue mats


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

I have laminate in my home. Waste of money. I wouldn't recommend it for a shop. Grandpa has a good idea.


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## Bieser (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks all. You all are probably right. These are always the problem when we are working with existing places. I might look into the epoxy floor paint just to help brighten it up.


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

Lamiante is going to be the most scratch resistant type of flooring we sell at Lumber Liquidators, but it is a floating floor and is designed to expand and contract. Heavy machines may act as an anchor on your floor and be too heavy. I wouldn't recommend this type of flooring for this situation.


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## Bas (Feb 11, 2009)

I have a basement shop, and put in a (floating) laminate floor directly over concrete. Really happy with it. It looks great, insulates well, easy on the feet, and dirt cheap. I got it from Lumber Liquidators at around $0.40/ sq. ft (including padding).

The laminate has a slight texture, it feels a bit like 320 grit sandpaper. I've never had any issues with slipping, not even with sawdust on the floor. But I do always wear sneakers, dress shoes would definitely be more problematic.

Couple of pics


















Even the heavier tools roll easily, which is a plus. The only thing to be careful of is glue-ups. If you spill any glue, clean it up immediately, and be careful with scraping off half-dried beads of glue. If it sticks to the laminate and you try to pop it off with a chisel, you now have a white spot, since the "wood grain" is only a few thousands of an inch thick.

Water is a concern though. Laminate flooring, like all other forms of MDF, do not mix well with water. My basement is bone dry, so that was not an issue. If you have any concerns about water coming up through the floor, I would advise against laminate. It will swell and buckle. Then again, I'd be concerned anyway about my tools getting wet/ rusted.

The floor has to be fairly flat for a good installation, but it doesn't necessarily have to be level. If you have significant dips, I recommend some self-leveling cement. You don't want a 4"x4"x1/2" gap under a board and roll a 500lb table saw over it.


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## Bieser (Oct 30, 2012)

Bas, how has your floor held up? I like the look of your floor, that is what I hoped for with putting down laminate. My concrete does have a vapor barrier under the poor. I would be concerned around the garage door.. but thinking about running a foot of tile around the doors then the floor. At least that was my original plan.


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## Bas (Feb 11, 2009)

It's held up pretty well, these pictures show the floor about two years after it went it. Granted, I don't get nearly as much shop time as I'd like, but it's definitely seen some use. The only "damage" I have so far is cosmetic due to a slightly sloppy glue-up. Also, keep in mind that I bought the thinnest (6mm), cheapest flooring possible. Some of the 8mm and 10mm flooring comes in a variety that is slightly more moisture resistant.

Water coming in through the door could be a concern, a row of tiles should do the trick provided there isn't any flooding. But you may want to go 2 feet instead of 1.


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## Bas (Feb 11, 2009)

Another option is OVRX flooring. It's similar to Dricore. A friend of mine has this in his shop, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have picked that. They're tongue-and-groove squares of OSB, with a layer of polystyrene insulation attached. It holds up much better against moisture than laminate. Finish it with a couple of coats on Minwax floor poly (no, no sanding required) and you have a no-slip, easy to clean, woodsy looking floor. VERY comfortable on your feet.

You can get it through Home Depot. It's a little more expensive than laminate though, probably just under $2/ square foot. Here is a picture of it:


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

I'd have to sweep for an hour or two to see my floor.


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