New garage

Well I have been thinking about this for a couple of years now, mostly because we have been having severe problems with rodents getting into the vehicles and chewing up wiring and anything else that is chewable. They also got into my standby generator for the animal buildings as well. Repairs cost me a LOT of money. The fuel gauge in the van still acts funny, so certainly all the damages have not been discovered and repaired.

We have spent a fortune on traps and poisons to help rid us of those damn pests. Not to mention that I take more active measures to try to clean out the tree rats around here.

So a while back I decided to sell off a good portion of my gun collection, with it in mind to buy the latest and greatest Corvette being introduced. The ZR-1. I knew it would be expensive, and I certainly didn't want to take funds out of what we were saving for retirement, so I figured this would just be a matter of trading one hobby for another. But you know what? When I actually saw the specs of the new ZR-1, I just didn't like it. Certainly not enough to spend the kind of money they wanted for it. Then there was that issue of buying an expensive car like this, setting it outside under the car port, and having it chewed to hell by rodents like the rest of the vehicles.

So like it or not, I just couldn't justify something like that without having a garage. More to the point, in the long run, it could wind up being more expensive and certainly more aggravating NOT getting a garage anyway.

Ah, so what the hell...... I went and got a garage built. Maybe I have an uncle that I don't know about somewhere that will leave me an inheritance so I can afford to buy a new Z06 or ZR-1 Corvette sometime in the future. As it is the cost of the garage left some money in my pocket, so I decided to have some work done on my 2002 Z06, so at least I am getting something fun out of that gun money I got.

Anyway, the building itself has been done for about two weeks now and I finally got a video done of the time lapse footage I took of it being erected. It was tough trying to keep it short enough to watch without being bored to death, yet long enough to get it all start to finish.



The concrete guys came back yesterday to prepare the front of the garage for the apron that needs to be poured. They got everything ready with the intention of pouring the concrete on this upcoming Monday. However, with the heavy rains we got last night and into today, I'm not sure how much of a mess that made to the area. Been raining too darn hard for me to go out and scope it out.

The last step will be having the electrical stuff done, then I want to get the concrete sealed and likely painted or something to that effect. I'm thinking it won't be until maybe January before I can actually pull the vehicles into the garage. But my Z06 has been in the shop for over a month now, and that new engine being sent back to the builder because of problems, so what the heck.

Um, Rich, you can’t say damn on this forum.

Nice garage, a man without a garage is a man with no place to hang his centerfold.

wade said:

Um, Rich, you can’t say damn on this forum.

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Says who? :rofl:

Nice Garage Rich. Soon enough you will have your Vette back.
I carpeted a guys garage like that once. Not really sure it was a good idea. :shrugs: But he wanted it done.

Jeff Linkchorst said:

Nice Garage Rich. Soon enough you will have your Vette back.
I carpeted a guys garage like that once. Not really sure it was a good idea. :shrugs: But he wanted it done.

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Yeah, I don't think I would like carpet in there. Especially not here in Florida. I looked at locking panels that could be used to line the floor, but that would cost me an arm and a leg. Plus I would bet it would be a mess eventually by moisture being trapped underneath.

I think some sort of epoxy coating, or something similar will be the best route to take. I'm hoping I can find someone locally to do that, though. Some of the products look tricky to work with as it warns that it will begin to set within FIVE minutes in the can once the two binary components are mixed together. Seems to me it would be tough trying to get all 1500 square feet of floor space covered before it began to harden and there would be areas where the earlier epoxy had hardened off too much to flow properly with the adjacent area being worked on. I think it could look like a real mess if it's not done the right way. Then getting that crap OFF would be a real headache in order to try something else.

Yeah, I'm anxious to get my vette back home. Although it's been raining a lot around here lately, and the road has been pretty muddy to be taking a vette out on it. Still, I'd rather have it here when I can polish something, ANYTHING, on it........... :grin01:

I am not really sure if its a paint or something else. Home Depot & Lowe's sell this stuff. Garage floor paint.

I found this RustOleum site . http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=16

I really didn't read up on it though.

