Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Ferrari OT NFC Garage Floor Coating

[BRIGANDBAR (BRIGANDBAR]

Larry:
 
Having just completed a new "car house" for the rest of the fleet (at least  
those that don't fit in the 4 car attached garage and the 2 car one that I 
build  for the "collectible" Rolls Royce cars, I faced the same dilemma . It is 
 
expensive to pour a large slab concrete floor, and sometimes requires a lot 
more  engineering and other issues such as increased footers and slab thickness 
to get  the job done. In my case it is 3600 sq.ft. including space for the 
4-post lift  just made it cost prohibitive to complete the task concurrently 
with 
the  building itself.
 
My solution was to go with gravel, carefully graded and drained for the  
driveway, and for the basic flooring in the garage. Then a 12'x25'x0.5'  
reinforced concrete pad with footer underlayment of the perimeter and a  
longitudinal 
centroid. A little overkill on strength perhaps, but it will need  to hold 
everything from the 348 to the hearse and the F-350 Crew-Cab 4x4 and the  9k# 
capability of the lift will require some safety margin as well. Also, in my  
case 
it will house a number of higher clearance vehicles such as the MB G-wagen,  
the Bronco, an RV, etc., but on occasion the 20T winch truck and the fire  
apparatus as well. I have a side door that opens directly "behind" the lift  
location and I am considering pouring a concrete "ramp" from that door to the  
lift 
pad, but I'm not sure how that will work out as well. Incidentally, just as  
an aside, the 348 will continue to stay in the attached garage with a concrete 
 floor unless venturing into the lift area for some maintenance or  tinkering.
 
In addition to the obvious economic benefits of going with gravel rather  
than concrete include the absence of concern as to what drips or splatters on  
the nice little stones, and of course in tracing leaks "drip pans" and/or the  
lift and pad under it. One other alternative may be to eventually "blacktop" 
the  remaining interior area, but then again there are some fluids in our cars 
that  do not treat blacktop kindly.
 
Similarly, the 750'x10' driveway will also be gravel to start out with, and  
probably upgraded to blacktop as the economic realities and demands on funding 
 allow, but unless the cost differential between asphalt and concrete 
diminishes  greatly or even reverses a concrete driveway will be a permanent 
fixture. 
Of  course, down here in the more temperate climate of the Mid-South asphalt 
works  for the driveway to the house with good durability and serviceability 
and just  adding the leg off of the one that curves in front of the house will 
be  esthetically pleasing as well as practical.
 
One caveat is that there are only the two (sort of adults) of us living  here 
so there won't be any spinning out, peeling off, etc. with stones flying  and 
frequent rutting, and most of the equipment here, bobcat, grader for the  
tractor and a reasonable blade on the ATV are conducive to maintenance of a  
gravel driveway, and it will probably stand up better to moving the big stuff  
like the fire truck around on it.
 
I would be interested in what you learn about sealants. While it is  probably 
too late for the attached and RR garages but i would like to put a  durable, 
less susceptible to staining and damage under them to improve its  appearance.
 
Dr. Steve  

1964 Rolls  Royce Silver Cloud III...........1975 Pontiac GV Conv.
1980 MB  450SL..................................1982 RR Corniche
1985 MB 280 GE  G-Wagen................. 1985 GMC Brigadier 20 Ton 
Winch/Wrecker
1988 Rolls  Royce Silver Spur................1990 Cadillac "Eagle" Hearse
1994 F-350  Powerstroke 4x4................1995 Ferrari 348 Spyder
1996 Bronco  ......................................2000 Lincoln Town Car
2004  Excursion...................................(+ Audrey's 2x MB's)
and  a
1976 Fire Truck...................................HAHN, WARNER &  SWASEY- 
DUPLEX 
DIVISION  HOWE  APPARTUS . MODEL #R400 FIRE  TRUCK w/a 100' Tower


Dr. Stephen B. Spies, CES,  CFI
Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory
Explosives Engineering  Technologies

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