My 2 Car 18x29 Detail Studio

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Andrew, I'd probably omit the one comment about herbal medicine seeins how all your info is on here. You never know what kind of loons are reading posts and just want to stir the pot.

na, not worried about it. this is a public corum, no biggie at all.
now i cant wait to install the extra lights! im putting in 2 more 8ft & 2 more 4ft fixtures! yea for more light nice n bright!

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

did this a few weeks ago with my guys. after putting up the insulation, it was now time to secure the half wall separating the customer lounge from the work area.

removed the border pieces

used a 2"x3"

few elbow brackets for the bottom or whatever you call these little metal pieces

some more metal thingys for the top of the 2"x3"

all done

i also removed the funky neon lights since bulbs keep burning out on the daily & i already returned the lights & replaced them once. i added some wood trim in the same place as the neons were & painted them a nice blue color along with the 2"x3" piece of wood used to secure the half wall.

 

[Big N8]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

HHHHMMMMMM

Lets just talk about garage stuff and let this one slide.


MMMMMMKAY

I detail here in MN. What temp do you keep the garage at? and where do you wash the cars?

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

HHHHMMMMMM

Lets just talk about garage stuff and let this one slide.


MMMMMMKAY

I detail here in MN. What temp do you keep the garage at? and where do you wash the cars?

last year we didnt have the insulation up so it was cold in here unless we had the propane heat blasting. once we shut it off, 10-20 mins later it was freezing in here again. weve had a few cold mornings & have used the propane this year. the shop in the morning when we get here is about 45 when its about 35 outside. with the heat on low it reaches 55-60, the perfect condition to work in. i guess the insulation will keep the heat in better this year & deffinitly will keep the place a lil warmer over night when were not here. i have 2 crappy 8ft electric baseboard heaters that are brand new but dont work too well. im thinking of leaving one of them on at night when the temp drops below 35 to prevent the place from being freezing the next morning. well see how it goes.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Andrew, while I have my head out of my ***. If you leave the insulation board up and cover it with sheetrock/drywall, you'll be saving even more on utilities. Try to make the seams not line up from one layer to the next. Another thing, if you can get reflectors/the pebble like textured things that usually go over the light bulbs, for the lights, it will really improve the light distribution.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Andrew, while I have my head out of my ***. If you leave the insulation board up and cover it with sheetrock/drywall, you'll be saving even more on utilities. Try to make the seams not line up from one layer to the next. Another thing, if you can get reflectors/the pebble like textured things that usually go over the light bulbs, for the lights, it will really improve the light distribution.

paulie tore down the foam boards last night. youll see the mess he made last night that we cleaned up n bagged up this morning. i have alot of pics i need to post but ill do that later on this afternoon after i leave the shop.
the lighting in the shop is perfect but more light is never a bad thing. my con ed bill is so cheap that another few dollars out of my pocket every month in exchange for the extra light fixtures is a good deal for me. where can i find those reflectors? i deffiitly know about them, just havent gotten around to getting them yet. for now ill enjoy my new insulation & wait till i have some extra money to pay someone professional to do the sheetrocking. it just buggs me to start something & leave it unfinished for an extended period of time. i wanted this all done before the new year but truth is, i still havent went gift shopping for my girlfriend & im running out of time. i get screwed every year with her dec 29th birthday!
can i get those light reflector thingys at home depot? its hard to talk to the people that work there when most of them walk away when you ask them a question & the ones that try to help you send you down the wrong row of the store! we all know home depot ***** but lowes is not close to my shop. i always liked lowed better but when im doign things for the shop i have to stay local.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

I'll see if I can find a part number for Home Despot. I like our local electrical house but it is only 1/4 mile from work and on the way home.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

I'll see if I can find a part number for Home Despot. I like our local electrical house but it is only 1/4 mile from work and on the way home.

thanks, that would be cool if you can help me with that bc i def want to put the reflectors up on the shop lights. i have 8fters & will be installing a fee 4 fters. if you can post the link to the product that would be even more awsome.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

heres the trim with the new blue paint & the other stuff painted as well. you can see i need the trim pieces to hold the water hose in place. the water spicket is in the corner of the lounge area, comming out from the bathroom wall. the water hose goes underneath my custom wooden cabinet & gets rolled up high on the wall right by the steel gate.

