Dude, saw your suggestion for a lifting platform, and checked out the article. Looks good. However I find the instructions somewhat illegible.
Have you built such a platform, or know someone who has? My questions are:
Does the platform actually need a base piece that is in contact FLAT with the ground. It’s dificult to describe, but basically what I’m trying to work out is whether the centre and side-fillings are just dropped into the supporting wood outline, and have contact with the floor directly, or is there a flat piece of wood(s) at the bottom of it all, in contact with the floor and connected to the “box” base
What’s a horse mat (excuse my ignorance). IS it a rubber mat, or one of those coarse fake-horse hair like mats that you use to wipe your shoes? I thought the latter- it seems to make sense to dull the noise, but not in the middle where a good foot grip is required!Please correct me?
I haven’t actually gotten around to building this platform yet, but I plan on putting one together in my spare bedroom when I can get together the rest of the materials. I was going to build an 8’x6’ version, just so it doesn’t take up a huge amount of space.
The description can be a little confusing. If you look at the two drawings on the bottom, you'll see that there are 4'x8' plywood sheets making up the bottom of the platform. So yes, there is a base piece that is flat with the ground. At least two 4'x8' plywood sheets are fastened together to make an 8'x8' base - if you feel you need to, you can add an additional 2 pieces on top of the first two, rotated 90 degrees from the first two pieces for added support. I was going to do this and then put together some joists to sit under the whole thing for extra support and to distribute the weight a little better.
A horse mat is a rubber mat. It's a mat they put at the bottom of a horse stall. Just do a search on Google for "horse mat" and you can find a place that sells them. It makes for a good foot grip, it's kind of like the rubber matting they use in commercial gyms. Wether you want to put it in the center section is entirely up to you; you can keep it as plain wood if you want.
Thanks dude, helps a lot. I’m definately planning something like this too. Don’t work out at home much, but when I do, I feel sorry for the neighbours! I was trying power jerks last night, and I’m sure the plaster was falling off the roof downstairs! SRS:-)
I hear you. I have a town house, and if I drop 500+ lbs on the floor of my spare bedroom I would create an instant skylight for my kitchen! And my neighbors just had a kid, so noise is an issue for me too. Glad I could help.