Concrete Floors

[Jymm Hoffman]

I thought I would cut from an early post I made and elaborate a little more, the addition is in the secod paragraph:

I have worked on several different types of floors. I prefer concrete in my shop. 1, it is much easier to clean. 2. when you do drop something and need to pick it up with the tongs, that is the only thing I pick up, not stone, dirt or what ever. No matter what set up you come up with, you will eventually want to change it. Therefore, I have started putting wheels on most everything. Wheels roll easier on a smooth concrete service. Much more flexible. I do like to bolt certain things down to the floor, concrete works better, faster and again more flexible and versatile. Dirt floor requires digging deeper to "plant" something to make it stable. If you do not have a separate finishing "clean room", again concrete can be better. If you sweep it and keep it clean, less dust will mess up your finish, even if it is oil or wax.

The best way I found to fight the fatigue of concrete floors or any other hard surface that I have to stand on for long periods of time is wooden shoes. It is not so much because wood gives more than the concrete, it is because of the arch support wooden shoes and many wooden sole clogs have carved into them. Think about those infomercials selling shoe inserts. I have been wearing wooden shoes in my shop for over 20 years and prefer them over any other shoe or boot. I found it best to buy them a little big, they do not give nor break in, your feet have to give or break in. They are not good walking shoes, I love my SAS walking shoes for just that walking. I have Red Wing work shoes and Red Wing work boots. Both are great products, but I still prefer my wooden shoes or wooden sole clogs for standing. I move as little as possible when working in my shop, at least in relation to walking around. I do shuffle around the shop, and I do not pad the wooden shoes. I got used to them, but do wear a pair of cotton socks underneath a pair of rag wool socks (learned that from hiking in Boy Scouts,) and prefer to wear that combination all year round. My feet are actually more comfortable through the year, especially in the shop with this combination. My feet are never cold standing on the cold concrete, nor overheated in the summer. I have modified my shoes, externally. I put iron (mild steel) "shoes" on the bottoms, not just the heels. If I don't, I wear them out in about 8 months. If I do they last 3 to 4 years, but have to put new irons on the bottoms occasionally. I also cut the leather tops off cheap pair of snow boots to add a top to the wooden shoes to keep the scale from landing on the top of my foot while running the power hammer. They don't look pretty, but neither do I, especially in the shop. I prefer the old black horned rim safety glasses with side goggle type side shields (my option calls them birth control glasses.) I don't care about pretty in the shop, safety first, comfort second and when the 2 can be combined, I am happy. If I am comfortable and safe, I am more productive. If I don't produce, no money......

Added shoe photos. I get them from Smoke & Fire Company: http://www.smoke-fire.com/shoes-boots-1.asp these are made in Holland (Netherlands.) Unfortunately, the Wooden Shoe Factory in Holland, Michigan closed a few years ago. That is where I got my first couple of pairs.

Edited December 12, 2008 by Jymm Hoffman
post photos and source for shoes

[ChrisB]

lets see a pic of these fancy clod hoppers.

[Pault17]

Amen to that!! let's see a picture. I am curious if they look like a pair of the little dutchboy shoes.

[triw]

I just put a concrete floor in my shop and love it. I agree with you Jymm it is so much easier to keep clean.

[james gonzalez]

i made the mistake of not specifying the finish on my new cast floor.
warning: the "brushed finish" is a pain to sweep.
if anyone out there is getting a floor poured make sure to have it finished smooth.
ps to mr Hoffman-where do you score the wood shoes?

[Dave Budd]

funny, I've got an earth floor (the clay that was under the topsoil when I leveled the site) in my new workshop. I've been in there now for about 5 months and mostly I porefer it to the concrete that I've had in the past.

I don't find it hard to clean or to move things around on, maybe that's coz its hard clay. Its warmer and more comfortable than concrete and I've broken loads less things than I used to by dropping them on the floor! I'd always had trouble with anvil stumps moving around (not got big anvils), but now they are 3 feet in the ground I don't have that trouble. Bolting things like my drill down was a fag as I had to plant logs to screw the machines to, but the tools that vibrate make less noise now they are planted in clay and not hitting concrete. My main dislike with it is that I can't get it wet or it gets slippery/sticky. So I have to do my sharpening outside even in the rain :(

[yesteryearforge]

The floor in my forge at home is rock dust ( crusher run without the little pieces of stone )
10.00 for all you can put on a pickup and i have a dually which will carry about 3 tons ( i know its only rated for one ton ) .
Have had many many people comment that they really liked it.
It is a lot more comfortable to work on all day than concrete and always looks clean and a nice grey color.

Mike Tanner

[Ice Czar]

round here there isnt much choice, you need the concrete to hold up the Radon long enough to evacuate it. (all my work areas are below grade)

[philip in china]

My floor is concrete but it was laid before I took over the shop. It is covered with low quality badly laid ceramic tiles. These tend to break up and I patch with cement. I find a concrete floor very useful. I can anchor things such as the legs of my welding bench by embedding them in concrete. Also it takes expanding masonry bolts very well to anchor things I might want to move.

[SGropp]

My forge shop has a dirt floor and I love it ! I work on that floor 40 hrs a week and it's so much easier on the body. The power hammers , anvil and platen table all have concrete foundations that are below finish grade .
My indoor machine shop has a smooth concrete floor and the adjoining wood shop has a wood floor. I use the wood shop for finishing and for sheet metal work.
When the weather is cold, raking the dirt floor or sweeping one of the other floors is a great way to stretch and warm up for the day.
Wooden shoes: Many years ago, I traveled throughout Finland on a design study scholarship. The preferred footwear in most factories, shops and big studios were wooden soled clogs. The workers said they were the most comfortable for working all day long on a concrete floor.

[Dale Russell]

G'Day all ,
concrete floors YUCK

My shop is dirt , then covered with plastice coated expanded metal mesh ( Yes i know it STINK'S when i drop something hot on it , but i know when i've dropped something hot on it .)

Laid the sheets straight onto the dirt , sweeps sand into the gaps ,, Floor has some " spring " to it , very easy on my feet & knees

Moving stuff around on it is easy too

shop set up 2 - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

[imagedude]

My clogs:

[Frosty]

Given the choice I'll take concrete for nearly every floor situation.

I save my feet by wearing White's Boots, they're custom fit and pretty spendy $ wise. However if you consider they'll last a decade or better in rough conditions before needing a rebuild and your feet, knees and back don't hurt they're cheap. Darned cheap.

Frosty

[SGropp]

Another note on concrete versus dirt floors: It's been in the low teens here all week and the dirt floor is noticeably warmer to stand on . The only disadvantage is that it is harder to roll things around on dirt, but since I built my jib crane that is pretty much a non issue.

[dablacksmith]

Ive had dirt, gravel, concrete , and now i have pavers down ... i kinda like the pavers not as hard as concrete but wien set well theyre nice to sweep up have a eregualar enuf surface to keep fatague from being to bad ... of course my shop is fairly small and i dont have a lot of tools to move around .... i did pour pads for power hammer and flypress ... if your going to ever move concrete is worth more for resale... but with my turn of the century style shop I like pavers and they were free!!! that makes it even better! now all i need is a free pallet of red bricks to cover the forge .......

[David Einhorn]

I have concrete floor with 3/4" stall mats at the workstations. The mats are sold by farm stores to protect large animals from concrete floors of barns. These mats greatly reduce the wear of walking on concrete and are less money than shock-absorbing mats designed for people to stand on.

What are White's Boots and who sells them?

[Trollhammer]

UnicornForge-I use the same mats, and they've done wonders for protecting this large animal on concrete floors.
Mickey