I worked for several years in a shop with a concrete floor that was poured
over 3" of styrofoam. We were in Iowa -- similar to Michigan, but hotter in
the summers and colder in the winter . We built the building on the early
eighties -- it's still there.

This worked VERY well; in the winter, the slab would heat up during the day
(we had lots of south facing windows) and still be a little warm in the
morning. Nice and pleasant. In summer, it seemed like any other concrete
floor, but would not sweat as much. We noticed no unusual settling or
cracking. Of course, that has more to do with what is **underneath** the
styrofoam.

If you took a 4x4 post and dropped it vertically, you could feel the floor
vibrate a tiny little bit, but we didn't notice any vibration transmission
from the bigger machines (the biggest was a 36" Timesaver).

It's a cheap improvement -- you just have to be a little careful when you
pour. We left the styrofoam out until the last minute -- didn't think a
backing a concrete truck over it would do it much good.

Matthew Eash
"TDUP" wrote in message
...
Hi to all,

I want to build a 24x32 workshop and was wondering what kind of flooring I
should use. I live in Michigan and it's cold 1/2 the year. Has anyone used
a
concrete slab over a Styrofoam or some other type of barrier? What
insulation value should be in the ceiling or walls?

Thanks for any help.

Tim