Building a garage... need advise

I'm not sure about the size but I can tell you the BEST floor coating system for your shop, when it's that time let me know and I'll give you the info and the right way to do it. Please remember that 96% of floor coatings fail due to surface prep and wrong products for the service you want.

Sam

 

Insurance companies HATE pits, not only are they a falling hazard, they are an explosion hazard.

Besides, a lift is 10 times better than a pit, and probably 5 times cheaper.

 

The mos import part is heat and a bathroom.

 

if your like me you'll be re-arranging your shop every 5 years. you just evolve. if you have to ask what to put in you will have to evolve also. the big stuff is insulate it real good and protect it from fire. think exhaust system, lift, enough electric, radiant heat ( they sell tube heaters that work great if you keep the temp constant), lots of lighting, water, clean areas and dirty areas. research. good luck. tom

 

I only have a 24X24 would have went bigger but have a leach field, underground pipe and a town right of way to contend with. Go with at least 10ft side walls and engineer the truss' so you have loft storage. I put in an attic ladder so I can get to my spare stuff. Mine was built by a team of Amish carpenters in one day, vinyl siding, roofing and aluminum garage doors and insulated windows. i price out stick building annd they were able to do it cheaper. I did spend some money on doing the 6 inch slab. I've been dressing up the garage the last few days with some shelving and signs & such. I put in wainscotting and thich sheet rock on the wall which I insulated. I thought about putting in propane infared heat.

 

Go big!!! I built a 40'X80'X14' with a 15'X80' upstairs built into the trusses. 20 years later I'm still pissed at the zoning board for not letting me build the 50'X100" I requested. Don't get me wrong I'm pleased to have a great place to work and store my "stuff" but every sq.ft. is being used and I find the need for more room.

Frank

 

If you think you might like epoxy on the floor, don't let your cement finisher put curing compound or sealer on it or you'll have to remove it for the epoxy to stick. You may have to sprinkle the floor to get a good cure on the concrete without it, particularly in hot weather. I waited until after my shop was sheetrocked and then used a floor polisher with a scotchbrite pad and lots of water to prep the floor for epoxy. I used one of the water-based epoxies (Rustoleum, I think) and put it on with a roller. It's doing great 3 years later and I've done some major projects on it. Good luck!

 

I know the feeling.
Mine is 40 x 80 x 12 and is full.
Hardly room to move.

I'm a confessed hoarder..

 

mine

 

To say that these codes should apply throughout the country doesn't take into consideration the climate factor.

Shouldn't you be able to build what you want and can afford, versus what
others want you to have at a much higher cost? If you're not creating an eyesore then what does it matter how elaborate it is? Who should care if you're freezing your ass off in your garage? It's yours, isn't it?

Before long they'll be initiating building codes for hot rods! IMHO........ building
codes and permits are just a way for government to get into your life and nibble at your wallet (nibbling no more.......they're taking huge bites).

 

Install all the electrical outlets about five-feet from the floor otherwise they will be buried behind all your crap. Twenty years ago I built a 24'X50' garage with about twenty outlets in it andnow I can only find two of them. I also wish I would have wired a couple outlets on the outside of the garage to light up my vintage gas pumps.
Install at least a 100 amp sub panel so you can have a 220 50 amp welder circuit, 220 compressor circuit.... Plan on eventually installing a lift. I recommend Rotary Lift, we had them at Verizon and they were a quality lift. You can go to their website www.rotarylift.com/ and get the height and concrete thickness requirements. Wire up an outlet in the ceiling above where the lift will go. You might not need a lift for twenty years but eventually you are going to get old and not be able to bench press a transmission back in, TRUST ME!

I sloped the slab on my garage so it would drain towards the front like most tract house garages are in CA, I think that was a mistake, If your going to have a lot of equipment in there, lathes, mills, ect I would make that floor as flat as possible. If your going to be doing front end alignments, checking caster and camber it would help if the floor was level.
The slab in front of my garage slopes quite a bit. If I push a car out I have to worry about it getting away from me, I cannot push it back in by myself. I would slope the slab in front of the garage just enough that the water wont run in the garage and no more.

