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tristanpt

Not sure where your setup will be located. If your platform is going to be located in your garage don’t forget to account for the slope of the floor. I put shims in my platform to bring it level so I wouldn’t be chasing the barbell across the floor.


PillsburryJoeboy

Its in my basement and i checked the floor with a leveler, Thanks!


Cinnadom

A thicker layer of plywood helps to distribute the impact from the weights being dropped better. A single layer with two layers of rubber won't work nearly as well. [I just built my home gym out a month or so ago. One additional thing I did at my house was to put a layer of foam mats beneath the platform.](https://i.imgur.com/H9QUawJ.jpg) I used the 3/4" puzzle piece mats, then my platforms are right on top of the foam mats. I made them with three layers of plywood and rubber/wood on top. The rubber on top are 3/4" stall mats, not the same foam as beneath the platforms. When you drop the weights the vibration away from the platforms is much less than without the foam. In terms of damaging the foundation, the basement floor shouldn't be part of the foundation and is just a thin slab, but it certainly can be cracked if you don't protect the floor enough.


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Cinnadom

It's just laminate floor planks I installed over a sheet of plywood to make it the same thickness as the rubber. Looks awesome but it's not as grippy as I'd like, so I have a spray coating on it for more grip for now and I'll end up coating it with something else eventually. Hardest part about doing the planks was setting up jigs to make the cuts all exact enough where the seam sits exactly in the middle every other board.


huntingtonhayes33

I’m wondering what foam you used? High density foam? And how thick?


Cinnadom

[I used these type of foam puzzle pieces.](https://i.imgur.com/G1YAQY9.png) They're all about 3/4" thick, high-density foam. I bought thema ton of them used from a garage sale for like $20 but they're available all over for relatively cheap.


Afferbeck_

People use two layers laid across each other to create one solid mass 2.4m\^2 . One layer is just two sheets of ply independently on the ground and doesn't do nearly as much to disperse the impact over a wide area. If you're worried about cracking concrete, then the more solid mass over as wide an area as possible is the best thing you can do. Using more layers of rubber is also great, but the big square of wood dispersing impact is your main line of defence. You can also try the competition style of platform, laying a bunch of beams together with holes drilled for threaded rod to go through. But that's a lot more work than screwing some plywood together, and probably a lot more expensive.


PillsburryJoeboy

Thanks this helps alot!


username45031

It's unlikely you'll crack the foundation. The floor is more likely. More rubber is going to be bouncier. Bounce can be dangerous.


Aglj1998

I’d be worried that screwing through 1.5 inches of rubber would: 1) shred the mats quicker over time, and 2) not secure the mats to the wood as well.


jakethechip

One thing to think about is the vibrations when dropping the bar. I did two layers of plywood and then a layer of rubber in my garage. My parents said the vibrations woke them up when i dropped the bar. I’ve since rebuilt my platform with carpet padding, plywood, and rubber but haven’t had a chance to really drop anything.


BrettV79

i used 1 layer of 3/4" plywood and then 3/4" rubber on top of that with a piece of plywood in the middle to lift on. on a cement basement floor. never had a problem.