Connie and I are doing the floor in the garage this weekend. Actually started days ago by caulking up where the metal meets the floor and taping and plastic wrapping as much as we can. For two reasons: ((1) I'm a bit nervous about the muriatic acid wash that needs to be done to the floor, and (2) I don't want the roller to throw splatters everywhere. Putting acid into a metal building really doesn't thrill me, but it seems like just about all the products out there strongly recommend this step in the process.

But this is a killer on our feeble bodies. The night I did the caulking I thought Connie was going to find me laying on the floor unable to get up because I was crawling around on my knees to do that (luckily using knee pads to keep my knees from dying), but the legs just finally gave out. For the first 80 percent of the caulking process I felt pretty good, and was actually amazed that my legs were going strong at the stooping and standing NUMEROUS times. However, the last few times I needed to stand up to walk across the floor to get something were REALLY tough. I did get the walls done, but I just could NOT do the lift. If I had been in the middle of the floor instead at the rollup doors where I could grab the frames to pull myself up, I dunno, I might STILL be out there.. And taping the plastic up was no picnic neither.. Connie did nearly all the stooping for that process as that was the day after the caulking, and just NO way I was going to be able to do it.

Anyway, the product I chose was something called UCoat-It. I liked the idea that it requires a damp floor so the first layer actually bonds with the concrete. Most places want the floor to be BONE dry, which causes problems because all the prep work on the floor requires that you heavily wet it down. So there would have been a delay of several days, at least, to allow the floor to dry out before even starting the painting process. With UCoat-It, we were able to start immediately after finishing the acid wash process with the floor still damp.

We did that first layer today (Saturday), and it was a relief to actually be painting the epoxy instead of just getting ready to do that. I need to patch a few chips and gouges in the floor along with the expansion seams, but it got too cool to do that tonight, so I'll have to wait till tomorrow (Sunday). Then after that we'll apply the color finish coat. Then on Monday and Tuesday we'll put down two coats of clear.

And hope a surprise storm (which isn't at all unusual in north Florida) wouldn't sneak in. Apparently the high humidity associated with rain can ruin the clear coat layers. Heck, just degreasing the floor and rinsing out the cleaner raised the humidity inside the garage to OVER 100 percent. I kid you not, the meter I have in there was pegged OVER the 100 percent mark. So I had to figure out some way to put a dehumidifier in there, even without rain. Connie came up with the idea of putting a sheet of plyboard on the lift and that way run the dehumidifier, but not have to have it sitting on the floor. That seems to be working quite well.

Anyway, for anyone planning on doing something like this, it's a LOT of work, and takes a good chunk of time as well. No way we could have done this while still working with the animals.

The bad thing is that we have to have the vehicles sleeping outside for the duration. And once the last coat is applied, we need to give the floor 7 to 10 days to cure enough to drive vehicles on it. Just hope the rats and mice don't chew up any more wires in them while they are outside....

Anyway, I'm hoping Connie and I will have a feeling of accomplishment doing this and not suffer any permanent damage to our bodies. Right now, I'm not too sure about the damage part. Just getting INTO bed has been what seemed like an extraordinary feat the last few nights.... And heck, we both are walking like we are 190 years old......

Dehumidifiers

You can use these propane gas heaters,they have a turbine looking fan motor ontop that blows like a rockets engine and coils the heat up from the burning the propane this would make that garage dry as popcorn in seconds they can be rented at most rental yards

Heating up the garage while using binary component epoxy wouldn't really be a good idea. The higher the heat, the quicker the stuff will harden, when means I would have to apply it VERY quickly before it became unusable.

The dehumidifier I have is rated for a 4,000 square foot building and does a fine job with the 1500 square feet in the garage. I just needed some place to put it while painting the floor..... The air is dryer outside anyway today, so that helps quite a bit. Looks like the next rain storm has been pushed back to Thursday, so things are looking good...

Just finished up patching the dings and expansion joints. I'll give that an hour or so to set and then paint the color finish coat. Connie will be doing the trim work while I do the roller. Got to remember to put a bandaid over the blister on my hand I got yesterday. And use thicker gloves then those latex thingies I used.

Then just two coats of clear and it's finished after today. Going to be an interesting look with the bugs and moths embedded in the floor. It's pretty much impossible to keep them out, though. I'm surprised I didn't find an opossum stuck to the floor since we had to leave the doors cracked a bit to allow the floor underneath them to cure.