the half wall is now strong & blue trim minus the neon lights looks really good.
my customer lounge is finished for now. i want some surround sound speakers for the tv. ill probably get around to that in the spring when i start spending a lil money on doing other things around the shop.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Sorry Andrew, I couldn't find a part number and got ahold of my electric supplier, he said the ones I have are discontinued and he doesn't have a part number for any more. Looks like I'll be making the reflectors for my big shop when we build it. I'll make them out of 20ga or lighter steel to put behind the bulbs and reflect the light or find some diamond pattern acrylic and try bending it to make reflectors/covers. The other option is to buy 4ft fixtures with the reflectors as part of the kit.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Sorry Andrew, I couldn't find a part number and got ahold of my electric supplier, he said the ones I have are discontinued and he doesn't have a part number for any more. Looks like I'll be making the reflectors for my big shop when we build it. I'll make them out of 20ga or lighter steel to put behind the bulbs and reflect the light or find some diamond pattern acrylic and try bending it to make reflectors/covers. The other option is to buy 4ft fixtures with the reflectors as part of the kit.

ok thanks anyway. ill try home depot or lowes when im ready.
i could prob use thin aluminum right? thats thin & easy to cut.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

ok thanks anyway. ill try home depot or lowes when im ready.
i could prob use thin aluminum right? thats thin & easy to cut.

Most definitely. I'd paint it bright white and bend it so it reflects the light. i think I'll heist the aluminum idea from you.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Most definitely. I'd paint it bright white and bend it so it reflects the light. i think I'll heist the aluminum idea from you.

bare aluminum i think will reflect the light better than if you painted it white. that stuff is cheap. you can find it in rolls at home depot or lowes. they have that stuff in the roofing section.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Awesome! I finish this 69 Camaro for a client. Paint, electrical and light suspension work, I'll give it a try.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Awesome! I finish this 69 Camaro for a client. Paint, electrical and light suspension work, I'll give it a try.

69 camaro = one of the hottest muscle cars everrrrrr

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

putting in some over time tonight. its about 8pm & i plan to put in another 2 hours on a range rover im in the middle of restoring the paint on. ill post the pics from a few nights ago when my friend paulie ripped down the foam & notched the beamsto hide the bx cables for my lights. i wish i could close my eyes & fast foward with the sheet rock all done & my dam ceiling painted yellow already =/ hmmmmm

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

a few teaser shots of a job im currently working on.

2007 Range Rover Sport HSE

Paint Restoration

3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound orange pad Flex rotary
3M Perfect-It Ultrafine Machine Polish blue pad Flex rotary

3 pics after wash & clay bar on the left side of the hood
3 pics after wash & clay bar, compound, polish

there is no sealant or wax on the polished side of the hood

it seems like our customers are asking for more & more paint restoration jobs like this.
we are doing on average it seems about 2 of these types of job each week.
most detailers call this paint "paint correction" but i call it "paint restoration".

keep the big jobs coming guys!

FYI, i am the only one in my shop that picks up a wheel for any machine polishing or paint restoration job!

before hood shots

1

2

3

after hood shots

4

5

6

there will be a writeup done & posted but first i must finish the writeup
for the paint restoration job i finished last week on that laguna seca blue e46 m3

take a look at that as i sort through the pics from the other night. ill post new pics shortly.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

my friend paulie helping me out late at night a few nights ago

im tired so ill let the pics do the talking tonight =P

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

notched the beams for my fios line. stupid installer just used some staples to install them, thanks verizon!

ill post the rest of the pics from this night, in a few days.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

last pic i had from last week when paulie was here

notched the beams for my fios cable. the fios line & bx cable has to be pushed back a little behind the sheet rock thats on the wall, ill do that when the sheet rocking begins in about a month or so.
i plan to ad a few shelves at the top of the ceiling for extra storage. i dont like things being exposed so ill most likely box in the shelves. ill figure it out as im doing it.
right after new years ill get back to working on the ceiling. ill be adding a few more light fixtures as well. ill update the thread as things happen.
****, is next week & i still have alot of things to get for the girlfriend!

