Garage - What features would you select?

[Ron Earp]

No slabs made yet, but I can put some pipes in place to make lights in the floor, good idea. I in no way need heat down here in NC though - it gets cold for about 2 months but I'm cold natured and can handle that. On the other hand, it IS going to have AC - hot and humid I can't stand. I'll do a urinal in the corner near the sink since I can plumb that myself, might do a small shower as I could make that too and use the same drain, good ideas.

 

[Ian Anderson]

Ron

Perhaps you can do the full toilet with a saniflo - see
Saniflo macerator pumps

Cheers
Ian

 

[BruceA]

Damn fine ideas there.
My garage will have plasma TV's at either end as well. Oh and dont forget the comfortable chairs, barstools, and a small bar in the corner.
And one other no one else has mentioned, either a video game console (one of those 80's ones) or a pinball machine in the corner.

 

[Jim Nielsen]

Ron,
I would suggest mounting the compressor outside and build a shelter over it. It is much quieter and doesn't use any inside work space. Also on the concrete I highly recommend using the fiberglass in it. It usually does not cost much extra to add but the strength increase is nice. Actually you can get away with less concrete if you want to when you use it. I still poured the same thickness but have the added strength with the glass fiber.

Jim

 

[Chris E]

I have just moved house, and have 48 ft x 48 ft of outbuildings. First job is to fit a roof!!

 

[Danimal W]

When my wife and I were house shopping 2 years ago, we saw a house with nice garage. (Too bad the garage was nicer than the actual house!)

The family had built a additional garage that was a "2" car garage, but was prob. the size of most 3 car garages. Epoxy floor, lift, cable, TV, phone, air compresser with lines plumbed, tons of lighting, heat, a/c and a full bathroom with washer/dryer combo. That way the husband could get cleaned up before returning to the house.

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

Ron,
Think maybe at a ceramic floor.
All the race garages I've seen are made in ceramic, to avoid damages from heating.
and dont forget a good engine lifter

here enclosed 2 pictures of the Jas factory:

Paolo

 

[Joey Dean]

Ron,

A bud of mine just built a nice (60x80) shop and most items I would suggest from seeing his have been stated except for his "paing booth". He has vinyl curtains that he hangs from hooks in his ceiling and a vinyl floor that velcro's to these. One curtain has a metal frame that holds a couple of filters and the other end has a filtered exhaust fan with a hose running outside. Four bags of bird shot (one in each corner) hold it down when the fan is on and you have a nice booth that can be taken apart when not needed.

 

[Jerry E]

Hi,
Supprised no-one has mentioned a comfy chair to sit on. Everbody needs a contemplation-chair, where many hours can be spent contemplating which job should be done next, one that you can sit in,beer in hand(straight from the beer fridge of course!) and admire the evenings work.One with castors is perfect so it can be wheeled out of the way. I use an old office chair and couldnt be without it. makes life polishing the sides of low cars easier as your not bent over double, and with the castors on its easy to work your way around the bodywork.
Having another smaller stool/chair is handy for when mates come over, so you can both sit down, beers in hand, admire/talk about cars and other bloke related stuff, out of the way of the wives/girlfriends..... ahhhh heaven.

Jerry

 

[Chris P.]

Comfy chair? I'm in the process of hanging lights and then pouring concrete for my 24x36ft shop, and I already told my wife I'm putting a couch in there! She knows it's basically "fare well" when the shop is done. She's a great gal.....

 

[Alex Hirsbrunner]

A couple more ideas (sorry if these are dups)...

Oh, and one other thing, my air compressor is located in my basement's utility room and is piped into my attached garage. This gives the compressor access to clean, cool and dry (air-conditioned) air in the summer.

Al

 

[BenL]

I'm preparing to build an external garage that will be for my hobbies. It'll be 35-40 feet in length, and probably around 24 feet wide. It'll not have a room above it so that it can accommodate a lift inside.

Here's a silly idea, how about an attic with a hole in the the floor for the lift, and then you can use the lift to move heavy stuff up into the attic?

Someone else mentioned 2x8" studs for strength, that'll also allow for a lot of insulation in the walls to keep heat in (or out).

Another thing you can do to keep heat in (or out) is to get a heat recovery ventilator (or a energy recovery ventilator as part of the AC system), instead of a regular vent. They work by having two separate paths for air coming in and going out, and in between they have a heat exchanger with averages out the difference in temperature in the two air streams. Most of them are designed for whole house systems, but it's possible to find smaller ones.