I made one stall separate from the other three so I could do body work and painting in there with out screwing up the rest of the garage.

I helped frame a 30'X60' garage for the neighbor and I swear it will hold twice as much as my 24'X50' I'm so jealous! I think '30X'60 is the perfect size garage. If you can't afford a big garage right now, design and position the garage you are building so you can add on to it later.

Jerry

 

In New Zealand that is exactly want happens.
We have what is called "The NZ Hobby Car Manual"

What is allowed and what isn't allowed.

You guys in the USA have way more freedom than we do..

Enjoy it while you can...

 

all teh above. I just finished mine.
-big as possible
-place enought concrete in floor in places so you can install a 2 post lift later even if not planning now(draw you floorplan so you know where teh thick part is.
-heated floors...this is absolutely awesome, no heaters, no noise and laying on warm floors in winters is nice..
-I have more lights than most hospitals, you cannot find a dark spot or shadow
-TONs of outlets, i put in 3 phase as well as i have it in my house and my mills and bandsaw are 3 phase
- i have a concrete roof as well as my terrace and part of my lawn are on top of my garage(i'm on teh side of a mountain)....so when making the roof, which is from pre-formed concrete beams, I installed studs through the roof and bolted up a big steel I beam from back of garage to front door with trolley and winch(yes eletric and wireless remote.....now that saves me fom having a big engine lift that sits taking up room most of its life AND it gives a way to get anything out of theback of a truck, be it a motor or 3000lb milling machine...can't do that with your engine lift...
-epoxy on floor....do this before moving anything in shop with clean floor. if new concrete wash it with a murati acid mix to etch it and open up the pores to let the epoxy adhere.
-inslulation under floor and thick walls.
- small sink is nice to wash hands...mine is connected to the house so no bathroom, but personally I wouldn't waste the space, walk to the house or drill a hole in teh wall and hang your wang out....space is too precious...a tiny bathroom takes up more space than a large milling machine...which would you rather have....

 

a 4 post lift was mentioned earlier....useless if you ask me, they take up tons more room than a 2 post and a good 2 post is plenty strong. Why would you want to spend teh effort and money on a 4 post when you cant even change your tires with one?

 

Each to their own.
They make both types and sell both types.
Who's to say one is any better than the other?
We don't know his situation.
I've used a four poster for years with plenty of success.

JM2CW

 

For one thing it will distribute the weight in four places instead of only two, allowing for use of a thinner slab.

 

At first your statement made me laugh a little, then the poignancy sunk in,,,

 

Insulate, insulate, insulate. My metal roof is cooking me to death. My metal walls are cooking me to death. I wish I'd gone with insulated block.

If I insulate now I'll have to cover the whole interior with drywall. Anytype of exposed insulation I can think of now will hold welding soot and exhaust soot.

Without proper insulation you can't dehumidify and condensation rusts everything here in the Bay area of Maryland.

I've got fair ceiling heighth to lift cars but for my big trucks I should have put in a pit.

I also should have put a small office where I can talk on the phone without noise from the air compressor, fan, cars, impact wrenches. It also pays to have a place where soot doesn't get all over your computer and stereo equipment.

Alarm system? Dog pen and dog door into shop for security? Frost proof Yard hydrant and wash pad outside?

Lots of outlets. Welder outlets too.

Doors to open out of public view?

Separate room for painting? That stuff goes everywhere no matter how big your fan.

Cord reels? Hose reels?

Seperate tool room?

Two shitters to keep your buds greasy feet out of the house. One for you and one for your herpes carrying male whore buddies.

Shelves grow in on ya. Plan for extra width.

Don't put your doors, walk in or otherwise on the slope side of the roof. My roof dumped snow six feet up the outside wall this year. I had to do a lot of shoveling to get in the walk through doors. The big garage doors are on the end. I should have put the walk in doors there too.

 

Is that code in Maryland? LMAO

 

Fuck what your concrete guy thinks. Tell him you want. I want a Level floor, more important than having drains. One drain in a corner is enough, squeegeezes work just fine. Hang the electrical plug-ins and air hose connections you will be using for tools from the ceiling.

