should i completely rebuild or repair the damage

cajask motorsports · Jun 7, 2008

hey there i am new here and have aquestion what would you do repair or rubild here are some pics i have now havent finshed tearing out the walls and siding if i build new i will go with a pole barn type building if i rebuld i would like to extend the roof height if that is possible let me know what you all think i will have more pics soon

JCByrd24 · Jun 7, 2008

From the looks of the picks it looks like a complete teardown and start from scratch job to me. I'd salvage as much vinyl, copper, framing, and metal roofing as possible during teardown.

rodnok1 · Jun 7, 2008

I'd say it's a total loss, I'd tear it down and salvage what you can, siding/osb/roofing and go from there. It looks like it was a pretty big fire. That size of building it is cheaper to go conventioanl stick building(plus you already have a slab)

dawg · Jun 7, 2008

rebuild the way you want it.
dont try and save a buck cuz your safety comes first

700jfm · Jun 7, 2008

I think I would start over too. Do you know how the fire started?

Stang65Fst · Jun 7, 2008

Tear down and rebuild. You don't want structural issues later.

Lloydthumper · Jun 7, 2008

Another one for the tear it down and rebuild it.

jay50 · Jun 7, 2008

tear down or you will always smell smoke

BTW, what caused the fire?

dcjredline · Jun 7, 2008

Damn man is everyone OK? That looks like a tear down and do a new build how you want.

Worsedog · Jun 7, 2008

Another tear down and rebuild opinion here also. What started the fire?

Bevis · Jun 8, 2008

tear down and rebuild...bigger and better.

BooUrns! · Jun 8, 2008

Teardown - Based on wall studs being compromised.

Insurance coverage I assume? Make sure you get a independent replacement cost quote to compare to the insurance companys' estimator. Your replacement dollars will probably go farther if you don't let an insurance contractor handle the job. They are slower and charge more than a general contractor. Treat it as a new build project, not as a restoration.

I'm currently rebuilding my mother's house which was a total loss to fire back in 2006. If I had known how to deal with insurance companies back then she would be living in her house by now. The insurer's contractor sat on the job for over a year and a half before I stepped in.

Kevin54 · Jun 8, 2008

tear down or you will always smell smoke

they have ways of sealing and cleaning so the smoke does not smell. What does the insurance say? totalled or fixable? But on a personal side, I'd take it down and start fresh even if the insurance did not cover everything.

cajask motorsports · Jun 8, 2008

well i wish insurance would cover it but because i was working on a cutomers car they wont cover nothing iam planning on tearing it down but isee lots of the 2x4s and some of the trusses arent burned so i thought i could salvage some of it the fire started from spilled racing fuel and a halogen light i was under the car when it happened i was burned on my right hand and since insurance wont pay it will be a long time before i am able to rebuild . this was my way of making a living to support my family (WIFE AND 4 KIDS) I LOST ALL OF MY TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT i will have to pay for my cutomers cars although they hjave been really cool about the whole thing here is apic of my hand 4 days after the fire

wilbilt · Jun 8, 2008

Wow, that is terrible.

It looks rebuildable to me, but it would certainly be easier to tear it down.

I can understand the insurance company refusing to pay if you are running a commercial business out of your home garage.

Is there any way you can rent some shop space until you rebuild?

Sorry to hear you were burned and about the loss of your tools. That *****.

kbs2244 · Jun 8, 2008

Knock it down.
Anything charred, meaning if you cannot wipe the black off with a wet rag, is unusable.
If you try and salvage any trusses remember that you cannot patch anything. You have to replace the whole length of whatever the factory did. And those plate gang nails are a pain to do in the field.
I don’t like drywall in shops, but this is a real good reason for it.
It is fire proof.
If you are going to get back into this kind of work, drywall or metal siding all walls and the ceiling.
And buy some fire extinguishers.

Old Moparz · Jun 8, 2008

Wow, sorry to read & see what happened, that *****. The good thing is you weren't hurt worse than you were.

As for rebuilding or repairing, I think salvaging certain parts of the structure can be done, but my guess is that you will have to rebuild most or all of it. The trusses are designed with a specific dimension of lumber & the load it supports, but the fire changed all that & the trusses are likely useless.

The studs & OSB in parts of the garage may have faired better than the trusses, you'll just have to determine that when you actually rip into things during the removal. From the looks of how badly burned some of the interior is, I'd say the temperature got pretty damn hot & damaged more than you can see.

Some of the siding may look okay, but the heat will have warped or distorted a lot more than you think. The vinyl panel may appear okay, but if it stretched or sagged just a little, it'll never lock correctly to the panel above or below, & may come loose. The same may happen for the roof & leaks won't be fun to fix later.

If the size of the garage was working for you, the foundation & floor should be fine & that can save you a lot of time & money as opposed to a new structure. Even if you need more space, adding some to the existing footprint or going upward with a second floor or loft is still lesss money than an entire new building.

Hope you can get things back on track, good luck.

LoneGunman · Jun 8, 2008

Sorry to hear about your injuries, shop and tools. Did you get that hand treated? It looks pretty bad, burns and infections are nothing to &^%& with. (sorry for the lecture, former EMT).

