What flooring should I have in my home workshop?

[Eveness]

Thanks everyone for your very valuable advice. I shall have a think about how to store the carpet if I lift it up...or if I opt for the IKEA mats for the moment (I know what you mean though Pat, I've had one of these before and remember it was pretty easy to move around on!)
Good point too on the apron Dennis!


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[Wren]

this is very timely. The floor of my studio is concrete, and as previous occupants wre painters/sculptors etc, it is in dire need of looking less grim. I've been wondering about vinyl too. Didn't even think about the hot metal aspect *hangs head*

The floor in my workshop is also concrete and cold too, I put B&Q carpet tiles down warmer than vinyl, they stop dropped stones from bouncing out of view and keep my feet warm, if I were to drop anything hot- heaven forbid and burn a hole then I can replace the tile.

[pearlescence]

I'm about to get laminate - that'll stop those pesky pearls from hiding!

[donnie]

My experience of floor coverings is a painfull one, after working in my garage where if you dropped anything smaller than an anvil it was gone forever. Bit by bit I sneaked my tools etc. into my office in the house. I was soldering this ring and some how it jumped out of the third hand and on to the carpet quick as a flash I bent down picked it up burnt fingers dropped it , picked it up burnt fingers dropped it, picked it up bur. you get the idea. Three ring shape burns in the carpet, size R if I remember. I am now in my purpose built workshop with concrete floor.

DONNIE


[url]www.facebook.com/Silver n Things

[surfergirl]

I was soldering this ring and some how it jumped out of the third hand and on to the carpet quick as a flash I bent down picked it up burnt fingers dropped it , picked it up burnt fingers dropped it, picked it up bur.

Haha! I'm sure lots of people can relate to this, Donnie! I have several bezel shapes burnt into my 'bench' (kitchen table).

[Petal]

Further to James' recommendation, I bought 2 sheets of 8ft x 4ft x 18mm thick plywood from B&Q, taped together with very strong tape. It means that things which are dropped make a lovely pinging sound and if you are quick you can see where they have gone to. Its ok for dropping hot things too, as you can see the burn marks to locate it!

[LydiaNiz]

I dont know if I've told my best 'dropped it' story on here. My first studio was above a furniture workshop. It was basically a 40 x 30 foot open warehouse where a chap made oak furniture by hand, and was full of planks, blocks and about fifty tons of shavings and sawdust at any given time.
I was making a ring for a friend, and she'd given me her engagement ring to size it from. The engagement ring was silver, and really dirty, so as an extra 'nice', I thought I'd polish it.
It got snatched by the mop - flew up into the air, down onto the floor, sideways and perfectly straight through a gap in the floor, 20 feet down to the furniture workshop.
I almost threw up. Went down into the workshop, and apparently 'went white' looking at the odds of ever seeing it again.
I explained to the chap what had happened, and unbelievably, he reached down between his feet and picked it straight up.
I never did fess up to my friend...

[pearlescence]

St Eligius clearly on duty that day

[Ebo Von Gaz]

Ha, just looked up who St. Eligius was, never knew there was a patron saint of goldsmiths, and car mechanics.

I had to laugh when I read that " Besides Eligius' self-mortification, Dado recalled his propensity for weeping, "For he had the great grace of tears."" - probably tears of frustration from dropping teeny leetle things and trying to find them again on a wooden floor.

He also apparently shoe-ed a horse by chopping its leg off, affixing the shoe, and then glueing the leg back on. Pretty much how I'd go about it too.

[Goldsmith]

Ha, just looked up who St. Eligius was, never knew there was a patron saint of goldsmiths, and car mechanics.

I had to laugh when I read that " Besides Eligius' self-mortification, Dado recalled his propensity for weeping, "For he had the great grace of tears."" - probably tears of frustration from dropping teeny leetle things and trying to find them again on a wooden floor.

He also apparently shoe-ed a horse by chopping its leg off, affixing the shoe, and then glueing the leg back on. Pretty much how I'd go about it too.

UK goldsmiths also have St Dunston as the patron saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths, St. Eligius was an earlier French patron saint of goldsmiths.

James