I just purchased property to build a Touch free 3 bay car wash in north dallas area.

[North Texas]

I plan to use the Hamilton POS system and Pettit equipment for my car wash, Bays will be 75 feet long. as I've done extensive research, and these seem like the best options available. Since this will be my first car wash, my question is: Is this the right equipment for the job, and how should I go about evaluating car wash builders? I figured reaching out to the car wash community might bring up ideas or considerations I haven't thought of yet.

 

[Blanco]

There is absolutely no need for a 75 foot bays. 50 Is plenty. Ask builders for past references. Talk to owners that have had an operating wash for a few years or more from those builders. Do you have any plumbing/electrical knowledge? This will be needed to keep things running. Hope the manufacturer is not selling you the dream of stopping by once a week to pick up your money. Boy if I had a dollar every time I said that.

 

[washnshine]

A bay with 75 feet should have a conveyor. It’s a waste of space to put an IBA in that size bay. The only time I have ever seen an IBA in a bay that long was when someone took out an underperforming conveyor wash and converted it to and IBA.

 

[OurTown]

We have a 65 ft long glass building for our Autec In-Bay-Express. (IBA, no conveyor) It has five arches, two blower stands, and a tire shine unit. It is packed in there and we sure wish it was 75 feet long.

 

[Blanco]

We have a 65 ft long glass building for our Autec In-Bay-Express. (IBA, no conveyor) It has five arches, two blower stands, and a tire shine unit. It is packed in there and we sure wish it was 75 feet long.

The footprint of any soft cloth is usually about ten feet or more longer than any touchless. Add all the extra arches you got I can see how you ran out of space pretty quick.

 

[washnshine]

We have a 65 ft long glass building for our Autec In-Bay-Express. (IBA, no conveyor) It has five arches, two blower stands, and a tire shine unit. It is packed in there and we sure wish it was 75 feet long.

Yes - that makes sense for an in-bay express with chemical, rinse, sealer etc. arches all off board. A Petit should not need that though.

 

[Rapidoil]

Love it. The petit model and long bays are the future. You might consider Dencar so you can have memberships. So yes the petit is the right equipment, maybe consider Dencar pay stations. As for evaluating car wash builders. I looked around and found a GC that had built other car washes. Once you get into the 3rd phase of architecture and have buildable drawings they can give you an actual quote. Most likely going to be looking at 1.4 million or higher for building and development of property not including any car wash equipment. My budget for a 2 bay version of what you are building all in is 2.3 million. My bays are 60' but if I had the room I would have went 72'.

 

[North Texas]

Hey Guy's
I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who provided feedback on the project. While the responses were varied, I took the initiative to reach out directly to several owners who currently use Pettit equipment to gain further insights. During these conversations, I inquired about the size of their bays, what they would change if given the chance, and whether they had room for expansion. The general consensus was that a bay size of 70 to 75 feet would be ideal.

Is anyone familiar with https://www.modernwash.net/ and what is your thought about them??
I'm familiar with one car wash they have built the current owner was unresponsive to answering any questions.

However, I do have some concerns. They have requested that I sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which is a step none of the other builders have asked for. This raises some questions for me, as I want to avoid being limited in my future choices or potentially facing legal complications that could lead to unnecessary delays and costs.

Thank you once again for your continued support and feedback.

 

[Rapidoil]

I had a GC ask me to sign a document like that for pre construction advising and it didn't feel right. I ended up finding a GC that didn't require that. I may circle back to the other GC during the bid phase but I followed my gut and didn't sign anything with the first guy. So far so good. I don't think you need a car wash specific GC. At the end of the day it's a basic building with plumbing and electrical. I'd find someone that is a commerical builder.

Also I did the same thing about reaching out to other petit owners and got the same feedback. The longer bay allows you to wash and dry a car at the same time and keep the line moving. That's my 2 cents. Best of luck.

I've got 2 or 3 full architectural renderings from petit washes that owners sent me, I'd be glad to share if you want to send me an email? Rapidmobileoil@gmail.com
Sean

 

[North Texas]

I had a GC ask me to sign a document like that for pre construction advising and it didn't feel right. I ended up finding a GC that didn't require that. I may circle back to the other GC during the bid phase but I followed my gut and didn't sign anything with the first guy. So far so good. I don't think you need a car wash specific GC. At the end of the day it's a basic building with plumbing and electrical. I'd find someone that is a commerical builder.

