I figured I'd start a new thread to keep me motivated to build the shop inside of the 30 days that we have to do it. All of this is funded completely out of pocket, so a lot of it had to be funded on a strict budget. As it stands right now, this move is a $15,000 expense.
In my prior thread, it explains why we are moving the shop.
We must be up and running on Feb 1st while having the other shop completely cleaned out without missing a day of work. A lot of the stuff that we can't handle was done by the barter system. We put a lift kit in a Jeep a few weeks ago for our electrician...lol.
Here are a few pics of day 1
The basement
The office which will have a hallway and office built into it.
The work area. Joey and my oldest daughter are prepping and taping off to get ready for paint.
At the end of day 1, we have the ceiling in the shop area painted two coats of high gloss white. The light bulbs have all been changed out to match and give the most light output. We will bring our metal halide lights over from the old shop in a few weeks. The basement has been completely cleaned out and the first coat of paint/sealer has been applied to half.
The next 30 days will consist of double shifts and a lot of muscle soreness....and updates if you are all interested in how this will turn out.
Is it my old eyes or is this new facility quite a bit larger?
It is overall the same size, but shaped differently. Now I'll have a private office, the basement will have the gym and break room. There are windows all over the place now and we have 4 times the parking. The rent is $500 a month cheaper and we are now on a highway (route 9). Also, there is a diner in the same parking lot which will help because we have had a lot of customers walk there in the bitter cold or extreme heat from my current location.
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Originally posted by Zeb:
Build a complete operating shop in only 30 days, from scratch?
For you, a relaxing vacation.
I wouldn't call it a vacation...lol. We still have to work our butts off during the day and then at night build the shop. The epoxy coat is causing a major delay and if we don't get the product within the next 5 days, it will really push everything back. We ordered it weeks ago and was promised to have it in our hands by Christmas.
Shelf removed and first coat of paint is complete.
Shop area:
First coat of paint is 75% complete on the walls.
We have gone through approx 12 gallons of paint so far and we are a little more than halfway there. I received an update with the epoxy coat company. I realize that I can be an ass when I need to be and I believe that the sales rep there officially hates my guts, but they shipped the product yesterday.
Timing and income are going to be the hardest part of this move. We have to keep the old shop running at 100% while getting the new shop ready to be open by Monday the 27th and then do the final cleaning out of the old shop in time to hand over the keys by the 31st.
NJ declared a state of emergency due to the 7" of snow we got today. So in my shop that means that there isn't traffic, so don't be late for work. No parts deliveries today, so all of us went over and added more shiny gloss paint to the walls. We are up to 27 gallons on the walls and we ran out with two walls to go. We picked up 3 more gallons on our way home and plan to finish the paint in in the shop and basement 100% tomorrow. Here is a quick pic from the end of today...not much difference other than the smooth texture of the concrete walls.
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Tomorrow we finish painting and clear out all the cabinets left behind by the previous renter. On Sunday or Monday we will diamond etch the floor and prep it for the high gloss epoxy coating. I'm thankful for the short day. My internal clock said it was time to wake up at 2am this morning...and I'm exhausted.
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 01-03-2014).]
NJ declared a state of emergency due to the 7" of snow we got today. So in my shop that means that there isn't traffic, so don't be late for work. No parts deliveries today, so all of us went over and added more shiny gloss paint to the walls. We are up to 27 gallons on the walls and we ran out with two walls to go. We picked up 3 more gallons on our way home and plan to finish the paint in in the shop and basement 100% tomorrow. Here is a quick pic from the end of today...not much difference other than the smooth texture of the concrete walls.
]
Tomorrow we finish painting and clear out all the cabinets left behind by the previous renter. On Sunday or Monday we will diamond etch the floor and prep it for the high gloss epoxy coating. I'm thankful for the short day. My internal clock said it was time to wake up at 2am this morning...and I'm exhausted.
Dave
In my best Maryjane voice, "Can I have that cabinet?"
Where are all your mechanics, still at the other shop working on cars or packing things away for transport? all I see are the wife and you there.
great job on all the work preparing for the move, I hope you make it in time and make a fortune.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Joey and Jewell did a majority of the painting. Yesterday me and the crew were there helping cut in the edges. Once the painting is done, it will be mostly on just me and the guys. Tomorrow the painting will be 100%. Monday, we will diamond etch the floor.
The air compressor and lifts go in on the 13th and the electrician will be in that week doing all the stuff needed.
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 01-05-2014).]
Is that the key to getting the epoxy coating to stick?
Yes. You have to open up the pores on the concrete first. The epoxy is approx 20mm thick and the tensile strength is much greater than concrete. It will also level out the floor. . . . Brad...when did you change your username????? I have to buy Forza 4. I'm behind the times. I still play Forza 2, but never online. I don't have the time to dedicate to that.
Today, we start moving stuff into the basement. That will consist of our kitchen, gym, compressor, and storage shelves for not needed stuff. The basement is located under the office area and not the shop area.
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 01-05-2014).]
Painting is now complete. The arrangements for the framing and drywall are in the works to have a 10'x10' room built into the shop as a check in/checkout area with a hall to the waiting room.
The basement is as far as I plan to go for another 8 days when the compressor gets installed. Here are two pics of that. (yes, I am driving everyone nuts with my OCD and adhering to a very tight schedule)
Tomorrow we will empty the shop area completely and diamond etch the floor and then try to complete 6 customer's cars at the same time at the old shop, so I have the guys swapping out in shifts to make things easier.
Good progress thus far. These kind of things are stressful. I had to build a shop ground up for my job and it took 8 months total to complete from start to finish even though it was only 12,000 square feet. 3-4 months of that was the design and government permit approvals though. Unfortunately I can't post pics of it because my work does not allow it but I am very proud of that shop.
