I guess this is sort of a "do-it-yourself" project since I'm doing (have done) a lot of the work so far and plan to until the end.
We purchased an old Sinclair station back in May and took possession in August. The station had, unfortunately, been neglected for many years due to the previous owner's lack of funds. We first spent 2 weeks getting the buildings emptied out so we could get a handle on what was needed for the renovation. The additional building was originally a regional oil distribution center and is probably going to end up requiring more rehab than the station. After emptying everything that the previous owner's left the roof on the station was replaced and when they pulled off the bad roof, 99% of the water damage was restricted to the main office area. So that's been addressed and the roof is all set and no more leaks.


Part of the original tile roof trim was removed years ago, but fortunately the previous owner just left the tiles on the roof. We removed those and are going to re-do the original tile trim, and found a supply for the original 1937 tiles and secured them.


The interior of the station was full of clutter, we have removed all that and have pressure washed the interior bay and the paint is coming off quite nicely with a pressure washer, so plans are to re-paint the bay to the original green/white color scheme.


The one exterior bathroom had been boarded up for more than 30 years. We removed the steel plate, and shoveled out loads of debris. After all the junk was taken out, the majority of the stall woodwork is going to need minimal repair to restore. The door is totally gone, so it's getting replaced.


The interior of the secondary building had been paneled over the years and pulling that out was a pain, but we got down to the original walls pretty quick. Once everything is pulled completely, plans are to go back with runners and sheetrock/insulate the interior. Going to replace the ceilings and sprayfoam insulate the buildings.

Very cool! What are you going to use it for when complete?

Charlie

What is your endgame plan for it? Neat project. My grandfather owned/ran an Esso station in Goldsmith Texas in the late 50’s- early 70’s.

The old windows were in pretty bad shape and I was fortunate enough to find a local guy that had retired with 48 years experience and I enlisted him to replace all the glass panes in the bay and station and bathroom windows. It would have been more energy efficient to go with new double-pane, but I like the old windows and they are hard to find. He did a really fine job on them. The "office" and front windows will be double pane, but we're keeping the original transoms with the ridged glass. They've been painted inside and out and cleaning them is a pain, but they are pretty nice when cleaned.

Before:

After:



One evening I decided to check and see if the canopy wiring was still good. Replaced all 4 of the bulbs (I'll bet they had been burned out for 25 years) and they all work. We decided to leave the tin ceiling under the canopy with it's patina intact. There are a couple of rusted patches that I want to repair to keep out birds and wasps. A guy here in town that has old buildings says you can patch them by taking some strips of hammered tin, then inserting them in the holes and epoxy them in place. Going to spray it with a good sealer.

I spent days cleaning tiles and exposing them in the exterior. I was able to find enough to replace all the broken squares. The 3x6's at the bottom are impossible to find so I'll probably have to resort to painting like most all the other restored stations have done.

Before work got in the way a couple of weeks ago I was able to do some more demo inside and open up the wall between the office and the bay area, and clean out the old office area. The bathrooms are going to be fun to re-do.

I have 2 10x10 insulated glass overhead doors on order to replace the old beater doors. They were just too far gone to deal with.

Not sure yet. The little side building has been various diners over the years, and most recently a beauty salon. I don't want to cook for anybody and I know nothing about hairstyling, so those are both out. The station itself has a lot of potential uses, just trying to figure out the right one is fun and will take a while.

What was the cost to get the under ground fuel tanks out with all the regulations and such?

Zero.
I have looked at a couple other properties that were inactive gas stations that had tanks still in the ground, and did lots of research on tanks/TCEQ/EPA etc.
Fortunately, the previous owner had them dug up and removed 20+ years ago when the big change in how they were treated occurred.

Great project. Can’t wait to see the progress.

Just drove by that on Thursday, nice work! There is another station in Burk that is almost identical.

A true labor of love. Few have the talent or vision to do what you're doing. I think it helps the whole community.

That's so cool................where is the old station?

That is a really nice and important thing to do. Way to go.

Cool. Keep on keeping on. I was one year old in 1937.

Cool project. I was looking at an old gas station in downtown Mesquite, was going to convert it into a VRBO buy keep the original gas station vibe.

Cool project. Keep up the good work

I'm trying to be a good detective, but I just can't seem to make out what the street signs say, or the FM sign. Seems like I've seen this building but can't put my finger on where.

I love old stuff. A living piece of history. Good for you for saving it!

What a great project, I love historic things like that, and thank you for saving it.

Indubitably

cool deal, reminds me of the ice houses we used to hit on the west side of san antonio.

you can probably have the 3x6 tiles made if you can find someone with a direct connection to a mexican source, used to get some custom kitchen tiles made like that for customers.

That is really cool! Dig the ol’ Toyota as well.

Grampa owned a General Store and Skelly Station. I loved that place.

👍