New Garage

[Ronnie Robertson # 36786]

Recently purchased several acres and planning a new garage with an attached home. Actually a detached garage/building. I am open for any ideas for a building size. Anyone seen floor plans which looked good? Is there a advantage to drive in from the side or end. I've been cooped up in a two car garage for so long that I can't imagine having lots of room.
Thanks

[Marty McDonough]

Re: New Garage

I went through this several years ago, and ended up with a 36x60' main building with a 15x25' parts room. I also have a 6x8' room with an outside only entrance for my 80gal Air Compressor, the bead blast cabinet and other dirty odds & ends. The main building is divided into 2 sections, a 36x45' car storage area, and a 36x15' Air Conditioned work bay where my lift is (Hot here in Nevada). I have a full bath in the garage as Barbara won't let me come in the house dirty! Oh, and ceiling height is 12' which added little to the cost of the building and gives me the option of stackers if I ever need it. With the work bay 15' wide I was able to purchase an Eagle 15,000 lb lift that holds anything I have including my Crew Cab Dooley. Making the building 35 to 40' deep will let you put 2 cars in a bay. If you go less deep and are considering a lift, be sure that the overhead doors will clear the lift. My doors are on the long side, 2 16' on the storage room, and a 10x10' on the work bay. I don't know how many cars you are planning, but you will double that number once you have some space.

Remember - You can't build a big enuf garage.

Pics and a floor plan are available if you are interested

[Scott Marzahl]

Re: New Garage

I completd my shop a year ago, I was constrained by space and maximized my footprint at 30 X 36, I would really have liked 40 x 60 for the reasons Marty listed but I couldn't steal any more space from my drainfield. The sink or shower option is something I just didn't want to loose space for but now wish I at least had hot water in it. I have 10 foot ceilings, fine for me , but 12's are great, I also have a forced air electric furnace, it was the easiest and cheapest to install. Have fun!

[Michael S.]

Re: New Garage

All a man and a women really need is a one bedroom garage! Sell the house. Build a 20K square foot steel buildiing, brick the front for a beautiful home from the street, partition off 5K square feet for your wifes new digs and 15K square feet for your new shop. Wife can have full 12 foot windows down 2 sides of the house, huge decks, pool if desired, glass block showers, vaulted ceilings, massive open expanse rooms, of course an office for you and that most wonderful of all doors, the door to the shop! Your own private doghouse!

Wife gets tired of her 5K square feet of space, tear out the walls and redesign the living area. Very easy, just like a big box furniture stores. Lot's of ideas for the creative women. Your are only limited by your imagination!

[Pat L.]

Re: New Garage

I just completed the construction of my shop. I bought an 40'Deep x 60'W x 12'H ARCO steel building. I had a contractor do the concrete and the erection. Since there are three bays that are 20 feet wide, I plan on having a 40X40 area that will be air conditioned with an office and bath. The other 20x20 area will be used for storing tractors or cars with parts storage on top of the area. The building has three roll up doors (14Wx12, 12Wx12, & 10Wx10) plus two walk in doors. The 14'w & 12'w rool ups and one walk in door are in the front. The area in front of the building (24' by 60') is being paved. I have to do the electrical and install the A/C unit. The roll up doors are manual at this time but I insured that electrical remote operations can be added later.

[Richard B.]

Garage thoughts

I agree, Size Matters! But don't forget electrics and lighting when planning. I have 4 outlet boxes every 6 feet, chest high around all three sides, and 220 available on one side. I'd put in more if I could decide where to put them .

As to lights, consider many banks of florescent for the ceiling, and the possibility of some on the walls, down where they will do some good. If you paint the floor, the ceiling, and the walls a light color, you should be in good shape.

I find it's easier to do these things first, rather than trying to add them later. And don't forget a urinal and a "Guy's" fridge. Hope this helps.

[Gary S.]

John Hinkley's Garage Mahal

is one to pattern after. John, you want to post some photos?

[Verle R.]

Re: New Garage

Mike,

I actually tried this a few years ago. I found a commercial building that had about 6000 sq ft office and 100K shop with multiple overhead doors on 20 acres. Price was $100K. The front was brick. I proposed to refurbish the office to her desires but she would not bite, didn't like the location is the commercial district.

Verle

[Christopher R.]

Re: New Garage

I've spent the past 20+ years restoring my Corvette in an 11 x 17 unheated detached garage. Had a guy out last night to give me quotes on raising the roof a few feet so maybe I could fit a lift in there. And knocking out 1 of the walls 3-4 feet so maybe I could get a workbench in there. Can't go much more because of space and zoning problems. All this talk of garage mahals kills me. I'm jealous.

[John H.]

