Alright folks, let’s talk about the money pit I just dug myself into – putting wood flooring in my garage gym. Wanna know what that actually costs? Spoiler: more than I bargained for.
When I decided to stop stepping on concrete during deadlifts, I figured wood was the way to go. Felt nicer, looked warmer. First thing I did? Crawl all over that dang garage floor with a tape measure. Sketching it out on some scratch paper like a mad architect. Did the math – length times width equals a surprisingly big area. Sigh.
Next step: actually figuring out what wood to use. Went down the Google rabbit hole. Saw tons of options, prices all over the place. Plywood? OSB? Pressure-treated? Made my head spin. Price tags from cheap and flimsy to “are you kidding me?” expensive.
Finally settled on 3/4-inch plywood. Thick enough to not bend like a noodle, supposedly. Drove my truck down to the big orange hardware store. Looked at the stacks… and the prices. Yikes. Needed quite a few sheets. Did some quick mental gymnastics with the calculator app on my phone. Kept saying “Nah, that can’t be right” and recalculating.
Rough cost breakdown smacked me upside the head:
- Plywood sheets: Holy cow, these things ain’t cheap.
- Self-leveling compound: Because my garage floor is wavy like the ocean. Extra bucket? Of course.
- Construction adhesive: Need that sticky goo to glue it all down.
- Underlayment strips? Maybe? Decided nah, cut that corner for now.
- Miscellaneous crap: Screws, sandpaper, probably bandaids for when I smash my thumb.
Total cost somewhere around… well, let’s just say it made my wallet whimper. More than I expected, way more than those puzzle mats would’ve been.
Then came the fun part. Prep. Oh man, the prep. Sweeping that garage floor like a maniac. Vacuuming up years of dust bunnies and mystery garage stuff. Then pouring that self-leveling crap. Let me tell you, that stuff doesn’t level itself as nicely as the name suggests. Ended up with some bumps anyway. Go figure.
Cutting the plywood sheets with my circular saw? Nerve-wracking. Sawdust everywhere. Measured everything twice, still kinda screwed up here and there. That “measure twice, cut once” thing? More like measure twice, buy more plywood.
Slapping down adhesive like frosting on a cake. Humping those heavy sheets onto the glue, lining ’em up juuust right. Fighting with the weight of the wood. Getting splinters. Sweating buckets. Real glamorous stuff, folks.
Finally got ’em all down. Then I realized: edges aren’t perfect. Corners stick up a little. Thought about trimming… then thought “Screw it, good enough.” Sanded down the rough spots. Knee still hurts.
So, was it worth it? Floor feels solid underfoot now. Looks better than stained concrete. But the cost? HUGE pain. Time spent? A whole dang weekend gone. Next time I feel cheap? Might just suck it up and use the concrete.
Lesson learned: Garage gym flooring ain’t just about the board price. It’s the glue, the leveler, the screaming at uneven cuts… and your knees begging for mercy.
Would I do it again? Maybe. But only after a very stiff drink and pretending I don’t remember how much it hurt the wallet. Just get better shoes.
