Wanted: Input for New Corvette Garage/Shop

[A26B]

When I thought about who to ask about cool & functional advice for a new garage/shop building that I'm going to build here at home, my first thought was "everyone!" Who would know better than you guys.
Here's the basic floor plan.

It's wood framed, sheetrocked, 12 ft walls, cathedral ceiling under 10/12 pitch, clear span roof. It will have a load bearing storage loft over the "trailer bay." I have the following stuff that will go in the new shop;
4 post lift
Macsimizer class IIM superstation tool box
custom built, 8' x 3' steel shop table
3 engine stands
cherry-picker engine hoist
54 drawer bolt bin
refrigerator/freezer
TIG welder
drill press
I'm particularly interested in how to finish the floor so it will look great, be easy to clean spills, impervious to gasoline & other automotive type fluids.
I plan to decorate the shop with show plaques, neat pictures, banners, posters and parts like the LT5 cam cover Jeff did for me.
Thanks to everyone for all of your input!

[tccrab]

Jerry:

Looks very funtional.
I don't see the wet bar and the hot tub jacuzzi.


If it were my garage/office there'd be lots of big windows from the office looking out into the garage area.
I've always liked natural lighting whenever possible, so I'd put in a couple of skylights over the office and the main garage area. Maybe not in the trailer bay as you probably won't be spending much time there.

As far as the floor, I've had three different floor treatments in my home garages over the years and I'll share what I've learned.

Industrial tile looks good when you put it in, I installed a black and white checker board design in my previous house. I bought them at Home Depot and it was about a buck a tile (this was 7 or 8 years ago so prices have undoubtably gone up since then).
It didn't look good for long.
Tires make permanent dark marks on the tile that will not come out. Oil and grease get caught in the small space between the tiles and highlights the seams between the tiles.
My jackstands made nice little divots in the tile, and my engine stand made nice little tracks.
Interestingly enough, my engine hoist didn't make the tracks, I think it's because the wheels are wider and therefore distribute the weight better.

My current home came with a gray floor paint (maybe epoxy, not sure) already installed by the previous owner. The first time I rolled my engine hoist around with a motor on it the paint cracked and started coming up in big chunks.
The previous owner had not prepared the floor in any way and he put two coats of gray paint. Not good.

Last summer I had my house repainted and the painter suggested removing the old gray sh!t, cleaning and treating the concrete and apply a nice industrial epoxy flooring to match the exterior of the house.
http://www.kellymoore.com/products/sundries_epoxyshield
I love the way it looks and it seems to hold up just fine with the engine hoist, engine stand and the jack stands.
The only thing I would do different would be the color of the flakes in the epoxy. My flooring is a light brown/tan color with dark colored flakes.
If you drop a small nut/bolt/washer onto the floor it's nearly impossible to find except by feel. So far that's the only thing, and it's a fairly minor issue.

Preparing the concrete is absolutly vital to longevity of the epoxy flooring. My painter rented an industrial sanding machine, it looked like a huge floor polisher that used a matierial like sand paper and scouring pads to grind off the old paint. He then washed the floor with a acid soulution and let it dry for a couple of days. Then he put down the epoxy.
It's a two part process, you roll out this nasty smelling color coat, sprinkle out the chips and wait a day for it to dry.
Then you roll out this even nastier smelling clear coat and then wait two or three days for it to harden.
Here's a picture that shows the floor and a few of my RC airplanes.



Tom

[RICHARD TILL]

your shop plans look great. when i built my shop in 1984 it was 30 by 30 ft. i`m presently doubling its size. i was a cement mason by trade in 84. heres an idea you might consider. when i poured the original floor i raised the rear of the slab 3 inches and finished it with a hard trowel slick finish. i did the same on the addition i poured last month so now the rear grade is 6 inches higher than the front. its not noticable at all and when washing floor the water runs out without much help. p.s. muratic acid is probably what was used on tccrabs floor. the old saying is that when muratic acid is applied to concrete and it shows a reaction, the concrete is still getting harder every day.

[A26B]

Tom,

Good point on the skylites. I am considering them, just not crazy about roof penetrations due to the leakage possibility. Can't do the windows from the shop as the shop side of the wall will be shelves, work bench, tool boxes, etc.

I've got red epoxy in my garage now. Love the look, ease of cleanup & cleaning.... but starting to come loose in spots. I didn't put down the flakes and really like the look without them. Not slippery unless wet, which is only when washing the floor. Will look into your product. Your floor looks great & I like your hobby!

Richard,
Good point on the slope, had planned on one, but not that much. I just squeegee the water out now after washing, but usually just wet mop. Learned that during field day in the the old Corps, back in the barracks day! LOL

[kenthompson]

Why the set back on the office/bathroom/(can't tell what the third room is)? Why not build a giant square box? Wouldn't that be less expensive?

Also, where's the dyno room?

[A26B]

The main part of the building is the 40' x 50' shop area. It has 12' walls and a clear span, cathedral ceiling with gable ends for the extra height over the shop and also provides for a loft storage area on top of the ceiling over the trailer bay. The trailer bay area is walled off with a 5ft slider door with seals. The thought is that it could be converted to a wood shop some day, should I decide to not keep a car trailer. and keep the dust out of the car shop area. If I increased the building to a larger rectangle for the office, it would make the roof rafters much longer, which translates in to much bigger t.j.i's, bigger ridge beam & more bucks. Putting the office on the "back side", 10ft ceilings and a hip roof perpendicular to the shop roof ridge is more practical. So, in this instance, I think it turns out to be less expensive than the basic square approach.

The third room is a reinforced concrete safe/storm room.

[RHanselman]

Where's my bedroom?

[A26B]

You get the top bunk in the office, I get the bottom. That's where I'll be for building this shop!!

[Hammer]

Nice layout Jerry. But I can see two more four post lifts in there in the future, and you only have two Zr-1's (don't you). So you will need, what, 4 more ZR-1's in the future. LOL.

Don't forget to plumb in for a deep sink and a couple of 220 outlets too, and lots of 4 place outlets are needed. Another thing to consider if possible is an outlet on the floor by the lift, or even on the lift for battery chargers or trouble lights. Keep us posted.

PS. I did a few field days myself, with nasty black tiles that had to be stripped often due to wax buildup. And it was at the old barracks in Camp Pendleton.

USMC 72-76
Det. MAG-16, Camp Pendleton
OV-10A Bronco Mech.
Semper Fi Brother

[HIZNHRZ]

The deep sink is one of the best additions I've done to my garage, I highly recommend it.

Has anyone used the one part epoxy garage floor paint the Home Depot sells?