[TheForge] building a new shop/shed

[Paul N]

Every posted sounds like good advice. I'll share my limited experience.

I've worked as a volunteer smith in a couple historic shops. One with a 
dirt floor, one with wood planking. I was surprised that the wood planks 
held up well, and didn't seem to create a fire hazzard as long as you 
didn't leave hot iron sitting for long.

The downsides of the dirt floor have been mentioned, and I wanted to 
support those opinions. I go home horribly dirty and dusty. My boots 
never see the inside of the house. Dropping things on that floor is also 
problem. Frequently, small things cannot be found. Trying to search for 
them with a magnet does pull up a lot of filings and scale, but never 
seems to find the piece you're looking for. And since this is a more 
historical shop, we frequently use a bee's wax  based finish, which 
inevitably ends up being dropped in the dirt while the finish is wet. So 
much so that it's become a joke in the shop that it isn't finished until 
it's covered in dirt.

Years ago (don't ask how many), I worked  as a laborer in a multi-story 
factory full of heavy machinery. The floors were vertical 4x4s (grain 
side up). I don't know how deep/thick the floor was, but I'd guess that 
was to help dampen the vibration, and maybe be easier on the feet for 
the labor. Anyway, that building was probably over 50 years old then. 
(it's still standing, but is now part of a "convention center") So this 
may be a viable option

At home, my "shop" shares space in an 11'x18' garden shed with a 
concrete floor. Although I pull out my anvil and forge and generally 
work outside, I have used the floor as mentioned for some sketches and 
layout.

My lower extremities aren't what they used to be, and if I were building 
a shop today, I'd still probably go with concrete, and maybe furred 
planking over the areas where I'll do the most standing.

Good Luck, let us know what you decide. And thanks for posting that link 
to the barn plans. Now my gears are turning for that "retirement" shop I 
hope to build in a couple years. All I need is to be able to afford to 
retire. Blacksmith shop downstairs and brewery upstairs.

**pn

ries wrote:
> Well, for me, its essential to have a concrete floor. A lot of my  
> equipment has wheels on it, and rolls around.
> Plus, we need to use the forklift inside all the time- and I have a  
> semi-pneumatic wheels on it, which will just not work well on dirt, or  
> even on compacted gravel.
> full on rough terrain forklifts cost 3 times as much, and have much  
> higher headroom requirements for the same lifting capacity, and are  
> just generally bigger.
> I use my forklift inside the shop all the time for fixturing, holding  
> parts during assembly, and even moving tools around.
>
> Then, there is cleanliness- its just a lot easier to keep a concrete  
> floor clean, sweeping, mopping, and so on. Easier to find lost parts,  
> as well.
> And several of my machines need to be bolted down- the hossfeld  
> bender, various vises, power hammers, and so on. So I would have to  
> build special foundations for each one in a dirt floored shop.
>
> And then, we often use the floor as a jig or layout tool- we drill and  
> put bolts or angles down on the concrete, we draw on it, and generally  
> rely on its relative flatness and stiffness to make sure larger items  
> we build are sorta straight and flat.
>
> Maybe none of these affect your intended uses- I dont know.
>
> I just find its a lot more flexible to have the concrete, and, in  
> areas I stand or work a lot, I throw down 4' x 4' rubber fatigue  
> matting. I have 4 or 5 pieces of it, they move around where needed.  
> Keep my feet from getting as sore, and keep me warm, too.
>
> Ries
>
>
> On Jan 18, 2009, at 4:31 AM, terry l. ridder wrote:
>
> hello;
>
> i have settled on a design for the new shop/shed, the only quyestion now
> is whether the floor is left as dirt. i am leaning toward leaving the
> floor dirt. a step up from dirt would be compacted crushed stone.
> i am planning on burying radiant heat piping in the floor whatever the
> composition may be and using a wood fired boiler to heat the water.
>
> the reason for leaving it dirt is that dirt is easier on my legs than
> concrete. granted this winter has been an unusual chicago winter, but
> the cold dampness of the concrete floor in the current garage causes
> pain issues with the legs. the perimeter of the shop/shed will be a 4
> ft. deep footer. i could dig out the dirt and back fill with sand, pea
> gravel, and compacted crushed stone.
>
> the shop/shed is a design from www.barnplans.com. right now i am  
> figuring
> on a 24 ft wide x 30 ft long  shop/shed. i need to build a couple models
> out of art foam board to determine which size will blend in with the
> house and landscaping. the shop/shed will have a 2nd story. i am
> planning on this being long term storage and home office space. a
> small size freight elevator ( 8 x 8 ) which i am planning on putting
> in will allow me to get to the home office easy enough. there will be
> a wide staircase for those with working legs. ;-)
>
> the first picture on the below url is the design i have choosen.
> http://www.barnplans.com/dormer.html
>
> anyway, what have others decided on for their shop floors?
>
>