Shop Build...should be a fun journey...

[Adam Herman]

They sealed the inside of my garage floor with some kind of lacquer, anytime I drip solvent it turns sticky. Are you going to do an epoxy finish?

i have been really impressed with decoguard low sheen, a solvent based sealer that you can apply with a garden sprayer. it really soaked in and does not leave a slippery finish. does not seem to be effected by solvents/oil. and I have no stains. even with a hydraulic leak on the tractor. my concrete guy gave me the recommendation.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Sounds like what we used to call a monolithic floor, footing-slab all in one pour. Do you have a frost line that plays into this design, I remember seeing slabs and sidewalks heave from frost back in my early daize in michigan. If I remember right we had to go 42" below grade to get below the frost line.

...btw ... about the age thing, let it go. nothin wrong with paying people to do it for you.

[mark mcfarlane]

I paid someone last Saturday to haul and distribute 9 yards of mulch and top soil for our gardens. First time I ever contracted this job out. Felt guilty but I knew it would have been 9 days of work for my wife and I and resulted in lots of aching body parts. Last year we did one pickup truck load per day (1 yard): 3-4 hours of vigorous work followed by anti inflammatories and the couch.

Two 30 year olds completed all 9 yards in 8 hours.

Back on topic, I covered my shop slab with builders paper as soon as the roof and sheathing were on. Pulled up the paper and had nice clean concrete ready to finish. The paper was particularly helpful keeping dirt/mud, drywall compound, spray foam insulation and paint off the slab. The paper in my area comes in two thicknesses. I used the thicker version and it held up perfectly.

[Leigh Betsch]

I did the rosin paper on my floor but only after the construction was done and before ceiling paint. It did tear plenty of places but it worked to keep the paint off the floor. In the end I don't really know if it was necessary because the epoxy guy's sandblasted the floor anyway. I did a polyaspartic floor. It works great. But it was $4.50/sq ft installed.

[mark mcfarlane]

I did the rosin paper on my floor but only after the construction was done and before ceiling paint. It did tear plenty of places but it worked to keep the paint off the floor. In the end I don't really know if it was necessary because the epoxy guy's sandblasted the floor anyway. I did a polyaspartic floor. It works great. But it was $4.50/sq ft installed.

This is what I used: https://www.homedepot.com/p/TRIMACO-...2370/300095507
$40 for a 3'*100' roll = 300 sq ft. Budget for continuous tape seams.

My epoxy guy grinds the concrete.

If your going to seal the concrete yourself, especially with a clear sealant, keeping it clean is good.

[Leigh Betsch]

You are right. They ground the concrete with diamond not sandblasted.

[Jim Becker]

One of my neighbors started assembling the steel frame for his shop building 9 years ago, it's still not done.

That's kinda sad if you think about it...I guess the incentive to finish just wasn't there for them.

They sealed the inside of my garage floor with some kind of lacquer, anytime I drip solvent it turns sticky. Are you going to do an epoxy finish?

I don't have any current plans for a formal finish on the floor but will investigate options. It will come down to budget, honestly.

Sounds like what we used to call a monolithic floor, footing-slab all in one pour. Do you have a frost line that plays into this design, I remember seeing slabs and sidewalks heave from frost back in my early daize in michigan. If I remember right we had to go 42" below grade to get below the frost line.

...btw ... about the age thing, let it go. nothin wrong with paying people to do it for you.

