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Starting plans for new house. Attached, will be, while not my dream garage, should be a pretty nice space for most car guys. The largest footprint the builder sees feasible is 22' x 40' x 12'. So I need advice on hoists, floor thickness, power, gas/heat, lighting, and things I haven't even thought of. Great information hitting the search button, but would like to get a fresh perspective. Thank you very much, for you input, appreciate your time!
Starting plans for new house. Attached, will be, while not my dream garage, should be a pretty nice space for most car guys. The largest footprint the builder sees feasible is 22' x 40' x 12'. So I need advice on hoists, floor thickness, power, gas/heat, lighting, and things I haven't even thought of. Great information hitting the search button, but would like to get a fresh perspective. Thank you very much, for you input, appreciate your time!
I don't know you limitations or budget but if there are none I would build it two story for additional storage, plumb it for a bathroom with shower (clean up in the garage rather than tracking through the house, (happy wife happy life) floor drain for clean up, heat and A/C, plumb the walls for air lines. you will want a 12' high clear ceiling and a side mounted garage door opener so it is not in the way of the hoist.
Not dream car garage stuff but practical stuff for any garage that will see some wrenching:
A few strategically located receptacles in the ceiling for drop lights, etc. Place wall receptacles up a above work bench height.
LED bulb tube fixtures
Pay a lot of attention to an under-slab moisture barrier to keep humidity and sweating down. (especially if planning an epoxy floor)
Insulate every where (amazing to me builders still don't insulate garages around here a lot of the time)
A full 4 inch thick reinforced slab (at least wire) is usually good for most anything including a 4-post lift. If planning a two post lift you may need to go thicker.
If planning epoxy floor or polished floor finish - have it done during the end of the build - tougher to find time to do later and to empty out the garage for a week or so.
Good quality urethane-insulated door with high rise track.
JohnZ published a list of pointers for building what I would call a dream car garage years ago. You can probably search the archives for it.
Last edited by DansYellow66; 03-09-2019 at 07:34 AM.
Radiant Floor Heat, no fear of sparks causing an explosion. Windows on the North side so it doesn't feel cramped in and won't fill the shop with hot sun in the summer.
A/C and or a dehumidifier work great - depends where you live..
I would try to go wider. With 2 cars in there and with both doors open it's tight. Also stuff tends to get stacked up along the walls making getting in on both sides harder. I went with 28 ft wide and wished I had gone with 30ft...
funny just read the post on the ford gt site, you and I must each own a c-2 and a ford gt!!! We use Rotary lifts with the overhead bar as they are the highest quality and allow the arms to slide under a ford gt with ease.
garage floor with rebar reinforcement and deeper where the lift towers will be
240 volts for a compressor, and pipe the compressor for several outlets around the garage, especially near the door for filling tires and blowing out interiors when cleaning outside
make the garage deep enough to park two cars behind each other as well as PLENTY of clearance for a built in work bench/cabinet arrrangement
gas heat and air conditioning and with the air conditioning make sure that there is a dehumidifier attached
Heavy led lighting and maybe if you are displaying a separate set of highlighting light fixtures
side door for exit entry without having to lift the doors
a good sink with hot and cold water that big
maybe drains in the floor if you want to wash a car indoors especially in the winter
A good closet built into the cabinet/bench/counter top area
a place under the benches for the compressor (if not outside) and a good place for your tool chest so it too looks built in
Framed Ford GT and C-2 corvette posters to hang!!!
maybe black and white checkerboard real tile (race deck is too hard to clean and gets dirt under it too easily)
a place for your c-2 hardtop roll around
an overhang just outside the garage doors with lighting
more than a normal number of electrical outlets around the room
plumb for high quality built in stereo speakers with bluetooth
plumb for cable and a place for a big screen tv
build the cabinet arrangement so that a refrigerator with ice maker lead is present
One thing I did was put 7/16" OSB on the walls before putting on the sheetrock....that gave me a nice thick wall upon which to mount signs, neon lights, etc. And it helps with insulation and noise. I put recessed outlets up about 6' high on walls so I could mount neon signs without having the cords drooping down the wall to an outlet. I also went with a combination of can lights as well as supplemental LED strips. My parking area is 44' by 44'. Garage itself is about 2,400 SF.....has an office, full bath and a storeroom. Detached from the house (which has its own 3 car garage for our daily drivers).
I just built one at our farm in Indiana (40X50X14 with a coach house upstairs) and now I'm building one at our home in the Keys (30 X 40 X 12 with an upstairs also).
I don't know your location. A plastic moisture barrier is a must, 2" foam on top with radiant heat if up north (no air moving = no dust on your cars), A/C, led lights, bath room, air lines in the walls, a floor drain, 220V receptacles for welder, compressor and lift
Lou.
