$2 Per Square Foot....Maybe It Was Worth It

Epoxy coated the shop floor... 

So it's been a while since my last post...work just keeps getting in the way. Prepping for multiple meetings and a trip to the UK took a bite out of my racer time.

So, the first thing I wanted to do since getting the space is to epoxy coat the floor while it is still empty. I choose the DIY route versus paying a contractor $2-$3 per square foot. I just couldn't swallow the $1,500 price tag for what is about $400 in tools and materials. However, what I underestimated was the amount of prep work that I would be putting into it, and not to mention, the value of a little experience.

The lower grade Rust-Olem Epoxy

I started with the assumption that all floor epoxies are created equal, (which I later discovered is not correct). I planned on picking up the Rust-Olem brand at Home Depot or Lowes in the Silver Gray color. For the preparation, I did a little research online, read the manuals, and watched the youtube videos. All of the research said to grind, power wash, then paint. I made my plan, rent a Floor Maintainer with the grinding pad, buy the supplies and epoxy, and prepare for a long weekend…if only it went as easy as the videos showed.

I got everything from the local Home Depot, no problems there, but was notified of a steep restocking fee on the epoxy (but no worries, I won’t need to return it…I’ve got two boxes of it if anyone needs some). So, time to get started with the grinding. My original thought, and also shared by the guy at Home Depot’s tool rental, was to wet the floor to keep the dust down. This worked perfect….at keeping the dust down, but not so much for the actual grinding. I’m not sure if the water created a lubricating effect on the grinding pads or if the pad itself wasn’t as coarse as it needed to be, but the floor showed almost no change. There where no visual indicators that the floor had been ground, even the paint spots and other stains remained. The result was not going to work for the epoxy. So, I then proceeded to regrind the floor two more times without using water before returning the Floor Maintainer.

As you can see after three passes the floor still shows paint and stains

After three runs of the Floor Maintainer, disappointingly, the floor is not prepped. The concrete still has paint, adhesive, stain, and areas that appear to be sealed. Next up, paint remover…worked great on the thick painted areas, but not where the paint really soaked into the pores of the concrete. Next, pressure wash…this helped with some of the paint left behind by the stripper, but enough is still left behind to cause concern as to whether the epoxy will properly adhere. Concurrently as I worked on the floor I also did a little research (this site offered a lot of insight http://www.garagejournal.com) to learn that the epoxy I purchased does not contain enough solids to work as expected, but is rather more of a strong paint. So, I upgraded the epoxy to the Rust-Olem’s professional grade which is a high solid epoxy.

The high solids Rust-Oleum Professional Epoxy

At this point I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve gone in a few wrong directions, and maybe I should have opted for a professional service to complete this. Now I am at a crossroads, do I hire someone to complete it, try the Floor Maintainer again and hope for better results now that most of the paint has been removed, or buy a handheld Dewalt (DWE46151) grinder with dust collection which other people have had great success with. Well, sometimes the only way out is to go in deeper, so I went with the handheld grinder.

The Dewalt DWE46151 Grinder and Grinding Wheel

The grinder went amazingly well, wish I started with it. It took a bit longer than I had wished, but wasn’t too bad. The negatives is that it takes about an hour per 100sqft, being on your hand and knees to do it gets tiring quick, after 30min you can’t feel your hands anymore, the grinder builds up static in the concrete which get’s discharged on your hand (gloves help), the grinder will dig into the concrete if it isn’t held flat, and the filter on the shop vacuum gets clogged quick. Now the positives is that a quick swipe over the concrete and the grinder gave the perfect finish, the dust collection kept the dust down, and being on your hands and knees helps you find all of the holes and cracks to fill.

You can see the before and after using the Dewalt grinder

After about seven hours of grinding (over a few days), the floor is almost there. I circled any holes that needed to be filled with a red grease pencil. Now a little bit on filling the holes and cracks. I choose to use a concrete filler that I already had, Quikrete, which proved to not be a good choice. When I did the previously mentioned power wash, all of the filler was washed out. This time I choose the two part epoxy filler sold by Rust-Olem. With all of the holes and cracks marked (and cuts that I ground into the floor), I filled everything, then ground over the excess to smooth out the floor.

The Epoxy filler used her to patch a hole

Now is time for a final pressure wash. I also used the shop vacuum to suck up the water, dust, and debris left over from the pressure wash. This worked well…finally I seem to be on a roll and it’s getting closer to completion. The floor is clean, dry, and ready for paint.

This was the easiest part of the process. Considering the number of complaints I’ve read about discoloration patches or epoxy that doesn’t harden, I picked up a drill mixing attachment. I am also planning on using extra paint chips to help add some texture and hide any fluctuations in the color. I used a fertilizer sifter to disperse the chips, which worked well, unfortunately, too well. he chips went down heavy as I was learning to the correct setting on the sifter. Be warned, once the paint chips are down, they are staying, so it might be best to practice in an area that can be cleaned up before on the epoxy (I didn’t practice enough). I did want the chips to be heavy thinking that it would help the slipperiness of the epoxy when wet, however, by the time it was completed, the paint chips where too heavy and just didn’t look good.

The floor after the first pass.  Here you can see the heavy use of paint chips.

On a positive note, I only used a single of the two packages of epoxy I bought, so I can easily put down another coat and cover the chips. Time for another coat, and hope for the best. I can’t imagine having to grind all of this up again because if it doesn’t work. It took a little bit, but I figured out how to cover it up and not have the black chips show through. The trick was to work in smaller size squares than normal and go back over it a couple of times.

