Red Head Racing's shop rebuild

383 240z · Jul 30, 2013

I've decided to start a thread on my rebuild. I have a few threads on specific parts so here goes a grand overview.

Here is where I started. A standard 32x40 pole building. Using trusses 4' OC and 2x4's for stringers spaced every 2'. When we bought the place the roof was in bad shape. The previous owner had built a wall inside to partition off an 12x32 ft room, he built a PT wood floor in the "shop" section. The rest was empty with a dirt/gravel floor.

He had run a single 14/2 wire, (no conduit just dug a shallow ditch and covered it) from the house to the garage. It fed a few outlets and 6 lights in the shop and 2 bare bulbs in the parking area.

I feel I need to say at this point that I left a VERY nice shop, that I LOVED to buy this old farm. I had a HUGE tool collection, a small fab/welding shop, 2 project cars, a pile of parts for each, and I now needed to store them all in this glorified shed!! Keith

383 240z · Jul 30, 2013

First big upgrade came in the form of a cement truck. I dug a trench for the frost walls under the roll up doors. built a 4' tall 10" wide block wall and filled it solid with concrete. I then brought in a skid steer dug it down about 15" till I hit good solid dirt, then layed in 8-9" of gravel. I did not know that you are supposed to lay down a water proof membrane, this will haunt me later on.

Then I ordered up 6-7" of steel and fiber re-enforced 4000 PSI concrete. Had that installed and finished by a pro. I wanted them to install pull pots, however I got talked out of it. I still would like to have them, however I have always found a work-around when I needed them.

I did however not think far enough ahead to have a pair of floor drains installed. I would have liked them, when I was having my flooding problems, (more on that later) The floor was set at dead flat. I did not want any slope in it, as I planned to install a lift, mill, lathe. I wanted a shop floor, not a garage floor. If I had the floor drains, I would have had to have some slope and a drain to catch my creeper on. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

The next stage of the build came from the power company. While working in the house updating wiring, we decided to install a new 200 amp service in the house. While we were buying supplies for that, I decided to run a 100 amp service to the shop. So I rented a ditch witch and ran the line and mounted the box. I should have run an internet line out to the shop, but I was not thinking forward again. Oh well.

In the small shop, at this time I called it the clean room now it is turning into the machine shop, I installed a dozen ceramic lamp bases, put splitters in them and installed 24 CFL's.

I also have about 20 4' long 4 bulb florescent fixtures for the main shop. I like lighting. I have pretty poor un-corrected vision and lots of light really helps.

Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

Now that I have power and a floor, it time to start furnishing the new place!! First up I wanted air. I sold my compressor with the old shop. It was a HUGE ancient horizontal unit that took for ever to pump up, had a low CFM and was pretty worn out. So I bought this.

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Ran a line for it and left it sit on the pallet. I have not run piping for it at this point. just screwed a hose in the side of it and made do. Keith

Edit: As you can see in that photo, I have still not installed the lighting in the main portion of the shop. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

Here is a quick video of the inside of the machine shop, please excuse the mess, it was a dumping ground at this point. All my time and most of our money was going into the house at this point.

The woodburner has been removed. The room is insulated, and a simple dual head burner on a 20 lb propane tank heats it very nicely, and so much less mess, and it freed up about 25 sq ft of usable space.

The first bench you see, has been moved to the basement of the house, the second moved straight across the shop, it is better placed there because of the lighting, plus I have plans for the real estate it is occupies in that video. The doorway the video was shot from, is a double set of doors with a removable center post so large items can easily be moved in and out. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

Now for some storage!!! First up here is a set of shelves I built across the back wall of the machine shop.

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That quickly filled up with all the **** I had on the 2 benches!! I also have a 36"x24" set of shelves next to the wooden ones. A book case in that room, along with one of those huge grey industrial desks from the 50's, a lot of people call them battleships.

Here is a photo of another shelf I knocked up out of some left over 2x4's It holds 8 20 gal totes.

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Next up remodeling the shop. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

In the video you saw a small window that did not open. I wanted a working window, and a man door. So here was the next job.

