I am building a new garage for personal use and would like to get feedback from others who have gone down this road. My question is - is there anything you would have done differently that you realized after construction was completed? I have done new construction previously, as a GC, however it always included a standard garage. Looking to avoid new garage remorse, so opinions/suggestions appreciated.

 

Radiant. Floor. Heat.

 

My wife and I bought a house with a detached 3 car shop. I should have coated the floors with Rhino liner or Rust-Oleum when we first moved in. I never did and now there are oil stains under my jalopies.

 

^^x100^^

 

10-12 foot ceiling to allow room for a lift.
Larger than needed garage doors
At least 100 amp service
Don't over do the windows, they take up valuable wall space
36" entry door

 

Provisions for running water / ultiity sink
If radiant heat is not in the budget, a mini split air system.

 

I like radiant heat's bonus of less dust. Will never have lift as storage will be above. 200-amp electric, water, minimal windows, and heavy on insulation are planned at this point.

 

Here's what I came up with for a work bench, peg board and shelf. Made an opening for the tool rollaway cabinet.
Don't forget the vise and bench top drill press.

 

During planning, evaluate water needs relative to both potable water & radiant heating requirements. This system can be used w/ either: (1) a boiler or (2) a hot water heater. Just a heads up - do your research.

 

Never say never on a lift, unless you plan on never working under the car. 10' is barely tall enough if you want to stack 2 cars, go for 12' min. Raise the roof and put storage above the 12' ceiling.

 

Thank you for comments thus far, and keep them coming. Thinking a 6" concrete floor will be smart in case a lift becomes reality.

 

Radiant heat is the best, it will allow you to work in the shop with bare feet in the winter!

 

Great topic. I often reflect on what I would have done differently with my garage condo.

Radiant heat is a must. Just map out where it is installed in case you decide on a 2 post lift. No issues for a 4 post lift.

Install a central vac and have the ports in the wall in several locations.

Figure out where you want your signage or wall mounted items in advance so you can add supports. I know others that installed plywood on their walls just for that.

220 for a car charger.

High bay LEDs but on a dimmer switch.

Outlets all over the place.

 

Agreed... see if you can make some changes to add...
I have one in the 3rd bay of my attached garage and even though I'm not constantly under it, it is sooooo nice to have.

 

It's never big enough. Add 30% to your build.

 

this!

 

I put outlets every 6', alternating circuits along the way. I do wish I'd done 20 amp circuits instead of 15, but it works. I duplexed the plugs at my workbench. I should have put some outlets along the top of the wall, on a switch, for light up decorations like neon signs. No reason why a working shop shouldn't have some bling in it too...

Outlet boxes are all 4' in case I leaned sheets of plywood or something along the wall.

I wound up with 11' 3" ceilings, more by chance than by calculated effort. 12' would have been better for the lift. Speaking of lifts (mine's a movable 4 post), don't put ceiling lights directly above where you're likely to have your lift.

 

As been mentioned already, add 30%, floor heating or a heat/ac pump setup. My garage that is now about 5 years old is 32' x 48' x 12' high inside for a 4 post lift. All electrical plug are 20 amp with 3 walls have a 220 plugs and for the 1st 2 years it was fine and then came this past summer when I realized that I should have double the size of it. Fortunately I have plenty of room to build another larger one. The next garage will be 40 x 100 x 12' barn style to make up for the lack of space could have really use that 2nd floor that is missing in the current one.

 

Knee walls.

I tried to save $$ on the foundation and ended up using piers.
Now I have a couple areas where rain seeps through.

 

Great input, thanks all. Am at the planning stage, therefore, I currently have a blank slate to work with. Size-wise, based on required setbacks, my goal is 30-35 x 70-75.

 

Here's a similar post https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...garage-169670/

 

The formula is W x L x D (in feet)/27 = cubic yards. Ex. 30' x 70' x 0.5' = 1050'/27' = 39 cubic yards of concrete @ ~$150/cu. yd. = $5800 (There are 27 cu. ft./cu. yd.)

You setting forms & conducting the pour or shopping it out?

 

I also have radiant floor heat, 2" of foam insulation under and on sides of 5" slab, Wirsbo pex zip tied to mesh 16'' centers, I have 2 zones heating 1200 sqf, 1 pump and a 40 k water heater, biggest cost is foam and pex tubing. You can solder copper pipe and make a manifold, put some valves in it. I used a 2 gal reservoir connected to the hot side above WH so non pressurized and keeps the air out, hot out to floor is a T in pressure relief valve side. My system is 15 years old still using OG WH.

 

Whatever size garage you plan on building, triple that and it will still be too small.

 

Also good steel on both sides insulated garage doors, get the ones with the better foam in them, not the styrofoam, use liner metal for interior walls and ceiling, electric in 3/4 conduit on the walls, 4x4 boxes for outlets then you can always add to it if needed

 

Will be using subs for most of the work.

 

Right-on. As a prior GC, you know exactly what you're doing & I recognize this. Enjoyable to be in the planning phase. Good Luck.

 

toilet, sink, and way bigger

 

2 by 6 or 2 by 10 walls and rafters. The more insulation the better.
Green hinges for the garage door and the smallest garage door you can get away with. Lots of heat loss with garage doors even with insulated doors.
Think the best security system you can afford.
12" footers around the perimeter. large stone topped by limestone topped with sand and insulating board.
Lots of rebar and mesh in the slab.

