Building a Garage! want suggestions

[JoeF]

I am in the process of building a garage. It will be just like the one in the news today, only alot smaller and less expensive! Anyway, does anyone have any cool suggestions or input? I have looked for books on the subject, but after the basic structure design, there isnt much on the subject. I am looking for suggestions on heating, lighting, general layout, floor covering such as paint or tile materials suggestions. Any information that might be useful. Any pictures would be good. I bet some folks on this board have some really functional garages! Any book or web site suggestions would help! I hope this is not too OT.
JoeF

[pwd72s]

One of the autobook company catalogs I get listed a book..titled something like 'building/designing your dream garage/shop'. A book written with the gearhead in mind. Of course, I tossed the catalog. Believe it was "classic motorbooks", something like that.

[steve911]

Joe-
do a search of the archives. several board members are doing/have done garages recently. some are truly taj mahals and as you know, there is no dearth of opinions/commentary given here. those of us that are 'mechanically challenged' can only watch and wonder.
good luck!

[widebody911]

I'm in the planning stages for a second garage myself. The ball is currently in my court to provide some diagrams to the builder.

Mine will be 25x30, 10' walls with a special V truss to give higher ceilings in the center. The V trusses start 5' in from each side, followed by a shear wall, which will give me storage at either end of the garage in the 'attic' I'm going to have a 16' door, offset, to give a big 'side space' It will also have a tiny bathroom. I also plan to have a lift, although I haven't decided on which style yet. I'll probably go with one of the scissor lifts, and they're more useful for working on the car, as opposed to the ones used for storing car A on car B

[boyo]

I'm a little more constrained, having to modify an existing garage on a budget slightly less than $1.4M, but have some good ideas:


1. Make the ceilings at least 10ft high, this will fit many popular lifts and have enough room for taller cars.

2. Consider a "lifting" beam in the rafters. This could be an exposed steel I-beam with a rolling chain lift, for pulling and moving non-Porsche engines around the shop.

3. Lighting and ventilation are key. Forget flourescent lights, buy good shop lights and wire them so they can be turned on/off independently. Windows high up are nice for lighting and venting exhaust fumes, and prevent prying eyes. Might want to think about an exhaust vent system that hooks to the tailpipe.

4. Electricty and air hose hookups every 10 feet. Dragging around a 50ft air hose gets tiresome after about 3 seconds. A quality 20ft length will suit your needs nicely. Don't forget water traps on those air drops.

5. Beer tap hookups every 20 feet. That way 10ft is the farthest you ever have to walk for refreshment.

6. TV and stereo, because sometimes the game is on when you need to work on the car, and the missus gets mad when you bring your greasy butt (or engine) into the living room.

7. Couch, because you'd rather have your friend/neighbor sitting on his butt watching TV instead of looking over your shoulder advising you what to do.

8. Count the maximum possible number of cars you ever expect to have, and DOUBLE the space.

9. Sink, shower, and washer/dryer. See reference to "greasy butt" above. Greasy clothes tossed into the "good" machine with a load of whites should be enough to justify this purchase.

10. Build a loft upstairs - someplace to sleep when the missus is mad at you for spending too much time/money in the shop!

-Boyo (started modifying his dream garage on Tuesday...)

[boyo]

Oh yeah, widebody911 makes a good point: BIG DOORS.

I bought my Austin-Healey from some folks who built their house as an extension to the garage (instead of the other way around). They had 16ft ceilings and 12ft tall roll-up doors. But the doors were only 8ft wide! The builder made a mistake.

It was nearly impossible for them to back an Austin-Healey (a small car) through that narrow door and onto the lift.


Oh yeah...I'm also planning some curtains so I can separate off half the garage for sanding, painting, etc.


I'd love to see pictures too. Post 'em if you got 'em!

-Boyo

[ginpunk]

I would put lighting on the walls, about 2 to 4 feet from the floor level spaced every 5-7 feet.

[Superman]

Besides the features you would want in case it must serve as a "dog house," (refrigerator, bed, couch, TV, etc.), you will also need at least one lift, possibly a grease pit and an overhead hoist.

[widebody911]

Other suggestions I've recieved:

* one or more 'hoops' embeded in the concrete for pulling/tying things down

* doors that roll into themselves, rather than the panel roll up doors - saves headroom.

* 220v drop, even if you think you won't need it now

I have to have a 5' easement on each side (the garage is going into the corner of the property) so I'll put my compressor there, with a shed built over it, which is what I have now.

