[Shiny]

I'm curious what they're applying.

Our new house has a coating on the front walk and porch that is basically epoxy-bonded pebbles. The sun has done a number on it and the previous owner told us it needs a resin refresh every 2 or 3 years. Ugghhh.. we're hoping it makes it look better!

Don't let Amazon spot your shop, they might decide they need a new distribution center!

Looks beautiful with all those trees and the mown fields.

Mike

[roger1]

Seems like a really good idea to do that. I wish the previous owner of my workshop had done it. It's got lots of what are probably permanent oil stains.

Does what you used have to be re-applied every so many years? Does it prevent oil spills from penetrating so it wont leave stains?

[Lemans64]

Enjoying all the video's. But how tall is the ceiling in the shop? Probably already mentioned but must have missed it.
Enough for a hoist? Just curious. Thanks

[dataway]

The sealer is just a basic hydrophobic penetrating sealer (Eagle brand) from Home Depot. It's not a "film" sealer, so no shiny (or any) coating on the surface. It does bead water, and will (according to instructions) need to be resealed when it stops beading water, anywhere from two to five years depending on if it's outside concrete, level of abuse etc.

It doesn't mention any oil-phobic properties and I doubt it has any, there are products out there that do resist oil, considerably more expensive.

I put a lot of thought and anxiety into this, I realized despite the urge to have a surface film coating with a nice shiny or matt finish, this is going to be a working shop, with tracked equipment driven on it, a whole lot of oil changes and hydraulic oil work, welding and fabrication ... it's just not going to stay very nice no matter what I do. I'm going to make a great effort to keep oil off the floor using lots large oil containment pans etc.

The concrete has a very smooth finish, if I use a film sealant it's going to end up chipping and looking bad with all the abuse and be that much more expensive and time consuming to fix. It's got a pretty dark finish so at least it won't be oil stains on white concrete. There are lots of possible alternatives but probably nothing that's going to hold up to a 10,000 lb excavator with grit embedded in the tracks from tearing things up when you pivot it to get in and out of the shop.

I got one hydraulic oil stain on it before I sealed it, tried my usual brake cleaner to draw it out, did almost nothing. I'm sure there will be a lot more stains, I'll at least try to confine potential spills to a single area of the shop.

If I had to offer one piece of advice it would be to go with a solvent based penetrating sealer, this product was water based, so when it dries it rejects even itself, so multiple coats cannot be done on a smooth surface, they will take better to a rough surface. Solvent based penetrating sealers will dissolve the previous coat and still soak in when doing multiple coats. Plus a MUCH faster drying time and much easier to do spot recoats.

Lemans64, ceiling height is 12 feet. Just enough to use a lift. I'm 6'4" so for me, something like a truck on the lift will probably be a little awkward. I'll have to duck under axles and such.

BTW, the couple putting down the sealant are myself and my wife

[dataway]

Latest video is digging the last rain gutter drain line and spreading gravel on the approach to the shop. Putting "Bender" and "Scoopy" to work earning their keep.

Drain line goes over the top of the recently installed underground power line so I had to watch the depth very carefully.

I'm running the excavator, the wife is running the track loader.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rehoyxeBX2Y

[dataway]

How about some fence clearing.
Taking advantage of the winter to clear the barbed wire fences of growth. An unpleasant mix of thorn bushes, poison ivy, barbed wire and giant vines.

About 1.5 hours of work compressed into 1 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49RKefDBl9M

[Bill H]

The 4 legged supervisor did a great job.

[dataway]

Originally Posted by Bill H

The 4 legged supervisor did a great job.

Oh yes, anything involving "sticks" and he pays close attention. Throw a stick in the pile, he tries to drag it back to you.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Since we had rain, how's the water-shed mgmt doing? That was the 1st item on my list, and really a confidence builder since.

[burd]

Pics are gone

[dataway]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Since we had rain, how's the water-shed mgmt doing? That was the 1st item on my list, and really a confidence builder since.

Yep, that's still an ongoing project. Now that we've seen the property under rainier conditions I have more of an idea of where the problems areas are. Most of the erosion ditches it appears we have conquered, turning them into gentle swales covered in grass. We have some ponding in a few areas where we need to blend into a uniform slope.

Gutters on the shop building are working nicely and are piped underground to an area that is already a natural drainage corridor.

About 85% of the property is high and dry in the rainy season, 98% in the height of summer. Still another year of work to get things sorted real well.

Sorry about the pics, I think most of them were outdated or no longer applicable anyway. I must have trimmed out the wrong ones when I was clearing out the image sharing account.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Yes; ponding to accumulate ( my front yard has 7 of em), gutters with underground drain-aways, and a drain pipe for along the house long-edge was the best result.

[dataway]

New Pup in the house .. say hello to the new girl Fly!

[roger1]

Oh my gosh! She is incredibly cute. Border Collie I presume? You are going to have your hands full for a while.

[dataway]

Yep, it's our sixth Border Collie. She's making life miserable for her 10 year old brother at the moment. She's got quit a bit more attitude than our others have had, hope it's not a bad sign for the future

[roger1]

Originally Posted by dataway

Yep, it's our sixth Border Collie. She's making life miserable for her 10 year old brother at the moment. She's got quit a bit more attitude than our others have had, hope it's not a bad sign for the future

Ha! I think you've just forgotten.

[dataway]

Roger, EXACTLY what my wife was saying

[roger1]

My brother got a new puppy recently and after a few weeks was going crazy. He said "I didn't sign up for this!"
I said "OH YES YOU DID!" All is good now but it took a while.

[dataway]

So sometimes the new puppy is fun to watch.

Short video of her playing in the clover and wildflower patch at the Sweetgum Ranch ... you can see our new vineyard taking shape in the upper right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK2p2Nkag40

[MarkS57]

Originally Posted by dataway

Yep, it's our sixth Border Collie. She's making life miserable for her 10 year old brother at the moment. She's got quit a bit more attitude than our others have had, hope it's not a bad sign for the future

Great dogs. Miss ours quite a bit although he was a Borador. Mom a full Border, dad a chocolate lab. Damn smart he was.