Garage help

The house I bought this summer was built in 1919, the attached garage was built around the 40's. The 2 car plus garage is in rough shape and will need to be rebuilt in a few years. In the mean time it is what it is.

The garage has a gravel floor. Not a huge deal but it dose cause some problems. Mostly with keeping the floor clean and safety while jacking. I have some metal plates for jack stability and some 1/4 inch plastic for laying on and stability for stools and stuff. Honestly i would almost prefer a dirt floor to the gravel.

Is there anything short of pouring a slab I could do? Maybe a half slab?

Also what are you guys finding is the most efficient way to heat your shops. Until I change insurance I can't use wood. My home is on gas. I'm thinking about just putting in a gas heater or putting in a big propane tank and splicing in my torch system.

For the floor you could level out the gravel with a leveling sand and lay 8 X 16 patio blocks with the joints staggered with a ½ inch gap. Then fill the joints with a polymer sand to bind it all together.

Awesome answer. That's why I asked. I used to own a landscaping company and have done tons of patios and that idea never occurred to me. :)

If anything it would work awesome under my work benches along the back wall.

I'm not sure I fully understand what you want.
Why not pour concrete? Bricks would take longer and cost more.

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

I'm not sure I fully understand what you want.
Why not pour concrete? Bricks would take longer and cost more.

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Pouring a new slab could be a waste of money if is not going to meet code to be used as a foundation for the new garage, and have to be ripped up.

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

I'm not sure I fully understand what you want.
Why not pour concrete? Bricks would take longer and cost more.

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The garage is in rough shape and needs to be tore down and rebuilt so I'm looking more for ways I can improve the situation while not dumping a lot of money into a situation that is basically temporary. The brick idea to me meant, building a surface in a part of the shop similar to a patio. It wouldn't work for jacking under but would give me a decent area for breakdowns and woodworking, that I could at least sweep.

Another idea would be to try doing soil cement....not fully up on the details but its something like covering the gravel with a few inches of a sandy/clay mixture, then tilling in portland cement powder (with water) and using a packer to pound it flat. Seems to me it was used a lot to stiffen up prairie roads in the old days. Obviously not as strong as real cement (no rebar and not as much portland) but a heck of a lot less costly.

Maybe one of the guys here has experience with it and can add some information.

If you are stuck with heating without using wood, your only alternatives are (1) going with the UL approved stuff like you mentioned....gas, propane, electric, all the stuff that costs like heck to install and run.

If you have any space at all (and from what you have said in the past you don't) then you could consider remote wood heat, and use water to transfer the heat to your house and shop. Also, you could use waste oil to substitute for the wood heat. Either waste cooking oil or waste mineral (motor) oil. Depending on your insurance company, the remote heater has to be anywhere from 40 to 100 feet from the house. Didn't know the insurance co. cared a rats butt about a shop or garage, but if it is too close to the house it adds to the fire hazard. Also, being in town, there usually are bylaws about woodstoves and the like that may put you outta business anyway.

How about getting one of those waste blocks of nuclear waste that they encase in glass blocks and they stay red hot for like 5000 years? Bury one of them under your shop floor!

Jon. ...busy inventing perpetual motion....

This is a redneck solution, but it works in this area. Plywood is used for the most important areas, but sweeping it is not a priority. Cardboard for crawling under things. As far as heat, their was a recent thread about separating non ferrous metals using a furnace burning used oil. In the process of creating my own.

In the same situation, trying to find an answer. Will share the results.

sawmill...- Is that the same as old "rammed earth"? It was a fairly effective building method in the country around here that went out of vogue about 1930.

Beardo- Does your county even issue building permits and have inspectors?? Not slamming your area but I know how thin most rural SD counties are for personnel...

Dakota,

I think it is probably in the same vein as rammed earth, but the portland cement powder helps to hold things together. Once the portland has set, then water won't affect it.

I'll bet rammed earth has to be done in areas with soil of the right consistency to hold together and good drainage for the stuff to be able to survive...kinda like the idea of adobe being used in an area that has lots of rain....nope, doesn't work. But in the right areas, it works like a champ.

