Obsy flooring

[Garethr]

Found this flooring in Halfords for £10 a pack.

6x 600 mm x600mm interlocking rubber floor tiles. They are approx 10mm thick and nice and soft.

I think they are for children's play areas. Anyhow have done the Obsy floor round the scope and think its a winner. Not only does it soften the size 10s walking around I think that dropped eye piece might just live now.

Pic below

[Bizibilder]

It's good stuff!!  And only £10 - I paid almost double that on fleabay for mine!

[Gina]

I have the same but not from Halfords, either fleabay or Amazon - can't remember now.  Great flooring anyway

[Macavity]

It is good stuff. The only downside is a tendency to expand and rise

in a "hill" if you open a ro-ro roof on a sunny day. I have never found

out where some minor damp enters around my observatory walls. 

Seemingly it fails to evaporate (sweats?) under the tiles. I plan to try

leaving a 2" gap around the walls. See if it cures both problems...

Sadly this a wet region (Wales!) with the obsy on a large paved raft.

[SnakeyJ]

Crikey, that is a good price. Might have to get some for the kids to play on as well ;-)

[Merlin66]

+2 from me!

I've used this in all the observatory rebuilds I've done.

Pays for itself the first time you accidently drop an eyepiece.

[Wikiastro]

Some smart Alec put it in my lab at work (but plain grey).  They neglected to consider that a high school lab might occasionally have spillages.  They are unsealed and any liquid seeps under the tiles.  Kids have had their bags soaked after someone spilled water across the other side of the room, and then pushed the liquid accidentally along by walking until it pops up through the joins.

It is quite good at helping prevent broken glassware - it saves stuff about 50% of the time.

So long as you keep it dry, or are willing to lift the tiles to mop up, you won't have a problem.

[mikeDnight]

The interlocking black matting makes a wonderful insulator in winter. No need for big boots anymore :-)

I used the matting as a wall covering also. Its great for keeping stray light to a minimum. So in effect, my observatory has become my own padded cell.

Mike

[JamesF]

Some smart Alec put it in my lab at work (but plain grey).  They neglected to consider that a high school lab might occasionally have spillages.  They are unsealed and any liquid seeps under the tiles.  Kids have had their bags soaked after someone spilled water across the other side of the room, and then pushed the liquid accidentally along by walking until it pops up through the joins.

To some pupils, that looks like a challenge

James

[JamesF]

Looking here: http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/tools-diy/garage-equipment/rolson-6-piece-floor-mat-set-120-x-180cm

it appears that they'll do delivery within four working days for £3 or next day for £5 if you order three packs.

If it weren't for the spillage risk I'd even order some right now for the brewery floor.

James

[Garethr]

Chris

Agree with leaving a gap round the edge it does appear to expand in the heat a little.

Cut a 15 mm gap on 2 sides to allow for expansion and it seems to have sorted the hill that appeared yesterday good advice

Gareth

[MCinAZ]

  How does your flooring do with the chair on wheels? I like the idea of having something other than bare concrete under foot, and this looks like a better choice than, say, indoor/outdoor carpeting if the wheels on the chair don't cause a problem.

[Garethr]

MCinAZ

This is only in the room with the scope in, I have carpet tiles in the warm room and one square of this under the desk to put my feet on.

I dont think it will work with castors on a chair as it is quite soft and would probably sink in too far.  Keep my feet nice and warm though.  

[r3i]

  How does your flooring do with the chair on wheels? I like the idea of having something other than bare concrete under foot, and this looks like a better choice than, say, indoor/outdoor carpeting if the wheels on the chair don't cause a problem.

I have the same kind of flooring in my observatory and I use a carpet protector (aka chair mat) to stop the chair wheels sinking into the foam.  Something like those sold here, but I got mine off ebay:  http://www.floormats.co.uk/chairmats/carpet-protector-1

[JamesF]

We use those to protect carpeted, wooden and quarry-tiled floors under wheeled chairs and have found them to do an excellent job, even under my desk chair which the uncharitable might suggest has a harder time than most

James

[Physopto]

You can buy these tiles in COSTCO for about half the price if you are a member. Packs of eight. They do expand with increasing temperature, but also spread a bit with time and walking on them. I bought some more about a year after the first ones and found the new set did not click together with the first set easilly. After a week or so they fitted better. They are easilly damaged with sharp edges as in boot scuffs or heavy boxes.

A great buy to keep warm tootsies and save dropped optics!

Derek

[Earl]

I have these on the floor of my oby and had them in the one before, they er not bad but not heavy duty imo, you can get thicker ones i think if you want.