Above 1200 Sq/FT Hilltop Speed Shop 40x80x14

[Leevon]

Well this has been a really long time coming. I had to make a career change, move to a rural area, buy some land, build a house, put a pool in for the fam...save some $...to build the happy place I've always wanted. So in May I started on my 40x80x14 shop next to my house in SW Missouri. I'm having our home builder, neighbor and trusted friend build it on a handshake.

Our lot is narrow, and the area I had graded for the shop between the house and lot line pretty much dictated end entry and no wider than 40'. I started planning by learning Google SketchUp and playing around with different designs. I didn't end up building any of my designs but it was a good exercise for space planning. Of all silly things, the extreme cost of garage doors dictated the final layout for me. So it became a 40x80x14 plan with two 12x12 end entry doors with a 34x20' patio on the back and a modest entry on the front. Here is where I am right now as of starting this thread.

 

[Leevon]

Excavation, footer and stem walls went quickly

 

[Leevon]

Slab day! I installed a trench drain about 65' down the center and sloped approximtely 2.5" from the stem walls down to it. It daylights to the back.

 

[Leevon]

Framing also went quickly. Inside clear height with the stem wall projection and top and bottom plates is close to 15', more than enough for my lifts.

 

[Leevon]

Skinning took a little more time

 

[Leevon]

It has a bathroom with sink, commode and shower so I had to add a septic tank but fortunately it is just above my lateral field. Also the power company dropped a pole and ran power to my meter pretty inexpensively, we just had to trench.

 

[Leevon]

It will be traditionally heated and cooled so we insulated the lid with closed cell foam and walls with cellulose. There will be liner panel on the ceiling. The side windows are custom sized residential fixed windows. The front window is an overstock black fixed residential unit, along with the black sliding door. The garage doors are black, insulated with glass in every panel. It should be fairly efficient. I already notice standing inside on a hot day it's bearable.

 

[Leevon]

Here's the work/hangout patio on the North end (back). It's 34' wide by 20' deep. I originally wanted a patio roof on the South end facing the driveway but I realized that would push the building back into my neighbors view more and would be sunny most of the time plus if I want to do any dirty work or storage it will be more out of sight back here.

 

[LXCam]

Wow that’s very nice. I’ll be following along.

I do need to ask a question just out of curiosity. Why the center drain and so much slope? Is farm equipment storage or something along those lines. My shop in Cali had 1.5” of slope in 40ft and I flipping hated it. It worked fine for the occasional hose down, but everything else about it sucked.

 

[Leevon]

Thanks!

Good question, it was a big debate with myself really. It's somewhere between 2-2.5" which is only 1/8" per foot over 20' which is the minimum for floor drain slope. Mainly I wanted floor drains for washing cars, cleaning the floor, etc. Sloping a slab to area drains is usually a mess unless you've got the best finishers (I don't). My builder wanted to slope to one side of the building, but that would mean the drain would be along a wall and I didn't want that. So I ran it down the middle. Hopefully I don't regret everything rolling down to the drain, was that your experience?

 

[LXCam]

Mine sloped front to back so everything had to be leveled out. Even with such a minor slope anything that rolled well......well it rolled. My intent at the time I poured that slab wasn't much different than yours, being able to pressure wash / clean equipment indoors on my lift. The reality was that only happened once and never again without pulling EVERYTHING our of harms way.

I like that you centered it, that was a good idea. The only thing I think you might get tired of is shimming tool boxes so the drawers to go open on their own.

 

[zmotorsports]

Very nice shop build. Would love to see more of the 70's square body as well as it looks pretty clean in the photos.

 

[Leevon]

Thanks! Here's the '79 K15. It was sold new not far from here. I've had it since about February, it was bone stock when I got it. I did some small stuff to make it reliable plus the lift and wheels/tires. It's a 400/350/np203 all original drivetrain and runs like new.

 

[zmotorsports]

VERY nice. Thank you.

 

[Leevon]

Here’s a better view of the backside.

 

[Leevon]

Interior is coming along. The south end is rough sawn tonge and groove for a decorative wall. The rest is all OSB smooth side out installed with screws so it can be removed easily.

 

[dmittz]

Awesome shop build!

 

[Jayman17]

Yep, that’s very nice!

Jay

 

[fouckhest]

Great looking shop!

Love the truck, my first vehicle was an '83 silverado lifted 4" with 35" BFG AT's...that is the one vehicle i regret selling to this day

Looking forward to following along

 

[plain2car]

wow very good lookin' space. I will follow along to see how you finish interior. ooohhh!!
...HHhhmmmmmmm..... 67-72chevytrucks.com

 

[m6z]

Very nice.

I'm in SW Missouri as well. I thought the dirt looked familiar.

 

[teagueo]

Amazing dude!

 

[Leevon]

Got a little ceiling dropped!

 

[jarhead]

Holy smokes, sweet shop!

 

[Leevon]

Getting there! Electric is just about trimmed out, had to wait until dark to play with the lights. Also the plumber was busy, man I love that guy, he installed a mixing valve on the outside of the bathroom wall. So hot water for car washes inside, check! We’re going with a tankless heater. Also roughed-in for a stainless sink I have been dragging around for years.

 

[jarhead]

I often wish I had a bathroom in my shop, especially a sink.

Place is looking real nice

 

[Leevon]

I often wish I had a bathroom in my shop, especially a sink.

