Why Standard Shed Floors Snap Under a Squat Rack
You put a heavy squat rack in a standard timber shed and the floor bows. Here is why a proper garden gym needs a heavy-duty sub-frame.
The Bouncing Floor
People want to get the gym gear out of the spare room. They buy a standard timber summerhouse, load a heavy squat rack in, and the floor immediately starts bowing.
Standard shed floors are just thin boards sitting on basic timber battens. Step inside with a barbell on your back and the whole room bounces. Drop a cast iron plate, and it goes straight through the floor.
The Heavy Frame
If you are putting a tonne of steel in a room, you need a heavy frame underneath it.
We don't just sit the room on the grass. We put concrete pads or steel ground screws in first to actually take the load. Then we build a heavy timber or steel bearer frame on top. The weight of the gym gear goes straight down into the groundworks.
Thick SIPs Floors
Once the frame is down, we lay a 172mm SIP floor panel over the top.
It's a thick, heavy base. By the time the floor goes down, it is locked solid. You can bolt a heavy rack to it, load it up with treadmills and plates, and the floor won't flex or bend.
See The Gear In Person
Do it properly the first time. If you want a gym you can actually lift in without putting your foot through the floor, build it out of heavy gear.
We are building a live display cabin down at the garden centre right now. Come down, have a look at the actual thickness of the floor panels we use, and see the sub-frame for yourself.
Stop by the office at 17 Tweedale Road, Bournemouth, or call 07835 390845.
