Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT My SCCA race shop build

[CDPLUCKER]

wanted to introduce myself and show the construction of my new garage :

I have raced SCCA road racing for 25 some years, an old Volvo, Datsun 280 z and starting a Z3 bmw. have also raced champ car endurance series with a buddy of mine, we race a bmw Z4

I spent 7 years building a house, moved 3 years ago and am just now really building my workshop for the race cars !

my first car the old volvo, fun , but I blew up the engine too many times, got really tired of that !



Then I bought the datsun from a buddy, have raced it a bunch with very little trouble, great car, super fun to drive but it has terrible brakes, that I cant really fix because of the rules.




and here is the Champ car we run in enduro races, typically 8 hour races and we do pit stops and change out drivers, lots of fun !




The Garage

started the design way back in 2012 with some plans I had a architecture student do for me

28' deep x 36" wide

2/3 storage trusses and 1/3 scissor trusses for a lift high bay




Thanks ! for looking, I will add more and get caught up with the present day !

 

[quadrcr87]

Looks like a good plan. Good luck with the shop build.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Nice clean design. If you plan on having larger vehicles in there (I service and store my full size SUVs) and setbacks allow, I would go 30' deep maybe a little more.

I have benches and cabinets across the front width of the garage and find that when the SUVs are in there, not much room around them.

 

[CDPLUCKER]

FOUNDATION

Back in 2017 , I had a bunch of fill dirt from the house basement and bit of time, so I started on the dirt work and foundation. the location is down a hill and the total slope of the site meant there was about 5' from the front to the back of the building. I started by building a "pad" and compacting it. I did all the work with a Kubota B21 that I bought for the house an shop build.

the pad



I then dug the footers, ended up doing a "stepped footer" to allow for the slope front to back , note the grade stakes set at footer level to make sure the footer is level, I hired my mason that was going to lay the block stem wall to help pour the footers






the pour



after the footers they masons started on the block stem wall , the back was close to 6 ' tall , I had them add vertical rebar and horizontal ties, We filled the block solid afterward with a grouting mix





After the block I filled and compacted the floor area, plus I added a parking pad to the side and a pad for a future lean to behind the shop. I compacted the soil in very small lifts with the tractor front tires and a cheap harbor freight plate compactor





more to come !

 

[CDPLUCKER]

THE SLAB

fast forward to the the summer of 2024 , since the foundation went in , I had finished the house, got remarried etc. and the foundation had just sat . I said I was letting the rain finish compacting the fill dirt in the stem wall ! I am sure 7 years of rain didnt hurt at all .

I first , killed all the grass that had grown in the fill dirt, then added the 4" of gravel , raked as level as possible, then compacted with the same , now old plate compactor.

I then added 1.5" of foam over the gravel, moisture barrier and #3 rebar tied 18" on center. and finally pex tubing added for some potential future radiant floor heat.








the finisher came early one morning, two trucks later






And its all done ! kept it watered for 4 days or so

 

[Aladinsane07]

Following!

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Looking forward to the build. Nice work and thanks for sharing!

 

[CDPLUCKER]

late summer 2024

Dug the utilities down to the shop

I had buried 2 1/2 , and 1 1/2 conduits half way to the shop when i built my house, that way I didnt have to tear up the yard when It came time for the shop, just had to dig and find the end, not too hard as i left a stake of re-bar at the buried end . dug about 90 ft of trench about 32" deep or so

also added a water line down to the shop in the same trench , just kept it separated on the other side

 

[CDPLUCKER]

after waiting for the framer to finish another project he and his guys were ready to start , now fall of 2024

lumber delivery for the walls and sheathing

 

[CDPLUCKER]

started framing the walls the next day, interesting that they decided to frame the studs in place rather than on the floor and tip up . i have a 18" stem wall that was the stated reason, worked out ok !

they got all the walls framed in one day , and the sheathing and house wrap on the next day

 

[CDPLUCKER]

a week later we coordinated with the crane truck so we could get the trusses set

CAT decided to inspect the walls, he loves to climb any ladder left for him !

 

[CDPLUCKER]

One final day and they got all the sheathing and the underlayment on the roof.

plus they put the sub-floor in the attic portion of the trusses.

the framer charged me about $7k for the framing labor.

the lumber and trusses were about $13k

 

[CDPLUCKER]

December 2024

had 2 guys put the roof on

1 guy worked by himself till lunchtime , he had the whole front half done ! his help came after munch and the knocked the whole thing out before 4:00 !!

well worth $1000 in labor !!

shingles were $ 1800 ? if i remember correctly

they also put up the rake boards up for me !

 

[Tynee]

In for the ride.

 

[evildky]

Welcome. I've also been and SCCA member for about a quarter of a century. Just solo and Time Trials for me. Although I have considered taking my Formula Ford to the track. Also a Z car fan, I've owned all but the newest. Still have my 71 240Z and my 2013 Nismo.

 

[CDPLUCKER]

you cant beat a z-car ! it amazing what the values have done , especially the early cars, used to just be a cheap old car !