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I then put new OSB up, and painted it. Then added my nut and bolt storage unit as seen here:

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I have since added another 24 bins. You can also see the surface mount wiring starting to go in.

The main shop had a sliding glass door turned on it's side and bolted to the posts for its only window. It looked like ****. I was lucky enough to score a large matching window at an auction to replace it with. Here are the pics

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There is no way I was going to put that window in and not do something about the rotten siding I had right?? Here is a quick video showing how bad it was:

You can also see the finished wall in it.

And because nothing can go smoothly, here is a shot of me caught in the rain

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Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

As you can see in the video of the back wall, I had some excavating done, and some posts drove in. That is for a planned addition on the shop, I want to add an 8x40 room across there. It will have a wood floor and be home to my pallet racks. This will free up some MUCH needed interior space. More on that later.

I was running kinda low on shop cash, so I started on some smaller inside jobs. I built stud walls between the posts, finally permanately mounted the breaker box. Put in the switches for the overhead lights. The lights are still a temporary thing. I hung few from chains just so I can see and work a bit. They will be done for good, once the ceiling is installed.

The walls are 16" OC 2x4's covered in 7/16" OSB. I did not paint them, not sure if I'm going to. I now have real walls on 3 of the walls. The front wall, is still open as that is where I am working now. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

This just about brings me up to what I'm working on now.

I had some issues with flooding of the shop after heavy prolonged rains. I always attributed this to the leaking roof. (side note: Yes I know that I should have worked on the roof FIRST. I kept putting it off due to time and $$ constraints.)

Anyway, that was only part of the problem. Turns out the parking area in front of the shop was about 12" higher than the concrete floor. So I got my buddy to come over with his skid steer and grade the driveway. At the same time he dug a trench across the front of the shop for a french drain. The water problems have all but stoped. Only a very small amount of water is getting past the shingles.

Home Depot had the siding I had used on the west facing wall on sale, so I bought a few sheets on my way home from work, and started doing the south wall, the one with the roll up doors. At this point Ms. 383 240z thought I needed to add a few lights to the front. Here is what she picked

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That is the exterior switch for the lights you see hanging. Keith

MSRTom · Jul 31, 2013

This is looking great. I think it's always better to renovate rather than replace.

I really dig those shelves in the machine shop, too.

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

I had a pretty good run of cash jobs come thru the shop a little while back, a few transfer cases, some machine work, sold some extras, any way next thing I knew I had the cash for a new metal roof!!! I have never installed one before, I talked to a few suppliers and contractor friends of mine, and felt I knew enough to tackle the job. I ordered up a bunch of yellow pine 1x4's layed them out in a grid seen here.

It is held down with 16d rosin coated nails, driven by hand every foot or so. This will be the foundation for the new metal roof. Keith

383 240z · Jul 31, 2013

Todays job is to trim the trees overhanging the shop roof. Cut some 2x6's to block in the trusses, trim the edge of the roof with the 1x4's and cut the overhanging 1x4's.

I'm also installing a pair of halogen lights in the peak of the West wall to help with lighting the side yard. Keith

383 240z · Aug 2, 2013

Got the dangerous tree dropped, it was a LARGE dead cherry tree that was overhanging the shop. I was afraid it would fall on my nice new roof. Anyway it is down on the ground, I'm limbing it a little every night after work.

I also took some time to put in a proper copper line for my sand blaster. I won this at a sealed bid auction for $158.24!!! It's fed by a 3/4" copper line that has a ball valve to close the air from the blaster, it has a blow gun inside that always bleeds off air.

Anyway here is a pic of the blaster. This thing is awesome, weighs a TON the steel is all .125" has a dual stage vacuum, and holds about 100 lbs of media.

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Please ignore the wires hanging, I was in the middle of re-wiring the phase converter for my mill. More on that later. Keith

383 240z · Aug 20, 2013

I paid of my materials bill for the new metal roof. It should be delivered on Friday. Pics to follow!!!! Keith

Bib Overalls · Aug 21, 2013

Interesting project. Going to be a nice place to work when you are finished. Are we ever finished?

