like some help with garage plans please.

i'm working my way into a position to build my own shop (just for my personal stuff, not a business), at my house. call me stupid or whatever, but i want a wood framed shop. old wood framed garages and buildings inspire me. when you walk in one you have to wonder what's gone down in here, what all has this place seen since it's been here? what's been created within these walls? did some dude roll a badass hot rod or custom outta here? i love traditional rods and customs, and i feel like if i'm going to build a shop to build them in, it should reflect that. when you walk in you would feel inspired to build. metal buildings are better for the same reasons modern cars are, convenience! old buildings have soul like old cars do. that's why i want to build one that way. now where i want to build my shop is an old house which i plan to tear down. it was built in the early 50's but it's beyond repair, but has some good parts just like an old car would. namely windows, doors, light fixtures, sinks and such. what i'd like to know from y'all is where can i get plans for a shop like what i want to build? i've googled garage plans, retro/vintage everything. very little turns up. found a few neat plans but nothing in the size i'm looking for. 40x40or50 with at least one area tall enough for a lift. my carpentry skills are limited so i don't know if i'm making a big deal outta nothing, but i thought i'd see if anybody here's got any leads or pics of their shop plans i could copy, or just plain pics of cool shops! i'm still in the planning and pricing stage any help is welcome. thanks in advance y'all!

 

Well, there's always a way... I downloaded a free version of a CAD design program for my computer. Its called Delta Cad.
Next, and this is the hard part... Teach yourself to use it! It'll take a goodly amount of dedication
Finally draw that dream shop and submit your blueprints to your local authority.
This is exactly what I did..



This is one of the pages my wife and I worked up



The end product

If I can do this you can do it. I'm no wizard.. Just go for it!

 

You should also check out garagejournal.com

 

Just remember, there is no such thing as too much light or too many outlets.

Adam

 

Oh I like your big red shop, that's big enough to be a mansion in SoCal

 

If you haven't already, get friendly with a good local carpenter, electrician, and plumber. They will be up on any local codes and permiting requirements, invaluable to help jump the hurdles and through the hoops as well as hands on advice. Inspectors and munciple paper pushers tend not to look near as long or hard when they know a local tradesman is involved and keeping an eye on things. If $$$ are an issue maybe you can work out some future space and equipment use in partial exchange, be well worth it.

Ed

 

I don't know what home centers are in your area, but I know Menards (out of Wisconsin) have kiosks in their stores that will price out the materials that you need and I am fairly certain that they will have plans available. I've built three different garages, the biggest was 40 x 45. I am not a professional carpenter, actually a desk jockey for most of my adult life but had some mentors in my youth that helped enhance my skills. The pictures of two of my garages went to another address (divorce). I don't have any digital pictures of the last job, but will look around. This is a good time to suck up to your friends and relatives, especially those that have the skills you don't have. Just a note, the only plans I had were hand drawn on typing paper. All have been built using 2 x 4's on 16 inch centers and I used laminated 2 x 12's over the garage door. If you want to keep it vintage looking, go for a two to three foot overhang, a 8-12 roof pitch and narrow siding. One that I built was next to a 1917 Arts and Crafts type bungalow and by using a matching roof pitch and overhang the garage looked like it was built when the house was built. I got some nice compliments after it was done.

 

huh....a traditional shop is small, dark, dirty, and cold in the winter/hot in the summer. And most hot rods in the old days got built in the driveway or the yard, not a garage.

But yeah, a nice 40x50 shop with a 12' ceiling and good insulation and whatnot would be a good place to work. Mine's only 30x44x10', but it's well insulated, finished walls inside, and pretty comfy. It was also the first building I built (and I had help).

 

Do you have an 84 Lumber nearby? They have plans for garages and other things and can kit the whole works up for you including making up trusses.

If I had a choice when I bought my house, I would have gone for more ceiling height and a different loft arrangement. My garage is 24' x 25' with a 16' door, and plenty of power. The front 12' is open to the rafters and nice to work in.

Bob

 

thanks for the info guys! already kinda been rubbin elbows with some local contractors, and i know a fella i that works at an equipment rental place. he said he could loan me some of the equipment i may need on weekends. AND JEEZUS CHAZ!! THAT PLACE IS BADASS!!! can i move a cot in there? i won't take up much space!

 

if you're not rolling in money, think about making the shop a bit smaller...seems the extra room beyond what you need to work on a car, gets filled up with perpetual projects, junk, crap and other stuff. I actually use about 22' x 30' of mine, or less, for working on a car and storing tools and equipment.

Just make sure you either can control your urge to collect crap, or you have somewhere else to put it.

 

Remember that you CANNOT make the garage too big! Trust me on that one.

 

When my cousion had my Uncle's garage built several years ago he purposly had it made bigger than what the plans were. When they got it done he (Uncle) was out measuring one day and then told him they screwed up and made it too big!! My cousin then told him it was correct. And after that it still didn't have enough room!

