"GJRepesh" wrote in message
...
I'm looking into expanding my current shop. I would like some input from
recent
shop projects. Comments on things you did right and wrong. What do you
wish you
had done. Things you did that didn't pay off. Type of construction. I'm
looking
for ideas. I'm near Dallas TX. I've talked to the city and know about size
constraints, etc. It can be 15 feet tall at the highest roof point.
My existing shop is 20 x 24. This would be incorportated into a larger
shop of
28 x 40 or 30 x 40. One of my concerns is the existing slab. It was
cracked
along the long axis and the back half has slopped into the good old tx
black
gumbo. I have filled the cracks and the floor has held up the last eight
years.
Shifts a little in the summer. Do I need to replace the slab? Have a
foundation
company relevel and install support piers? Ideas? I probably can build
part of
the expansion and move my machines into the new location. That would free
up
the existing area to redo.
I'd appreciate some ideas.
Gary Repesh
I used this product for our shop, which is 32' X 80' with 12' ceilings.
http://rastra.com/
I'm so pleased with the outcome (we withstood the 6.8 earthquake of a couple
years ago with no damage, and we're only 40 miles from the epicenter) that
we're using the same product to build our house.
Shop has a 6-1/4" thick concrete floor with #4 rebar on 12" centers both
ways, plus closer in the doorways to prevent any breaking of the area when
heavy objects are brought in with our old tired 3 ton fork lift. The only
cracking we've experienced is on the scores, and there has been absolutely
no settling. We are heating by hydronics with an oil fired boiler, but I
imagine heating isn't one of the things top of the list in Texas. All my
airlines are in the walls, poured in the grout. We have a room dedicated
to the compressor and the built in vacuum cleaner system, so we don't have
to listen to the noise. We put in a full bathroom with tiled shower, a
great idea for cleaning up after dirty work, keeping the crud out of the
house. I also have a small area walled off with 8' ceilings, but enclosed
it right to the ceiling, using the upper area as enclosed storage, which
keeps things very clean. I use a ladder that drops on a couple brackets to
access the storage area, which has a small door I made from a larger one.
No affiliation with Rastra, just happy with the end product.
Harold