ScurvyPete · Aug 21, 2013

I am definitely looking forward to this.

383 240z · Aug 21, 2013

Finished, I doubt it, got it to where I can live with it, I'm getting there. Concrete in the machine shop is the next big project, hope to be done with that before the fluffy white stuff starts. Keith

383 240z · Aug 23, 2013

The supply truck was in my driveway today.

Sure doesn't look like $1800 when it's just laying there on the ground. The plan is to put a sheet or two up each day before I head into work. I'm on the late shift for 2 weeks, gives me a few hours a day. Pics to follow. I've never done much metal roofwork, wish me luck. Keith

383 240z · Aug 25, 2013

First sheet is up! I'm calling it quits for today. It's to hot to touch the metal. I'll put one or two up tonight after the sun goes down.

Keith

383 240z · Aug 25, 2013

As you can see by the screw dimples, the 1x4 grid I put up has cupped. Most likley because They went up then was exposed to rain and heat for a few weeks.

Not much I can do about it now. Oh well, lesson learned. As you can see the measurements got a little screwed up. I ordered the sheets to be cut at 18' 5", they came in at 18' 8". I guess the 5 looked like an 8 on the faxed in order sheet??? Any way its no big deal the supplier told me his guys use a plywood blade installed backwards on a normal circular saw to cut panels, say leaves a nice smooth edge. He said swing by when I'm in the area and he will give me a new blade to use. I'll try it on a scrap first. let you guys know how it works. Keith

Ray Kelly · Aug 25, 2013

Lookin' good!! Lookin' REAL good!! :thumbup:

383 240z · Aug 26, 2013

A few hours in the sun and this is what you get!!

Keith

Garage Junky · Aug 26, 2013

Lookin' good!

nsnrider · Aug 26, 2013

have you done shingle roofs before? how much harder/easier is it to install a metal roof. how long is this roof supposed to last?

383 240z · Aug 26, 2013

The metal is going up MUCH faster than any shingle roof I've ever done. The metal I bought has a 25 paint fade warranty 50 year product warranty. Many of the metal roofs on barns around here are well past the 75 year mark and still look great. Keith

Hotrod Addiction · Aug 26, 2013

nsnrider said:
have you done shingle roofs before? how much harder/easier is it to install a metal roof. how long is this roof supposed to last?

Metal roofing is a hundred times faster to install then shingles and in many cases will last longer. Plus in my opinion it looks cleaner.
Lookin' good Keith. The only thing I would say is when installing metal roofing the fasteners are meant to install on the top of the ridges not in the valleys to avoid water leaks. Not meaning to criticize or anything just a little FYI.

Otherwise looks like a really great workspace.

383 240z · Aug 26, 2013

Not according to the manufacturer of my metal. They have in bold print NOT to screw thru the ridge. Only screw on the flats. Keith

383 240z · Aug 27, 2013

Some some done this morning. Got 6 sheets up before the rains came. Was glad to get off the roof today, was VERY humid out. My buddy was sweating just standing there watching me screw them down. Keith

383 240z · Aug 27, 2013

You can see my shame in that pic. The destroyed styrofoam insulation the plastic vapor barrier, damn those racoons and other rodents!! Any way that is where my planned 8'x40' addition is to go. Yes a metal roof on that part of the shop as well. Keith

383 240z · Sep 2, 2013

Was able to get a little work done today. Between the rain drops and the "Honey Do's" I managed to get 2 more sheets of tin up. Might be able to get 1 or 2 more up tomorrow before I head in to work. I'm on the 2nd shift this week. Keith

383 240z · Oct 20, 2013

Still cleaning and re-arraigning the shop. I did get the roof finished, got all the ridge cap up. Finished framing the front of the shop and got more siding up. ***** being on the road most of the summer, hoping my new position at work will stop being away from home so much.

