Got to have a urinal in a garage! I also put a vintage condom (rubber) machine on the back of the bathroom door. Other "creature comforts" include something to keep drinks cold, a bar to serve the drinks on and a way to play some "tunes". Of course you will need a high ceiling, lift, air compressor, plenty of lights and outlets, etc. Have fun with your project! Jim
If you can go two floors , do it as it will give you the most bang for your buck. The only extra cost is wall which is cheap compared to concrete and roofing. Here's a link to my barn/games room. I made my own pool table and table lights. I also made the seats out of axles and tractor seats. These were just an isea that popped up in my head. I love the lights as they don't interfere with your vision like being big heavy rectangular typical lights. Part of the fun is dreaming up cool idea's to make your shop/barn unique and your own. I also have a shop that I do all the messy stuff in. Here's a little video. http://www.youtube.com/sixt8bird
Along with the previously mentioned head with shower and a computer/office area where you can keep the dust out of the computer and have a place to store your reference material he pretty well nailed it. My buddy's shop is fairly nice sized but he has the compressor right there along one wall next to the bench and after a few hours of having listening to the racket when you are using the air it wears a guy out. Along with the fact that that noise tends to carry down the street if you have the shop door open.
Depending on what you are planning on using the walls for, one of the best things I did was to put slatwall on the rear wall so I can put baskets, etc in the slats to keep anything and everything organized as best as possible. Saved me space I would otherwise would have to have for storage of fluids, rags, etc. Good luck!
no climbing required, he had 3 garage doors, 1 of them around back and 1 story below the main part. you just walk down the inside stairs, around the corner and into the pit! nicest home setup i've ever seen!
Not too much from me, just: Paint the walls and ceiling gloss white, it reflects light better. Light fixtures w/o reflectors allow the walls/ceiling to act as reflectors. I did cabinets about 5 foot apart, with shelving in between. Allows items to be constrained by (and in) the cabinets, yet is more flexible. Paint all shelves white, and round off corners. Looks far better, helps eliminate "shelf bite". Outlets in front of the workbench. You don't need to work around cords. Garage doors on a circuit that you can turn off. Just more theftproofing. A motion-detector light allows forays into the garage without burning all the lights. And, in my case, allows me to get in safely, as my ancient door opener kills the light immediately upon closing. No windows, or fog the gl***. Cosmo
I wouldn't go for the epoxy floors...especially if you fabricate with steel. I haven't seen one of those fancy floors stand up yet. I'd go with light grey coloured concrete, keep it light to keep it bright. Don't make the mistake I did with my floors and choose the red top coat, it ****s up all the light in the shop.
I can't claim that one, saw it on a tread here about ingenious ideas or something. I just thought it was such a great space saver, and I happen to have an '89 chevy truck to part out. Sometimes things just work out...
One of the nicest items I have in my Garage is My Gladiatir Fridge. It is a fridge thats made to be in a garage. it has a heater so it doesnt get to cold. Check it out http://www.mysears.com/Gladiator-19-cu-ft-Chillerator-Garage-Refrigerator-reviews It is covered in Diamond plate and looks cool.. Mine is full of beer...LOL
First law of building a garage/shop: You can not build one large enough. I did put receptacles in mine every other stud, put each wall on a separate circuit, painted walls and ceiling white, and put 8 foor lights in a cross pattern to eliminate shadows, and put in twice as many as needed so there would be plenty of light. Goals acheived. I got talked into putting my hard lines in at waist highIf I ever do them over, will put them next to the ceiling and run them at an angle with drops and pet**** style drain every few feet. I figure the more water I can drain off, the better my driers and filters will work. as far as a urinal- great to have one, but a jug and funnel works too. and Fertilizer for the lil woman's flowers(works better than Miracle Grow, and cheaper)
As said don't share air and heat with the house. If the shop/garage is attached to the house I would seal it as well as you can so fumes etc. won't piss off momma. A bathroom is mandatory along with a deep sink. A small office area that can be closed off to keep your computer away from dust and paint overspray. The garage journal is an awesome site. You can learn everything there.
I know it's an old thread, but the reason I like the idea of a shower for the shop, is for safety. With a lift in the shop, especially, there is always the possibility of getting covered in something you need to get off of you in a hurry. Sure, everyone thinks "exploding battery" when a safety shower is brought up, and that's pretty bad, but has anyone gotten doused with any of the modern fuels lately?
As to the floor heat I say nay nay. Main reason is if you want it a little warmer the adjustment time is very slow. I didn't like the operating costs. Just my two cents. As to a shower and urinal? I don't think so. If you have a downstairs shower and bathroom in the house don't sacrifice valuable shop space just for a wiz. Of course that is all relative to how far the house is from your shop.
Don't think the 125 amp will cover it, min of 200 amp think of welders and compressors, may run at the same time.
If you can install an old kitchen sink (saves a lot of domestic friction). Try to have a kettle, tea / coffee making supplies to hand, again this keeps oily handprints out of the house as much as possible. I don't know if a regular supply of hot drinks are as popular elsewhere as they are in the UK. Hot tea or coffee is considered as a garage essential here in the UK.
Just a note here a standard uk garage is very small, my rented lock up is 8'wide and around17' long, so realistically the car gets pushed outside to be worked on.
Yep, the urinal is a great idea, but if you ned to take the kids to the pool, you will wish you had the toilet.
who's leader? not mine , I'm just on his site and I paid for that. As for the power supply , I have 100 amp service and it runs my 220 air compressor, a miller 250X MIG , a Lincoln 175 TIG , 12 8 foot double bulb fixtures and a small electric water heater. never a problem.... but I can't TIG and MIG at the same time , can you?
I posted two "estrogen killing lasers" right by the door from the house. It never fails that as soon as you really get going on a build, the little woman comes in your shop to either ask you to do something or to gripe at ya. With the lasers as soon as she walks in....****
Too big today will be just right by next year and a couple of year after that you'll be looking for ways to put on an addition. Frank
I like the idea of floor heat. You think,with regular heat,that the garage is a good temp. for working until you're near the floor. It's cold down there!
As to the urinal. I saw one the other day where someone used an old oil pan off a SBC, with a drain hose going through the wall to the outside. Kinda liked that idea. And yes, with my woodstove keepin the air temp between 75 and 80, the floor is ****ing freezing!
Keeps your wife and maybe the neighbors happy that you and your buddies aren't running around behind the shop to take a leak too or they aren't trooping in the house to use the bathroom. A beer/beverage fridge is always good but as long as you have a spot for it, it can come when you find one or buy a new one for the house and put the one you have now in the garage. A store room where you can keep the special parts and maybe some tool out of sight. It might also be the place to put the compressor if you don't have a dedicated shed for it outside of the shop. To me the most annoying and tiring thing I can think of in a shop is a compressor hammering away out in the big middle of the shop. When you set the compressor up, set it up with a drain valve at the bottom and a drain line that runs outside. Keeps the mess out of the area the compressor is in and being able to walk into the compressor and turning a ball valve will get it drained a lot more often.
The Jalopy Journal
