Halfway through the 2024, the priority project for this year is not any car, but the new restoration facility. In theory it won’t take up much of my time, but it will take some at least in terms of budget. Therefore we will only do light work on the cars and concentrate on the new workshop. We are still a work in progress
Reason
We just renovated the existing workshop last summer, just some light work, including new floors and walls. After a short use, I was still not satisfied with the new layout, and I learned several things. First of all, we did not separate the work area from the storage area, which made the workshop full of tools, parts and supplies looks messy. Then the inherent defects of the building led to poor sunlight in the summer, there is a wall on the west side of our limited-height windows, which always needed a lot of light. Finally, the red ground is not what I expected. It was not a place we wanted to stay forever.
A good opportunity came when we were evicted by the authorities. Although they said last year that they had no funds to do so, literly they informed us immediately after I renovated the workshop that we had to prepare to leave, with a deadline of September 2024. According to a long-term plan, this historic industrial area will be turned into a school. It sounds like a noble blueprint, but in China we have a proverb: everything is for education, except education itself. You know? this website consider itself as a school, and workshop is where it based. I am always passive in such matters, my partner is more social than me. He found a new place not far from the current shop. By the way, my partner is a Bimmer, we share facilities, mechanics and everything except wife and cars. It sounds a bit crazy, but it makes perfect sense after thinking about it: completely non-overlapping areas, no disputes and prejudices. We are almost communist in spending, it is difficult to find another self in a few hundred square kilometers.
This is what it looked like before, a boiler room and outbuildings of a large state-owned salt factory. The landlord, was in the construction industry, had just retired and decided to rent out the place on the condition that a cabin be kept for him to practice his saxophone. He used this place as his base and renovated it some years ago. During our first meeting, the landlord was clearly proud of the place, which he thought would be more than adequate for oily mechanics. Well, decades of construction experience sounds something, but this is a place I don’t even want to be for 1 minute. I was reluctantly drawn into that meeting which included my partner, middlemen and landlord who were keen to see me. I was just in pain and everything in front of me needed work. My first impression was really bad, it was very shabby and tall, exceeded the needs of a workshop. At the same time, the core is smaller than our current one, we have 250 m², and here is only 140 m². The advantage is that it has 8 outbuildings, which makes divisions possible. The total is of course much larger than current one, all the buildings in this yard add up to more than 1,000 m². The building probably originated from the 1980s. Although there are not many things that do not need to be changed, it is worth mentioning the roof. A relatively healthy roof can save a lot of unnecessary trouble. So even if there are potential huge costs elsewhere, I will pay for the renovation. It is me too picky, whoever takes the initiative, whoever takes responsibility.
Design
One advantage about here is the windows. Our current workshop only has windows on the east and west, and the windows on the west side were right next to a wall, so we had poor daytime sunlight. Even if we removed the obstructions near the west windows, the sun was high in the summer and we had to rely on a lot of lights to work during the day. Now, we have a lot of windows on the north and south. We are at 39°08′N, the sun is always from the south, so these windows could be very useful. There are three layers of windows, the profile is tall. My staff and the contractor suggested adding a false ceiling and sealing the windows on the top floor, which would help maintain the temperature in summer and winter. They could be right, we are in a temperate monsoon climate, with humid weather close to 40°C in summer and dry weather close to -15°C in winter. However, I don’t want to miss the sunshine, which is the fairest thing provided by god, should I block any? As for cooling and insulation, let’s think of other ways.
In my opinion, everything is an appendage of the sun, architecture is also about light, so windows are the first to be discussed. How does an used car fundamentalist view used buildings? There is no short answer. As I said, this old building was previously renovated by the landlord, some of which was beneficial, some of which was destructive. For those areas where the damage was not serious, I tend to restore them if I can bear it. But if they go too far, I can only be pulled. This is not only an ideal value, but also a methodology of minority obeys the majority, because the building is original overall. Let’s say, we have a total of 16 windows, 13 of which are retained to original specifications, so I accept restoring the remaining 3 to original specifications. If 15 have been enlarged, it is better to enlarge the remaining one window rather than fill in 15. Luckily most of the windows are original, for the rest, some are damaged, some are blocked.