I did manage to build 2 very nice sawhorses yesterday These will be the basis of the scaffolding to install the drip edge for the new roof. Wife has layed down an ultimatium she wants the siding, drip and eave trim up, and the lights on the front of the shop done before winter. Not a very big request, but life does seem to get in my way most of the time. I just finished dealing with the ins. company about the hit and run on my truck, did manage to get my nephews Jeep back together and out of my shop. Need to get mine in and install the 5 point harness. Wife was bounced around quite a bit on our last wheeling trip. Now if I could just find out what the heck is wrong with my compressor motor, really hope it can be fixed. cheapest decent motor I can find to replace it with will run north of$300. Just about the amount I had squirreld away for the concrete needed to move my mill into the machine shop. Keith

383 240z · Nov 3, 2013

Got the rest of the siding on the front wall done. Wife even spent time today picking out the paint. You don't want my color blind eye performing that particular task!!! No pics till I get the paint done and the trim boards up. Any way break time is over. Back out side to clean up some more. Keith

80WTI_55_CHEV · Nov 3, 2013

The place is coming along well Keith, I hope you get your pickup in the garage soon mate, Keep up the great work and keep the pics coming. Lee

383 240z · Nov 3, 2013

Well I had to run up to the Home Depot, so I took the paint chips the wife picked. Here is a pic from about the 1/2 way point on the front wall.

the trim will match the beige of the windows. Going to paint the man door the same color. The roll up doors are being replaced with carriage doors I have yet to design and build. Keith

383 240z · Nov 3, 2013

Well the sun stayed with me and I was able to get the whole front painted. You have to love quality paint. I used Behr Ultra Premium. Yea it costs $45-50 a gallon, however it is worth it!!! The whole front and I only used about 2-3" of my gallon. I was not being stingy with it. Also they now claim you can paint with it at 34* F!!!! Thats AWESOME. It was about 45* when I painted.

80WTI 55 CHEV Im hoping to have my 41 Chev back inside in the next week or so. I can't have it outside this winter. Keith

383 240z · Nov 16, 2013

Got the trim up today around the window and man door on the front of the shop. Came up with a cool way to do my sliding door. That will warrant a build thread to it's self, because the hardware from TSC is stupid expensive!! Also got about 4 sheets of siding painted on the West side of the shop. Posting pics tomorrow. Keith

383 240z · Nov 17, 2013

Here are the promised photos.
First up is the west facing window

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Here is the man door to the machine shop. I know I really need to give it a good scrubbing, and a nice coat of paint.

This is the window in the machine shop.

383 240z · Nov 17, 2013

Also brought this little tool home

Made this stand for it today. I could not get the seller to let go of the table for a price I thought was reasonable.

383 240z · Nov 27, 2013

I moved the air compressor to it's new home. Ran the cable properly, before it was just strung along the rafters. I closed off the pass thru up so now I can run the propane heater in the machine shop, and keep working thru the winter. Also built the last of the stud walls in the main shop, got the OSB up. Also started framing between the trusses for the OSB ceiling. I'll try get some pics after I clean it up some. Looks pretty messy right now.

Also went to my local used tool store today was able to pick up some missing taps, some more HSS tool blanks for the lathe, a woodruff key cutter for the mill, for $9. A millwalkee 1/2" hand drill for $50. Then to a steel supply for a chunk of .750" drill rod. I need that to make a test bar for my lathe. I need to make sure my tail stock is perfectly aligned. I need to turn a bar down to 2.250" and have it the same at both ends. Right now at 12" of length I'm about .010" out at the far end. Keith

383 240z · Dec 15, 2013

Here is my lighting layout for the machine shop as it sits now. The 12 black dots are porcelain fixtures with a splitter and 2 60 watt equivelant CFL's. They are on 2 switches, left and right banks. The 2'x4' blocks are troffer lights from CL, they are over the lathe, mill and my big desk.

I'm working on the house more since it's cold out. That however does not preclude me from buying parts for the shop build. Once I pick a lighting fixture for in the shop, and the correct bulbs, I'll grab one every time I'm at HD or Lowes. Then when the spring thaw comes, I'll be ready to light the shop!! Keith

Red Head Racing's shop rebuild

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