Michael

 

COOL! I may not have a traditional car, but its good to know I at least have a traditional shop! But you forgot the spiders the size of cats, and the mandatory wasp nest!

 

I built my own detached garage back in 1993. My lot size forced me to build narrow and long. The buidling is 16x24with 8 foot walls. It is very tight. Built from scratch myself, except I had a concrete guy do the slab.

Just a few things, I would suggest:

Go bigger than 16x24

Definitely go higher than 8 feet for your wall height.

I put outlets every 4 feet at about 4' off the ground on one side of the garage. First outlet is a GFCI and all others wired in series, protected by the first. Benches can go against the wall and reach the outlets easily.

I used 2x4 studs, but would suggest 2x6.

Pay the extra for 1/2 plywood for sheathing and decking. In the long run, OSB is a poor investment.

You can't beat Hardie plank or panels for siding. Harder to work with up front, but much better than real wood siding. Using Hardi panels, allows for the elimination of plywood sheathing altogether.

I am not fond of neon lighting, so I used a lot of cheap Carlon plastic boxes in the rafters with porcelein fixtrues. Only 8 foot walls, so bottom of light bulbs are even with the bottom of rafter to protect tehm from getting hit.

My shop is small, dark, cold in winter, hot in summer (Texas heat), but it is mine.

Good luck.

 

It's like all my hope and dreams wrapped up into stone and pressure treated lumber!

 

Look around for a draftsman that can do buildings . I used one that works on the side, drew up house plans and garage plans cheap, enough to get a permit and for a good carpenter to build from

 

Umm yeah I used to be married!!! He built this thin he calls a Garage and haent seen him since. Holy sh** I wish my house was that big!! NICE!!!

 

I would like to help with your garage project. Its all about planning where you will be working on cars and compressor noise ventilation and where you need power at. I can design you blueprints to TEX SPECS Heck i would even make the journey to build it. Me and my father built many garages for friends. One has a pit like you see at oil change stations. I love doing this type of stuff for car builders.

 

Chaz, how do you keep rain water from flowing into the lower area? It looks like the elevation all heads that way...

 

http://www.bgsplanco.com/

I used this place and it was easy!

 

My shop is 30' x 40' - brick walls on slab floor. Double roof truss with couregated metal roof. Hot in summer and COLD in winter! I didn't build it but we did civilize it a bit. What worked out so well are the work benches we built. About 3.5' deep and 8' long with 4"' x 4" corner legs. 2" x 4" frame. Lower shelf just right to rest your feet when using one of the high metal shop chairs. You can stand or sit to work. Rigged up a Wire Mold brand plug strip along the very front - and that's the handy part. Back board and a 8" top shelf for lamps and stuff. Built four of these things....

 

Here is the company, that I used for plans. I have no intrest in this company, just a good look see of floor plans.
www.behmdesign.net
They have so many to pick from. You can at least so many floor plans to get an idea. I'm having one built, with a stick built roof framing, so I can have my hoist at one end, but still can build a second floor for storage or a place for visitorsto stay over night.

 

thanks tim brown. i looked at behmdesign.net. they had a plan for one there that i liked, but i found one at the bgs plan company i liked way better. thanks guys.

 

Start with your local city building department. If it is like California you will find there are standard requirements for buildings (like studs 16 inch on center, garage door openings 7 feet high, GFI plugs for electrical in garage, etc). These may restrict you slightly but in the long run they will make your life a lot easier. Following the approved standards will usually eliminate needing an engineer to analyze the structure.

Charlie Stephens

 

I am too a carpenter. Where I live We worry how to heat the garage. But the same problems work with trying to cool it . Simple stuff yes 6 inch walls for insulation Light colored siding and roof . What kind of cooling ,can you use a swamp cooler! Yes lots of lights . and Outlets ,220 for compressor and welder , What kind of service box Good luck .

 

Chaz, I am most interested in additional pictures of your shop, in and out. Care to share some more photos of that masterpiece?

 

I was a home builder for 20 plus years, and when you design your shop first look into the cost of the truss rafters. You will find you can build a bigger shop if you stay at 30' wide and go longer on the building. When you go past 30' wide the trusses require larger lumber 2x8 or 2x10 instead of 2x6. Plus there will be more bracing required. Also look into the footing requirements for different size buildings, concrete in not cheap either.

 

Here is what I built in '99. A year and a half of my spare time. Cut the trees here, used a Woodmizer to size the lumber, and a big Senco nail gun to assemble. This took 51 red oak logs. Now I have a pond in the valley we cleared of trees. But working in this barn, surrounded by big timbers, feels good all winter.

 

thanks jalopy jim! that's the kind of info i was looking for! i already know it's got to have a ton of lights, electrical outlets, as well as air outlets, and doors on either end for ventilation/breeze. i've got a rough idea of what the concrete is going to cost, just not the building materials and construction. and i know alot of that depends on what i want to build. i think i've bout got it figured out now. thanks again y'all!