Here is my preferred way to build an 8'x8' olympic weightlifting platform! These plans can be modified to make a 6'x8' platform by cutting wood from 8' to 6'.These plans makes use of 1.5" Rogue Squares which reduce noise, vibration and damage to underlying concrete which is especially important in your home vs. just using 3/4" tractor/stall mats. The plans also cut the center wood down to 3' so the bar will almost always land on the rubber - if you leave the center plywood 4 feet wide - the bar (especially the 15kg bar) will end up being dropped on the wood frequently.Materials/Equipment
- 2- 4'x8' Sheets of 3/4" BC Grade Plywood (these can have knots but should be flat)
- 2- 4'x8' Sheets of 3/4" AB Grade Plywood (these should be sanded and not have any knots - you can get a hardwood plywood like Oak if you want to be upscale)
- 8 - 1.5" Rogue Squares (only 6 if modifying to 6x8 size)
- Pack of 2' Wood Screws (star bit preferred but any will do)
- Rogue Metal Frame to frame the platform or you can easily build your own frame out of 1x3 pieces of wood (4-8' lengths)
- Impact Drill/Driver
- Miter Saw (if building your own frame)
Cut (have Home Depot or other Hardware Store cut for you - so much easier)
- 2 Sheets of the BC Grade Plywood are left uncut
- 2 Sheets of AB Grade Plywood are cut to 3x8 with the remaining 1x8 pieces cut in half to make 4 - 6inch x 8 foot pieces that will go on the ends
Assembling
- If the floor is relatively level and the plywood is flat you should be able to simply screw layer 2 onto layer 1 and have a flat nice platform. But if the floor is not flat or the plywood is curved you may need to tapcon layer one onto the concrete. But I would try to avoid this but if you have to, its not a big deal.