As for the spatial structure, this is a boiler room after all and not a car repair shop, so the transformation of the wall was necessary. I had planned more car entrances, but when the idea of ​​reusing the old building instead of destroying it took hold, I decided to add only one entrance on the south. So we have 2 large doors on the south, the middle one is completely original with a lift gate. The second door is lower, this is to preserve the windows above. There will be a smaller door inside it for people entrance. I wanted two doors of the same size, but I really didn’t want to block any sun light, which allows the sun to illuminate the entire workshop in the afternoon most of the year. I had always wanted red tiles for the floor, we used red floor paint instead during last year’s renovation. They were poor in both visual and durability, but fortunately we weren’t there for too long and didn’t feel guilty about giving them up.
Divisioning is the most important functional concept, this article only includes the most pretty core workshop, but there are multiple areas that serve to keep this core clean. There are at least two aspects of division: between clean and dirty, between work and storage. Therefore, the current layout and existing equipment are maximized in a limited space. The new workshop still has 3 lifts inside, but can work on 5 vehicles at the same time. For comparison, the previous workshop also had 3 lifts and an additional 100 m², but only allowed 4 vehicles to work at the same time. In the past, all our shelves were in the workshop, and a lot of parts were spared on them, which had no other function except making the shop look messier and more crowded. Now we have set up a washing room, trim room, sandblasting room and storage, as well as dormitories and canteens that can accommodate 4 employees. Later, a dry ice blasting and welding area will be set up outside, as well as a paint booth that has not yet been relocated. Many buffers have been established for those jobs that increase dust. There is always a dirty place, right? This means to do our best to control the dirt in the above areas and keep the core area clean. As shop operator, I know where is clean and dirty, but still want to deceive ourselves with a clean core shop.
I made those renderings in Room Planner from December 2023, they were lost along with my laptop just before we started construction. I only have some screenshots to show the contractor. The loss is severe, but not fatal. I am a slow and fickle person, I know that I will continue to revise my ideas about colors and materials during the construction process.
Construction
After two on-site discussions with the contractor, the renovation started on March 4 early morning. The workers got there earlier than I did, so I didn’t see the first blood. Wow, my first surprise was that they had already mistakenly demolished a beam under a window. This was of course my bad, I never expected their destruction to be so swift, I expected that I would give orders on the spot. Fortunately, the house is really dilapidated, nothing to be heartbroken about.
After demolition, the first step is the foundation. The coastal area where we live is about -10 meters under sea level, water accumulation during the rainy season is a common headache. We haven’t experienced summer here yet, and have no idea how much area will be flooded. As a precaution, the ground will be raised by 20 cm with concrete, anyway we are not worried about the height being encroached, the height here is more than enough. In any case, it is necessary to harden the ground, which is almost composed of soil as a foundation.
Before pouring concrete, first dig pits for installing the lift, we make embedded parts with steel bars and put them in, and then pour cement for installing the lift. We made embedded parts 90 cm deep, which will ensure that the lift is stable enough. Many underground pipes were unexpectedly discovered during the digging process, after questioning the landowner, it was discovered that these were permanently abandoned salt field facilities, and they were all cut off and pulled out.
Although I didn’t know how long we could stay here, I decided to make fewer compromises: this time I decided to go with 300 x 300 mm red tiles, not the specification I dreamed of, but it would find a balance between labor costs and aesthetics. Just to let you know, labor has become a problem even in China, where the ratio of labor and income has surpassed that of the US and EU. My color tendencies are deeply influenced by Italian workshops, especially Lamborghini and Ferrari. So the floor is red. Not technically red, but between red and brown, the color of bricks.
Beautiful floors put forward higher requirements for maintenance. An additional preventive design is four rows of drains, which are located in the middle of the workshop and can cover the entire area. My idea is that the dirt can be washed into them, so the drains are located at the lowest position, we have a tilted ground. These must be communicated before laying the floor. During construction, it must also be ensured that the concrete floor is sufficiently close to the tiles so that the tiles will not be crushed by cars. The red tiles and drains may make the entire core workshop look more like a kitchen.