My wife grew up in extreme poverty...she has experienced dirt floor kitchens...says they work ok in the right conditions, where they packed rock hard.

Jon.

I'd suggest using old carpet on a flattened out floor.

Dirts not a bad floor medium, it absorbs spilled oil....

this may not work as with slopes in yours but what I have done before is just build a wall inside but use it as your floor but only with plywood instead of drywall. basic idea that's cheap even free if you find all the stuff like I did except for some plywood

i would suggest laying stringers on brick supports and properly attached to footing or wall as may be your case.

look around and grab plywood slip sheets (3/4 is best) and stagger seams with 2 layers and glue between. i use pl2000 general purpose construction adheasive.

this type of setup depending on support and stringers can support a full size truck and more. use at least 2x12 on 16 center to support vehicles. just random yard equipment can use 2x6 on 24 or 32 center.

adding something like this can add alot of structural strength. also adding supports and bracing may allow you to rebuild a board at a time eliminating permits and other hasssles as most areas consider that upkeep not new structure. also think of it this way... it will allow expansion a wall at a time without govenment involvement. Keep expansion under 2 feet each time or they cancall it remodeling and still make you pull permits.

How about renting a vibrating plate tamper to pack it down nice and tight. I'd rake it out as flat as possible and maybe add a layer of finer gravel then tamp away. I'd still use plates under your jacks and stuff but it should be much better of a surface

if you want to go that route pack class 1 gravel in and tamp it flat and tight. provided you keep it dry it will be as hard as concrete and is what we put under retaining walls with an inch or two of sand over it. instead of sand i would use pea gravel. no sharp edges and enough agrate to keep it firm if it does get damp. just run tamper over pea gravel and pack it in. will give you a nice solid surface. sharp corners may still gouge if not packed tight enough.

class one has higher clay content and a little more sand with less crushed rock than class 5 gravel. the clay if kept dry will make it concrete hard.

added bonus is clay wicks moisture. if you do spill just add a bit of sand and hand pack it with a hand tamper. clay takes while to dry though but will return to concrete hard when it does.

thank you for all the ideas. I do like the idea of compacting down the soil using rammed earth. This is similar to many of the gravel walkways and paths I have built.

Unfortunately I live in one of those rural communities of 900 that is trying to be fancy. However I would have no issues going with wood heat but my insurance company will not insure us for any heat other than electric or gas. I'm looking into other companies. I would love to heat my whole house and shop with wood, I did so for 5 years in Oregon. Based on all the other busy body complaints I have gotten lately I'm worried about just putting in a wood stove anyway.

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Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I'd suggest using old carpet on a flattened out floor.

Dirts not a bad floor medium, it absorbs spilled oil....

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That is what I was thinking... but I would add cardboard underneath. Three or four layers of decent thickness cardboard refrigerator boxes.

Yeah, that's one of the down sides of small town SD. If you haven't grown up with them and new to a community, the tongues will be wagging. Its usually the old folks with too much time on their hands. I don't need to know the town or county but just curious how you ended up there??

P.S. Think of it this way. You've probably added some spice to the town's life ;):lol:

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Originally Posted by DakotaRog

Yeah, that's one of the down sides of small town SD. If you haven't grown up with them and new to a community, the tongues will be wagging. Its usually the old folks with too much time on their hands.

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You hit the nail on the head there Rog. People here look at me like I'm from outer space. I just smile and say hi. Just for fun I like to cruise around town with a huge load of appliances. That really gets the old ladies talking. Lol.

Wow. Same for me.

We just don't seem to fit in very well. Where I'm at now I guess its because we don't smoke wacky tabaccy or drink our brains out or something....

Jon.

beardo
Are the current footings on this garage good enough to rebuild the new garage on? If so the compacted gravel idea would made an ideal base for a new thin slab to be poured on down the road.

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Originally Posted by sawmilleng

Wow. Same for me.

We just don't seem to fit in very well. Where I'm at now I guess its because we don't smoke wacky tabaccy or drink our brains out or something....

Jon.

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Don't just dismiss the benefits out of hand.