QotW: What type of floor or floor coverings do you have in the shop?

[Pres]

There has been quite a bit of discussion lately among the mods and others about aches and pains. Specifically back pains of late. This got me to thinking about the things we as potters can do to alleviate back pain or to prevent it. . .So I will start the discussion off with:

QotW: What type of floor or floor coverings do you have in the shop?

Myself, I have concrete a floor that is over an underground river. This floor in the winter is Ice cold, and in the Summer often damp from moisture below. I have covered much of the wedging area with puzzle locking foam, as it is relatively firm, and yet shock absorbing. It also separates the floor area around the wedging table and work areas from track areas or the areas where wheeled dollies will roll. I believe it does help when wedging rather than on the bare floor.

best,

Pres

[grackle]

I have a plywood floor--inch thick tongue and groove.  my studio is an add on to an existing building, and we put some cement pillars in the ground and then built a 2 x 10 framework on top of those and then 2 x 6's (maybe 2 x 8's) and the plywood on top of that.  It was a little chilly right at first last winter, but we realized we needed to close off the opening around the pillars and once we did that, it has been quite toasty.  this is Texas after all, so it is not going to ever be frigid, unless we have another 2 week ice storm and the power goes off for 9 days.

It has been comfortable to stand on, and i do have a foam mat at the stand up wheel.  I like to think that I am keeping my 72 year old arms in some sort of shape with the wedging!!

[Min]

Cement floor in all areas I work in. I use a really good quality anti fatigue mat when standing on for throwing. I wear supportive  shoes with good insoles, think that helps. It's T-7 - T-9 that I'm getting a lot of pain with for the past few weeks.  

[Hulk]

New and former Studios, cement slab flooring.

I'm wearing crepe sole mid-high work boots when it's cold, somewhat supportive flip flops (Sperry Top-Sider) when it's hot, slip-ons with groovy insoles when it's medium.
I work more sitting than standing. I get purple toe (Raynaud's) fairly easily, so keeping the feet happy is important for me. Wool socks, an extra layer at the ankle (cut off the feet part of worn socks, voila! ankle warmers), watch cap (warm head->warm hands and feet, try it), and insulated foot pedal all help.

Yep, the heavy cast alloy foot pedal draws off A LOT of heat! I've taped a layer of bubble wrap to the foot pedal, voila ii! right foot gets much less mad ever since.

I'm having pain in the L 4-5, a bit better yesterday, much better today.

Hope you are feeling better soon Min.

[Denice]

I also use the floor puzzle foam mat,  my pathway is a big rectangular in my studio.   If I have a area that gets extremely dusty and dirty I will pull  them up to clean.   If one particular area starts wearing thin I can easily replace them.  I  had a bedroom in the basement my son used as a hangout,  rowdy boys,  soda and carpet don't mix so I covered it with foam mat.   When we polished the concrete I moved them upstairs to my studio.  Now I have a lifetime supply.  I even stand on one in the kiln room when I am loading the kiln.   I don't leave it there when I am firing.  My husband is working on his wood shop and I found a  big heavy  duty  dense mat on clearance.  I think it will help his sore feet.   Denice

[Mark C.]

Shop is two kinds-main glaze room and clay wegding area and sink size of room 11x22 measurement of room , is  2x 12  inch wide redwood plank I installed the 1st month I bought my property June 1073. The throwing room is 3/4 tongue and groove floor  plywood painted with special foor paint (now worn thry in spots) this was a add on about 20-25 years ago-and there is a 66 foot wide opening between (no doors). I like wood on the feet. The kiln area out side is a new cement slab as well as medium crushed rock mix.all under large metal roof area-hoods chemicals clay 3 gas kilns and 2 peter puggers and an electric kiln with a 8 foot  wide gate to road-enclosed on three sides.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Mark C.

[Kelly in AK]

Concrete floor with a drain. Very satisfied with ease of cleanup. Vacuum (HEPA filter), flood with water, squeegee it all down the drain, then flood the drain for good measure. I have a couple of puzzle mat squares in places I stand a lot, but not at my wheel. I throw semi-standing: elevated wheel and a tall stool with an angled foam cushion (Big cushion!). It makes the transition from sitting to standing much easier and I’m mostly off my feet in that spot. 

While I’m at it…L4&5 on some days (lifting), C5,6,&7 others (decorating and trimming), and shoulders whenever they decide to hurt (usually wedging). It hits the day after. Occasionally they’ll all go at once. Tylenol days. 

[Pyewackette]

@GEP 10 years on, how is the flooring in your studio holding up?

Studio redesign at Good Elephant Pottery

Also what is that stuff and where did you find it?  Is it this kind of stuff?

[GEP]

On 11/7/2023 at 1:16 PM, Pyewackette said:

@GEP 10 years on, how is the flooring in your studio holding up?

Studio redesign at Good Elephant Pottery

Also what is that stuff and where did you find it?  Is it this kind of stuff?