The floor after the second pass.  Here you can see the texture left by the paint chips.

In the end, it came out pretty good, and I like the resulting texture. It’s didn’t come out as I expected, but it may actually be better. The color is even and seems like it will be there forever. Next step is to move everything into the space.

800 Square Feet

Can you imagine, literally, a square foot....much less 800 of them.  At least a hoof is round, but a square foot??!!

Sorry, that sounded funnier in my head.  The one thing that is certain to me is that you can not work on a car in a 1 car garage...even a two car garage would be tuff to run a race shop from.  So, I was able to find an industrial space to lease, 800 square feet (about the size of a four car garage) at a good price.  It's part of a larger complex with about 150 other units and businesses (mostly construction contractors).  It's all warehouse space except for an extremely small office and an even smaller restroom...perfect for a race shop.

While the lease rate is good, there are a few hidden fees that you want to watch out for when leasing a commercial warehouse.  The first are Common Area Maintenance fees (CAM fees).  This added an additional $0.08 per square foot to the $0.75 of the lease.  Plus, you will also need to get the appropriate Liability insurance.  This adds another $0.07 per square foot.  All part of the budget...which I am getting closer to posting on.

Race Shop Floor Plan

Before I get started with filling the space, there are two things I wanted to do.  (1) Draw out a floor plan, and (2) Epoxy coat the floor.  I am in the process of epoxy coating the floor, so expect a fun filled posting on my adventures with that.  The floor plan is done, see above.

Like a budget, this is just a plan and not set in stone.  There are a lot of metal cabinets for storage and a few workbenches for working on smaller projects.  The large tool box is the Pit Box (I couldn't find a better sample to use for a Pit Box).  There is a tire rack, hoist, plenty of storage, press, metal brake, welder, and all of the other tools needed.  There is also a TV for playing races on from a laptop or AppleTV.  I am still not sure what to do with the office space, so I just stuck a couch and TV in there (for those late nights when you just need to relax and take a quick nap).  The trailer and truck for towing are stored at a friends business, whom has a large fenced area.

So, that's the shop....or soon will be.  Stay tuned for the blogs on budgets and turning the shop into reality.

0,0,0,1

Well, if the first post was the origin (0,0,0,0), then this one is 0,0,0,1...movement in time, but still just an introduction.

Before one gets started in such a project, there are two topics that should be defined, (1) Purpose/Scope, and (2) Budget.  Budget, we don't need no stink'n budget!!  However, take it from a glorified accountant by day, budgets are pain and just a best guess, but important.  Having said that, I am a ways into this endeavor and still have not created a budget.  Which brings us to my first two mistakes, not heeding the advice of others to create a budget and not creating a budget.

So let's discuss scope for now, and we'll come back to the budget once I can sit down and create one.  The scope...hmm, well, at the very least it could be to have fun and scratch that very old itch.  On the other side of that spectrum is to become the next Jimmie Johnson or Rick Hendrick, which is safe to say won't happen (except perhaps while I am sleeping or zoned out in traffic).  So, realistically, how far can this go?  Can it replace my job and become a full time driver/owner??  Can it subsidize my income??  Can it pay for itself, or simply be an expensive hobby and past time??

I am also considering two phases to this venture, one as an owner/driver and another as simply an owner/manager.  As an owner/driver, I doubt it will go much further than having fun at the local tracks, learning the business, and perhaps it can get to a point to where it pays for itself.  As a team owner/manager (in several years), I would like to see it get to a point to where it can supplement or replace my current source of income.  To do that, it will need to be approached as a business from the start, which means a budget and a business plan.  I will also need to be aiming at the national level series, such as the World of Outlaw Late Model series or any of the other great national race series out there...perhaps even switching to pavement.

That is the long term direction of this adventure.  Over the next few months, I will attempt to get everyone up to speed on my current position, and I still need to develop a 1-3 year budget and business plan to go along with it.

Until next time....

Good or bad...the start of something new.

The start of something new....

A diary of my adventures with getting started (sort of) in racing.  How better to start something than to parade your missteps, failures, and (hopefully) success in front of the world.  Plus, it has the added benefit of keeping me honest with myself.

I've been wanting (and have with limited success) to be involved in auto racing.  Road racing has always been my passion.  Something about a perfect lap on a twisty course has always seemed poetic, and Le Mans is the pinnacle of it all.  However, the future of club road racing in Southern California is looking bleak.  My prior attempts have been with involvement in SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), however, managing members of the club seem hell bent to see it's end.  There are other clubs, but attendance is down and the competition with it (if club racing is to survive, then there needs to be some consolidation).  So, what's a racer to do...Oval Racing here I come, specifically, dirt oval.

What's the best place to start, there's carts, dwarf, hobby stock...nope, let's go straight to IMCA Modifieds.  A full race chassis with a stock car front clip, and a nearly unlimited engine with a claimer rule (currently $1,050...let's see you build one for that!!)  The class is designed to keep costs down, but not impede the teams with too many rules.  Considering the nation wide success of the series, I'd have to say that it is doing something right.

This blog is all about a middle aged, out of shape guy whom is determined to get started  in a form of racing that he has no experience with.  Hopefully it will be a how to manual, but I'm guessing there will be a lot of what not to do.  Over the next couple of weeks my posts will to get up to speed on all that I've done so far.

Thanks....