I think it would be important to paint the floor to hold down the dust. After that, add movable pads or rugs that cushion walking along the layout. That way you can move them for sweeping and cleaning. For myself, I have fewer and fewer pads. I just place them where I am working/ operating that day. If you want to cover the whole floor, I would not use a rug as dropped parts are hard to find.
I use the padded foam from Costco and others. It comes in 2 x 2 squares with interlocking edges. It has saved my feet and legs from fatigue, and I highly recommend it. I use it only in my aisles, not the entire room. The layout is on solid concrete; the padded foam goes up to the supports for the layout.
Hmm, mine's a little bigger. Here's the first level--there are two levels above it. The white space is where I put the foam padding.
Jeeeez. Sweet! Lucky guy to have all that space. I see why it's nice to have the padding on the floor.
Link to Gel Pro Here is a link to Gel Pro. The best, most comfortable mats I seen. They are "pricey". Don't know if these would make it to my train room. HOWEVER, the Mrs. did manage to score a couple of these in our kitchen. We ran across these in an article in Bon Appétit magazine. They are used in many commercial kitchens and resturants. Pricey, but excellent.
my whole house is a concrete slab and the garage hurt my legs. Just sitting at the work table with slippers on you feel the cold go right up your legs. you want something that will block the cold UNLESS you live someplace warm!!
The part of the basement that I negotiated running rights for after the kids moved out was carpeted with padding when we bought the house and I left it in place when I built my layout. I've had cars derail and go off the layout (48-inch level) and not get damaged. If little parts go flying (usually KD coil springs), they are definitely hard (impossible) to find, but are generally easy to replace. I've been happy with the padded carpet; good to have that cushion just in case and the padding makes it easy on my feet too, plus, it's not cold like concrete. Lots of good suggestions by other posters too.
I used the most inexpensive peel and sticks (12X12"s ) I could find. I got a pretty good wood floor effect too. 10' X 12' room done for $45.
