I no longer have a place to work on my car and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or ideas on what I could do for some type of cheap garage. I have this really old barn/garage on my property that is in decent shape but just needs some work on the inside. The biggest problem with this is there is no floor, it's just soft sand. I checked and its about 6k to cement it. Im only 16 so thats out of my budget.

I obviously cant work on my car in sand, if tried and its not fun. Im sure its no big deal if your changing the oil or some othere small job but... Iv got to put in my LSD, im getting ready to start on megasquirt soon and I cant accomplish these things in the sand.

I checked out, www.farmtek.com They have som neat little tent looking garages. Does anyone else have one of these, if so how are they?? They have some good sized ones for about $1,000, wich isnt bad.

Sorry for the long post. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.
Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

you can also get some thick pieces of plywood and put it down like a wodden floor might be cheaper than anything else.

 

That's what I was thinking. About six 16 foot 2x12's laid side by side should do the trick.

Strap them together with galvanized steel strapping about every 3 feet and it'll hold more than the weight of your car especially with a nice solid sand base underneath.

Sand is the best platform for building on top of because it's easy to level, compacts really well and water seeps through it very quickly so you get less moisture build-up.

P.S.
This is the same planking used on trailers with a wooden floor, including my "race" trailer.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I just no remembered that my friend's dad has a concrete stamping business. So me and my friend can do the cement ourselves. I was going to make a 20x12 concrete pad and put this on their.

http://www.farmtek.com/webapp/wcs/st...7C10109&isDoc=

our cars are about 14.5ft long by almost 5.5ft wide. With my tool box, work bench, aircompressor and everything else do you guys think 12x20 is enough?

Thanks for the help

 

I think that would be enough...of course the more room the better though I've worked on my Z in smaller areas without too much fuss. I look at as if I can have both doors wide open at the same time then there is plenty of room.

 

I would try to go with a 20x20 if possible. That'll give you room to stack material and miscellaneous parts out of the way while you work.

12x20 is pretty tight when you've already got a car in there.

I assume you have power for the compressor to the spot you want to drop the concrete pad?

 

My 2 cents...see if you can build the sand up a little higher than the surrounding area...it may also help with drainage. Does it freeze where you are? If so you may want to score the concrete like the city does sidewalks...will cut down on cracking. Lay some rebar in it also...Strength!! Also, I think this is a valid idea...at the front and rear of the pad mold in some ramps..at least a foot wider on each side than your car, may take a little effort to make these ramps from the concrete but it will be easier to get the vehicle on the slab...also you could make a walk way to the door so it would be easier to roll stuff to the pad like tools, engine stands, cherry pickers, coolers of gatorade....you know stuff that won't roll on sand.

 

http://www.allwebdiscounts.com/lg_canopy_02.php

Hows that one look?
I think I may go with this. Ill be using 4" concrete with wire mesh. I have a lot of sand on my property so I was planning on building it up and making the pad the identical size as the garage so theres no water problems. I totally forgot about ramps, thanks, Ill look into that. And I have power allready taken care of.

Thanks for the advice,
Rob

 

i used to do the drafting thing, so heres the concrete info thing. youll need 4" thick to provide support for the jack, things like that with no cracking, and include some rebar in 2 foot squares and a 2" square mesh wire for strength. and sand will be awsome for pouring onto. also dont do a broom finish, its hard to jack a car up on, compared to a mirror finish, also those score lines need to be in the slab about every 10 feet

 

alright.. thanks for all the advice, Im not sure if I can do the concreete ramp. but Ill come up with soemthing. Im trying to leave money for all the tools and stuff ill be buying.

Im real excited that for the first time ill have my very own garage setup. I dont know how to weld but I plan on learinging, So im going to get some kind of welding setup, I already have snapon air tools, but need a better compressor. Can anyone think of anything else ill be needing.. Jackstands.. cherry picker....that kind of stuff??

 

Jackstands and cherry picker are the easy ones. Both can be had for cheap. Get more than four jackstands! I have eight. They're cheap and you can put them all around the car to make it as stable as possible when working underneath.

If you REALLY want to go crazy, get two engine stands, weld 2" square tubing about 4' long on each side of the base with some casters at the end, then build a jig to attach it to the bumper mounts and you can have yourself a poor man's rotisserie!

Seriously, two decent jacks, preferably low profile, not the cheap AutoZone $29 crap, six or eight jack stands, a cherry picker and an engine stand will get you started.

As big a compressor as you can possibly afford. The bigger the better. DO NOT GET AN OILESS compressor! Get a two stage compressor, you're ears will appreciate it, I promise.

Try and find a commercial one in a going out of business sale if you can. These are generally the REALLY good industrial strength comperssors.

For welder's you should get the best you can afford. Harbor Freight is fine for jacks and jack stands, but not for cheap welders. I would get a Hobart 180 or a MillerMatic 175 MIG w/ gas attachment, an 80lb cylinder of C25 gas, an auto-darkening helmet, a pair of gloves, a welder's jacket and some wire...

 

CREEPER. one of my favorite garage items. good workbench with strong vices, never have too many vices. LIGHTING, cannot stress this enough, good lighiting is essential in a shop. GOOD toolboxes, and pegboards too, and a specific place for everything, trust me, you WILL appreciate this. go as far as drawing an outline around where each tool goes, this gives you a quick inventory of your any tools you may have forgotten with a quick glance. fridge is always a good thing to have. and, this is just me, but i would have a computer with internet access, and a rugged keyboard, for electronic FSMs, ZDriver.com, and entertainment.

 

This post turned into a wish list toss in a paint booth and bad *** stereo to listen to tunes.

 

i got every thing you guys mentioned in my shop, good to see im headed in the right direction, i even got the booth, and a 15" sub. hahahaha not to toot my own horn or brag or anything, on problem is keeping it clean, that is the hardest part

 

If you're really strapped for cash and don't plan to weld anything thicker than automotive sheet metal, you can get this to start you out:

http://www.welders-direct.com/mercha...t_Code=U1474-2

I have a friend that started out with this welder and it helped him get going. He bought a bigger rig later, but still uses the Lincoln SP100 for the "small" jobs. It got him good enough equipment to not get discouraged while he was learning.