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Give some thoughts to electrical outlets in the ceilings - I noticed some one above mentioned on for the lift. But drop lights, extension cord reels are other purposes. I just put a ceiling fan in mine so that's another electrical junction box (or two) to consider up there. Kind of nice to circulate air.
I too had a problem with the floor treatment lifting where the tires ran over the coating. Maybe I did not take enough care treating it before application although I did it per directions.
If you have not yet poured the concrete I would just do colored cement.
I too had a problem with the floor treatment lifting where the tires ran over the coating. Maybe I did not take enough care treating it before application although I did it per directions.
If you have not yet poured the concrete I would just do colored cement.
That's the best thing to do. Just have them add dye when to the cement before it's poured. That's what they use to do before epoxy. All the shops I worked in when I was younger had red floors.
I've seen Epoxy floors lift also and then it looks terrible.
I get a lot of questions on heating/cooling/electrical/flooring and insulation in my 2500 sq. ft. attached garage - the Word document attached below summarizes the details.
All good suggestions ... and I'd offer 1 more "luxury" item if you are putting in a lift and have not yet poured the floor ... lay out some 2" PVC conduit under the slab and put 6 or 8 in-floor LED lights all wired to a separate wall switch. Anytime you have a car up on a lift working on it (or cleaning), the up-lights will blow you away! Bill
Last edited by NightshiftHD; 10-18-2018 at 12:40 AM.
You folks have been very helpful as I plan this next move. While my wife seems to be more concerned with planning our house, I on the other hand am very busy trying to figure out the best layout for what will be our last construction project. Because cold weather will soon arrive we plan to break ground in the spring. Again, thanks to all for your suggestions.
The best two recommendations ever made to me that I can pass on to you, budget notwithstanding is radiant heat under the slab and an epoxy floor. I used a Sherwin Williams product, solid color to avoid losing hardware. I put in a sink and 9 4-tube T-8 high output fixtures for use during paint correction. his was 2016, LED lighting may be as good by now. But, I'll say it again, for northern climates the single best thing you can do is radiant heat. The epoxy floor is second. If you have ever laid on your back on a radiant heated floor in the dead of winter you know what I'm talking about.
It's fun to spend some ones money other than my own.
When I built mine 12 years ago I got a price on radiant heat and I didn't think it was worth it the cost and I was right. When you have a a lift you should never have to lay on the ground. I haven't had too in 12 years.
With the money you save on radiant heat you could buy 2 more lifts and have one in each bay.
I did put 2" Dow T@G insulation under the floor though. I don't know if it keeps it warmer but it does keep it dryer. If you have unlimited funds then by all means, go with radiant heat it's awesome.
A bath room with a slop sink is a good idea also. It keeps you from trampling though the house when your all greasy and dirty.
It's fun to spend some ones money other than my own.
When I built mine 12 years ago I got a price on radiant heat and I didn't think it was worth it the cost and I was right. When you have a a lift you should never have to lay on the ground. I haven't had too in 12 years.
With the money you save on radiant heat you could buy 2 more lifts and have one in each bay.
I did put 2" Dow T@G insulation under the floor though. I don't know if it keeps it warmer but it does keep it dryer. If you have unlimited funds then by all means, go with radiant heat it's awesome.
A bath room with a slop sink is a good idea also. It keeps you from trampling though the house when your all greasy and dirty.
You didn't think it was worth it? How would you know what its worth if you don't know what it is like to have it? Lying on the floor is only one benefit, the others are even heat, no dust/air blowing around, and energy efficiency. The boiler runs very little because the concrete slab is a heat sink and holds the heat all day. There are 6 cars and two lifts, sometimes I'm on the ground airing up tires or cleaning bugs from bumpers. And it keeps the car undercarriage dry.
Last, I paid about $20,000 to do a 35' X 40' garage. I could have heated it with a Hot Dog ceiling hung furnace for half that. But it would cost far more to fuel, the heat would remain near the ceiling (unless I put in paddle fans) and would move dust around. I can certainly understand a budget, but if I'm pouring a new slab, even if I can't swing the whole enchilada now, I would at the very least install the under slab insulation system and vapor barrier and put in the tubing for the future.
Before you conclude something is not worth the effort or expense, try it. Radiant heat is very much worth it.
You didn't think it was worth it? How would you know what its worth if you don't know what it is like to have it? Lying on the floor is only one benefit, the others are even heat, no dust/air blowing around, and energy efficiency. The boiler runs very little because the concrete slab is a heat sink and holds the heat all day. There are 6 cars and two lifts, sometimes I'm on the ground airing up tires or cleaning bugs from bumpers. And it keeps the car undercarriage dry.
Last, I paid about $20,000 to do a 35' X 40' garage. I could have heated it with a Hot Dog ceiling hung furnace for half that. But it would cost far more to fuel, the heat would remain near the ceiling (unless I put in paddle fans) and would move dust around. I can certainly understand a budget, but if I'm pouring a new slab, even if I can't swing the whole enchilada now, I would at the very least install the under slab insulation system and vapor barrier and put in the tubing for the future.
Before you conclude something is not worth the effort or expense, try it. Radiant heat is very much worth it.
Dan
No need to take offense. Let me put it another way. It wasn't worth it to me. To each his own.
Like I said, if funds are not an issue then Radiant heat is awesome.
