Garage Building Help!!!

[VaSteve]

Hey all, I have a question I'm hoping someone can give me a quick answer to. I am possibly going to be buying a new house (having it built). I wanted to make sure I could put in a lift of some sort - so I could work on my car as well as possibly keep it up so I could put one of my other cars underneath it.

I am meeting with a builder this weekend and want to know how tall the garage needs to be or if I will have to make special design changes. He said that the community I am looking at has 14" ceilings and to me that sounded high, but I don't know.

I found this thread to prove I searched the archives first!!
Home Auto Lift

Anyone have this or something similar?

Other than height, what other considerations should I make (concrete depth?)

Also, can you plug a compressor into a standard outlet or will I need them to run 220V out there?

Thanks for the quick answers!

[Joe Bob]

14 is awfully high....Mine is ten feet and I can raise the car to full height w/o hitting the roof with my four post lift.....the issue is the garage door.

At full lift height with a car on top, I have to lower the lift, to open the door.

With the lift lowered for garage door opening and a car on top, I still have enough space to fit another car underneath......so finding a vender that can supply a roll up door that is tall enough or go with doors that open to the side would need consideration.

I had some issues finding a door that was taller just to get what I have. Any bigger and I would have had to get a commercial grade door.

[Rot 911]

But the nice thing about a 14" ceiling is that you can get the car high enough to stand under it comfortably! As to outlets, my garage is wired so that I have a 220v outlet on each wall. Not that expensive to wire if you are building the garage and gives you much more flexibility later down the road when looking at purchasing a compressor or welder.

[Zeke]

14' ought to be well high enough. Put some ceiling fans in there if you plan to heat it.

On the roll up, there are types that don't extend horizontally when opening. And the less expensive sectionals can have modified tracks to go up and over while opening, but require a different spring. Lastly, the opener can be oriented in many ways other than extending out from the door at header height. Some I've seen are mounted vertically along side of the door and pull it up.

[Joe Bob]

Yeaaahhhh, if'n your 6'8".....at full height I can walk under with not bending and I'm 5'10".......

[William Miller]

Where are you looking to buy/build?
Is it a detached garage or part of the house?
The garage floors should typically be several inches below the main house to prevent CO from a running car getting into the house.
So it should be at least that many inches higher than the ceilings inside the house. A lot of times there is one or two steps to get into the house.

The main question is how high do you want to lift your car?
Since your building you have more options than most to design what you want.
One of the limitations will be how high the main level of the house sits above the ground and how the property slopes. Is it a walkout basement?

I built a detached garage. I wanted to put my boat in there for the winter. It's 32X25 with a 10 foot ceiling and 9'tall by 16' door.
The boat on the trailer clears the door by a few inches but I can stand in the boat (bending a little). I have room for the boat, some woodowrking equiptment and my car.
In the summer there is ton's of room. I have what they call attic trusses which allow a 12 wide floor with limited clear hedroom. I can put a ton of storage up there.
You will want a few 20 amp / 120 circuits for your power tools. You only need 220 for a big air compressor (The small 5hp runs on 110.) a welder or if you want to heat with electric. If it's a detached building I would run a 100 amp service with a breaker box with about 20 circuits in it. Run a water line too. Phone line. You'll have to check if your allowed to run sewer for a sink. If you have gas you might want a gas line for heat.
Man we need it today!
Do it right and you'll never need to go into the house!
If you want some more detailed info or want me to take a look PM me.

PLUG:
We have been building homes since 1912.
We're starting a small development in Great Falls if your' still looking. We can also build your dream on your dream lot if you have found one!

[BGCarrera32]

Can't help with the lift other than to say most of the manufacturer's have a minumum concrete slab thickness in the area the lift will be anchored.

As for the 220, its a no brainer. Do it. Your house will get it anyway when built. I ran a 60 AMP 220 feed to my 3 car garage. That is more than enough to run your lift, compressor, welder, heater. I have 10 circuits, lights on seperate circuits, wall outlets every 5 feet, etc. If you are building a monster garage, you might think about more, but I find for my tinkering every other day out there what I have is plenty.