[orbmedia]

The floor is key. Get one of those high PSI floors that's like shiny concrete. I wish I knew more about how to make those floors - someone here must know. You don't even paint it.

Get this lift:



Rotary Smartlift

[jay castriotta]

I think you want at least a 4" floor, wire reinforced if you want to do a lift. The fiberglass(?) reinforcement is nice, but pricey. I use a lot of flourescent lights- the 8 foot high intensity kind. You can't have enough light. I have enough overhead lights to make under-car lighting unnecessary 95% of the time. White walls (melamine, semigloss paint) help. These books may help. They have good tips on plumbing the air compressor (don't forget that 220V outlet!).

Wish List How to Design and Build Your Auto Workshop
David H. Jacobs / Paperback

Wish List Ultimate Auto Workshop Design and Planning
David Jacobs Jr,David Jacobs / Paperback

[makaio]

Orb,

You can put a mirror finish on smooth concrete, with floor wax. At the Heli-tack (fire fighting helicopter) base I used to work at, we waxed the hanger floor, once a month. Looks sweet, but slick as heck when wet.

JoeF, put a floor drain in, so you can wash your car when its cold outside.

[jabb]

I just put this Modine HD60 heater in my garage works great


http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/heaters.shtml?goto

[Doug E]

Great ideas and suggestions.

These kind of threads put great thoughts into my head for our next home.

[HawgRyder]

I don't have posession of the garage I built (wife got custody) but, I used Poly-Steel construction. That's the foam blocks you fill with steel re-rod and concrete.
The benefit was...great insulation inside and out...and the cost was about half of wood frame construction.
Another benefit....concrete walls to hold up your lifting beam.
My cost (1988) was $60 a running foot for a 10 foot high wall.
To finish the inside...I lined it with 1/2" plywood painted white....the outside got plastic siding.
Hope this helps.
Bob

[URY914]

I'm a contractor and have done all sorts of projects including home garages and workshops. Use a concrete sealer on the floor or a paint made for concrete garage floors. Home Depot has this stuff. Use 8' florerescent lights, but don't install them directly over the car unless you want the roof of the car nice and bright. Hang them over the sides of the car. That way the light will shine in the doors into the interior and reflect off the floor to under the car. Keep the walls a light color so the light will reflect off of them. When you build a work bench, make it so the bottom is closed off so nothing can roll under it. The books and the previous posts listed above will provide you with more than enough info on how to do it. Don't forget room for a small bed as you will need it once your wife finds out how much time and money this is going to take.
Good luck.

[89911]

I was in the process of having my existing barn/storage building removed and a 36 x 36 6 car garage like in the picture erected. There is a local company the pole builds these for a good price. Looks like we might be doing an addition to our house so the garage may be ought for a bit. While in the process of designing it, many thoughts came to mind. In no specific order: Electric, running water, sewage drains, telephone, cable, bathroom, stereo wiring, at least 10 foot ceilings, paddle fans, natural gas heating, car lift, compressed hose lines hung from above, multiple compressed hose outlets with quick disconnects, enough room to store your car, a trailer, a project car to work on, a friends car (reason for 6 car allowance), windows to let you know it is now dark and your wife is angry, intercom-perhaps not if you don't want to be bothered, Many more!!!

[82SC]

http://www.ultimategarage.com/home.html

and the full Facom tool set...
and tool chest
and porsche posters
posrsche flags
calender

book shelf for factory manuls, BA's book, 101 projects, etc...

and piece together a cheap ass internet only computer...run ethernet into the garage so you can ask quick ques on the board...
put those plastic pad over the keyboard so you never forget which key is which
set up a live feed camera so we can watch projects in motion...

mini fridge...

hmmmm....maybe a nice induistrial fan or two when you are working with solvents...portable heater for cold nights...


Oh and www.griotsgarage.com has some cool stuff...some of it looks gimicky but other things look pretty quality...he seems like a guy who really stands behind his product...dont' know if that is truth or just really good marketing...

haha

[Jim Smolka]

For the paint on the floor, check out Grassroots Motorsports last issue. I do not recommend the concrete paint (Behr) from HomeDepot. At some point in the future, I will be taking up the Behr paint and going with something else.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

All these ideas sound great, but please remember the do it yourself members of the board who are cheap (The notes are in referrence to a contest of people whos cars are down for engine rebuilds, the first one was a BMW):