I understand that many people on this website seem to have unlimited funds. I'm not one of them.
I didn't take offense so much as I wanted to disabuse you and anyone else reading this of the notion it isn't worth it. It is worth every penny. I am appreciative that you know about it but cannot swing it. I spent a good part of my adult life unable to swing much.
I put radiant heat in mine when I built it 12 years ago. Now have a love hate relationship with it. Love it for the comfort, silence and cleanliness. Hate it that you have to leave it on all the time. Takes days to bring it up to a comfortable temperature. That would be fine if I was in the shop every day. But I'm not. Sometimes it is weeks between working out there. But I have to keep it at working temperature all the time. Which gets a little expensive as it has an electric heat source. I can't decide in the morning that this will be a shop day and kick the heat up. Takes a couple days to bring it up to a comfortable level.
I live in central Illinois so 0 and below days are common. I like to work in a 60 degree shop so that is what I keep it at all the time. My shop is 1,500 sq ft. and walled off with a separate 500 sq ft. work area and the rest for car storage. The heat is set up with five zones, two for the work area and three for the storage area. I shut the storage area zones off and only heat the work area and there is enough spill over heat to keep the storage area at 45 to 50 degrees.
If I had to work in the shop everyday I would not consider any other heat but the radiant floor system. For periodic work I would go with two mini split systems. This would allow me to rapidly bring the work area temperature up when needed and maintain a minimum temperature all other times. Also get the benefit of A/C in the summer for temperature and humidity control.
My college sweetheart was from Chatham! Nice area.
Your experience has not been mine. I set the T-stat at 64 and within 3 hours it will hit 64, boiler stops but temp keeps rising to about 66 and drifts lower by the end of the day. I find it very cheap to run using a Viesmann 100 wall mounted gas fired boiler. Water temp is only 110 degrees.
Are you using an electric boiler? I can see that taking a while to come to temp and be hideously expensive, I'd sooner use propane.
With the correct insulation system you should be able to keep and maintain stable temps easily.
I put radiant heat in mine when I built it 12 years ago. Now have a love hate relationship with it. Love it for the comfort, silence and cleanliness. Hate it that you have to leave it on all the time. Takes days to bring it up to a comfortable temperature. That would be fine if I was in the shop every day. But I'm not. Sometimes it is weeks between working out there. But I have to keep it at working temperature all the time. Which gets a little expensive as it has an electric heat source. I can't decide in the morning that this will be a shop day and kick the heat up. Takes a couple days to bring it up to a comfortable level.
I live in central Illinois so 0 and below days are common. I like to work in a 60 degree shop so that is what I keep it at all the time. My shop is 1,500 sq ft. and walled off with a separate 500 sq ft. work area and the rest for car storage. The heat is set up with five zones, two for the work area and three for the storage area. I shut the storage area zones off and only heat the work area and there is enough spill over heat to keep the storage area at 45 to 50 degrees.
If I had to work in the shop everyday I would not consider any other heat but the radiant floor system. For periodic work I would go with two mini split systems. This would allow me to rapidly bring the work area temperature up when needed and maintain a minimum temperature all other times. Also get the benefit of A/C in the summer for temperature and humidity control.
Mini splits don't work that quickly in temps below 10 degrees. They are great for climates where temps don't go much below freezing. When it gets that cold the air coming out of them is barely warm not hot.
I have the Hot Dog heater hanging from the ceiling but I have natural gas so the expense to keep it heated is very reasonable. I keep the garage at 50 when not in use but it will heat up to 68 in minutes.
I understand it blows dust and dirt around but it's my garage not my house.
I'm a mechanic by trade so home shop is a lot cleaner than my work shop.
Originally Posted by DZAUTO Quote
"when my neighbors replaced the carpet in their houses, then drug the old carpet out to the street to be hauled off, I drug it into the garage and now I have a carpeted garage. Sure nice to walk out there barefoot in the winter time. "
I also have carpet in my toy box.
You can't believe how quiet it makes it.
Also, when kneeling down on a small screw on the floor, you don't cry out in pain!
It's not that much of a problem to take out the wet and dry vac to scrub a spot where you may have spilled oil or antifreeze.
Lying down on a carpet sure beats a creeper under a car.
At my old place I parked my cars on carpet, best for moisture protection and laying on your back. Use a tight weave so you can find the hardware you drop.
Something interesting is happening in my garage on the concrete floor.
I bought one of those big garage floor rubber mats for my work area. After several years, it seems that the mat has polished this area of the concrete very smooth. So smooth it is almost like ice and I have to be very careful not to slip here if the mat is not in place.
Case in point. I was moving things around and I parked my Triumph 750 in this area on it's center stand (525#). When I went to "rock" it off of the stand, the floor was so smooth that I could not rock the bike. It would just slide along the floor remaining on its stand. My wife and I lifted the front and rear taking weight off of it and slid the bike to an area where I could rock it off of the stand.
Also, when I put my extension ladder in place in this area to get into the loft, it will slip out from under me. I have to tie the lowest step to my mill/lathe to keep it from slipping out, which has happened.
I don't have them, but have worked in bays with in-ground mounted lights. They are absolutely excellent for under-car work where you need light, but need both hands and no external light jamming you up. A cheap and excellent upgrade to anybody pouring a slab, IMO.
10-17-2018, 01:20 PM