Soon we encountered the first unsolved problem. The red tiles were quickly contaminated by concrete and paint. The contractor insisted on completing all the floors before touching the walls. For me, this is like cleaning the carpet first and then removing the headliner… I looked at the tiles with cement everywhere and questioned the contractor many times. “Don’t worry, everything will be cleaned after completion”, that’s what he said, let’s see what magic looks like.
As for the beam that was removed by mistake, we, our team restored it with a steel frame as compensation. I think we were very lucky that the forklift was able to get the beam to the top position, which is the highest the forklift can reach. The most transparent door can retain more lighting, so a piece of glass was designed to the double door, and a small door was added to the other door, which was only for people to pass through.
As for the north, I had planned to add a vehicle entrance in the middle, but protecting the existing windows was again a priority. There were some broken windows on this side, which we restored. The problem with the original windows is that they are difficult to replicate and they actually perform poorly. So we would have been forced to get new double-glazed windows, which would have improved the climate. You see, I didn’t bother to replicate the original materials and shapes, and I’m not proud of that. This building is still a stopgap for me, who knows one day it will become another school, I am still waiting for “the one” to put some permanant effort. The north windows are also important, providing valuable natural light in the afternoon. I’m glad we have so many windows and can use them.
After laying the wires and air pipes, we started painting the walls. My color imagination is weak. I am not an interior designer and I know nothing about color matching. But I know that the subtle differences on the color sheet can be huge when applied to the actual difference. I have tried to use Mercedes colors that I am more familiar with in previous decorations in other places, and the results were disastrous. The difficulty here must not be underestimated. Even the color difference between similar Mercedes paint is huge. So my color scheme is very conservative and actually takes one step at a time. Since the contractor insisted on laying the tiles first, I could continue to think about the color of the wall. My considerations are very conservative. White is boring, but for the brightness of the room, only light colors can be used. It should not be too bright. Well, it seems that only light yellow is left. Although I thought I chose the light enough yellow on the color chart, they are much darker in the shadows than in the sun, darker than I expected, which is a lesson learned. It’s early spring with a haze, and hopefully some sunshine will improve things.
The condition of the wall is acceptable, and we did not do too much repairs and sprayed it directly. The exterior was painted a bit dark red, which may not be that great, but at least it changed the rundown look. Our smart landlord rented the north-facing part of the building next to us to another tenant, but we painted the whole building for aesthetics. I guess we’ll make more changes here in the future to improve the visual aesthetics.
After some initial work, the interior was completely transformed. However, the floor was even dirtier after the walls were painted and is now completely grey. The contractors were still confident that they could recover everything at the last second. Well, if they were confident, I would be too. I’ve been spoiled by the mechanics we trained, and I’m used to assuming they understand everything you ask for. We did have a lot of unexpected problems this time around, look at those ugly blue steel sheet out the window, that’s the top of dry ice blasting house. The contractor used gray sheet on the bottom, but blue on the top…if you don’t ask for it everywhere, they don’t think there are any limits.
Installing the lift was not the contractor’s profession and responsibility, they were done by our service provider. After it was done, the ground work was basically over and there would be no more pollution. I couldn’t wait to see what these pathetic tiles would become, and it turned into a couple hired by the contractor. They squatted on the ground trying to remove the cement with a spatula and acid, without even a bench to sit and work. When I left at the end of my shift, there were some visible changes, but not enough. The service provider called me in the evening, “problem solved”.
That was not the case at all. The couple had found floor oil at the last minute, they poured buckets on it, which would have kept the tiles dark long enough to take photos to send to the contractor. The next morning, the oil was uneven, with some darker and some lighter. Instead of cleaning the tiles, it attracted more dirt. The problem with these tiles is that they have a lot of fine concrete particles on their surface. When the tiles are wet, they get darker, but dry and become dirty again. I would imagine using a polisher to polish each one, that would be a catastrophic amount of work. Or maybe it would be easier to turn those matte tiles into glossy ones, like they look when covered in water.
