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6 Bay Self Serve, 1 Bay IABS- Renovation with Trusscore - 1/2” Thick- Before and After

CJackson97

New member
Hey Peeps!

Knocking out some further renovations on my second commercial car wash in overall Houston, Tx off of Kuykendahl Road in Spring, Tx. Thought to share here as I’ve seen some post in the past about interest in the Trusscore panels and I’d thought to share my experience with it.

For my install, I had 15.5 walls that were all 17’ wide, 8’ high. I completed all 6 self serve bays

Time of install - 4 days
Days of assisted labor- 2 days
Recommendation of Labor Headcount for large install- 3 to 4 individuals excluding yourself

Things you will need:

1/2” Thick x 8’ height x 16” length- Trusscore Wall and Board come in packs of 8 at Home Depot - in my case I made use of 25 packs of boards, looking back, would have helped to have 26 total packs(just one on reserve)

J Trim- I overbought initially 58 packs(come 2 per pack), only needed 33 packs. If you overbuy from Home Depot, it’s fine as you can return in your additional supply for a refund.

Total of Material for Frame of reference:

Total = $7,774.36

In my case, I was drilling through old tile and concrete, I used Tapcon 3/16” x 1-3/4”( bought around 6 boxes worth for the install, 225 count per box.

Tools:

Highly recommend Hammer Drill with Hammer Drill Bit for correct sizing - 5/32”x 6” Diablo drill bits worked best( recommend buying 4 or 5 bits as they are guaranteed to break during install or wear out constantly).

Rubber Mallet- Beating the cut-to-size wall board into the edge trims( will take a lot of time as press fits are tight

Pry Bar- To help force in press fit wall boards in edge trims

10” Table Saw for Rip Cuts with 82 Teeth Saw Blade meant for cutting plastic, aluminum, etc. (install the blade on reverse for clean cuts- boards will kick back)

Silicone to water-proof install
Ladders- A Frame ladders of atleast 10 ‘ or so. This will go a long way when doing installs on walls above 8’.

Difficulty of Install: Moderate

The install itself for the main board after installing J- trim up top flows along once your into your groove of things. However, things become more custom/ time consuming when it comes to the ensuring edge trim are level with the corners and cutting boards to size to press fit in. Main recommendation is to not get too frustrated, show yourself some grace, and remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint… Ensure the guys doing the install with you are going to be with you the entire install or you will wind up multiplying your days of labor alone line I did after day 2… Lucked out only paying $450 labor though on what should have been well over $4k in labor. If you are patient, good with your hands, and see things through end to end, it definitely is worth it!

Lastly, I can confirm the walls are low maintenance, even if someone kicks/scuffs them, you can grab a damp rag and clean off quite effortlessly.

This community is amazing and has helped me with my 14 SS Bays and 1 IABS in Houston, so I am glad to finally be able contribute back.

Regards,

Chris J.
 

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Luckily you're in TX so you wont have to worry but Ive seen people install panels in cold climate states in the winter. The next summer there popping off the walls because they butt every panel together and did not leave a little gap for it to expand during hot months.

I cant tell if you did but when I put wall panel in SS bays I like to put a H seam in the middle of a wall. That way when a customer puts a hole in a panel then you only have to take down maybe half a wall.

I paint my block every year because wall paneling in my own self serves would be completely messed up with my clientele in no time. Hopefully your customers appreciate it and treat it right. I wish I could do that but it would be nightmare.

BTW I like to cut panels using a circular to table saw with the blade backwards. Does a better cut. Try it out next time.

Looks great and good luck to you sir.
 
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So far this set of customers haven’t gone to those extremes, but it’s still early and I’ve seen many crazy things play out, so I wouldn’t put it against them just yet as I’m still learning the area. I try to keep my facilities staffed part-time 6 to 7 days per week to tone down people acting like this is the Wild Wild West, but only time will tell. Thank you greatly Blanco!

I did space the boards a 1/2” from the corners to allow for expansion and contraction like the guidance in the manuals defined, so we shall see once the weather starts getting colder here in Houston. I did not include a H seam in between walls and now wish I would’ve thought of that sooner haha.
 
So far this set of customers haven’t gone to those extremes, but it’s still early and I’ve seen many crazy things play out, so I wouldn’t put it against them just yet as I’m still learning the area. I try to keep my facilities staffed part-time 6 to 7 days per week to tone down people acting like this is the Wild Wild West, but only time will tell. Thank you greatly Blanco!

I did space the boards a 1/2” from the corners to allow for expansion and contraction like the guidance in the manuals defined, so we shall see once the weather starts getting colder here in Houston. I did not include a H seam in between walls and now wish I would’ve thought of that sooner haha.
Tbh I hate the h trim. It looks better without it. But I only do it because a customer will rather pay the extra $40 for it then complain why I bill them 4 hours or $1000 to change one panel instead of half the amount in half the time.

If you did your panels while they are expanded in summer which you did then you got nothing to worry about. It’s between the panels that need to be spaced in cold states not the corners. They expand and pop off the tapcons. Once again though looks great and good job.
 
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