 

My four post, actually five because it's a 40,000 Lb Bendpak, has a track for an optional sliding jack or sliding drain pan or both. So, you can change tires and do anything a two post will do and more. No crawling under to set the pads like a two post.

 

Just a recap
1. bigger
2. insulation and heat
3. power
4. good floor
5. tall
6. lights

I'd add that if it's big enough for a truck and trailer and you have the access from both side, have it so you can pull through.

With the tall walls, consider exactly how you are going to use that space from 6 feet up. I have a bunch of shelf units.

Have power and air at the front door. Your garage will fill up and you will want to be able to grind, weld and fill tires outside.

 

I had a local company build my back yard shop. It is 24' X 40' with a 10' roll up door on one end and a 8' roll up on the other end. I oriented the building so the prevailing wind blows through the shop. Ths slab is 8" thick, 5000# concrete so it will support a twin post lift. I also had them build it with a truss roof that gives me 12' unobstructed ceiling. It is stick built with 4" X 6" treated posts every 10' that go through the slab and are tied into the rebar, it will withstand sustained 100MPH wind. It cost $26,200.00.

The electricians wired it with multiple outlets on all walls and two 220VAC plugs for my welders and a 220VAC drop for my air compressor. I ran a loop of schedule 40 PVC around the perimeter and dropped a connection every 10' for air tools.

Lighting is 8 large round fixtures with bright white flouresent bulbs.

I have worked in it two years and it is getting smaller.

 

when i bought my house the 3 bay garage (9m by 5.5m) had 2 power points and 2 lights, and it drove me batty, now i have 13 double power points, 2 dual 4' globe fluros in each bay, a painted floor.
I lined the walls with 14mm mdf (can screw/bolt things to it) and lined the ceiling, all insulated and painted white.
I got a wood heater but it tends to get a bit warm and the jumper comes off but it dont snow here in Sydney Aust.
I also have my compressor out the back of the shed under its own cover and can turn it on from inside the shed, gauges, water trap and reg inside, and a 20m retractable airline in the roof so when i am working at a bench the airline comes from behind me instead of off the wall where i am trying to work.
tryed to put pictures in another post and it didn't work, so i hope it does this time.
Oh yeah, if you building, make the doors nice and high, I have to take the split rims and tyres off my wheels to get my Dodge trucks in the shed as the doors are just over 2 metres, and i cant change it.

 

'insert picture' be nice if it worked !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc41/WiseArse/?action=view&current=P4030175.jpg

http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc41/WiseArse/?action=view&current=Image040.jpg

 

If you're out in the countryside, make it a two-story. You can use the 2nd level for (cold) storage of parts, leaving more 1st level space for cars and working space.

Plumb lines to route your air supply around the shop. Sure beats having to string an air hose that may or may not be long enough to reach across, around, over, the stuff you have in your shop.

Some ceiling fans might be a worthwhile addition to help deal with our humid Iowa summers, too.

 

When I built my 30x40 I had a chopped fiberglass/concrete mix poured for the floor. Its far stronger than concrete/rebar and just a little more money without mucking around with adjusting the rebar when you pour. 10 years later with all sorts of things running thru there - forklifts and all, still no cracks anywhere. I learned this from a friend who was tired of repairing his trucking warehouse floors every couple years and went that route. I also put a couple chain pots into the floor so if I need an anchor point to pull off of I can. If the garage is close enough to the house you can dig a trench between them as I did and run a waterline, gas line for heat, a sewer drain and a pvc pipe to carry the telephone and cable tv wires out to the shop. I also ran an air line back to the house should I ever need it in the basement for something.

 

I would suggest two story for the storage. My ceiling is 10' on the first floor. 2' joist in ceiling supports 5/4 decking for second floor. 2"X6" on 24" centers walls give space for insulation batts. Batts covered with 4 mil plastic and peg board. Run 110V outlets about 6' apart and 6' high plumb in two airlines on each wall. Wire 220V outlets on all four walls. Install bathroom with a laundry tub on the outside for washing parts and greasy hands etc. Under stairway is great for air compressor and welder storage. LIGHTS! you can't have too many.
Good Luck
Buffalotrux
Keepin' em inline since '52

 

Put the back wall on with wing nuts!!!

 

Make sure you have one of these .