It’s called G-Floor, a heavy duty vinyl flooring meant for garages. It has held up very well at the 10 year mark. The only deterioration is some minor buckling around the legs of the kilns, I guess from the heat of the kilns. But overall I am very happy with it. 

[Pyewackette]

@GEP I'm interested in anything that you can haul heavy stuff across.  I have some real furniture that would leave marks/holes in typical vinyl flooring.  Too bad the stuff only seems to come in black and grey (at least the stuff I've looked at).  There is a sort of browny-tan that is always out of stock at Home Despot.  I will soon be moving in with my son and they like the vinyl stuff.  I like real tile.  *sigh*

My preference for a studio space is bare concrete or ceramic tile, the former being cheap, the latter, EXPENSIVE, LOL!  Is the floor warmer with the garage vinyl, or rather, less cold?  Double LOL!

EDIT:  Yeah, seems to be the same stuff Home Despot sells.  Some of it, anyway.  The browny-tan stuff is out of stock even on the G-Floor website.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Pyewackette

[GEP]

@Pyewackette, I drag heavy things across the floor a lot, and it does not scuff at all. 

If I had the choice of bare concrete, I would prefer that. I needed some kind of covering because my basement came with asbestos tiles. Best way to mitigate those is to cover them up. 

I would not put ceramic tiles in a pottery studio. Lots of heavy things get dropped, and the tiles will be cracked in no time. 

I don’t think the G-Floor makes the floor warmer or softer, it’s not like a residential vinyl floor. I wear very cushy shoes to keep my feet happy (brand name OOFOS sandals, designed for runners).

If you have the option for wood or concrete, those would be best. Like others here, you can use foam mats where needed if you need some softness. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by GEP

[Pyewackette]

@GEP Totally agree.  I'm actually thinking living space as well.  Like I said, real furniture that would damage even good quality vinyl plank flooring and the like.  A lot of likely suspects for an upcoming move have basement space that would need to be partially converted to living space with my studio in the remainder. I'd rather ceramic tile in a living area and washable area rugs,but bare concrete in the work space.  My footwear is Teva rafting sandals year round, the real deal not their "consumer" line.  Very safe even on slippery surfaces and well-padded.  That will probably change when I get back to a place where winter is a real thing with snow and ice, and it actually rains regularly, LOL!

Fortunately asbestos tile is the least likely use of asbestos to be a danger, it is very stable, even if you break pieces off.  But your floor sure looks a lot nicer than if it were still covered by 50+ year old asbestos tile.

[Denice]

My concrete floors with the foam mats is very comfortable to stand on.   I have had crummy feet, legs and hips my whole life so I have to have softness under my feet.  If my studio gets really messy I can stack them and wash them with a hose outside and  my concrete floor can get a good cleaning.   I have areas in my studio where they get thin so I just pull several sections out and replace them.   My last studio was in a basement with no windows and a brick floor.  I used the mats, painted everything white and used lots of lights hanging from the ceiling.    My husband just replaced my florescent lights in my current studio with LED bulbs for workshops or garages.   You can adjust the color of white you want and pretty inexpensive,  I am very picky about color. Denice

[Pyewackette]

@Denice I'm picky about lighting color too.  I hate the blue kind LOL!  I finally gave up on the last of my T8 fluorescents and am now using LED shop lights exclusively for my plants/seed starting.  They weigh practically nothing for one thing, and I can string up dozens of them in place of just a handful of the old fluorescents.  I would happily use them for overhead lighting, and lots of them.  I like brightly lit!

[Denice]

The blue lights are awful,  they remind me of visiting my mother in the hospital.   The walls were painted a neon lime green and the blue lights made grey  shadows on the wall.  I was only 10 but I felt like death was waiting around the corner.  My mother was fine she had a  baby.   Denice

[JohnnyK]

I've got a waterproof heavy vinyl tile that is glued together. I installed it in the summer heat and in the winter it buckled on me in a few places. That's unusual because I would expect the opposite. When the summer came again, the floor flattened out. On the plus side, it is very easy to keep clean and mopping it is a breeze!

[Pres]

I would thin that any sort of vinyl flooring over concrete would act as a moisture barrier of sorts, Interesting, as I set over an underground river.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Pyewackette]

Sometimes you don't want a moisture barrier, or at least not some types of moisture barrier systems.  Rising water could cause a floor to buckle, but I wouldn't think that would be a winter thing.  

The following is about basement walls rather than floors but I would think floors and flooring can be problematic in a basement as well.  Plus its over 20 years old, so maybe things are better now, but it makes me NOT want a finished basement.  Who knows what is behind that gypsum board on the perimeter in a basement. I'd be good with a few interior walls and bare cement otherwise (and good dehumidifiers).  You can always  hang curtains or other fabric hangings to hide the walls and provide a brighter environment.  I've seen plenty of "finished" basements that show signs of water damage, and if you can see it on the gypsum, things are worse behind it.

http://www.nlcpr.com/BasementInsulation.pdf