A good plan is to lay a wooden grating over the floor as shown in Figure 135. Water and acid will run down between the wooden strips, leaving the walking surface fairly dry. If such a grating is made, it should be built in sections which may be lifted easily to be washed, and to permit washing the floor. Keep both the grating and the floor beneath covered with asphaltum paint to prevent rotting by acid. Once a week, or oftener, if necessary, sweep up all loose dirt and then turn the hose on the floor and grating to wash off as much acid as possible. When the wood has dried, a good thing to do is to pour on the floor and grating several pails of water in which washing soda or ammonia has been dissolved.
Watch your floor. It will pay-in better work by yourself and by the men working for you. Have large earthenware jars set wherever necessary in which lead drillings, old plates, old connectors, old separators, etc., may be thrown. Do not let junk cases, jars, separators, etc., accumulate. Throw them away immediately and keep your shop clean. A clean shop pleases Your customers, —and satisfied customers mean success.
On the following pages a number of shop layouts are given for both large and small shops. The beginner, of course, may not be able to rent even a small shop, but he may rent part of an established repair shop, and later rent an entire shop. A man working in a corner of an established service must arrange his equipment according to the space available. Later on, when he branches out for himself, he should plan his shop to got the best working arrangement. Figure 136 shows a suggested layout for a small shop. Such a layout may have to be altered because of the size and shape of the shop, and the location of the windows.
As soon as growth of business permits, a shop should have a drive-in, so that the customer may bring his car off the street. Without a drive-in all testing to determine what work is necessary will have to be done at the curb, which is too public for many car owners. A drive-in is also convenient if a customer leaves his car while his battery is being repaired. To a certain extent, the advantages of a drive-in may be secured by having a vacant lot next to the shop, with a covering of cinders. As soon as possible, however, a shop which is large enough to have a drive-in should be rented or built.
Figure 137 shows a 24 x 60 shop with space for three cars. The shop equipment is explained in the table.
Figure 138 shows a 40 x 75 shop with room for six cars and a drive-in and drive-out. This facilitates the handling of the cars.
Figure 139 shows a 30 x 100 shop in a long and somewhat narrow building. It also has a drive-in and drive-out.
Another arrangement for the same sized shop as shown in the preceding illustration is shown in Figure 140. Here the drive-out is at the side and this layout is, therefore, suitable for a building located on a corner, or next to an alley.