Brian's Buggy Barn World Wide Headquarters!

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

As an avid Volkswagen Fiberglass (Manx and Manx Style) Dune Buggy enthusiast, I've wanted my own shop for years. We were living in SE Georgia after I retired from the military, and had no room for building. Also, having been active military, my income wasn't taxed (I was a TX resident), but that changed when I retired.

We decided to move just across the border to NE Florida (literally, we just jumped across the state line), and although it took nearly two years, we finally found a community that had large enough lots, and a very reasonable HOA that approves of buildings.

I originally had planned on a 30'x50' floorplan, with a 12' man-cave/guest suite at one end, but as plans change, so do sizes. I finally built my shop, a 30'x60' enclosed space with a 10' overhang. The Man-Cave/Guest Suite will be the last 14'.

Thanks to a TON of people here on the Garage Journal for the inspiring builds, recommendations, and advice.

I'll be posting a lot of pictures as I go along, as the shop is near completion now. It took me quite a while to get started with this thread, but here goes!

While I did name it Brian's Buggy Barn World Wide Headquarters, it's not a business, but my personal hide-a-way, as we have both mothers (yes, both....), and they aren't allowed in the shop.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Pre-Build!

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Land Clearing Begins!

As the land was mostly cleared, there wasn't that much to do. I had them clear about 10 feet on either end, and another 10 feet along the back.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

And the leveling starts. This is where it went a little south. The tractor/trucking service owner was there for the land clearing the first day, and then had me mark corners. Unfortunately, neither of us was here the second day, as the young guy that ran the skid steer only leveled exactly between the stakes.

Obviously, I wasn't too happy with that, but he made it right. He couldn't bring the tractor back, as he had a big job to do with it, but did pay for me to rent a small Kubota and dropped off more dirt for me to self level. No cost, and I got more dirt for free, and got to play with a tractor for a day.

protegeV · Jun 12, 2018

subbed.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Even after my added leveling, I still wasn't happy, but I was on a deadline, as I work out of town, and I let the concrete folks come in. I did go back and added even more dirt later.

And of course I had to park my buggy in the shop for the first time.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Getting ready to pour, and the final result. We weren't home for the pour, but it did turn out o.k.-ish. I wasn't happy with the low spots, so they came back and ground the heck out of it (sorry, no pictures), until I could spray it without the water pooling.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

And the build begins! This is a Carolina Carports building, contracted through our local Handi-Houses dealer. Everything went fairly smooth with the contractor, and from the time I contracted, to the time of delivery was only 2 weeks. They were actually waiting on me to have the slab poured to deliver it.

There were just 3 guys that came to install the building. The pictured trailer is the entire building. I kept waiting for a large truck to arrive with the rest of it, but that's everything.

Day 1

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Day 2 of construction: At the beginning of the day, they realized they wouldn't be done in 2 days, and didn't work that fast (which would bite them in the *** the next day). They were either hung over, or just not in the mood to work, as they took things super slow, took a heck of a long lunch (over 2 hours) and left fairly early. My price didn't change, so I didn't care if it took them a bit longer.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Day 3: This is where day 2 bit them in the ***. They again started out slow, but by lunch realized they weren't going to finish if they didn't get a move on, so they got the lead out and started hustling. They still didn't finish until about 8 pm, which is pretty dark, even here in NE Florida in the middle of February. Truck lights and my one portable spotlight helped.

Perrorojo · Jun 12, 2018

What kind of winds is that rated for? I'm assuming there's diagonal supports in there somewhere. We don't get many carport style buildings larger than 12 x 21 up here because of the freaking snow.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

I was able to get out and see the shop the next day in the sunlight for the first time.

I opted for insulated garage doors, which aren't done by Carolina Carports, but a local company, and even though I knew my frame-out sizes, they refused to order the doors until they could come measure. Since I work out of town about 5 months a year, and was about to head out, I wasn't concerned about having it done quickly.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

You can see from the last picture of my previous post that the leveling still wasn't that good, so I had a couple of additional loads of dirt brought in, rented the Kubota again, and went to work. I think it turned out much better afterwards.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Next was the power. I wanted a dedicated, metered 200A service installed, but 3 different companies all did estimates and power usage determinations, and I figured 100A would be more than enough. So, they ran 100A service off the house, which should be more than enough. More on that later.