Pits are useful, but they're illegal in some areas (they allow deadly/flammable fumes to accumulate).

Lots of outlets, and while you're at it also run phone and data wires, it's cheap to do it before you close up the walls. You might also want to think about installing an alarm system, or at least the wires for it.

 

[Howard Jones]

I think that suggestion about a anchor point is really a good one. I would put a big bolt, 3/4" dia, through a 6 foot X 3 inch pipe and pour the concrete over it. Lots of rebar in this area. Leave the top of the bolt in a recess in the floor so you don't trip over it. I would use a small coffee can for a form. You can fill the void with a piece of wood cut to fit with a hole in it to accommodate the bolt.

If you ever need to tie something down to straighten it with a jack, walla! Some times there just isn't any other way.

Really easy and cheep and it will be there if you need it. This could REALLY be handy someday.

 

[Doug S.]

Ron, it's been quite a while since we heard anything regarding your progress on this project. Any news?

Enquiring minds want to know, you know.

Doug

 

[Ron Earp]

Everything takes forever it seems!!!

I'm second on list of the builder I've picked, but he's not started the addition up the street that was supposed to be done in May, at point he'd start on the garage. So, it is behind. The money is in the bank though, but if they don't get on with it there will be a turnkey GT40 in my driveway......just kidding.

I'm out of space. My garage is full, I've got five engines on the floor, and can hardly work. The JH went to storage fortunately, but the Lola and Z are still packed in. I think I'm going to sell my "big" high hp high revving motor because I don't see it getting a home any time soon. I've got another motor for the Lola, a 300-325hp motor that will be perfect for racing and street use without any transaxle issues for either use. And, I've got Z motors up to my hiny ho sorting those out to get two race motors, one for the car and one spare.

It is a mess.

R

 

[Doug S.]

Sounds like "Murphy's Law" is in full effect!

Good luck--I've been in construction and I know how infuriating those delays can become.

Just think what it will be like when you do get it built and won't have to thread your way through all the motors and other great stuff!

Doug

 

[wanni]

If you want to store cars, you need:
A de-humidificator in order to do not kill the interiors, a 4 jack lift in order to do not kill the tyres and a system which keeps the battery alive deliverying few milli amperes por hour.
The best is to have a cooling fun in the front and an exhaust gas aspirator for the occasions you want to turn on the engine.
For the rest of the operations, better you go to a professional service. Ah...I forgot an air compressor to inflate the tyres when you want to drive and keep the tank empty to be filled freshly when you go.
Ciao
Wanni

 

[wanni]

If you want to store cars, you need:
A de-humidificator in order to do not kill the interiors, a 4 jack lift in order to do not kill the tyres and a system which keeps the battery alive deliverying few milli amperes por hour.
The best is to have a cooling fun in the front and an exhaust gas aspirator for the occasions you want to turn on the engine.
For the rest of the operations, better you go to a professional service. Ah...I forgot an air compressor to inflate the tyres when you want to drive and keep the tank empty to be filled freshly when you go.
Ciao
Wanni

 

[Pete]

I had two drive in doors added. One on the side and one on the end of the building. My building is 24 x 36 with a 14 foot ceiling.

Pete

 

[Randy V]

In my shop I did away with using sheet-rock on the walls. Instead I used 1/2 Plywood. Painted white with enamel for the reflective properties to brighten the workspace. The key rationale behind spending the extra dollars are as follows;
1) Stronger - adds to the strength of the walls
2) I don't have to "find a stud" when hanging cabinets or anything else
3) Gone are the days of "bumping" the sheetrock with something heavy and then having to patch the resultant hole. Check your local zoning to see if this is legal or not. I found out that it's not allowed in new construction here because of the lack of fire-resistance in comparison to sheet-rock. If I'm "dinged" on it - I'll put sheet-rock over the top of the plywood but I won't be happy about it..

Another thing I did was to put an electrical outlet 5' off the floor and every 4 linear feet along the walls.

I also spent the time to wire the shop with CAT5 and TV Cable..

Now to find a corner to plumb in a biffy and I'm all set with my Man-Cave!

Too bad I have such a low overhead - I wish I could have a lift...