A Concrete Slab to Finish the Shop

Destroyed Shop Doors

The shop here at the ranch was built in 2000. I got lots of work done there, but by 2011, two things were clear: the wooden exterior doors were in dire need of replacement and it would be nice to have a covered outdoor space to keep sawdust out of the shop. I installed new pre-hung metal doors and with the help of a neighbor, added a 20-foot extension that year — complete with a metal roof.

Shop Extension under construction in 2011

There have been other upgrades to the shop over the years. I added a shed roof for lumber storage a few years ago. There just wasn’t a concrete slab. The caleche dirt under the extension packed well enough to be a serviceable floor, but I had always wanted to replace it with concrete. We poured the shop floor ourselves in 2000, but that experience convinced me that concrete was best left to professionals.

Improvements to Roy Creek Ranch

I recently replaced the roof on the main house with metal. I learned about the contractor, Hopson Builders, from a fellow ham — K0CXX. Bill’s fabulous Collins museum in Wimberly, TX was an example of Hopson’s work — mainly metal buildings. Putting a new metal roof on our house was right up their alley. Sensing an opportunity, I asked the Jack (the contractor) about pouring a slab for the shop extension. Not only was it possible, he had a concrete contractor he had worked regularly worked with for 30 years. He made an estimate for the both the new roof and the new slab in a few days.

Initially, it seemed a little expensive, but when I mentioned parking a 6000-pound tractor on that slab, Jack said it would be 5 1/2-inches thick and reinforced with rebar. 10,000 pounds wouldn’t be a problem. With that assurance, I ordered the work, and the concrete crew showed up about half-way through the work on the roof.

The concrete slab crew was fast!

Removing concrete spoil from shop slab

Arturo, who represents Genesis Enterprises (the concrete contractor) came the night before to drop off a Bobcat. He thought they would start about 9 the next morning and expected concrete delivery at about 12:15. The crew (including Arturo) didn’t arrive until after 10, but the Bobcat made short work of leveling the site. Joe, his son, chipped the concrete spoil from our original shop floor and bored holes into it to tie the rebar. Juan, Arturo’s brother, made short work of the forms.

The concrete truck showed up about 12:40 — just as Arturo and his crew were finishing the forms and rebar. It’s hard to fit a 70,000 truck on our narrow and curving driveway, but it was no problem with the Bobcat. Arturo is something of an artist with it, and you can get a sense of his skill in the video. He moved bucket after bucket of concrete and was done with the truck about an hour later.

Finishing the concrete

Arturo finishing the concrete

Meanwhile, everyone else was spreading and finishing the concrete. This is hard work because concrete is so heavy — a lesson I learned from my experience pouring the shop. They were done “bull floating” by about 2 and took a break for lunch while the concrete hardened. At about 3, they did the last floating with steel trowels before putting on a light broom finish. Just enough for a little traction, but not so much that you could see broom marks. The forms came off around 3:30, they loaded up and were gone by 4 pm.  Astonishing speed.

Success marks the spot

Boxed slab to protect roof support

And how does it look? Well, judge for yourself. I think it’s gorgeous, but I’ve been dreaming about a concrete floor for about 10 years. It will make such a difference in my woodworking. There are a couple of other nice touches. They “boxed” the roof supports to avoid setting them in the concrete. That will keep the wood from rotting, but also allow for replacement if needed sometime in the future. The slab has a very slight slope so water will run off when it’s raining sideways. Finally, the last few feet slope a bit more to form a little ramp. This will make it easy to park the tractor I mentioned on the slab. All in all, I’m really pleased!