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.