 

[bimmer1980]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

yikes...... "notched the beams for the cable..." that is a huge no-no for floor joists, roof rafters, etc. You just cut the strength of the beams by a huge factor. Hopefully you didn't cut too many in that manner........

I understand you want to get this done, but the correct way is to drill a hole in the beam. And staying with in the maximum edge distances and end distances. Then the cables are disconnected and routed thru the holes

The bottom of those beams are in tension. Your effect beam size is now the distance from the top to the upper edge of the notch.......

sorry to be the bearer of bad news..........

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

yikes...... "notched the beams for the cable..." that is a huge no-no for floor joists, roof rafters, etc. You just cut the strength of the beams by a huge factor. Hopefully you didn't cut too many in that manner........

I understand you want to get this done, but the correct way is to drill a hole in the beam. And staying with in the maximum edge distances and end distances. Then the cables are disconnected and routed thru the holes

The bottom of those beams are in tension. Your effect beam size is now the distance from the top to the upper edge of the notch.......

sorry to be the bearer of bad news..........

its ok, the verizon installer fucked me with his crappy half assed installation in the first place by stappeling them to my beams instead of drilling holes & doing it right the first time. the cuts are not deep at all.
as far as the box cables being notched into the frame, those cuts are not that deep either & there are not that many of them.

 

[D.J.]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Dude, don't let Paulie loose with the sawszall anymore! He has no idea what he is doing and he just shitcanned a lot of your $$'s on the foam he destroyed! Someone earlier treied to tell you to leave the foam up and install the drywall over it! Also I agree with "bimmer1980" Paulie just eliminated your strength in the ceiling joists and by the way it looks like what we all call a 2 X 4 not a 2 X 3 even though it measures less than that.
Just my $.02
________
Penny stock picks

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Dude, don't let Paulie loose with the sawszall anymore! He has no idea what he is doing and he just shitcanned a lot of your $$'s on the foam he destroyed! Someone earlier treied to tell you to leave the foam up and install the drywall over it! Also I agree with "bimmer1980" Paulie just eliminated your strength in the ceiling joists and by the way it looks like what we all call a 2 X 4 not a 2 X 3 even though it measures less than that.
Just my $.02

well the foam was more of a pain in the *** & the wood between the beams had to be leveled off with the bottom of the beams. the shop doesnt have to be perfect, i dont own the place. after showing me how fast the foam went up in flames i decided to take it down anyway. the ceiling joists or beams are weakened by cutting a 1 inch notch? honestly, if paulie told me that i wouldve took more time & drilled the holes out & rewired every light fixture.

 

[dankeenan]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

No mater what you, me, etc. think, the only person you have to be concerned about is the state or county. You may have just bought a big engineering bill and a redo of the truss. The easiest thing to remember is NEVER cut a truss, unless you know the codes, even then, double check.
Are you leasing the building? If you own it and ever plan on selling it, a inspector will sh*t themselves if they see that, then flag it. Might want to fix it now, instead of having to tear out other stuff later to fix it.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

No mater what you, me, etc. think, the only person you have to be concerned about is the state or county. You may have just bought a big engineering bill and a redo of the truss. The easiest thing to remember is NEVER cut a truss, unless you know the codes, even then, double check.
Are you leasing the building? If you own it and ever plan on selling it, a inspector will sh*t themselves if they see that, then flag it. Might want to fix it now, instead of having to tear out other stuff later to fix it.

im a little confused, why should i have to be concerned with the state or the country? what does that have to do with my little garage behind the deli?

back to my garage...

i lease, i dont own & everything will be covered up with sheetrock.

i think you are getting way ahead of yourself with this one. the beams are 8" wide so even if 1" was cut, whats the big deal? your acting like im left with a bunch of 2x4s holding up my roof.

 

[bimmer1980]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

you would be amazed at how much load that "little 1 inch" of difference makes. check out a span table and you'll know in short order......

Every state has buidling codes. There is also a national building code. You violated a bunch of code for the Rafter/Joist when you notched the bottom of it. EVERY rafter/joist/truss manufacturer would sh1t a brick if they saw what you did.......

at a minimum, I would recommend either a sister rafter/joist or a steel strap to tie the bottom of the beam back together.....