Life in the country.............

Good luck with the rest of the job Rich. I know how you felt crawling around all day.

You can buy the ZR-1 and send it to me!

Lol, that's my dream car. Anyway, if you ever do get the ZR-1 I might be making a trip just to look and ride in it if ya don't mind.

Crap, lost my shiney thing.... What was wrong with the new motor?

tstephe3 said:

Crap, lost my shiney thing.... What was wrong with the new motor?

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If you have the time, this thread documents the whole story..... http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32739

Starts with my considering buying a new engine and brings you uptodate through the trials and tribulations I've been going through. As of today, I am waiting for the new block to be manufactured and delivered to LME (Late Model Engines) in Texas so they can spend the next two weeks machining the block to specs and installing the crankshaft, rods, pistons, etc....

Connie and I got the last clear coat done yesterday. Only took about an hour and a half, so that was by far the easiest step in the process. The instructions recommended that the epoxy coats be done when there is no rain in the forecast for 12 hours, and we just barely made that one. Got done that second coat at 5pm yesterday, and some light rain moved in around 6 am or so.

I've got the process on video, but I can't get to the camcorder right now. I want the epoxy to cure SOLIDLY before I walk on it, so that also means I can't drag the step ladder in there to get my camcorder off of the wall mount in there.

All we need to do now is to take down all the plastic sheeting and remove any taping we did. That will be done in a few days, I guess.

We're going to give the curing process a solid two weeks before pulling any vehicles into the garage, so it will be a while yet before the vehicles can live in there again.......

Well, I guess the epoxy has cured enough so I pulled in one of the vehicles. I checked over the floor and it looks like I missed several spots with that second coat of clear. But darn it was hard seeing that new coat when I put it down, so all things considered, I didn't do too badly. You really have to look to find those spots anyway. But I did two coats figuring that between the both of them, EVERY inch will get at least one coat of clear. Heck, one part of me wants to be the perfectionist and sand it down to apply another coat, but yet another side of me is saying, "Hey dummy! It's JUST a garage!".... :laugh:

Niice

As long as you used the right epoxy you will be fine,it looks awesome!
I have coated dog kennels with two part epoxy,it dont ever come off,at least not that I know of.We used to just throw away all the brushs and rollers after we used them because it was imposable to clean them.
Great Job !!!:cheers:
I just noticed is that a hydraulic car lift on the one side?

stephen said:

I just noticed is that a hydraulic car lift on the one side?

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Me too. It looks Great. Now I am jealous over Rich's Garage :awcrap:

Ok, now I'm jealous. Not only is your garage more square footage than my house, but that hoist puts it over the top (no pun intended)

Great job on the floors. Nice ride, too!

Kathy

stephen said:

As long as you used the right epoxy you will be fine,it looks awesome!
I have coated dog kennels with two part epoxy,it dont ever come off,at least not that I know of.We used to just throw away all the brushs and rollers after we used them because it was imposable to clean them.
Great Job !!!:cheers:
I just noticed is that a hydraulic car lift on the one side?

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Yeah, I used a binary epoxy for both the color coats and the clear coats. I went with a product called UCoat-It. What I liked about their product was that the primer coat worked with a damp floor, so the epoxy would actually soak into the concrete and bond with it. Most other epoxy coatings required that the floor be bone dry, and most failures were caused by the floor not being absolutely dry.

Yes, that's a BendPak two post lift. I figured it would be an excellent toy to play with during retirement. I've always been a tool-a-holic.........

insomniac101 said:

Ok, now I'm jealous. Not only is your garage more square footage than my house, but that hoist puts it over the top (no pun intended)

Great job on the floors. Nice ride, too!

Kathy

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Thank you.

Well, the building itself wasn't really all that expensive. But everything else needed (land clearing, concrete slab, erection of the building, electrical, etc.) quickly added up to nearly twice what the building itself cost. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the rodents chewing the hell out of the wiring in the vehicles, I wouldn't have done it. I like it now that I have it, but honestly I hated spending that much money for "rodent defense".

The lift was actually less expensive than I thought it would be. So I figured, "why not?"

Yeah, there are some things I would do differently if I had it to do all over again, but all in all it didn't turn out too badly.