Just did this in 2016. Assuming you are limited to the dimensions you state, here are two things you absolutely want to do, and I cannot overstress it. Hold your nose and do it:
1. Radiant heat under slab which includes an insulation blanket. A little wall hung boiler will heat that and your domestic hot water.
2. High quality epoxy floor
You will not regret either. You will thank yourself many times over. I do.
I like the idea of incorporating man cave features into the garage. As far as a lift, you may want to consider one with wheels that you can move when not loaded.
funny just read the post on the ford gt site, you and I must each own a c-2 and a ford gt!!! We use Rotary lifts with the overhead bar as they are the highest quality and allow the arms to slide under a ford gt with ease.
garage floor with rebar reinforcement and deeper where the lift towers will be
240 volts for a compressor, and pipe the compressor for several outlets around the garage, especially near the door for filling tires and blowing out interiors when cleaning outside
make the garage deep enough to park two cars behind each other as well as PLENTY of clearance for a built in work bench/cabinet arrrangement
gas heat and air conditioning and with the air conditioning make sure that there is a dehumidifier attached
Heavy led lighting and maybe if you are displaying a separate set of highlighting light fixtures
side door for exit entry without having to lift the doors
a good sink with hot and cold water that big
maybe drains in the floor if you want to wash a car indoors especially in the winter
A good closet built into the cabinet/bench/counter top area
a place under the benches for the compressor (if not outside) and a good place for your tool chest so it too looks built in
Framed Ford GT and C-2 corvette posters to hang!!!
maybe black and white checkerboard real tile (race deck is too hard to clean and gets dirt under it too easily)
a place for your c-2 hardtop roll around
an overhang just outside the garage doors with lighting
more than a normal number of electrical outlets around the room
plumb for high quality built in stereo speakers with bluetooth
plumb for cable and a place for a big screen tv
build the cabinet arrangement so that a refrigerator with ice maker lead is present
You got me dr914. I have a 993 too! Looks like we have the same taste. Lol PM sent.
Not dream car garage stuff but practical stuff for any garage that will see some wrenching:
A few strategically located receptacles in the ceiling for drop lights, etc. Place wall receptacles up a above work bench height.
LED bulb tube fixtures
Pay a lot of attention to an under-slab moisture barrier to keep humidity and sweating down. (especially if planning an epoxy floor)
Insulate every where (amazing to me builders still don't insulate garages around here a lot of the time)
A full 4 inch thick reinforced slab (at least wire) is usually good for most anything including a 4-post lift. If planning a two post lift you may need to go thicker.
If planning epoxy floor or polished floor finish - have it done during the end of the build - tougher to find time to do later and to empty out the garage for a week or so.
Good quality urethane-insulated door with high rise track.
JohnZ published a list of pointers for building what I would call a dream car garage years ago. You can probably search the archives for it.
I believe most two post lifts require at least a 6" slab.
Place electric outlets at 4' from the floor and 4' between them. Alternate the outlets on different circuit breakers.
Try and have a small shed for the air compressor (no noise in the shop) with vents for heat dispersal and a small heating device right on the compressor for the winter.
I have a carpet on my floor, I never have to use a creeper. Get an old take out commercial carpet from a carpet store (that they are going to throw out)
I use an wet and dry vacuum for oil spills (with Dawn dish detergent) and an old vacuum for the dirt.
It makes a tremendous difference in the sound level and comfort.
Use 5/8 firecode sheetrock on the walls and ceiling. Sure you have insurance but why spend months waiting for the contractor to rebuild your toy box?
That could cause "accidents" to happen in your bed room and then you will never be able to buy a second Corvette .
Two floor water drains WITH clean out sumps. You will be washing cars during inclement weather and with the new garage washing the floor more often. The sumps will trap dirt, sand etc. and will prevent clogging of drain lines.
1. Insist on 10 mil plastic underneath and watch them place it down. If I had not watched, and stopped production, it would not have happened. Even in writing. Site foreman said ‘that’s not how we do it’. I did win.
2. Spray foam insulation. Xpensive, but totally amazing.
3. Bonus suggestion. Built 28x42x12 for the shop, lined the walls floor to ceiling with 3/4” plywood. Cost more, but I Mount whatever I want wherever I want in.
In that space I have a 4 post lift (on wheels but have never felt the need to move), lots of storage and counters. I can pull a car apart and rebuild it while still pulling cars in and out of the lift for maintenance. I got 54x42 cold storage beside that for warehousing parts. I relied heavily on garagejournal.com for advice. Only failed me on heating.
03-08-2019, 09:00 PM
New Garage build, please advise.