For a wood post frame, it's not usually a monolithic pour...it's a floating slab done after the building is up. Frost line does come into play for how deep the posts have to go, either directly or for any kind of poured support that goes under them if that method is chosen. For a metal post frame (think carport type or red-metal), a monolithic pour is either common or required. For carport type buildings, small structures can get away with just a flat slab and larger ones typically go monolithic with 6-12" of additional thickness at the edges where the structure is bolted onto it. For red metal, the requirements also vary with size , but the monolithic slab will generally have either greater depth at the edge and/or the locations where the heavy posts get bolted will go much deeper...it's a load engineering thing and red metal structures have fewer points where the load is supported. Monolithic slabs still "float", as it were, and are not build on a deep foundation. They do have a lot of mass when engineered for a "heavy" building and may even go deep enough at the edges and with any internal "beams" to be very much like a more traditional foundation in depth, but not being separate from that foundation. Note this is all very simplified and general and I'm not an expert nor to I play one on YouTube. I may have even said something incorrectly, so the bottom line is that for any kind of building, the whole project has to be properly engineered for both structural load and for things like weather conditions for the location it will live.

No worries on the age thing...it's only relevant because it must be. I "prefer" and love to do my own work including challenging things. But I also am not interested in hurting myself or screwing up a $30K+ project. So professionals will be involved.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

This is what I used: https://www.homedepot.com/p/TRIMACO-...2370/300095507
$40 for a 3'*100' roll = 300 sq ft. Budget for continuous tape seams.
.

wat?…we call that siding

[Jim Becker]

I am happy to report that I just picked up my Zoning Opinion letter which states: "It has been determined that the proposed accessory structure would be approved by matter-of-right". Normally, a zoning request goes in with the permit application concurrently, but I was not willing to put a deposit in with any entity without knowing that what I want to do would meet zoning requirements. It was worth the extra $150 to get that piece of paper, IMHO, for peace of mind. Now I can focus on finalized what I want to build. The size is pretty much 24x36x10. The choice will be between a wood post frame and a metal post frame (carport type) building. If the cost ends up being close, I'll choose the wood for sure, but it will come down to the concrete work required for the metal building based on quotes I already have for the wood post frame that include the slab pour. I'm actually fine with either building type after thinking about it a whole bunch. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, but nothing is a show-stopper. It's going to come down to money, pure and simple. Now off to contact my mason friend to see what it would cost for what's required for the metal building to sit on...

[Adam Herman]

great jim! we are sitting here with a building in the yard of the contractor waiting on any word at all on our permit that was put in 5 or 6 weeks ago. and if you call they just say "its approved when you get it" wont even give us a ball park.

[Jim Becker]

Adam, we are fortunate here that there is a private engineering firm that is contracted to our Borough and many other local jurisdictions to handle all the zoning and building activity. They are professional and communicative. Example, I should have had this letter last week as the engineer assigned messaged that she sent it over last Monday, but the call didn't come. I messaged her late yesterday afternoon about it and this morning, I got a call from the Borough office that my letter was ready for pickup. I had similar experience with the two electric permits I've pulled to-date...one took a week and one took three days from application to my exchanging a check for the paper at the Borough office. These folks have no issues with questions, either, as they seem to value not having to do things over and over again because of misunderstandings. Hopefully, the permit process for the actual building will go smoothly.

[Charles P. Wright]

I understand the reluctance for a bathroom. After the fact, you might be able to get a yard hydrant installed, which should require less permitting and hoops than anything connecting to sewer/septic. When I was painting my rental house, I used a camp sink/table that connected to a hose spigot for cleaning brushes. The house has no laundry/utility sink, so it was well worth the $100 not to worry about damaging anything inside the bathroom or kitchen.

[Jim Becker]

I just use the stainless steel sink in the kitchen for cleaning up...and hot water. I'm a "neat cleaner upper". There is a utility sink in the basement, but it's old, really grody and not actually working at the present because the below grade pump up to the sewer pipe is, um...non-functioning. The is an outdoor hydrant on the back corner of the house closest to the new shop location. (the ONLY outdoor hydrant on the house) So yes, I could run a hose if I needed to for whatever purpose.

[Sal Cangialosi]

Best of luck and looking forward to learning from this!

Sal

[Jim Becker]

I will likely be making a decision in the next few days about "what building" will get the nod. I finally have most of my numbers so it's time to analyse things and "dive into the deep end", as it were.