What Ideas Can You Borrow From NASCAR Mechanics To Enhance Your Small-Business Garage?

From durable cabinetry to timesaving tools, a well-appointed workshop for vehicle and equipment maintenance will keep your mechanics happy and your onsite business running smoothly.
What Ideas Can You Borrow From NASCAR Mechanics To Enhance Your Small-Business Garage?
A lift makes quick work of many difficult jobs.

If money is no object, what are the top features you want in a dream garage? As a contractor and onsite installer, your garage needs to be a functional and comfortable space, a workshop that supports your thriving business and provides storage for your most important equipment.

Need inspiration? Roger Penske’s state-of-the-art race facility in Mooresville, N.C., was built for performance and style. Two buildings totaling 424,697 square feet are built on 105 acres. One million pounds of Italian tile (250,000 pieces) provide the flooring in the administrative and NASCAR shop areas.

While your garage probably won’t rival those used by NASCAR racing teams, onsite installers can take away some good ideas from the top garages in America.

Doors and drawers: Nate Birkenmeier with CTech Manufacturing in Weston, Wis., designer of aluminum cabinets, tool drawers, pit carts and other storage devices for the U.S. military and motorsports teams, says the key to a good garage is organization.

“Racers are constantly looking for ways of improving the performance of their car; being organized at the track, garage or shop is the key to staying focused,” he says. Birkenmeier suggests paper towel racks, aerosol can holders, battery-charging stations and fold-down workbenches for optimal organization.

“The perfect shop would consist of premium, all-aluminum cabinets,” he says. “Aluminum far exceeds steel or wood. It resists weather, won’t mold or invite pests.”

Floors and coatings: Tom Hennessy, president of CD Products in Appleton, Wis., provider of industrial flooring and coatings, says there are four levels of flooring to consider for your dream garage.

“Among other things, you want to have the concrete made impervious to grease and oil stains, gasoline spills. You can start with a clear sealer; epoxy or urethane would be a very good choice,” he says. “A step up from that would be the same idea in a color. Of course the product would have to have chemical resistance to automobile fluids. Once that’s determined, it’s a matter of product choice.”

A multilayer chip or flake-type floor with a speckled look is another option. “Now we’re getting into the designer-type colors where you want it to accent or contrast with the walls,” Hennessy says. “Again, you want to be sure the materials you used were resistant to automobile liquids.” For “wow” appeal, consider a quartz floor, made by blending colored sands with epoxy or urethane topcoats.

A bright idea: Lighting is a key feature for any busy small-business garage, and today’s LED technology offers optimal quality at a price that keeps coming down. NASCAR legend Richard Petty realized a 50 percent reduction in energy use after retrofitting his 100,000-square-foot garage with 700 LED lights.

Elevation: Five-time NASCAR winner Dave Marcis, of Arden, N.C., says a dream garage will have a lift or lifts for better access when vehicle repairs are needed. “I would have two lifts,” he says. “I’d have one where you put the car on with wheels and have one where you could put the car on a frame.”

Air to spare: Marcis says a dream garage also needs easy access to air lines for powering drills, sanders, ratchets, paint sprayers, die grinders, hammer/chisels, impact wrenches and reciprocating saws, as well as for inflating tires and cleaning debris out of hard-to-reach places. “Have stuff close together along the wall so you don’t have to run cords that you’re tripping over.”

Heated floors: “I think the stuff with the tubing in, the heated floors; again depending on what part of the country you’re in – down here not necessary but in Wisconsin you need it,” Marcis says. “Those floors are cold in the winter. If you can keep your feet warm it’s a lot nicer working.”

Welding and grinding: You might also have an area for welding and grinding with a vacuum system to collect the filings, Marcis says. Having a spacious and safe work area makes welding bent forks, blades and buckets a breeze. Grinders give repairs a finished look and have unlimited uses, from cutting bolts to removing rust.

Keeping clean: While cost conscious, Marcis says two things he won’t do without are a restroom and shower. “Yes, definitely,” he says. “A good place to clean up, because a lot of nights we worked until 1, 2 o’clock in the morning, certainly midnight a lot of times; it was always nice to take a shower before you hit the road.”

Wash bay: Marcis says a dedicated area for cleaning vehicles is a must. “It’s nice to have a place for pressure washing the [vehicles] inside and out and a steam cleaner all in one bay,” he says. “Have it big enough where you can pull your truck or equipment in there and clean it.”

Eyes on the outside: As with any investment, security is a must. Consider video cameras, motion detectors and alarms for your garage and surrounding yard. You might even include a wet/dry fire suppression system.

Personality: “I think what makes a great garage is not how much money you put into it or how different your cabinets look or how ostentatious it is, but how it reflects the personality of the owner or the company,” says Chad Haas, founder of Vault, designer and outfitter of custom dream garages in Beaverton, Ore. “If you’re passionate about Ferraris, have Ferrari red on the walls and a Ferrari neon sign. The garage should exude personality.”

SEND US A PHOTO

What’s in your dream garage? Send us a snapshot at editor@onsiteinstaller.com. We’ll share photos and your ideas for a top-notch small-business garage in a future issue of the magazine.



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