Floor prepping. This is the part that is making me pissed off. To properly prep this floor, it will take days before we can epoxy coat it. The framing and drywall is scheduled for this weekend. The lifts are scheduled to be moved on Monday. The electrician is coming on Tuesday. I may have to reconfigure the schedule and bump the office and waiting room build to happen while the floor gets prepped.
Here are a few random pics from the day. Proper respirators were worn....the one pic of Ryan working without was just a quick spot grind and he looked funny, so we took the pic.
Is that Joey in one of the photos? I'm not sure because I didn't see a middle finger. Best of luck to you guys. (I remember the GOF also)
Jim
lol. Yes that is Joey up on the ladder in one of the first pics and my daughter Jewell standing below her.
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Originally posted by nitroheadz28:
Dave you need to stop pushing it so hard before you blow a gasket!! Keep up the good work.
We have to push this hard to get the shop running by the 27th. We still don't have an entrance write up area, proper waiting room and the bathroom is gross. There isn't a sink in the shop to wash our hands and the floor is much worse off than we originally estimated. We thought it would be a day of work to prep the floor, but we are finding "Harry's soul" the more we clean it. Harry is the prior mechanic that worked there and there is oil, paint and sludge stains all over the floor.
7 January 2014. Day 7
We had a very very busy day at the old shop yesterday. A few cars towed in and plenty of other unexpected work. The outside temp was 1 degree and stuff breaks when it is cold. One of the lifts sold and we wound up disassembling it and loading it for the buyer. One more lift to sell and then everything is in order.
We finally got over to the new shop around 5pm and spent a few hours pressure washing and hand grinding the floor to prep it for the epoxy coat. Today we will finish the last little bit and acid etch the floor. Then wash it and it should be ready for the coating within 3 days. I pushed back the move of the lifts by one week and shuffled the framing jobs around this.
Here is Ryan pressure washing the floor....inch by inch.
Here I am hand grinding the edges to get the concrete prepped.
Here is Matt taking a turn at the pressure washer while Ryan and I grab a beer in the office
Ryan filling in the small holes from a previous lift with concrete.
This guy found his way into the shop and didn't live much past this pic.
So, today should be the last day of prep of the floor and tonight I will be going to buy more paint and possibly lumber and drywall for the waiting room. I will need a vacation after this is all over. I made it home last night and fell asleep within ten minutes of coming in the door.
No pictures today. All we did was acid etch the floor with muriatic acid and spent hours upon hours rinsing it. Today we won't be in the shop at all because we had triple the normal amount of work dropped off late yesterday. The severe cold snap broke a bunch of cars.
Looks like this cold snap is a good thing for your business. Timing could have been a little better. Think you'll make enough extra from it to cover the moving costs?
You are a rare combination, an excellent mechanic AND a good businessman. Is Joey still driving trucks?
Dave you need to stop pushing it so hard before you blow a gasket!! Keep up the good work.
In order to make his deadline he has to, I don't expect you to understand that, never having to meet a deadline before from what your prior work has been. sometimes things have deadlines that have to be met in order to make people besides yourself happy. I am sure his customers will be happy that they are not inconvenienced if he opens the new place on time.
Dave glad you are making things work for you and I hope you can get it finished in time, wish I could offer some help but I can't other than good vibes that you can get it done on time and keep your customers happy, because as you know if you keep them happy they will continue to keep you in work.
oh ya and ask Joey if she can give us a Joey salute the next time you take her picture, just so we know its her.
We are going to have to have a seamless transition. I can't afford to have my customers thinking that I closed up shop. Thanks for the compliments and I will have Joey give her official salute next time she is helping at the shop. She doesn't drive trucks anymore. I gave her the option that if she stays out on the road, I'll find a young eastern European woman to help out around the house.
9 January 2014. Day 9
All that we did yesterday was let the floor dry. At the old shop we did more business in one day than we normally do inside a full week. We start pouring the base coat of epoxy at 7am this morning. Then while that dries, we will head over to the old shop and take care of business.
Not a doubt in my mind about your opening on schedule and "seamlessly" as you put it. Don't know how you do it all, but I know you get it done. And keeping all of us up with the progress to boot!
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Originally posted by bmwguru: "She doesn't drive trucks anymore. I gave her the option that if she stays out on the road, I'll find a young eastern European woman to help out around the house."
LOL! Would love to have seen the look on Joey's face when you told her that! We've lost a good transport source, but you get your wife back, so that's a good thing. I'll bet the kids aren't unhappy about it either!
Looking forward to seeing pics of the finished project and to hearing that you have MORE business than before as a result of the move.
Glad to hear Joey is home where she belongs, I don't know how you could have done without her when she was driving. All those kids and her gone on the road must have been a nightmare even with the older one to help must have been a nightmare for you. Besides she is Hot, you are one lucky man, for now, how old is the oldest girl now? seems to me she has her mothers looks and you are going to be one scared father when she starts dating, I hated that when my girls started doing dating, didn't quite know what to do.
Keep up the good work and hope you meet your opening date so all your customers don't have to find someplace else, but knowing how well you and your workers are at their jobs I don't think you will lose any of them, even if you are late opening. You will do great at your new place!
Joey still hauls cars for the Fiero community and a few other forums I belong to.
Paul,
We have been kicking around the idea of a new mascot. Our latest hobby is messing with the new guy. We have been putting Winkie in his toolbox and putting other odd items inside of his box.
Here is the latest. I actually got home before bedtime today....but we are working tomorrow.
10 January 2014. Day 10
The base coat of the epoxy is done. It has to dry for 18 hours and then we will apply the clear coat. Our goal is to make the shop ridiculously bright and have everything shine. Here are the pics of the smoke blue epoxy....pre-gloss.
7am
5pm
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 01-10-2014).]
