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Workshop - Covering Up Carpet

Adam Oke

Adam Oke

Well Known Member
So I will start the tail kit (once I order it ;)) in my downstairs rec room.

It is all carpet. I can only imagine that aluminum shavings will stick to it like epoxy. I'm trying to come up with some ideas on how to protect it. I have thought either:

A) Cheap. Canvas tarp around the work area

B) Expensive. Plastic Chair Mat. Ideally I would want this method or something similar. But these are bloody expensive for what they are.

Those who have built in carpeted areas; What have you done to keep the shavings away?
 
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"Masonite"

Those plastic chair mats are quite brittle and will break easily from concentrated loads, if the underlying carpet has any "give" at all.

"Masonite" or "hardboard" (about 3/16" thick, made of compressed fibers with smooth burnished surfaces ) sells for about 0.5 USD per square foot, in 4' x 8' sheets.

You can cover the floor with the Masonite sheets and secure the edges together with duct tape. This method is used in the building I work in very successfully to deal with furniture crews and their dollies and so forth.
 
I agree that the Al shavings will NOT be removable from the carpet. Sounds like the masonite may do the trick, but you may end up sacrificing the carpet eventually anyway as those shavings have a way of getting everywhere. Another alternative might be to pull up the carpet and store it somewhere for the few months :)D) that you are building. That would also give you a more solid floor to keep your workbench etc. flat.

greg
 
How many square feet are you talking about???

I'd buy a cheap roll of 4-6 mil plastic sheeting and lay down a couple of layers.

Then cover it up with Flexi-Tile from Lowes. The Flexi-Tile will give you a good surface to work/walk on, your carpet will be protected from shavings/spills/splineters, and also the Flexi-Tile won't rip holes in the sheeting either.

That gets my bet.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=260637-53226-540DG45&lpage=none

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=64430-282-64430&lpage=none

Phil
 
Excellent ideas so far!

The workspace I've been allotted so far is about 15x6 so far ....90 square feet. Expandable.
 
Carpet

Very low pile (indoor/outdoor type)? Or foam backed plush(interior livingroom type)? Different types of carpet require different applications. Polyethynene is out..too flismy. If you lay 3/8" OSB sheathing over inexpensive foam underlay and carpet, the carpet may not "bounce back". One thing you could do is just take it up and replace it when you're fiished...unless it's glued down:rolleyes:
 
I built most of my plane in my living room on carpet. Before I started the build i went to home depot and bought the most inexpensive carpet they had to cover the nice apartment carpet. I didnt have any problems removing chips from either carpet. I even got my full deposit back after I moved out.
 
rph142 said:
snip.. I didnt have any problems removing chips from either carpet. I even got my full deposit back after I moved out.
Click to expand...

I agree with Rob. Vacuum often during the process and clean after you are done for the day. Should not be a problem. I built 9 tail on carpet floor when I was renting a studio in New York.
 
Roll it up and store it.

Adam Oke said:
So I will start the tail kit (once I order it ;)) in my downstairs rec room.

It is all carpet. I can only imagine that aluminum shavings will stick to it like epoxy. I'm trying to come up with some ideas on how to protect it. I have thought either:

A) Cheap. Canvas tarp around the work area

B) Expensive. Plastic Chair Mat. Ideally I would want this method or something similar. But these are bloody expensive for what they are.

Those who have built in carpeted areas; What have you done to keep the shavings away?
Click to expand...

Adam, I began the 1st part of my build in a 16' x 16' area that was carpeted, I rolled up the carpet and stored it, (the pad got sacraficed) Then when I moved the build out of that area, I put down new pad and reinstalled the carpet. Worked great !
 
I've now built over both carpet (shag) and painted concrete. Obviously the concrete is easier to keep clean, but the carpet wasn't that hard either. As others have stated, best practice is to clean up at the end of the day regardless of the surface and you can't go wrong. One caveat, I wouldn't recommend doing any of the fiberglass work over carpet--put something else down first. Vacuuming up aluminum shavings is one thing, but drips of expoxy or dust from sanding is something completely different. YMMV.
 
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