30x40 Garage/Shop

[porschedude996TT]

Hello everyone, I've been watching this forum for a while and I finally made some physical progress in my new build. It seemed to take forever to get to this point. I would call this my second milestone. The first was the Design and permitting, what a PITA.

I had to demo the existing broken concrete pad that was damaged by tree roots. The concrete was 6-8 inches thick an 9-10 inches in some spots.

Next Phase is Root removal and grading and then digging for the footing and form boards.

[porschedude996TT]

Here are a couple more

[porschedude996TT]

The shop will be used for metal and some wood work.

[Minitucking]

Looks like a project!! Also looks like the concrete didnt have any reinforcement in it. Pretty thick though in places. Keep us updated!!

[porschedude996TT]

Thanks MiniT, you are so right about not having re-bar in the old concrete. I couldn't believe that someone would trade concrete for dirt and proper grading. I guess the previous owner of the property had a good line on cheap concrete...

Currently on my plans I have a 4" floor and 1/2" re-bar every 18", but after seeing the broken concrete, I am going to pour a 6" floor in the shop and re-bar every 12".

More details about the shop. It is going to be 30'x40' with 10' 10" walls, restroom with separate entrance from the outside as well as from within the shop. That way people can use the restroom during backyard BBQ's and whatever... It will have a 12’ sectional rollup door on the end pointing to the street and an 8’ Sectional pointing to the block wall and a personnel door on the same end as the 12’ door. The ceiling will be flat on the first 10’ and last 10’ of the 40’ run with a vaulted ceiling to 14’ and change in the center 20’ with 8 2x4 skylights.

There will have a bank of 4’ deep cabinets 24’ long from floor to ceiling and then permanent work bench around the entire inside perimeter. The 4’ deep cabinets will allow me to keep all my tools on wheels and dollies (welders, table saw, pressure washer put away when not in use. I will also have some tools mounted to the floor inside the cabinet like my drill press, 6” Belt/12” Disk Sander, etc. The workbench will be made of 2x4 and 4x4 lumber with face frames for the door and drawers. I plan to run shop air and a vacuum system inside the bench with the outlets sticking up out of the workbench. I’m not sure what kind of workbench top to put on at this point. Maybe a mix of metal and maple butcher block. At this point I don’t know if I am going to need overhead cabinets.

The air compressor and vacuum system will be outside in a separate structure outside the 8’ rollup door.

The interior will be smooth texture over gypsum and painted semi-gloss white. The floor will be light gray epoxy without the color flecks. I drop too many small parts on the floor… LOL The white walls will reflect the light well.

I found some 4’ (6 tube) T-8 fluorescent fixtures and there will be 10 of those over the workbenches. The 8 2’x4’ skylights will illuminate the center area of the shop by day. I plan to build the skylight vaults so that the vault opens up at an angle to spread the light out and also enable me to place some Highbay Lighting fixtures at proper height up inside the skylight vault. So at night I can turn on the 8 Highbay Lights as necessary. I have the Highbay Lights now. They are 400 watt Metal Halide with a 22” acrylic bell. I think the lighting plan will keep me in light and I hope that I don’t need to turn on the 400 watt fixtures much. You younger guys will appreciate what I am talking about when you reach 40-45 years old…

Anyway, more to follow. I should start digging for the footing after I get rid of the tree roots this weekend, and pour the footing in early May.

[AGBill]

Hey P-Dude:

That skid steer with a hammer really did a nice job breaking up your old concrete. That was a lot of grunt work to load the chunks into the dump trailer...

Are you planning on having some fun running the back hoe or a small excavator for the footings?

Bill

[porschedude996TT]

Hi Bill, I think you are right. I don't really want to hand dig the footing...

I got a price on my concrete from a buddy of mine, $103.50 a yard (50/50) mix 2,500psi, but he said it would pass 3,500psi, plus a $10 Environ Fee and $20 Fuel Surcharge per load. He also said that he would wave the extra fee for Saturday delivery.

I calc'ed the total amount to be about 47 Cu Yards. 8.5 for the footing, 19.7 for the shop floor, and 18.6 for the apron and driveway. I plan to hire a pumper and two concrete finishers. My Brother-N-Law is a General Contractor and has enough form boards for the task.

I wondering about putting in some Polyester Fiber in the Mix…any comments?

I plan to paint the floor when everything is done in the inside and have heard that the fibers can stick-up from the surface, but can be removed easily. Propane Torch or hand grinder.

Also, any idea on how many expansion seams I should put into the floor?

Keith

[AGBill]

I did not put in any expansion joints, just saw cuts on 10 ft centers. One less thing to run over with the floor jack...
Remember NOT to have your concrete guy use a sealer to retain moisture during curing because you will have to remove it before applying epoxy..
Bill

[porschedude996TT]

That will work. I planned to fill with crack filler that will expand/contract and can be painted. I think the filled saw cuts would be much less noticeable than if I made a conventional seam. Everyone that I have seen has kind of a profile to it where the seaming trowel touches on the top surface…

You are right on the sealer. The paint mfg's say to remove all sealers. I guess it would behave like a mold release and prevent a good tooth to the paint.

[Bib Overalls]

I like "commercial/industrial" fiber in concrete slabs. But it does leave a fuzz on the surface that will wear away in time. For a slick, epoxy ready surface I would pass on the fiber. Your rebar schedule is aggressive and fiber would really be overkill. I also agree with your decision to place a 6" thick slab. IMHO 4" is borderline in a garage or shop. And if you ever want to add a two post lift you will be set.

[porschedude996TT]

Thanks Bib, I do plan a two post in the future. I was thinking of adding rabbit wire or 4" x 6" wire. If I did that I would hate to bust this slab when it nolonger serves the next owner in a 100 years...LOL It would take an atomic bomb to bust it up...

[porschedude996TT]

Ok, I have an update. Been hard getting back into the groove with a hospitalization and recovery and work. After the demo on the concrete and some grading work, I dug for the footing and then had concrete company come in and get me back on schedule. I cost me about 10K for the footing and a 6 inch floor.

[porschedude996TT]

Here are some more...

[porschedude996TT]

Saw cut on a 10 ft x 10 ft grid, finish is smooth. I plan to fill the saw cuts with a silastic material and then paint, but that is a long way off.

[bmwpower]

Did you saw cut the stepdown inline with the sawcut in the floor? My guess it will crack there if not.

Looks good!

I went with no sawcuts just expansion around the edges. So far so good. But better to have the joints for sure if you're concerned about cracks.

[Denominator]

What make and model is this mini tractor?
Any good for removing snow? We get loads of snow up here in Norway, and I am sick and tired of my snowblower breaking down when i need it the most!

[jonny01blaze]

Looks to be a Kubota, B Series most likely. Could be BX. My pops has two of the BX tractors, hell of a machine.

[porschedude996TT]

The slab was a two step process, footing / stem wall and then floor. The drop in front of the floor in the door opening is one pour. How is that going to effect cracking?

The tractor is a Kubota and it has two models. One on the engine cover and the other on the front implment. ???

RX223 and LA221 respectively.

[porschedude996TT]

The flatwork around the building starts tomorrow, grading and drainage lines have been established. More tomorrow.

[porschedude996TT]

A couple more shots.