Hi Martyn,

Might depend on what you intend to do in your workshops and if you move your machines around. My workshop has horizontal floor, this makes it easy to move equipment, I have casters under most of my equipment and adjustable feet that I lower when the machine is in the right place.

Thor

When you want to “level” a lathe, using a precision level to get any twist out of the bed, having a non-level floor would be a b****r!

I agree with Duncan, it won’t matter for ‘levelling’ the lathe. A slight slope, say 1 degree max (about 20mm per metre), would probably be an advantage just in case of unintended liquid spillage or ingress and is unlikely to cause problems when shifting heavy things.

Rob

My workshop floor is as level as makes no diffrence for everything I do. Were I to be in the OP’s position I would wonder how uncomfortable standing for long periods (e.g. at the lathe) on a sloping floor would be. I don’t suppose there are any rules so the best way to find out would be to try it with your floor and your body.

On 13 March 2024 at 18:44 Martyn Poole Said:

…

The garage floors have a slopes varying between about 1 and 5 degrees, from the rear wall to the front double doors, which I guess was done to allow drainage from vehicles within as the site is not prone to flooding….

Are you serious? A five degree slope is an 18-inch fall over the length of a single car garage. That’s not a floor. That’s a ramp.

Wear one 4″ stiletto heeled shoe and one flip flop and you might be able to work on it.

On 14 March 2024 at 00:20 Bazyle Said:

If the garages can now or by a future owner be used as a garage ie for the storage of a car, then there is I believe a legal requirement to have a sloping floor. If you brick up the main door to prevent that you might still need planning consent for change of use.

Yes usually an inch or two of fall to facilitate run-off. But 18 inches????

The sloping floor requirement is only for integral garages. As an alternative you can hav3 a 100mm step down to the garage from the house. It does not sound like the OP’s garages are integral. See B3 5.3 (page 30) of
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485420/BR_PDF_AD_B1_2013.pdf

This is as you can see a fire precaution so any fuel will drain outside. Interesting to see what they will do about EV’s where the energy source won’t drain away. Probably enhanced fire reistant linings.

Robert.

40 odd years ago I bought a block of buildings from the local council comprising of 6 garages on the ground floor with 2 x 2 bed flats above and 2 stair wells. I converted the whole block into one house over 3 years. I now have 5 bedrooms, study & library etc etc. I keep 2 garages as were. One of the other garages was converted into a small workshop and a wet shower/toilet room.

I left the workshop floor sloped as it was so little and could hardly be noticed when walking on it. By the time the benches were in and the machines leveled up on their legs the slope was not really noticeable. Never given it a thought until today.

All the other converted rooms had to have a dpc liner and insulation before the concrete floors were poured. The only planning permission needed was to add extra windows and move an external door + change of use for the new living areas. No change of use was needed for the workshop area. Even bricking in the old garage door openings did not need planning permission but was covered by building consent which is a different kettle of fish. It means that the alteration needs to conform to building regulations.

On 14 March 2024 at 08:26 JasonB Said:

The step down has been the norm for years, the slope was introduced more for wheelchair access than draining leaks. Not much point in having part M compliant thresholds on the doors if someone wants to drive into a garage and get into their chair and then has to go outside to get back into the house, or simply wants to go to and from the house and integral garage.

The wheelchair access may be in current regulations; I don’t know.  However, my father’s 1930s integral garage had a sloping floor, and he told me it was to allow rainwater, melted snow or leaked fuel to drain outdoors. It would not have been possible to get a wheelchair alongside the car.  The garage ceiling as built was a single layer of Celotex board nailed to the joists of my bedroom above!  Dad wouldn’t park the car indoors until he had a proper fire resistant ceiling (30 minute) installed.

My 1970s separate garage has a sloping concrete floor too, and the concrete is as rough as something proverbial.  I built a flooring frame of 3″ x 2″, set it on a waterproof membrane and levelled it, added flooring grade chipboard and finished with cheap B&Q laminate.  It’s dry and comfortable to stand on.  The only drawback is that when I drop anything substantial it makes a ‘ding’ in the rather brittle laminate.

George