Dri Core shop floor--Review and Price PSA

[shoottmx]

I have had a basement shop since my woodworking adventure started 15ish years ago. My previous shop had a concrete floor covered with the inexpensive foam pads that interlock together. Half a day was about all my feet could bear, even on the foam. Life changes forced the sale of the house and the stationary tools. Fast forward 5 years and LOML and I have been in our new house a little over 2 years and I'm back with a basement shop. 

Concerned with foot and leg fatigue I looked at a ton of options--laminate, plywood on sleepers, horse stall mats and just about anything else I could find. I ended up with DriCore, an engineered OSB/membrane product that does wonders on a concrete floor. The tiles are almost 2'X2" and have a tongue and groove interlock. They go down in a snap and they fit together snugly. I've been using the shop with DriCore flooring for over a year and am one happy camper. I can spend an entire day in the shop without foot or leg pain. Period. Generally I wear out (no youngster here) before my feet do.

The mfgr recommended sanding and coating with poly. I did that for the larger parts of the shop but as I extended the floor into the far side of the basement I haven't bothered to continue. It doesn't get the traffic the major part of the shop does but it is holding up perfectly.

We did have a foundation wall leak which ran under the DriCore to the lowest spot in the space, puddled and wicked up thru the OSB. The spot was near the center of the shop so I cut the affected panels out with a circ saw. Repaired the foundation crack with injected polyurethane foam, then replaced the water logged panels. I had to remove the  tongue from one side of the panels to reassemble the floor but it works fine.

When I bought the flooring I checked HD & Lowes, both were the same price at $6.30 per tile. At Lowes last week the price was $5.75 per, I was told the price is permanent. 

Positives:
Doesn't show dirt
Cushioned but firm feel underfoot
A dropped tool generally goes right back to work
Not slippery with sawdust
Air gap around edges and under the floor allow moisture to evaporate.
Repairable by cutting out tiles and replacing

Negatives:
Doesn't show dirt
Hard to find dropped small parts/screws
DriCore says nominal 2'x2' but the actual is 23 1/4" X 23 1/4". That turns out to be significant if you're covering a large areas.
It's rated to carry 6642 psf or 46psi. I put all the heavy stationary machines on 3/4" x 5"x 5" blocks at each corner.

Here's a shot of the shop floor.

   

Thanks for reading,  g

[R Clark]

Thanks for posting.

I have a shop with 600 sq ft of concrete floor.  I plan to spend a lot more time there as I retire this week.  I also have cheap foam pads over the high traffic areas.  Those foam pads are beginning to deteriorate and slide around a bit.  I've been wondering what I could do to get rid of the foam and then "soften" the floor.  I had not considered Dri-core.

Although I'm not opposed to the look of OSB, I wonder what a better finished floor might be for my shop. I like the give of a decent quality foam, but I don't want to the lose the ability to roll loaded mobile bases on the floor.

Home Depot price online right now is $5.08 each. $6.25 at Menards.

Something to consider.

[shoottmx]

Wxman,
Congrats on the retirement!! When is the party???

Be sure to factor in the effect aging bones is going to have on your shop enjoyment. I can't begin to tell you the difference the DriCore made over the foam. I'm 72 with arthritis creeping in and I can do a (nearly) full day on my feet. No way could I have managed that 5 years ago on foam.

g

[R Clark]

Wxman,
Congrats on the retirement!!  When is the party???

Be sure to factor in the effect aging bones is going to have on your shop enjoyment. I can't begin to tell you the difference the DriCore made over the foam. I'm 72 with arthritis creeping in and I can do a (nearly) full day on my feet. No way could I have managed that 5 years ago on foam.

g

Thanks.  I've been fired from retirement twice to this point, so I'm hoping third time is the charm.

Fortunately, the orthopedic parts of me are in good shape and I aim to keep it that way.  We have an acreage, so I tend to stay physically active.  It's the sedentary paying-work environment that's a killer, and a big motivator for me to stop doing that now.

But still, that hard concrete floor over in the shop is gets to be a bit rough on the feet after a number of hours.  The shop building is 1100 sq ft of slab on grade; a little over half is dedicated to woodworking.  The other side is for rolling stock, vehicle maintenance, wood storage, etc.  Whatever I do , I'll have to make sure that things on casters can roll easily form one side to antoher.  I'll have to research whether or not that have transitional pieces for the edge.  Wouldn't be hard to just fabricate some up.

[AHill]

I like your shop. Very well laid out and lots of room left over. I really, really miss the basement shop I had in my short time in Missouri. Alas, the shallow water table and sandy soil in Florida makes basements a very scarce commodity.

[GeeDub]

Looking good.  The lens stalled me for a moment.  I was thinking that is the shortest and fattest G0490 jointer I've ever seen ;-))  Just an observation; you could rotate your cyclone blower to put the inlet and outlet on the same side.  

   

   

This would let you move the cyclone into the corner and possibly turn that brutal immediate 90* turn into an elongated Z with a couple of 45's. Just food for thought. Your shop looks great!

[jteneyck]

What a great looking shop; I'm sure it's a real pleasure to work there now that you have a floor that's comfortable to stand on.  I'm still on concrete in my shop but I've thought about changing to something like what you have.  I hate the concrete every time I drop a tool and dull an edge or ding a corner.  

Tell me more about what "polyurethane foam" you injected it the crack in your wall to stop the leak.  I have a small crack that leaks on odd occasions and sure would like to repair it - properly.  Thanks.

John

[shoottmx]

Thanks.  I've been fired from retirement twice to this point, so I'm hoping third time is the charm.

I'll have to research whether or not that have transitional pieces for the edge.  Wouldn't be hard to just fabricate some up.

Been there re: multiple retirements. I'm permanently retired now.

I made transition strips out of red oak. They are the same thickness as DriCore and the tang is a tight fit into the DriCore groove. They stay in place well with foot traffic. Once I get the last tiles down I'll shoot some pins. Will post a couple pics.

I checked my Home Depot, their price is $4.51!! Holy cow! I'll need 20 or so tiles to finish the floor when the new bioler is installed, will pick them up tomorrow. Thank you for the HD heads up, I would have bought at Lowes thinking I had gotten a deal. Go figure.

   

   

[shoottmx]

This would let you move the cyclone into the corner and possibly turn that brutal immediate 90* turn into an elongated Z with a couple of 45's. Just food for thought. Your shop looks great!

Thanks, that's a good suggestion but it's just too much effort to move. Had a helluva time hanging it where it is--can't imagine how much work putting the cyclone in the corner would be.

g

[R Clark]

Been there re: multiple retirements. I'm permanently retired now.

I made transition strips out of red oak. They are the same thickness as DriCore and the tang is a tight fit into the DriCore groove. They stay in place well with foot traffic. Once I get the last tiles down I'll shoot some pins. Will post a couple pics.

I checked my Home Depot, their price is $4.51!! Holy cow! I'll need 20 or so tiles to finish the floor when the new bioler is installed, will pick them up tomorrow. Thank you for the HD heads up, I would have bought at Lowes thinking I had gotten a deal. Go figure.

Great idea on that transition.

I've gotten into the habit of comparing Menards to HD.  My nearest Menards and Home Depot are across the parking lot from each other, and the Harbor Freight is next door to HD, so it's a pretty efficient trip, even if I go to several stores.  Nearest Lowe's is a lot farther away, and they are my last choice anyway.  I only go there if I need to special order something that only they carry.