[widebody911]

I built a 25x25 garage this past summer (haven't moved in yet though ) I've got 10' walls with scissor trusses, so the center of the ceiling is 13 1/2' - more than enough to put my VW bus on the lift.

[Rick Lee]

I think BendPak's website lists building specs. for each of their lifts. I recall something like 4"-6" slab required, but can't remember exactly. A few locals have lifts in their home garages and the BendPak one is a little easier to fully stand up underneath for me. I'm 6'1" and the Rotary lift makes me crouch just a bit.

[William Miller]

6" slab would be overkill. Nothing that heavy will go in there or on the lift. Find out if the code requires a few piers under the slab.
In Montgomery count the began doing this a while ago because most garage slabs end up on fill dirt. The piers in the middle keep it from sagging and ultimatel cracking. The piers are over kill too but if you have to have them maybe you can plan to have them located below the feet of the lift. Either way it's just not that heavy.

[VaSteve]

Thanks for the responses. Here is some more data I left out before....
The garage in the model we want is attached to the house. The builder's agent (the guy who sits in the model home) told me he thought they were 14' ers. I looked a a couple from the outside and I don't think so

I will have to check on the slab.

William Miller: I don't understand the following quote: "The garage floors should typically be several inches below the main house to prevent CO from a running car getting into the house.
So it should be at least that many inches higher than the ceilings inside the house. A lot of times there is one or two steps to get into the house."

Does CO rise or fall? Please do explain.
Oh, thanks for the offer, I'm sure I couldn't get into Great Falls on my budget

[ubiquity0]

CO is heavier than air, so it falls. A 14' ceiling is a VERY high garage! He may have meant 14' to the ridge of the roof. If the roof is a truss construction the clear dimension would be alot less if this is this case.

[Harlan Chinn]

Start by planning the location of the garage, if you can orient the door so that when the main door is open, the prevailing winds are not blowing rain in. Locate drains and plumbing rough-ins for sinks, toilets and a trench drain. Plan on how you want to heat the garage, forced air, hydronic(hot water) etc.
Start with footings below the frost depth in your locality. The floor of 4" concrete slab is fine but make sure that there is woven wire fabric within the poured slab. You can thicken the slab to 6" at the location of lift/hoist supports to prevent cracking. Also have control and expansion joints in your slab to allow movement. Slope the slab 1/8" per foot toward your drain.
Frame walls with 2x6's, standard framing practice and install enough blocking to adequately anchor shelving and cabinets to the walls later.
Insulate per local codes R-19 or better in walls, R-30 or better in the roof.
Locate and wire convenience outlets as you see the space to be used, remember where base cabinets are going and that those outlets are +36" (above the counter)
Roof framing, sissors trusses will afford you greater ceiling clearances, consult a structural engineer with spans and roof slopes.
Exterior finishes to compliment your existing adjacent home.

[GB83SC]

Steve, the problem with most homes sold by most major builders is that all their floor plans are pre-approved by the county or city. Most can only change a few inside walls or bathroom layouts, that is offered in that particular model. Any structural changes are a major pain and most will be reluctant to do so. If you find a builder that will accommodate your request, make sure the plans are approved and you have a signed off blueprint before you sign and give the initial deposit.

I hope you get a lift, the NoVa gang could always keep it busy.

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by GB83SC
Steve, the problem with most homes sold by most major builders is that all their floor plans are pre-approved by the county or city. Most can only change a few inside walls or bathroom layouts, that is offered in that particular model. Any structural changes are a major pain and most will be reluctant to do so. If you find a builder that will accommodate your request, make sure the plans are approved and you have a sign off blue print before you sign and give the initial deposit.

I hope you get a lift, the NoVa gang could always keep it busy.

Thanks. Yes, I'm afraid of the line of P-cars ready to drop the engine. I will have to the impose the "take it home with you rule"

[Rick Lee]

I have a buddy who's having two garages built right now and will be installing 3 lifts. His builder called me to ask what kind. he should order. I was so flattered. The garages are in Mont. Co. MD and he did get permits for them, though the two houses are not new and are on large lots.