While they had the trench dug, I also added my own conduit in the same trench, in which I ran (4) Cat 6E cables. I ran a primary and backup for internet service (booster right at the house output), and a primary and backup to add the shop onto the home security system. No added cost, as it will feed off the same box.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

And the next day, I had the insulation blown in. I opted for 2" of closed cell spray foam insulation on the walls, and 3" on the ceilings. I was going to wait a bit, as we couldn't really afford to do it quite yet, but figured once I moved everything in, there'd be no chance in hell I'd go back and empty it out, or even have enough room to move everything off the walls to get it done.

And I had to park my truck in there just once. It probably won't be parked in there again, as I've got buggies and such to fill it, but it was fun to do.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

As I was about to leave for 6 weeks, I needed to get the carport cleared out so the moms could park there. Even with no doors, I was pretty secure, as we have a small community out in the sticks, every knows everyone, and we have two sheriffs on both sides of us.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

And the electrical saga went south. NOTE: GET A WRITTEN QUOTE!! Ok, I was reminding myself as much as anyone else. I do a lot of sales with VW and dune buggy items, and almost all of them are done on a handshake. So, when I got the quote from the electricians for about $600 more than my cost for materials to do a full electrical install, I jumped on it.

Of course, they were supposed to have it completed by the time I returned home, and did absolutely nothing. Each week we messaged and they assured me it would be done. I wanted to let them go, and get another company, but everyone was booked for weeks, and they did promise to get it done within a week.

That actually did happen, and the work was pretty damn good, with one exception I'll point out later.

However, the quote was forgotten, and we had a bunch of words back and forth, and met in the middle. I had figured the deal was too good to be true, and was right, but even with the added amount, I felt it was a good deal overall.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

The garage doors got added while I was away, and I had also added some sod before I left, as I knew the thunderstorms here would be washing all my dirt away. I didn't want that to happen, so I laid 4 pallets of sod myself, in one day. Swore I'd never lay another piece of sod in my life, but I was wrong....

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

I used a local friend and fellow VW fanatic that owns his own painting service to do the floors, and used the ArmorSeal Rexthane on the floors. I did all but the Man-Cave area, as that will get wood flooring.

Looks like it's still wet, even after 6 weeks, and it's had a number of things dropped on it, along with lots of small oil drops (they're VW's...) and everything cleans up great.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

I found a local guy on Facebook Marketplace selling 4 foot industrial shelving for $40 per section, and bought 10 sets.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Moved a couple of the buggies back in, and unloaded my Bendpak HD-9XW out of my trailer, where it had been sitting for about 6 months. A good friend of mine bought it just a year before, before having to move, and gave me a super sweet deal on the lift, a 60 gallon compressor, and engine hoist.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

So, here's where the electricians did make a mistake. Even after all the back and forth about the money paid, they stepped up when I found an issue.

The ceiling fans I purchased were Westinghouse Industrial 56" fans, and when they installed them, they installed them all on one controller. I questioned them about it, and they said the do it all the time. Since they had thrown away the manuals, and I figured they were experts, it would be fine.

When working on putting the shelving together, I kept smelling and acrid odor. My Navy electrical training (Nuclear Electrician's Mate on Submarines) told me something bad was happening.

Seems like they didn't pay attention to the instructions (which I later downloaded) that clearly state: NOTE: EACH FAN MUST BE WIRED TO ITS OWN CONTROLLER. DO NOT WIRE MULTIPLE FANS TO A SINGLE CONTROLLER.

So, being an electrician, I do know the heat generated by current flow is calculated by using the I2R rule, where the I=current, the 2 is actually superscript and is the squared number, and R=resistance. So, if you triple the current going through a single controller, and then square it (3x3), you get 9 times the heat generated.

The fan controller basically melted. I was quite happy I was out there when it happened, as I have no clue how far it could have gone had it caught fire.

The electricians did acknowledge responsibility, but I was able to find a simple rotary knob controller at Lowes that works great, and is rated at 5A, and each fan has a max draw of 0.52A. I've had it working for the last 4 weeks now with no issue. Not even hot to the touch.

abgiles · Jun 12, 2018

Next up, I installed the air system. I opted for the RapidAir 1/2" system from Northern Tool, and hope it's enough. I do have a friend that is a shop technical consultant for a large automotive paint company, and helps design shops. With what I plan on doing, he says it shouldn't be an issue, and as I've looped the ends together (it runs all the way around the shop, connecting back together), it delivers double the normal capacity (he showed me the math behind it, but I just pressed the I Believe Button), acting as a 1" line.

