The wife and I are specking out our new house. I already have her talked into a new garage with a lift. anything you all have found specifically helpful that I may not think of to build into the original plans of the workshop?? beer fridge?? urinal?? flux capacitor??
Believe it or not, if you have the room, a shower in the bathroom wouldn't be half bad. Keep the wife happy not coming in from the shop covered with who knows what all, quick shower out in the shop......my .02.
Make a small area for a computer that will allow you to have access to the H.A.M.B(internet) -it has got me out of many dead ends- I kept having to run back inside my house to access it,pain in the ass
Our leader Ryan has another site devoted to garages. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ Lots of good info. Lots of build pictures in the gallery.
awesome guys... thanks a lot. I have a bunch of re-planning to do now. Hopefully I can acquire the necessary "allocation of funds from the boss"!
I do like the urinal idea. I told the wife that at the next house I am going to put one in the garage! Just more of a men only area thing. I would plan on a place for the compressor where the sound was reduced for the work area and run air lines in the walls with lots of places to tap in. I would make sure and have outlets wherever I thought I might want to weld, take into account an area to paint. That could just be a bay that is walled off from the rest of the garage and a plan for ventilation. Lots and lots of lights and outlets. Those are the things that I have in mind for the next shop. I'm planning on selling my house soon and the two houses that I have in mind only have a small garage so I've been thinking about what I want in a shop also.
I have already bought the urinal! its a definate! a good friend of mine works at a place that makes them.
Definately put the shower in. Insulate the shop, Epoxy the floors, Need a minimum of 12 ft for the lift. Use 4 ft flourescents not the 8 ft or else the buzzing sound will drive you nuts. Put a 125 amp electrical panel in the shop so you can add as you need to.
hard plumb air lines outlets at 48" off the ground air compressor room as mentioned welder outlet ceiling fan and/or ac - probably an individual unit, don't share air with the house
maybe a wet bar and stripper pole..just joking..A good strong compressor with big breakers to hold it.
yep im on a septic system at my house and when the shop goes in so will the mini septic for my shop......also drain for the wet sanding or just poerwashings
i was doin some residential remodel work for a guy and he showed me his garage which included a lube pit! never seen 1 in a home garage before but a ton easier than installin a lift.
A lube pit gets filthy and slimey and also a pain to climb in and out. A 4 post lift is easy to install. I installed my 15,000 lb 4 post in about 2 hours. I dont have to crawl in a hole and I can store a car under it. My ceiling is only 10 ft high which is minimal. Build big!!! I built a 900 sf shop and then I needed more storage and built a 400 sf two story shed, and then I ended up building a 2500 sf killer barn/ show room/ game room 30 ft high with 2 floors, and I still need more room.
A place to sit and relax. I need to sit down every once in awhile and a place with a chair or an old couch would be nice. A swing and a stereo. Mrs beaner likes to swing and listen to tunes while I work. Well that and talk to me. When we were kids we had a porch swing and I always rolled the car near the porch to work on it. My new garage will have a swing in it.
Tall ceiling would be the first thing to spec. Lube pits will not meet most building codes. Gas fumes like to accumulate down in the pit. Don't buy one of the expensive 'toy' lifts you see in the car mags. Get a professional lift from Bend Pack or someone of that sort. They are pretty affordable.
You should consider 2'X6" wall studs for insulation capacity. I sealed the insulation with 4 mil plastic and use peg board for the interior wall covering. Gives a ton of good storage space.I put in several old tailgates for places to sit and visit. They can fold up and not take up any floor space. Hang with chains like the old trucks. Buffalotrux Keeping 'em inline since '53
Plugs....lotsa plugs, waist height every 5ish feet apart. At least two 220V plugs... We've been house shopping, i am not at the point that I can sink a bunch into a shop just for me, family needs a place to stay too so I set the condition.....three car garage only. Lemme tell you, it's amazing to see the amount of houses I've seen with only one wall socket for a three car garage...
I could have used that advice 3 years ago I just can't get myself to re-buy that much lighting. It also sucks when bulbs are 8 bucks each, as appossed to 6 bucks for a 4-pack of the four footers. I made a seperate room for my compressor, with direct vents to the outside. If the compressor is in the main area you'll find out when you're right in the middle of a bead and it kicks on and scares the shit out of you. If you can work in a shower it's definitely worth it. Small office space is great for computer and allot of things you'd rather not see covered in rage-gold. Beer fridge with a garage sale microwave on top. Hot-pockets keep the world turning
Roll up doors where lift sits, no sectional over top of lift, scissor type trusses over lift area, that way you could get away with 10-11 ft walls.
Ha! Lets not get into that... but I will tell you, a grease/bondo ring around the tube gets you a night on the couch....and a few minutes in the shower....alone
Planning on doing any paint work? Might consider an open face booth.... An open face does not take a whole lot of room, and they are good for evacuating all kinds of stink...
Just reading all this gives me ideas. And I've already learned that no mater how big you make it you will out grow it. I have the urinal just outside the door in the wifes garden.
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