"And buy some fire extinguishers"

Always a good idea but he may have had them and they were useless. I was recently involved in a fire at a major local Ford dealership ( was there while the fire trucks were still there trying to get the power disconnected) One mechanic was drilling a hole in a gas tank to drain it, other mechanics use air drill, he used a cordless battery drill. Obviously when he punched through and pulled the drill out gas drenched the drill, gas ignited, fire was fueled from the still draining tank.

10 mechanics emptied a total of over 20 extinguishers, a few barely made it out. They lost 5 cars and the whole shop.

kbs2244 · Jun 8, 2008

"Drilling a hole to drain a gas tank"??????
In a dealership shop there is no excuse for that.

cajask motorsports · Jun 9, 2008

yes it was treated that picture was taken the day i was released from the burn uniot just before the re wraped it and yes i had extinguishers just could not get to them in time racing fuel burns really quick and i was worried about my 12 year old son he was in there just a few seconds before it went up and yes i lost all of my tools and equipment been doing race car fabrication custom painting and restorations for 26 years

PAToyota · Jun 9, 2008

As with others, I'd say complete teardown and rebuild. You may be able to salvage some materials, but I certainly wouldn't trust any of the trusses and an awful lot of the wall studs that I am seeing have quite a bit (or a lot) burned away and charred.

Another reason to do a shop in fire-rated drywall. Although you would still have repair work, it would have kept the flames away from the structure for a longer period of time.

Bib Overalls · Jun 9, 2008

LoneGunman said:
I was recently involved in a fire at a major local Ford dealership ( was there while the fire trucks were still there trying to get the power disconnected) One mechanic was drilling a hole in a gas tank to drain it, other mechanics use air drill, he used a cordless battery drill. Obviously when he punched through and pulled the drill out gas drenched the drill, gas ignited, fire was fueled from the still draining tank.

10 mechanics emptied a total of over 20 extinguishers, a few barely made it out. They lost 5 cars and the whole shop.

Sounds like an "event" that we had here in Jonesboro recently.

6768rogues · Jun 9, 2008

I would tear it down and start over, unless a zoning or code change since building would prevent doing what you want. If it is illegal to build new, you might get away with fixing it if you can convince the local folks that it is not too far gone.

Uncle Buck · Jun 9, 2008

kbs2244 said:
"Drilling a hole to drain a gas tank"??????
In a dealership shop there is no excuse for that.

How ignorant, I have an old car I plan on toting to the salvage yard and I intend to drain the tank by driving a pointed chisel or the like right through the tank with a hand sledge. Wy do some people have to make a simple task more unsafe and complicated than it needs to be? :headscrat

BTW Sorry you got hurt, best of luck with the building, and I would start over as the others have said!

ZRX61 · Jun 10, 2008

hholmberg said:
How ignorant, I have an old car I plan on toting to the salvage yard and I intend to drain the tank by driving a pointed chisel or the like right through the tank with a hand sledge. Wy do some people have to make a simple task more unsafe and complicated than it needs to be?

Because we need idiots at dealerships to serve as a bad example of how not to do something for the rest of us

dcjredline · Jun 10, 2008

Punching a steel punch through it is almost as bad that could still cause a spark. You should do it with brass that will not cause a spark.

Kevin54 · Jun 10, 2008

Punching a steel punch through it is almost as bad that could still cause a spark. You should do it with brass that will not cause a spark.

Instead of punching anything, why not just cut the lines? A good pair of cutters should do the trick easy.

On the other hand....YOUCH!!!!! The hand look bad. Hopefully the pain isn't. Take care of it as others have stated. Infection can set in very easy.

kbs2244 · Jun 10, 2008

Any dealership mechanic I have ever met was a union mechanic.
And they have gone through so many safety courses they can justifiably complained about the “waste of time.”
There are so many ways to drain a tank to a level where it is light enough to work with that I cannot list them.
The most often used is a simple siphon left running into a 30 gal grease barrel during coffee break.
Receptacle bigger than tank so no overflow worry.
No power so no spark worry.
And no lost "billable time."
It is just plain stupid to try and drain every last drop by drilling, punching, or chewing a hole at the low point.
Make it light enough so you can handle it, drop it, put it upside down over your drain tank.

cajask motorsports · Jun 11, 2008

i can do what ever i want i live in the country everbody around me is family i will tear down and build aploe barn type structure

wrigh003 · Jun 11, 2008

cajask motorsports said:
yes it was treated that picture was taken the day i was released from the burn uniot just before the re wraped it and yes i had extinguishers just could not get to them in time racing fuel burns really quick and i was worried about my 12 year old son he was in there just a few seconds before it went up and yes i lost all of my tools and equipment been doing race car fabrication custom painting and restorations for 26 years

Had a good reply typed up, lost it. Here's the gist:

Glad everybody's OK, people are tough to replace, things are a good bit easier.

I agree with the consensus that it's a loss. Better to start over. I'm sure there's some stuff in there that's salvageable, but from the pictures I'm looking at, it's at least 80% junk at this point.

Sorry for your trouble, that is certainly a bad situation. Best of luck getting back on your feet and rebuilding.

cajask motorsports · Jun 11, 2008

thanks i really didnt plan on saving but its hard to tear down somthing that i put so much time and money in even if it is a loss this has been a really big struggle its how i fed my family so i have had to find a job for the first time in 22 years that i have worked for somone else and now not haveing anytools to wrk with i cant get a job in my profeesion not to metion the shop bills still go on thanks everyone for the advise

should i completely rebuild or repair the damage

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