The up and down SIN wave looking bit is a water trap, that will be expanded once I get more tubing. Air is heated in the compressor, and traps the air. It cools as it flows, dropping the water out of the air, and the longer the water trap before the filter, the better. It needs to be as high and as long as possible. I will eventually run it up, and then back and forth along the wall to the filter.

captain14 · Jun 12, 2018

Nice location good looking garage. What’s the plans for the over head canopy?

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

Perrorojo said:
What kind of winds is that rated for? I'm assuming there's diagonal supports in there somewhere. We don't get many carport style buildings larger than 12 x 21 up here because of the freaking snow.

It's certified to 120mph, based on where we are. No diagonals, if you're talking about the uprights. There are diagonal supports on the roof supports.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

captain14 said:
Nice location good looking garage. What’s the plans for the over head canopy?

No real plans for it. I am regretting not just having that part enclosed as well. This was my one major goof, as I had planned on it being my truck parking area. However, MY miscommunication to the contractor led to it being 2 feet narrower than I needed for my truck. The opening between the uprights is 9 feet, and I have a Silverado 2500 that barely fits through. I can make it, but it's more of a hassle than it's worth. Again, it was an error on MY part. However, my condensing unit for the mini-split will go there as soon as it arrives.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

After the air system was finally completed, it was time for my favorite part, the lift!! I've had this thing since December (as previously mentioned), and had been jonesing to get it together, and this was my day (couple of days...).

As I work out of town for a few months at a time, I am off a few months as well, working a little from home in my off time. Mainly, not much to do, which is a blessing, especially when building a shop.

However, having just moved in, and most of my new neighbors/friends here are working a normal schedule, I don't have the opportunity to enlist them for help during the weekdays. So I was pretty much on my own for the installation.

A HUGE shoutout to Chappy's Garage (youtube and GJ forum member) for his awesome video on putting one of these together. The instructions aren't that bad, but definitely leave room for improvement, and Chappy's video clears up a number of questions the instructions leave behind.

As I don't have A/C in the garage yet, and it was middle spring here in NE Florida (mid-80's out), it did get a bit warm in the shop, but not as much as if it hadn't been insulated.

Luckily, part of the deal I made with the friend I bought the lift from included an engine hoist, and I'm proud to say that I did the installation 100% on my own (I only have me to blame if it fails!).

NOTE: The straps in the pictures are certified rigging straps, not just tie downs or some generic straps I found laying around, and although they're hard to see in the pictures, I did use softeners around the edges. I am a certified master rigger as one of my job oversight roles, and have seen first hand what happens when trying to rig things the incorrect way.

And finally!!

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

Although it appears simple, it did take me two days to do the lift. I got the main part assembled in about 4 hours, and got everything else laid out to check cable lengths, etc... before the second day.

The second day consisted of installing the pulleys and cables, installing the electrical, etc. Lots of little things. The cable adjustment wasn't very clear, and I did end up calling Bendpak for some assistance, and the tech made it simple to get it all aligned, doing it a bit differently than the instructions state.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

I installed the shelving next, and was finally able to get all my parts out of my storage unit. I've had a 10x15 storage unit filled with VW parts for a few years, and have probably paid more to store them than they're worth, but that's finally over!

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

I was very excited to have the MrCool DIY 36K mini split arrive from Ingram's, but the happiness turned into a bit of disappointment as I noticed the damage to the condensing unit. The Averitt driver was actually the first to point it out, and documented everything with me, and even he advised me to refuse it.

I contacted Ingram's and they processed a replacement condensing unit that day, and it shipped the next (last Friday). It is actually out for delivery as I am typing, but we're leaving to head out of town this afternoon for the weekend, so it will have to wait until Monday for installation.

Although the damage most likely did not puncture the coils, there was no way I was going to take a chance. I did accept the inside unit, as it was in perfect shape. Glad to have that part at least so I could get a head start.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

As the beams are 4' on center, and the bracket obviously isn't, I had to put up some 2x8's to mount the wall unit. I painted them and used (2) 1x4's on the back to screw them together. I am running the majority of the lineset on the inside of the shop along the 8' rail, so I chose the left side exit. Pretty handy how they have the cutouts for however you want to do it.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

And... Finally we have a driveway!! Yes, I do realize entry into the right door is going to be tight, but my buggies and small cars can make it easily, and I did get the casters with the lift, and installed air and electrical on both sides for when I need to lift my truck.