Here's a worse case scenario.... You have a $100k or more show car sitting in your shop to be detailed. over night, you have a huge snow storm and your roof has 2' of snow on it. If it has not collapsed at then point.... then you or your land lord decide to get up there with a shovel or a snow blower to take the snow load off. All of that comes crashing thru the weakened rafter and destroys the show car. Do you think the show car owner is just going to blow that off? Nope, his insurance company will do an investigation. When they find out the rafter/joist were modified, then they will ask who. Will your land lord take the blame for it? I doubt it..... Would your business insurance cover you? maybe, maybe not..... you do have insurance, right?

not to be a pain, but this is a big deal. I wish you the best of luck........

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

at a minimum, I would recommend either a sister rafter/joist or a steel strap to tie the bottom of the beam back together.....

Would your business insurance cover you? maybe, maybe not..... you do have insurance, right?

not to be a pain, but this is a big deal. I wish you the best of luck........

steel strap you mean screw a piece of flat metal to connect the area that was cut out by the saw? explain, if theres a way to repair this, let me know please. im aware of building codes but i dont own the place & the landlord has an agreement that im responsible for any thing that happens to the place.

i have a 1-3 mil insurance policy but your right i would get screwed if anything were to happen.

please if theres a way to fix this, let me know. im curious about the metal straps.

also about building codes, my friend spent $80,000 fixing up a warehouse for his new shop. hes not up to building code because he used wood instead of steel.

do you think everyone does everything up to code? im renting a private garage behind a deli, i don tneed everything to be exactly up to code. the smartest thing i did was remove the foam insulation.. i can still fix the beams.

thanks everyone

 

[bimmer1980]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

here are a couple of ideas.... they are better than nothing, but use at your own discretion.....

First, add a doubler on each side of the notch. In this manner you would tack on a 2x wood piece to each side--similar to "sistering" a rafter or a joist. Then use a Simpson strong tie to bridge the notch.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/HRS-ST-PS-HST-LSTA.asp

you need to use enough nails to adequately tie everything together. If you do it right, everything will be flush and still allow easy installation of the sheetrock.

You also need to be careful about hitting the cables with the screws when you install the sheet rock. They make tack on metal plate to cover these type of things, but they are mainly used to protect the edge of the wood from the holes done properly.....

Another thought to allow you to avoid any further notching: Run stringers perpendicular to the rafters. This will lower the ceiling by a 2x thickness, but would give plenty of chase ways for wire. You would need to run a stringer every 2'. 19.2" or 16" would be better, but 2' would work.....

 

[GarageJoistNotcher]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Dude, don't let Paulie loose with the sawszall anymore! He has no idea what he is doing and he just shitcanned a lot of your $$'s on the foam he destroyed! Someone earlier treied to tell you to leave the foam up and install the drywall over it! Also I agree with "bimmer1980" Paulie just eliminated your strength in the ceiling joists and by the way it looks like what we all call a 2 X 4 not a 2 X 3 even though it measures less than that.
Just my $.02

yikes...... "notched the beams for the cable..." that is a huge no-no for floor joists, roof rafters, etc. You just cut the strength of the beams by a huge factor. Hopefully you didn't cut too many in that manner........

I understand you want to get this done, but the correct way is to drill a hole in the beam. And staying with in the maximum edge distances and end distances. Then the cables are disconnected and routed thru the holes

The bottom of those beams are in tension. Your effect beam size is now the distance from the top to the upper edge of the notch.......

sorry to be the bearer of bad news..........

Clearly Paulie knows nothing..... Or better yet maybe, the person who saw the garage first hand and corrected the issues in this garage is better informed than the people who are sitting behind there desk and looking at a handful of images to determine what is the best solution to problems that Andrew is facing in his garage.

So im going to give you some facts so that you can reevaluate what you feel is in Andrews best interest and ummmm "safety"


Andrew decided to install 1/2" Foam board that carries a R Value of 2, because he felt that it would be the easiest material to work with since he has no experience hanging sheetrock ... I had already advised him that the foam is easily combustable but he still went ahead and decided to install it.

Being that he only finished about 1/4 of the ceiling with this foam, I recommended that he not waste any more money purchasing more foam since he already installed R-19 insulation and his biggest worry in this garage is the 10' steel gate that has no gaskets or insulation at all.... His money is better spent on correcting the garage door draft than finishing the ceiling in 1/2" EPS foam...

