Well, I've just done a completely unscientific test by making a bead and putting it down hot on a piece of vinyl flooring. The amount of icky smelly smoke it gave off has persuaded me I don't want vinyl :(
I don't really want ceramic tiles as I think they'll be cold in winter.
Recommendations please :D I would like to be able to keep my toes warm in winter but I don't want icky smoke if I drop a bead.
Hi Diane, you could try putting a fire blanket under where you work, that would still keep your feet warm ;D
hardboard, cheap and cheerful and doesnt smell bad when hoyglass goes on it
Hi Diane
I asked the same question last year and searched the net for reasonably priced non-flammable flooring.
I think ceramic tiles are probably the most practical option but I avoided them because my floor isn't flat and I was worried they'd be cold. In the end I couldn't find anything reliably non-flammable and affordable so I stuck with my plywood shed floor. It isn't the prettiest of floors but I didn't see the point in paying for another layer of something to get burnt!
Sarah
xxx
Quote from: Hollergrafik or Special Kay :) on October 13, 2010, 04:36:01 PM
hardboard, cheap and cheerful and doesnt smell bad when hoyglass goes on it
Ooh, hadn't thought of that, worth thinking about as it could be laid over the green stuff (underlay stuffy for laminate flooring) and could probably be replaced quite easily.
Quote from: Sarah on October 13, 2010, 04:37:51 PM
In the end I couldn't find anything reliably non-flammable and affordable so I stuck with my plywood shed floor. It isn't the prettiest of floors but I didn't see the point in paying for another layer of something to get burnt!
Thanks Sarah but the grooves in the wooden floor would bug me as they would collect bits of glass. I really want something flat and easy to sweep.
I had Kingspan put down then hardwood then the tiles. Not too cold at all and so easy to clean, sweep etc plus no problems with hot glass.
I got a few packs of cheap laminate - seems to be OK :) :)
I have hospital grade commercial flooring down. It smoulders and chars a bit but is fire-resistant.
Kazx
I'd say cheap laminate should do the trick :)
Quote from: Kaz on October 13, 2010, 08:15:47 PM
I have hospital grade commercial flooring down. It smoulders and chars a bit but is fire-resistant.
Kazx
Good choice as that is what I will most probably end up with . Anything left over from a job. We always tend to go for commercial stuff as we know it lasts forever
I have pub carpet on my stairs , best carpet ever as it is hard wearing for all the mutts we have ;D
I have laminate, the cheaper one from Wickes I think it was.
I've got quarry tiles in the porch, but I have an old rug folded up under the bench. Nice for my toes - and somewhere for Charlie to settle down with any old tin can he's pinched out of the bin :D
I love your reprobate dog ;D
Quote from: turnedlight on October 14, 2010, 02:35:28 PM
I have laminate, the cheaper one from Wickes I think it was.
yep that's what I got ;D ;D
Quote from: Kaz on October 14, 2010, 10:33:37 PM
I love your reprobate dog ;D
You'd have enjoyed today then - helped himself to a bag of sausage treats from a lady's pocket, she actually said it was an impressive trick :D :-[ :-[
fwiw, absorbent wood floors (eg plywood, hardboard, etc) can be very effectively flame-proofed with a spray. Also, fabrics and paper products can be treated. In fact, it's kind of fun to sit in your torching chair with a spray bottle, and look around for burnable things to turn unburnable....
http://www.flints.co.uk/acatalog/Flame_Retardants.html (http://www.flints.co.uk/acatalog/Flame_Retardants.html)
Hoomins?
Kazx
Sadly, hoomins aren't absorbent enough. And, even though it stops things going on fire, it doesn't stop them getting reeeeeally hot.
Sean
I was thinking you could use a-certain-person-in-my-office's face.
Been one of those weeks.
Seriously, I use that really thin board that you get at the back of self assembly wardrobes. The shiny side is surprisingly scorch proof, and cos it's made from wood / cardboard pulp it's also warm.
Kirsty
Thanks for all the helpful (and others ;D) suggestions. If I knew how to get hold of the hospital flooring I'd definitely go with that as have serious envy of Kaz's shedio :D
However, failing any turning up :P, I think I'll go with the cheapo laminate and then put my old mats down again as I know for sure that they don't burn as they have been tested pretty well ::) They are industrial mats which were the only perk of the old day job :)
My hubby is a carpet fitter and came home with lots of hard wood samples that the flooring shops have on display and then chuck in the skip when a product is discontinued.
When I was using the spare bedroom as my studio, he laid it on top of the carpet and it worked a treat.
I then moved into the caravan studio and it was put down in there and it is fantastic and it was free :)
Hubby has got for my new tardis the same colour pink as the maxi kiln for the floor. A rubber flooring that he put down in one of liverpools gay clubs.
I have not seen it yet but hopefully there will be enough to do the worktop as well. All i need is the fluffy handcuffs ;) ;)
Oooh, that sounds fab Stacy - I'd love some! Does it come in lime green? ;D
Rubber flooring sounds cool - we considered teh stuff they use in milking parlours !!!! its very hardy rubber but only in black :(
Julie - I will ask about Lime Green Rubber.
I love the fact my hubby is a floor layer I always look at the cool flooring he does for other people , we have left overs and he always does it plain. Our stairs carpet is pub carpet and it has been down 2 yrs it still looks brand new. my lounge is a bowling ally floor left overs :P :P And now I have rubber . What next I wonder ???
I have got concrete. It is filthy and dusty, looks awful and feels really cold. But it doesn't smell when you drop hot glass on it. Ah well - every cloud has a silver lining!
Mine's is concrete too because its the add on outhouse bit and nothings ever been done to it by the lanlady, I dont mind as its a great place to torch... except it is so hard to keep clean, hoovering works best though.
Julie, I thought your pooch had had a personality change as you haven't posted about bluddy ******* dog, insert whatever mental thing hes been up to lately in the space..... ;D ;D ;D
Julie - yes you can have a lime green floor in rubber or whatever you want but unfortunately its not a freebie off a job like my cast offs.
But in answer to the question - YES you can have lime green ::) ::)
But rubber will melt when hot glass drops on it as it surely will.
i have no idea but hubby says suitable commercial stuff , vinyl melts , carpet burns most things get ruined when hot glass is on it except concrete , stone floors etc I expect.
Hubby is that paranoid with the safety he will do his up most to make it as safe as he can, the same as I am about the safety stuff when melting.
We have amtico in our lounge with a log burner so its the same thing if some coal gets on the floor it would melt so safety wise we would treat it the same as any hazard. The same if people have rugs in front of a log burner or open fire even if you have carpet, if you are not careful accidents can happen.
my hubby works with elf and safety all the time and hes never let me down yet with our floors at home ;) ;) ;) And its free and pink !!!!!