I wanted a larger pad, but with concrete prices, and the money spent thus far, there was no way to afford it.

And, yes, that pad is only 4" thick, which is the norm down here. I know all you northern folks require a much thicker pour, but not here in FL.

abgiles · Jun 13, 2018

And that's about it for now. I will post the outside condensing unit installation next week, and give a review on how well the 36K unit works on that size building. Once I get the mancave/guest suite walls up, I will insulate them as well (the walls between the shop and mancave) and install either a 12K unit or 18K unit for that, reducing the size of the shop part by 360 or 420 sq feet, so I know 36K will be enough for the shop.

My goal is to be able to have the ManCave at whatever temp I want (say 74), and the shop at a reasonable 78, and then vary the temp based on activity level and electrical costs.

goingtoarizona · Jun 13, 2018

Very nice!

Riley · Jun 13, 2018

Great job! Looks like a great set-up. Having the whole process is nice to be able to follow along. Out of idle curiosity, how long from start to today?

Thanks for your service!

abgiles · Jun 18, 2018

goingtoarizona said:
Very nice!

Thanks!!

abgiles · Jun 18, 2018

Riley said:
Great job! Looks like a great set-up. Having the whole process is nice to be able to follow along. Out of idle curiosity, how long from start to today?

Thanks for your service!

Thanks Riley! I started planning about a year ago, and changed it a lot between then and this February.

Land Clearing was Jan 23, leveling on the 24th (their leveling).

Slab was poured Feb 8th

Building was put on Feb 19-21

I did more leveling on Feb 28th.

Electrical main ran March 1st.

Insulation March 3rd.

Initial 4 pallets of Sod on March 4th.

Then I left town for 6 weeks for work. Garage doors installed end of March sometime.

Remaining Electrical (lights, outlets, fans) April 16-20

Floors done May 1st, and it remained empty for 8 days.

After that, I did a lot of shelving installation, the lift, etc.. over the next few weeks.

Driveway was poured on June 6th.

As of now, I have received the replacement outside compressor unit, in great shape, but have been busy with a few things, out of town this past five days, and then decided I didn't like how I was going to run the lineset, so I had to build a new mounting panel, and just painted it this evening. Will continue with the install this week.

Had I not been out of town for the 6 weeks in April/May, I'd have a lot more done, but then again, when not out of town, I only work a few hours a day from the computer, and can dedicate a lot of time to it.

abgiles · Jun 21, 2018

So, my initial reasoning for running my lineset inside was the 25' length of the pre-attached lineset. I really only had one ideal location for the outside condenser, and the inside unit needed to be as close as possible to the center of the work area as possible. With the 25' length, I was about 18" short of being able to run it outside.

Luckily, when I measured the actual lineset, it was right at 27', so I decided to run it outside, and made a new bracket.

With this one, I offset it just a bit to allow the lineset to run out just beside the post. I can say that cutting a hole in the building was making me extremely nervous, and I measured about 20 times to make sure everything was in order.

Running the lineset through the wall was the only assistance I needed during the entire installation, but I can't stress enough that you it is definitely needed. Thankfully my stepson was home and able to help out. We used the truck bed and tailgate as a work platform, and it worked perfect.

abgiles · Jun 21, 2018

I've seen a lot of the postings about using the vinyl gutters for the lineset covers, as it's much cheaper than any cover set out there, I decided to go that route. I have 22' of lineset along the wall, and it would have cost me nearly $300 for covers. I have less than $50 in this method, including the zip ties and screws.

I wanted something to screw to the wall that the lineset could be tied to, and the vinyl gutter could screw into, and thought of using a 2'x4'. However, I found these metal supports in the lumber section of Lowes, and knew they'd be perfect. They are 3 5/8" wide.

I attached them to each rib of the building, after drilling holes for the zip ties.

abgiles · Jun 21, 2018

After wrapping the lineset in tape, I mounted it using the zip ties, and will go back today and put the gutters over it. Going to be very careful where I screw in the gutter to make sure I stay well clear of the lineset. I may just use the gutter straps, if I can make them look nice.

Brian's Buggy Barn World Wide Headquarters!

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