GOOD GUY'S GARAGE

[Ray Cecil]

Gary Lewis wrote

If you are looking for concurrence, YES you need a backup truck!  

Go check what I just posted in the ebay/craigslist finds....I am searching...

[grumpin]

A backup is a good idea. My Bronco backs up my truck, my wifes Suburban and my sons Mazda 626, when the snow gets deep, he likes the Bronc in the snow!

Hmmm...perhaps another back up is in order.

[Ray Cecil]

Guys,
  The garage floor has taken a step forward today. I ordered one of these sawmills instead of spending money on concrete. There is enough trees in my area, and enough folks who will let me take their trees and cut them up. I'm going to mess around with this sawmill awhile and see if I can make my own pavers out of solid wood. I'm targeting Black Locust or Eastern Red Cedars for the floor. I'll probably make 2"-4" thick slabs of wood as long and as wide as I can for the floor. Each end of the slab/board will have a single hole, with a 10" long piece of rebar pounded into it and holding the board to the subsoil.

[Gary Lewis]

Keep us posted.  (Get it?  Post = wood.  )

Anyway, that looks like an interesting approach.  No finish on the wood?  If not, the oil, brake fluid, et al will soak in and give it patina.  But it won't hurt it.

[Ray Cecil]

Hey Gary...yeah I am not sure just yet on the finish. My approach is to use a large mat of some type directly under the lift when working on things that I know I will spill no matter how hard I try not to.

Staining it with a clear might give it a nice wet look. I don't know yet.

I do have three 2x8's that I have used on my lift between the skids since we got it. They have "patina". I bet they would burn like a candle it I tried to light one of them...years of oil changes and tranny fluid soaked in. They'll never rot.

By the way...that 2x8 spans about 3 feet between the skids. It lays wide side down. Would you believe me if I told you I lifted my 99 silverado from that board with a floor jack? It was bending....but I just got the tires off the lift...I was just messing around seeing if I could break that board. I was amazed I could lift the engine side of that truck on a 2x8 laying wide side down....I think a dry board would have snapped a lot faster.

[Ray Cecil]

At least for the next month I will be focused on pretending to be a lumber jack with that new fancy mill coming....

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

Keep us posted.  (Get it?  Post = wood.  )

Ha Ha!! One never gets "board" on this forum!!!

[Gary Lewis]

Ray - You had a lot of weight on that board.  (Or is it "bored")  The oil probably made it a lot more flexible instead of brittle.

David - Good one.  

[Ray Cecil]

Its been a few days.....cause I bought a saw mill!!

[Ray Cecil]

So here is the latest design on the floor. Still not 100% on the approach, but the guys at the ForestryForum have been helping me design it with their experiences with doing wooden floors. Its shiplap boards, on top of 1"x8" sleepers to screw to. The green layer is 1" EPS foam they put under concrete. There is a 1" layer under the sleepers, and in between the sleepers. This serves as a moisture barrier, and is lessens the condensation effect if the floor is cold and the air above it turns warm and moist. Shrinkage and swelling are a big factor in wood floors, especially in a pole barn. So taking the proper steps to limit moisture in the wood is critical to a decent service life.

Speaking of service life, I am in no way expecting to get the same life out of it as concrete. This is purely a "for fun" project. I'm not using T&G because I cannot pull up a damaged T&G floor board in the middle of the floor. Shiplap I can pull up and replace boards easily.

Now, with the mill, a place to air dry boards, and a brand new table saw and brand new planer, I've got what I need to attack this project. It'll be awesome when complete!

 

[Gary Lewis]

Wow, you really have the equipment!  That should make the floor a piece of cake.  But, getting the design nailed down (pun intended), is key.  And that design looks good.  

When do you start making chips?

[Ray Cecil]

I'm picking up a load of Ash logs tomorrow. Then this weekend I'll start milling and stacking the slabs for air drying. It'll be spring before I can start final dimensioning of the floor boards. I have to let them get down to 10% moisture before I can start planing and do final edge cuts.

So this is going to be a looong project, but it will be worth it. In the mean time, I will be trying to collect Oak logs to mill for the interior walls. I might do a much thinner Shiplap, or possibly board and batten. Live edge siding looks pretty cool too. Maybe I'll mix it up and do all three!

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote: "Wow, you really have the equipment!  That should make the floor a piece of cake.  But, getting the design nailed down (pun intended), is key.  And that design looks good."

Ray Cecil wrote

I'm picking up a load of Ash logs tomorrow. Then this weekend I'll start milling and stacking the slabs for air drying. It'll be spring before I can start final dimensioning of the floor boards. I have to let them get down to 10% moisture before I can start planing and do final edge cuts.

So this is going to be a looong project, but it will be worth it. In the mean time, I will be trying to collect Oak logs to mill for the interior walls. I might do a much thinner Shiplap, or possibly board and batten. Live edge siding looks pretty cool too. Maybe I'll mix it up and do all three!

This project is just "plane" good!

[Gary Lewis]

Ray - It does sound like it is a long journey.  But it'll be a fun and interesting trip.  Keep us posted.  ()

David - Good one!

[FuzzFace2]

Gary Lewis wrote

Keep us posted.  (Get it?  Post = wood.  )

Anyway, that looks like an interesting approach.  No finish on the wood?  If not, the oil, brake fluid, et al will soak in and give it patina.  But it won't hurt it.

A word to the wise might want to look up Yale towne & Lock fire is Stamford, CT.
It was an old think 3 floor wood floor building they did manufacturing in so the floors got a lot of oil on them.
Some how the building caught fire and the fire dept. could not put it out as the oil kept it going.
https://www.firehouse.com/home/news/10498379/sixalarm-fire-rips-through-connecticut-warehouse
It says lack of water psi, maybe so? but I knew a fire fighter and he told me oil on the old floors.
What do you think that black smoke was from?????

That was my home town up till 2015 and L.I. sound is less than a 1/4 mile at the end of the road.
1 of the fire houses was at the other end of the road as the building took up a full city block.

So be careful on that wood floor as any welding or torch cutting sparks can cause a fire.
Dave ----

[Ray Cecil]

FUZZFACE,
  Thanks for the advice. However, I will be slowing down on working on cars awhile. Once the barn is finished out, it'll probably remain more of a woodcraft shop. I'll get the Impala back up and running, and I'll get another truck sometime soon. I really don't plan on doing much restoration work for awhile, so I doubt I'll be doing much grinding or hotwork in the garage. If I do, I'll take proper precautions.

UPDATE: Ive got some wood sawn....Not too much yet. This is an old pic, I have a couple more layers on this stack. But we are learning and making progress, slowly. What you see here is all Ash. I've sawn Cedar, Locust and Ash so far.

[Gary Lewis]

How long do you have to store it before you can use it?  I'm sure that varies by the type of wood though.

[Ray Cecil]

I know that the EMC (Equilibrium Moisture content) needs to reach 13% for my geographical region. How long it will take depends on several factors. Species, ambient temps, relative Humidity, air flow, thickness, width....I've been told I will be able to use it sometime in the summer probably.

I've got a lot of logs to go cut. My neighbor runs a beagle club. They have 40 acres of woods, and thousands of dead or dying ash trees. He said I can have it all. So, planning on getting pretty much everything I need there.

[Steve83]

You might be able to speed the process by laying a few of these (with their internal t'stats defeated) under your stack:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GYGGLI8

[Ray Cecil]

Change of Plans.....looks like christmas this year my Uncle is giving me a concrete floor!!!

We are starting up a business together, and we are starting it in my garage. So I am donating the space, and he is putting in the floor.