I still plan to brush the lift and do some work on the wall, so there’s still some time to think about the floor tiles. To bridge the gap between the red floor tiles and the yellow walls, and to partially solve the waterproofing problem at the bottom of the wall, green vinyl siding was used. I was glad that it was only available in green and white, so there was no going back. To match, I painted the lift’s struts a similar green and the brackets a bright silver. With some color, the room immediately had a vibe.
After a few days of thinking, I decided to apply varnish to the surface of the floor tiles. This is easier than sanding each tile, but it still requires sanding. The steps include sanding off the obvious cement marks, thoroughly cleaning all the tiles, and then applying the base glue, and then the varnish. Most of this work was done by me alone, because our staff had a lot of things to do. The contractor, I already didn’t expect them to do it more correctly. The floor is one of my biggest expectations for this workshop, and I can’t compromise on it.
After about 6 full days, the tiles looked very shiny after the varnish, and at first glance it looked like we had fixed the cement staining problem. But I know they will darken after drying, so I’ll leave it to time to test.
In the meantime, the lower level windows have had diffuser film applied, which softens the light. The varnish did dry to a somewhat matte finish, but still enough to improve the condition of the floor. Another problem I discovered when I cleaned the entire site again was that water-based clearcoats don’t like water, they turn white when exposed to water and then return to normal after evaporation. However, the gutter is designed to be used to wash the floor, so I was a bit lost. . .
A workstation is dedicated to displaying or detailing my cars, we added some decorations here. Under the clock I hung a line of words: time tests truth, which is what I learned most from this building. The unfinished Octavius ​​was pulled to the new workshop wihout bumper to test whether the building is suitable for him, not whether he is with this building. By the way, this building has consumed more funds in two months than the two years of restoring Octavius. Buildings are really the best way to spend money quickly and inefficiently.
I can’t say I’m satisfied. Although the varnish makes the concrete almost invisible, the dark color of the tiles makes it easy to be stained by dust. If everyone who enters this room is not disciplined to clean the soles of their shoes on the carpet at the entrance, there will be footprints everywhere. Cleaning once a day helps, but that cleanliness is instantaneous, not constant. Also, I find that darl red doesn’t suit the hot summers, it visually makes people feel hotter. Well, I decided to overturn my long-standing dream and change the color of the tiles. In the absence of professional advice, I thought about it again and again and decided to try light yellow. I chose the lightest yellow on the color card. Here is the rule of thumb we learnt. The color of sheet will have greater saturation when the area is enlarged.
I tried to get more validation at the paint shop, and hit a wall. The shop owner confidently said, if you can’t solve the dust with dark colors, how can you expect to solve it with light yellow? It will only make your floor dirtier. Well, I’m pissed off, I had enough. I put the color sheets on the ground and stepped on them to show him. The dark red sheet turned almost white, and the light yellow sheet only had some black powder. It’s the art of color contrast, and of course it depends on the color composition of the powder in the dust. I really hope to get suggestions, but there doesn’t seem to be any constructive. In short, I am disappointed that no one on this route knows what they are doing, and they continue to pollute everyone’s nerves with their careless efforts.
Tell me how I feel the new floor? Wow, it’s a lot cooler in here. When our mechanic entered here, he thought the temperature was 2°C lower than the red tiles. We tried to get it dirty, but it was in vain. The light grey dirt is invisible on the shiny light yellow floor, only the darker large particles remain. The dirt washes easily on the smoothy oily surface, and since the gaps are filled with paint, there is no need to worry about dust trapping there. It seems that this is the best solution for now.
To keep it relatively clean, only two windows can be opened. Two 5-hp ACs are installed to keep the temperature below 28°C in summer. We’re currently testing it out, working lightly here to find more issues to improve. Well, that’s the general idea. They took me less time than I did working on the Nonna rear air conditioner, but burned through the restoration budget of the entire car. If you want to spend more money than restoring a car in a short period of time, restore a building. Speaking of which, maybe I should restore buildings instead of cars. Check the changes below.
Oh, just the day before I finished this post, the authorities informed us that we would not be evicted in September, next month. They had postponed the relocation plan, at least not this year…