[Shop-talk] floor options for new slab

[steve hochschild]

So back to the old standby, shop flooring...

  I am building a  welding studio / track car shop behind my 
grrlfriend's house in Austin.  It is 16' x 32', and I just got my slab 
poured on Tuesday.  Had to pump the 12 yards of concrete, and it was a 
lot of work to manhandle the hose, but I think they did a good job. It 
was power-troweled to a smooth surface, and is nice and level.

I had always planned on an epoxy floor, but I have just been told that I 
have two issues: I have to wait 6 months for the slab to fully cure 
before I epoxy it or it will bubble, and second, that I don't want an 
epoxy floor where I plan to weld.  I do tig welding on a welding table, 
but there are falling pieces, sparks, plasma cutting, and so on, and it 
is suggested that this will eat up the epoxy very quickly.

So I saw a concrete paint at a big-box, and my neighbor is having her 
floors stained, so I would welcome yr thoughts and advice on using 
either paint or stain?

I've already tried the plastic matting approach, which I don't want, but 
what about linoleum or vinyl tiles?  How about laminate  - it would look 
good, but will it work ??  I think it would have to be glued down, as it 
doesn't seem like floating it on the pad would work.

Very excited about this project!  Thanks!