Place is looking real nice

Thanks! I went back and forth on the bathroom, but in the end I decided to put it in because my Dad is semi-retiring soon and we're building him a '68 Camaro. I wanted him to be able to come over and work in the shop without feeling like he's intruding in the house. Also, in case anything ever happens to the house (fire) and we need somewhere to stay. Or if I ever have a guest who's a better fit for the shop lol. And it's convenient for me.

 

[Leevon]

I felt like I should do something to protect the rough-sawn siding in the bathroom before the plumbers finish and it gets hard to access. So I sprayed an exterior stain/sealer with a light tint . Then I moved on to painting shop walls, which is a big job. The smooth OSB still soaks in the paint. I am rolling the first on coat heavy with a 1" nap sheepswool. Then I'll go back and caulk and open joints in the walls and knock down any high spots (chips). I'm torn on the color, what I used on the first coat is a very light gray. It's a semi-gloss paint and will look nice with a second coat, even though it looks like flat primer in the pics. There's just no pop. I will be painting the window trim white.

I'm considering either doing the second coat all around in a darker gray OR putting darker gray from 4' with a black band. Thoughts?

 

[fouckhest]

Looking good.

On the color, I would recommend thinking about/deciding what you are going to do with the flooring before making a final decision, that will impact how the light flows in there. If you do a light(er) floor, then you could certainly leave that gray on the top, then the darker gray/black strip would look really nice and provide some protection from the bottom of the walls getting dirty/scuffed up

 

[Leevon]

Thanks, I agree. Right now I am 95% going to clear seal the floors, it's just a question of if I grind first. So they will darken up. The grey walls are just a little blah though. I supposed I could do a little darker gray all over so it doesn't darken up too much with the floors?

 

[fouckhest]

Don't get me wrong, I love white walls....I painted the walls in my shop semi-gloss white, then used galvanized metal roofing as a wainscot and a light gray floor, its really bright when all the lights are on, so I would certainly support that move lol

As for grinding the floors, if they are still "newish," and have not had any oil spilled on them, I may discourage that, IF, you plan to grind them yourself. Reason being, the grinder I rented to do my floors was a beast, there is such a fine line between it grinding nicely and "digging in" that you end up with swirls, and it makes a huge mess. But, if you are going to pay someone, different story.

Here is a link to a post in my thread where you can see the walls/floor and even some of the swirls, you'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the garage photos

My Mini Garagemahal

This is a great read. Very nice job on everything and especially your attention to the small details. Your outside shed is great. How much of this work was completed by you? A contractor did the main shell, sounds like you did all the finishing touches? The matchbox car collection caught my eye...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Leevon]

Thanks for the input, I'm making decisions today so you're a big help! I love the galvanized wainscot look with the light floor in your garage, I wish I had the right space for that. As for paint I think I'm going with the dark lower and black stripe, similar to this picture. The darker floor will be similar to mine as well. I may do just the back wall all dark grey but a I am going to do experiment a little first.

I'm weighing two options on the floor.

1) I have a top notch floor guy who does a lot of full grinds/seal. He quoted me a four-step grind, then leave me with their to part urethane sealer, which is resistant to everything and has a 7 year warranty. Pros are it's minimal labor, and it will cover up my finisher's laziness. Cons are it still costs a good bit.

2) Ballistix clear coating from Armorpoxy. Pros are time, cost and labor. Cons are it won't cover up the finisher's laziness.

 

[fouckhest]

No worries at all!

I like that looks with the darker lower section and how the floors are finished, that is actually the look that I wanted in my garage, but I had an absolutely horrible concrete finisher, which let me no choice but to do that grind/epoxy.

Depending on overall budget, I would say if you have a trustworthy person for the grinding, I would do that, it will never be easier to do that it is right now. It will all come down to how much the floors will bother you, I still curse my concrete guy to this day, to the point where I could almost justify redoing the entire floor at some point lol.

 

[Leevon]

I wanted to see my color scheme…so I painted the gray lower today. But first I filled a million screw holes and some joints with caulk. After that the second coat laid down much better (for OSB). I did paint the short stem wall too down to the floor. Next step is more caulking, conolete the top color, then see it with the stripe. Also the window casings and trim will be white.

I am considering painting the North (back) wall completely dark gray as an accent. The East wall hasn’t been touched yet because it doesn’t have anything time sensitive being installed on it. And the South wall is all rough sawn, so no paint there. Still a ton of work, man I am tired.

 

[jcarapet]

This is going to be a fun one to watch. Lots of good choices. Following along.

 

[Leevon]

I had to lay down the stripe color scheme so I could see it, and I like it. The light gray top still needs a second coat and cut-in. I decided to go with all dark gray on the back wall. My helper is getting more proficient, and since I had other jobs he had to learn how to dip the roller for more paint last night!

 

[fouckhest]

Looks great!

What color are you going to do the trim around the windows?

 

[Leevon]

White is the plan. Not sure about the bathroom door and trim though? Thinking maybe black? Don't want greasy fingerprints all over. Thoughts?

 

[fouckhest]

I think black paint or a dark stain around the windows and certainly around the bathroom.

I did a dark stain on all my trim, breaks things up a bit

 

[Leevon]

I reached the pain point on the cost of all this yesterday. I was a little down about it today but then I came home and the garage doors were on and they look great.

This weekend I finished painting two walls completely. I painted the bathroom floor with sherwin williams tread plex. Fixed up the gravel parking area with some timbers for proper grade and more gravel. I was going to concrete it then I realized I needed somewhere to park oil leakers.