Also I did the same thing about reaching out to other petit owners and got the same feedback. The longer bay allows you to wash and dry a car at the same time and keep the line moving. That's my 2 cents. Best of luck.

I've got 2 or 3 full architectural renderings from petit washes that owners sent me, I'd be glad to share if you want to send me an email? Rapidmobileoil@gmail.com
Sean

Thank you for the advice I sent you an email.

 

[Keno]

Good info here, we are considering adding a 2 bay Petit system to a 8 bay SS wash. Take out 3 SS bays to make 2 Petit bays. We are getting no where trying to get estimates on construction costs with GCs. Don't really know where to start, we haven't done any major construction or renovations like this before. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[soonermajic]

N
Tx
Check your DM

 

[GPAW]

Hey Guy's
I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who provided feedback on the project. While the responses were varied, I took the initiative to reach out directly to several owners who currently use Pettit equipment to gain further insights. During these conversations, I inquired about the size of their bays, what they would change if given the chance, and whether they had room for expansion. The general consensus was that a bay size of 70 to 75 feet would be ideal.

Is anyone familiar with https://www.modernwash.net/ and what is your thought about them??
I'm familiar with one car wash they have built the current owner was unresponsive to answering any questions.

However, I do have some concerns. They have requested that I sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which is a step none of the other builders have asked for. This raises some questions for me, as I want to avoid being limited in my future choices or potentially facing legal complications that could lead to unnecessary delays and costs.

Thank you once again for your continued support and feedback.

Honestly I just renovated a wash that was gutted after a bad fire, installed all new conveyor and Equiptment from the ground up and designed the plumbing and wash equipment with my wash distributor. Also entire new exterior that was down to the dirt, just a shell of a 120’ building. I spoke to a lot of manufacturers who assured me the process was very complicated and that I should hire them as a GC, what a joke. It isn’t rocket science, absolutely take the advice of people who operate on a daily basis and not these construction companies, like the people you have spoke to about who already have a petit setup, and are happy to share what they would have done. Dont sign an NDA and get stuck with one company, a couple doctors who bought the wash down the street from me did this (wash was in similar condition as mine) and it’s still a block facia building that hasn’t progressed in ages, fyi they started 18 months before me!

 

[water guy]

People are tired of swirls in there paint jobs

 

[Blanco]

Love it. The petit model and long bays are the future. You might consider Dencar so you can have memberships. So yes the petit is the right equipment, maybe consider Dencar pay stations.

Rapidoll do you own a petit and dencar? I know you've been trying to build a new wash with them but do you have another location you are currently operating them?

Also Hamilton is just as capable of doing memberships with their kiosk sign up.

 

[Rapidoil]

Rapidoll do you own a petit and dencar? I know you've been trying to build a new wash with them but do you have another location you are currently operating them?

Also Hamilton is just as capable of doing memberships with their kiosk sign up.

Hey I don't own either yet. I'm working on it. I see Dencar is having a lot of challenges so I'll have to check out some other options. I really appreciate your post

 

[Greg Pack]

Good info here, we are considering adding a 2 bay Petit system to a 8 bay SS wash. Take out 3 SS bays to make 2 Petit bays. We are getting no where trying to get estimates on construction costs with GCs. Don't really know where to start, we haven't done any major construction or renovations like this before. Any help would be appreciated.

In our area the best candidates for car wash construction are the same companies that build C-stores. They get a little IBA experience with those. You might want to check with some of them.

 

[Keno]

In our area the best candidates for car wash construction are the same companies that build C-stores. They get a little IBA experience with those. You might want to check with some of them.

Thanks, I'll see if I can track some down with IBA experience

 

[athomas]

I purchased a 55' unattended tunnel at a c-store, remodeled with a touchfree machine and memberships. I would give anything to have an extra 15', or even 10'. It makes a big difference in flow. Every new build moving forward will be at least 68', 75' if costs allow. In my area, probably like others, at a certain building size threshold triggers city requirements, so I try to keep the building less than 3000 sq ft.
Good luck with the build!

 

[soonermajic]

I purchased a 55' unattended tunnel at a c-store, remodeled with a touchfree machine and memberships. I would give anything to have an extra 15', or even 10'. It makes a big difference in flow. Every new build moving forward will be at least 68', 75' if costs allow. In my area, probably like others, at a certain building size threshold triggers city requirements, so I try to keep the building less than 3000 sq ft.
Good luck with the build!

Why not put the blowdryers outside, & use that for faster throughput?