Shed Floor

[echnidna]

thanks Groggy I'll chew that over and see if I can figure out how to do it.

[Groggy]

In the factory the floor was suspended and there were bunkers underneath. As the floor wore, they bashed the sleepers with sledges from underneath. You may be better off with a slab with segmented sleepers lain over it, then sanded smooth. It'd be a heck of a floor

(segmented sleepers could be repositioned to even wear)

[echnidna]

Redgum springs to mind as a better timber than TP for that type of floor

[Stuart]

Mmmm - interesting ideas. I could do the whole floor of the workshop like a massive endgrain cutting board (if I am interpreting Groggy's post correctly)

[echnidna]

I wonder if the blocks should be glued together to avoid horizontal restraints

[BobL]

I can just see one warping enough so that 5 years later when I'm carrying that delicate piece of a project or a tool and my boot catches on that 3 mm edge poking up . . . . . . Tr . i . i . i . p, not worth it. Also isn't pine is a bit soft and will wear out in the long term?

[Groggy]

I wouldn't glue them, the ones in the factory were loose but clamped somehow using cables (? not sure). In a shed I think using wedges driven down near the walls would keep them snug.

As for bits sticking up, an arbortech, belt sander or 20lb persuader should keep it tidy.

[echnidna]

cables seem the way but there would be few needed.
Wonder if HT fencing wire would work with suitable tensioners
You couldn't lever against conventional walls/stumps without possibly harming the structure.

I think tp would be quite ok from wearing perspective and it's termite immune which is the big advantage over redgum etc (and I have a heap of TP). Expansion contraction due to humidity change may be the biggest problem with it.

[Vernonv]

Wonder if HT fencing wire would work with suitable tensioners

Gripples would probably be OK for the task and are easy to use.

http://www.onesteelwaratah.com.au/pr.../overview.aspx

[Groggy]

You couldn't lever against conventional walls/stumps without possibly harming the structure.

I was thinking the wedges would be only lightly tapped in, not driven hard. Wouldn't imagine they would need to be (but am a long way from being an expert).

[echnidna]

but if the tmber swells against tight wedges to walls/stumps there may be troubles

[Dean]

+1 for concrete. May be a little more costly in the start, but will hold up to almost anything. Plus its basically a "set and forget" type of floor. Virtually no maintenance required. I don't even clean mine
Some of my chisels dont like it though My grinder enjoys the extra attention however

[Ronaldo451]

I'm a concrete sort of guy, but also appreciate the economy of using what you've got and that you prefer a wood finish to walk and work on.

The comments about possible lips and edges raise some concerns though- depending upon the size of the area you are talking about, would an option be to lay the sleepers as you propose but then cover them with sheets of ply or particleboard? That would give you a flat, sweepable wooden surface and minimise the effect of any distortion in the sleepers later on.

[echnidna]

I'm a concrete sort of guy, but also appreciate the economy of using what you've got and that you prefer a wood finish to walk and work on.

The comments about possible lips and edges raise some concerns though- depending upon the size of the area you are talking about, would an option be to lay the sleepers as you propose but then cover them with sheets of ply or particleboard? That would give you a flat, sweepable wooden surface and minimise the effect of any distortion in the sleepers later on.

That was the general line of thinking if the sleepers weren't adequiate by themselves, though I don't like yellow tongue or ply close to the ground, obviously there would need to be membranes