Garage Thread

[DMRK]

While you're at it you might consider a small sleeping area, just in case your wife kicks you out for spending so much time in that new garagemahal.

Good Idea. And maybe a good place for the pinball machines.

[DMRK]

After shrinking my junkumulation from 3500 to 2000 in rented shop space to about 1200 square feet for the last 20 years, i propose that you include a full bath and a laundry/utility room. HVAC and local (tankless) water heater. My air compressors live in sound-blocking cabinets in the main workbay, one 5hp regular plus a smaller quiet one that gets the lion's share of the compressor duty. Plumb the place for compressed air and water. I use a MaxJax as others here do, and have air and (twist lock) electric service ports over the columns. The actual service consoles have supermagnets on them to secure to the MaxJax columns. Works the same for any lift type really, saves you from extension cords and air hoses on the floor. I have air-hose reels at the ceiling in a couple places too, and several connection ports on the walls. The sections are segmented with isolation valves, so no need to inflate the whole system when I just need to do one thing in one place and use the small Makita compressor. If you plan to do some painting, a small screw compressor with a real dryer will be a blessing. As others mention, over-plan your electrical design. That compressor and the HVAC previously mentioned, plus welding and a clothes dryer each demand 220V service. Use shaft-drive door openers, and follow that guidance on having them follow the ceiling contour on the way up. I ended up doing the design on mine myself, after the door contractor balked it the task. There's no such thing as too much lighting, but set it up by area and in stages so you have enough to safely walk through, then another stage or two for serious tasks. Make sure to have a decent wash bay inside, including floor drains and sufficient slope for them to work. Install a mixing valve so you have hot water there. Utility sink there too. You may need a grease/oil trap to meet local codes, and for sure if you have a septic system. Do finish and paint the walls inside. Like Tom and others, I invested in porcelain tile flooring, and used epoxy grout. The slab is 6" thick, so the lift can sit on top of the tile without worry. I had the holes for the lift anchors cored in steps through the tile. Baldhead Cabinets is right here in town less than 10 minutes away, so it was an easy choice to have them come install the cabinets and benches, all hung from the walls and off the floor. Walls were spec'd for the cabinet weight. Mine is a working garage/workbay so it has maple tops. The stainless looks great until you use it and it gets scratched up. The wood gets a sand and refinish when it gets damaged from use. Some that has carpet on it for a few reasons including protection. Add audio and video cabling, plus ethernet as needed. Include a wifi AP, phone lines, etc. as desired. Wire for fire, CO and smoke detectors and a remote alarm capability at he house. Make sure tour ethernet wiring includes security camera capability both inside and outside.

Plan-Plan-Plan. Make sure the workbays include sufficient width to walk past an open car door including wall and workbench cabinets.

I'm sure there's more....

Some great ideas here as well. I will definitely be getting a Maxjax. I was planning on a 2 post and a four post lift. I love the fact that you can move the Maxjax if you want to.

[Bill in Bama]

Having built a pretty standard no frills garage in 2019, (although it us bricked), I don't see you building your proposal for $50K, IMO. Maybe with a metal building it is possible. My garage has a pretty steep pitched roof with a loft for storage, and a half bath for the pool users.

As for the MaxJax, I just noticed it has had another price increase, $3450.00 now. A full rise two post can be bought for less than that, albeit not a portable one. You should have plenty of room for a full rise and with 3 doors one bay dedicated to the lift shouldn't constrain you too much, just food for thought.

Have fun, you'll have no shortage of advisors here!

[Pcarnut]

I am done "finishing" that garage as I will be building a new one in a few years.
Here is an idea of what I'm thinking of. It is 30' by 60' with 13' walls with 3 10' by 10' doors and extra room for shop, man cave or pool house. Any ideas or criticism welcome.
IMG_20230207_205921436~2.jpg

I too am in the planning stages of a 30'x60' garage, though I am doing 14' tall (for a lift) with 10x12 doors. $50K is doable for the just building, but may not work if you include concrete. Definitely not with all the finish out items, power, lighting, etc. I wanted a 40' deep building, but don't have the room. My concern with a 30' deep building though is that it is not deep enough to park two cars end to end, unless they are really small cars. Also, think about your door layout bc you will need to be able to move cars around easily. I was thinking about spacing them apart so a car that doesn't get used often can be parked between two OH door openings. Do you want a loft or mezzanine for storage of junk you don't want down below? If so, then you want to go taller. Also, if you intend to open and close the OH doors often, be sure you consider the door quality. The typical OD rollup doors most of these metal building sellers offer is junk. I will have my own insulated garage doors installed so I know the quality and have some follow-up service when needed. We have these doors at our warehouse and they are constantly requiring repairs. I have been doing a good bit of research on these metal buildings. They are all a bunch of small sales guys that rep. for manufactures. Usually try to make you think there is some BS "sale" going on and try to pressure you to sign now and give a deposit, which is their commission. Once that happens, you may not get good or any service after that. References, references, references. There are many other items to consider besides what I have mentioned. GL Mark

[DMRK]

50k seems doable for a steel building and the slab depending on options. I want to price out a rough cinder block building as well to see if it's worth it. I also was wanting 40x60 for the same reasons. I'm not sure if it would fit my space either but the cost is up about 70 percent from the 30x60 steel building. Also the trusses are more elaborate and take up a lot of overhead space. I figure the overhead storage would be above the pool house/man cave area not the garage space.

[zooklm1]

Tom encouraged me to post some pictures and info about the shop I am still in the process of completing. I built it mostly myself, only contracting the concrete slab and putting shingles on the roof. It is about 1000 sq ft and I think I am in all in at $45,000. I am almost done hanging the Sheetrock, still have to do small areas and am 1 part short of having my radiant floor heating running. Once I have heat, I will start the mud and tape work. Attached are recent pictures.

[zooklm1]

Here are some exterior pictures

[uscarrera]

My office is now my favorite room in our Sebring house, makes me happy to go to work
Rich

CA47DDD6-8604-4968-A592-BA34A93C3072.jpeg (3.93 MiB) Viewed 967 times

[Bill in Bama]

Now I'm really envious! This looks great!

[blueline]

Here are some exterior pictures

Looking good! You're going to have a great shop with a lot of room. It looks bigger than 1000 sq ft. Will be great to see it after it's completed and set up.