Re: John Hinkley's Garage Mahal

Mine is attached, 58' wide and 44' deep, with a 12' ceiling, all clear-span (no columns or internal walls); beneath the slab is moisture-barriered and foil/foam/foil sheet-insulated, shot-blasted and epoxy-coated on top. It's 2x6-framed and super-insulated (R-26 walls, R-58 ceiling), with two 18'x 8' insulated sectional doors and an insulated service door. My 16'x 16' "retirement office" is in a front corner, and a 125,000-BTU Reznor power-vented forced-air gas unit heater (with electronic ignition - no pilot flame) is more than adequate for the whole area in our single-digit winters. Separate electric service (110 and 220) and breaker panel, and outlets everywhere (including the ceiling for reel drops, etc.) - you can't have too many, and they're cheap when installed initially. Had the step at the house end poured 60" deep (vs. the usual 30") for more walk space at the main bench area, and had the sectional door on the side with the lift done as a "high-lift" (horizontal tracks only 9" from the ceiling) so I can have that door fully open with a car at full working height. Hot and cold water in both the office and in the main area, and phone/TV-VCR's/cable in both areas too. Lots of large Andersen windows for natural light, ten 2-tube 8-foot fluorescent ceiling-mounted fixtures do a good job at night (bank-switched so I can select only the ones I need at the time). Here are some links (the Ferrari and '57 are gone now, replaced by the '67):

[Pat L.]

Re: John Hinkley's Garage Mahal

John,

Congrats on a really beautiful and functional looking shop. What type of flooring did you use? What brand?

Pat

[Dick W.]

Re: New Garage

I think that the first thing to do is determine what is your ultimate goal in building a garage. Is it storage? To have room for total body off restorations, or what. Just to park a couple of cars, be able to do minor repairs, and have a limited amount of storage, a 30'X40'would probably fit the bill. To be able to do body off restorations and have adequate room for just this would take this or maybe more room. I have built three shops for my personal use in the last twenty years, a 1350 sq ft, a 3000 sq ft, and a 4200 sq. ft. and six large shops for the fleets that I have worked for. It seems that the law of availabe space followed me, that is no matter how big you build, you will run out of room in six months The good Dr. McCagh is a good example of this rule.

As mentioned make sure that you have adequate electrical, maybe even having a separate 200 amp service for just the shop, with plenty of 110V and 220V outlets around the building. I do not know where you live, but I would insulate accordingly. Money well spent up front rather than on utility bills. Insulated overhead doors are a good investment with a short term payback.

Make sure you have adequate overhead clearance if you plan to(or think that you ever will) install a lift (Don't ask how I know this ) You learn from mistakes. A bathroom with a shower is a nice addition.

For lighting I have used high output florescents, regular florescents, power-grove florescents, and metal halide. The metal halides provide color rendition closest to sunlight. Strive for at least 100 ft. candles of lighting on the floor. A wash pit is a must, but be aware in some areas you are required to route the runoff through a grease trap.

I have used concrete with a clear sealer, color "floated" in and a sealer, and epoxy/urethane floor finishes. If your goal is a very durable show finish, I would suggest that you go with the epoxy/urethane finish. I belive that is what John uses in his "Garage Mahal".

Metal buildings seem to be the most economical way to go after you pass about 2500 sq ft. You can "stick build" or lay blocks cheaper on a smaller building.

There are so many variables in building a shop, and so many chances to make mistakes, take your time to visit several home shops, ask what they like about them, and what they would do different if they could build them again. I have never built one that I was totally satisfied with, and probably never will be able to do that.

Lots of luck

[Bob Simard]

New Garage

If your property is not level, consider a two story garage. The second level costs around $5 a square foot.(This is a 10 year old cost estimate.) My garage is 30 x 36 with 9 foot ceilings. I used flexicore to build the second floor. Ten years ago this cost around $4 a square foot installed. The lower level is a clear span, no posts. Flexicore is about 8 inches thick and is covered with a 4 inch thick poured cement cap. The cost of the cap was about $1 per square foot. The other major difference is taller basement walls. My load bearing walls are 10 inches thick. Flexicore is what the Jiffy-lubes in my area use for flooring. What ever you build, it will become too small. Ask me how I know.

[Doug Flaten]

Re: New Garage Don't Skimp on Height

Don't skimp on the wall height. My neighbor put in a 60' x 60' and 14 ft walls. He used to haul his race cars with a Gooseneck trailer and a duallie pickup. He since upgraded to a Semi and a Transport. He had to notch out and reinforce the beams in order to gain clearance for the trailers. Even with that, he has to let the air out of his tires to get it in. An extra 2' wall height would have cost him about $2K.

[Gary J.]

My shop...

We just have finsihed building a new house last year with a basement which I was planning to use but my wife had other ideas. She wanted me to have a shop, so that is what I have now.

It is 32X40. The reason I had for the 32 ft. by the time I put base cabinets in they would take up 2 ft.of floor space. I have three stalls. In one stall I have a floor drain. The shop is block and brick. The block is insulated with perlite. It is bricked on the sides and the front with keys above the doors to match the house. The doors are insulated. I have a 30 space 200 AMP panel. The height is 12'4 with the cap block. The roof truses one side is cathedral which gives me 14'6 of headroom. On this side I have just installed a new Rotary 2-post lift and I have plenty of room. I have not finished working on it yet. I still have to get heat installed, insulated, and the overhead sheetrock.

If you are thinking about a lift the one thing that I would do is make sure that the floor is at least 8 inches thick and it is reinfored.

Gary
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