 

That sounds pretty large so plenty of room…until you fill it..hehe

mine is 26x48. Stick build. 2x6 walls( 1 core block with 10’ on top of that for almost 11’ ceilings. I have one 9x12 door on short end favoring long side giving me a 24’ bay. The other end on long side I have 2 9x10 doors for 2 12x25 bays.
i used room above trusses for the first 36 feet giving me a 12x36 storage area. The last 12 foot bay I used scissor trusses and a high lift ceiling hug door with side opener, that makes 1 bay suitable for a lift.
i also coated the floor before moving in and love it, everything just wipes up.
used 4x10 LP outside siding for interior walls so no painting, mudding, taping and you can screw stuff right into it.
while trenching in power, gas, water…add a conduit tube with a couple cat 6 lines for internet. If you want security cameras, good to prewire for those too.
Don’t forget ouside outlets, lighting and an RV 50 amp plugs box

here are a few shots of the build.

https://www.menards.com/main/my-proj...ry/pg-4025.htm

I would have added floor drains and a mini spilt ac for storage area which with Covid I finished for working office/storage.

 

Lots of good advise so far.
My assumption is that you are going to use this garage as a shop and not just to park cars, so most of my comments are based on that.

• Build a dedicated, insulated closet with air intake/exhaust for compressor. This allows for uninterrupted music listening.
• Install PCV pipe in slab and daylight it in an appropriate location to discharge compressor tank condensate water.
• Install wood blocking in ceiling for pull down air hose reel(s).
• Install piping for compressed air outlets throughout shop.
• Install ceiling receptacles and blocking for electric cord reels.
• If you are going to have a sand blasting cabinet, make sure it's away from any area you want to stay clean. I have a vacuum system for mine but dust still finds its way out.
• Rough-n wiring for ceiling HVLS fans. These will move a lot of air without using much power.
• Rough-in wires/cables for TV, stereo, speakers, internet and WI-FI
• Rough-in power and LV wire for overhead door openers.
• Outdoor security lighting.
• Wrap interior walls with metal or T.11 wood siding from floor to 4' high. Drywall seems to always get destroyed
• You mentioned pouring a 6" slab for possibly installing a lift in the future. If you know approximately where that will be located, I would pour a thickened slab or even a footer under the post area. I have a 6" slab in my garage with a 2-post lift and it's starting to crack. Better to be safe than sorry for the little bit of cost it would add to the overall project.
• Floor drains.

 

If you have garage door questions I do have 43+ years in the industry, please ask away! Also a background in insulation, and fireplace installations.
(Garage Door Service of Indiana, Inc., also Indy Insulation and Fireplace. Owner)
I would only consider electric operators built by Chamberlain/Liftmaster, other brands are poor quality and poor, plus expensive, parts availability. Buy their least expensive and lowest HP versions that meets your accessories needs, even a 1/2 hp is a waste of electricity but is as small as they make nowadays and you cannot use half that power (nothing lasts any longer with more hp either). (big commercial doors used 1/3hp motors for decades)
Tim King

 

your in chicago area.check out svi international in dekalb for a hoist.for a garage where space is limited i would go for an in-ground single post hoist.no posts in the way,no moving parts,and you don't need 6 inches of concrete.

 

Lots of great suggestions I concur with. I agree, go big on size now because you will fill it. Taller roof so you can put a lift without concern. If you have any potential concerns about future sale, 16 ft wall height with a 14 ft door that will fit a big trailer or motorhome is a big sales advantage. Lots of insulation, it benefits year-round. I have 16 ft height, and built a mezzanine area over my workbench, welders and toolbox area. Mezzanine has stairs to access and is great for smaller storage items. Lot of nice LED lights on bottom of the mezzanine for great working light, plus big high bay style LED lights in the tall ceiling. One of the best things I did was put a half bath with a wash tub sink. Can clean up before going back in house.

 

As someone who recently had my garage robbed I would recommend industrial warehouse style steel doors. Something with a steel frame. The home depot/ contractor special wood frame doors are too easy to kick in or pry open.


For those that are wondering the Calgary Police (Calgary, Alberta Canada) caught the guy same day and i got all my stuff back. So I am only out a damaged door and a damaged stroller.

I was informed they are going to process the guy and hand off to the crown prosecutor. Which makes me happy. Dude was obviously down and out so him showing up to Kings Bench for his hearing is perhaps unlikely but I am a big believer that these guys eventually either sort out their life or get the jail they deserve.

 

We just finished ours.
OSB on the walls and ceiling
I wanted 12' ceilings but I couldn't because of the town rules so I went with 10'.
6" walls (with R-21) and had R-60 blown in the ceiling.
I put in a poly vapor barrier and taped around all seams, outlets, etc.
3 rows of lights on 3 switches so you can have as much or as little light.
I ran two separate 20 amp circuits around the garage so each box has two separate circuits in them. Then I ran another 15 amp circuit up high on the wall. Turns out I used one to mount a small shelf and place a dehumidifier on it.
We installed two awning windows so you can have the windows open even when it's raining and not worry about any water getting into the garage.
18x9 and 8x9 overhead doors with a row of windows in them so you can have natural light.
I talked to my HVAC guy before finishing the inside and planned where my gas forced air furnace was going to be installed, that way I could have the power, thermostat wires and gas all in place ahead of time.

 

Sounds like a great garage. How bout a pic?

 

Inside or outside?

 

Inside……