The 2nd problem was that all the lateral supports placed between the joists were about 1/2" below the joist and needed to be corrected before he would be able to install any sheetrock since the ceiling wasn't flat... So i removed about 6 or 7 boards and chiseled the bottoms off whatever wood was in the way.

And now onto the reason behind notching for the wires.... I had already advised Andrew that the electrician should of just drilled the beams and ran the wires, but he simple took the easy road and decided to staple them to the ceiling joist I had absolutely no interest in disassembling every light fixture to drill the holes so i took the easy route and notched maybe 4 or 5 beams


As a general rule of thumb the joist can be safely notched 1/6 there size and since this structure was constructed with Dimensional 2x8 lumber I can safely notch 1 1/4" deep into the beam.

The joist were also placed 12" O.C in this particular building and I notched maybe 5 beams in the entire ceiling to accommodate the wiring.


So of the aprox 29 joists in the ceiling .... 24 are still fully intact...


So thanks for all the kind words

-Paulie the Infamous Joist Notcher-

 

[JSBriggs]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Is that a stripper pole?

-Jeff

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

Is that a stripper pole?

-Jeff

yes sir

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

the shop is all cleared out. we had about 6 inches back here the other night

i got started on the shoveling sat night. from about mid day sun till 11pm me & my friend freddy were shoveling. i really need to get a snow blower next year. i ran out of space to put the snow. i started heaving plies over my shoulder & into my neighbors back yard, sorry fella =)
yea, i know...i need to take out the garbage. the trash has piled up a little too high lol

 

[408Chevelle]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

How's the detailing business this time of year?

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

How's the detailing business this time of year?

jan & feb are always the worst 2 months of the year. im working extra hard this year with the forum sponsoring. the more active i am on the boards, the more busy the shop will be this year in jan & feb. i dont rely on street traffic so i have to be active on the boards.

 

[weicm3]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

jan & feb are always the worst 2 months of the year. im working extra hard this year with the forum sponsoring. the more active i am on the boards, the more busy the shop will be this year in jan & feb. i dont rely on street traffic so i have to be active on the boards.

which forum are you sponsoring? I see the nice looking m3 and z4 m coupe. are you on m3forum or bimmerforums? too bad you're a bit far from where I'm (central jersey). otherwise, I'll definitely pay you a visit.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

which forum are you sponsoring? I see the nice looking m3 and z4 m coupe. are you on m3forum or bimmerforums? too bad you're a bit far from where I'm (central jersey). otherwise, I'll definitely pay you a visit.

im on alot of forums. check out my threads on e46fanatics.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/search.php?searchid=12546121

my gf lives in central nj, im there on the weekends. for thanksgiving week i spent 4 nights down there. on the sat & sun after thanksgiving i was at a customers house in old bridge. i detailed a maserati gran turismo & a super charged e46 coupe.

 

[AndrewBigA]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

the shops been busy & i havent had time to post up much.
im just happy the shop is alive & not dead which it usually is in january.
i started to build some storage cabinets along the back wall with a few shelfs under them & a towel bar as well for more spray bottles to be hung.
ill post a few pics in a few days!
i still love this forum, just been crushed with spending alot of time in the shop till late at night. i sponsor almost 20 different car forums so i dont leave here till im all cought up with my postings, thread writeups & responding to private messages. i dont leave here till sometimes 11pm & i get here at 8am. i love my little garage the way it is now but im hit with this bugg that just wont go away. seems that im always thinking of ways to improve the garage but its cool & fun.
the sheet rock is not hung up yet, i have more lights i want to install first.
realistically the garage wont be finished till about may, then everything inside will be exactly the way i want it.
some people have asked me why i keep doing things to a little place that i dont own but i dont mind at all. i want my garage to be as comfortable to work in for me & my 2 guys & i also want my customers to enjoy hanging out here while waiting around as well.
i dont have any plans of leaving this place any time soon. this garage that i fell in love with has to get me a new car this summer, an engagement ring in 2 years & money to move in with my gf who will be my fiance by the time that happens lol.

 

[Gizzy]

Re: my 17x29 detail shop BIG "A" DETAILING queens ny

I like the stripper pole... Every shop should have one!!!