[VincentVega]

Great advice everyone. Most lifts I've been looking at suggest 4+ in. of 3000psi concrete. As suggested, check the manufacture for specifics.

Couple things I would recommend:

Have the garage door installed so it hugs the ceiling, if not the tracks might block a car on the lift
Dont finish the walls yet, easiler to run electric when you move in and get a feel for the place
Have a subpanel installed in the garage so I can tap into it whenenever I need to
Have at least 1 window for an AC unit. Heat is a must in the winter, but it get HOT too
Insulate everthing. Especially for noise. The air chisel makes a lotta noise. Neighbors generally dont like to hear air chisels
Epoxy coat the floor before you move in, never an easier time to do it

[William Miller]

Steve, OK, No more plugs.
I asked my brother what the price range was going to be for the houses in Spring Vale Meadows. "Starting at $2.5M".

Back to the thread:
Actually I ment the floor is lower so you have more ceiling height in the garage than in the house. Do you walk up some steps to get to the front door? If you do or have a front porch the first floor is higher than the ground arround the house. So it may be the same height above the garage floor. If you have living area above the garage then they would most likely keep it at the same level as the second floor of the main house. (This would explain a really high garage ceiling.) This would aloow the builder to do many things like have a walk out basement or gravety flow plumbing in the basement when the sewer on the street is not 10 feet deep.
I just got clearance for Saturday morning. My wife doesn't mind if I go see a house. (I wanted to stop by the engine drop and maybe look at some fenders.) So if you want, I can take a look at the plans and the lot and maybe speak with the builder. Don't say no, your my ticket out Man!



Harlin, It's rare in our area to have 2x6 walls in our area. Maybe not as cold?

Richard, where will the lifts be in Monkey County? Hopefully just down the street from me!!!!!!

[ruf-porsche]

Originally posted by William Miller
Where are you looking to buy/build?
The garage floors should typically be several inches below the main house to prevent CO from a running car getting into the house.

Actually it's to prevent gasoline vapor from entering the house or gasoline in the event there is a gasoline leak. Gasoline vapor is heavier than air.

CO is lighter than air so it tends to rise. CO detectors should be located 12 inches below the ceiling. The 12 inch space below the ceiling is consider dead air space.

You should never run a car in the garage without adequate ventilation.

[ruf-porsche]

Originally posted by Harlan Chinn
Start by planning the location of the garage, if you can orient the door so that when the main door is open, the prevailing winds are not blowing rain in. Locate drains and plumbing rough-ins for sinks, toilets and a trench drain. Plan on how you want to heat the garage, forced air, hydronic(hot water) etc.
Start with footings below the frost depth in your locality. The floor of 4" concrete slab is fine but make sure that there is woven wire fabric within the poured slab. You can thicken the slab to 6" at the location of lift/hoist supports to prevent cracking. Also have control and expansion joints in your slab to allow movement. Slope the slab 1/8" per foot toward your drain.
Frame walls with 2x6's, standard framing practice and install enough blocking to adequately anchor shelving and cabinets to the walls later.
Insulate per local codes R-19 or better in walls, R-30 or better in the roof.
Locate and wire convenience outlets as you see the space to be used, remember where base cabinets are going and that those outlets are +36" (above the counter)
Roof framing, sissors trusses will afford you greater ceiling clearances, consult a structural engineer with spans and roof slopes.
Exterior finishes to compliment your existing adjacent home.

Hey Harlan

Sound as though you might have done this a few time or are you an architect or engineer?

Everything you said is fine except for the drain. In some part of the country (Chicago for example) you can not have a drain in a garage unless it is connected to a triple basin. The concern is that people will change oil and dump the oil into the city sewer system. The triple basin will make sure that the contaminated waste stays on your property and not into the public sewer. Cost of a triple basin and location often prevents people in the city from installing drains in their garage.