Garage Designs

[sret43]

Ok, let's talk garage designs. I'm not an archetech (can't even spl it) but I'm still going to give it a try. I've attached a simple drawing of the basic floor plan that I want to start with. The design layout is something that will fit in my back yard so moving the garage door is not an option. Any design layout thoughts for the following would be appreciated; compressor piping, workbench ideas, electrical and any thing else.

Steve

[pieter]

This is going to become an interesting thread....

Here are my thoughts, and I've thought about garage design for a long time.
I also draw/design for a living so I've seen lots of good and bad things.

First comes all the questions:
Is this a working garage where you are working on one truck or maybe two trucks?
Do you need to store parts?
Are you parking everyday vehicles in the garage?
Do you know your city easements and setbacks for your property?
Do you need a bathroom/shower? sometimes the other family members do not want greasy people walking into a clean house...
You are in California, so Norm will be able to pipe in on code/permit issues.
Do you need heat/AC? I see you are outside of San Fran

My design thoughts. Set area to work on a truck. You want at least 5' of space to each side of the truck. This allows you to get past open doors etc.
This dimension can vary. This area would be enclosable and you either want built it counters/cabinets to work on, but would prefer everything to be on wheels so you can move them around. If you don't have a 2 or 4 post lift, you don't need extremely high ceilings. Electrical and air plumbed from the ceiling.
This dedicated space, if you wanted to paint, sandblast all your tools and equipment don't get dirty. If you are serious and would be building custom frames and such, you could embed steel into the floor to get a true level surface which you could weld jig's onto (a little intense)...

I'd want a second room for rebuilding things. Sort of a clean room with cabinets and worktables. This would be where the drill press, hand tools, tools and such are stored. Parts cleaner, sink and all the other things.

A third room would house compressor, mechanical equipment, parts. This would be accessed either from outside or internally, maybe both. Double doors to the outside so you could get a cab inside. If you had the space for such items. Compressor will be much happier in it's own space with clean air and you won't hear it kick-on/off as loud all the time either.

if you need heat, I would go radiant poured in with the floor. This way you don't have exposed flames if you happened to be painting. There are other flammable materials besides paint though.

Well, you can add more and I'm sure others will be putting in their 2 cents worth ;o)

Pieter

[Kevin in Ohio]

Pieter covers it REAL well but I have a few things to add, from experience. When running your electrical outlets put in as many as possible. Including 220 volt 60 amps if your planning on welding. Normal outlets are Cheap and easy to do and you never know when/where you will change things around. Saves you work in the future and makes a shop VERY flexible.

On air compressor piping. Don't use PVC. If you do put it in the walls make sure you slope it WITH drip valves or an outlet to get the moisture out. I got lucky and a friend was scrapping a hospital out and I got stainless pipe for mine. That said I would recommend NOT piping your shop. Buy 2 GOOD QUALITY hose reels and mount one centrally where it will reach the whole shop and one by the garage door. That way you can work with one outside. trust me, you'll use it. 2 electric cord reels are handy as well.

Don't skimp on lighting either. High Output Flurescents are my choice. Kevin

T

[pieter]

Pieter covers it REAL well
T

I can't be the only one to give 100% of the advice...
Those items were in chapter 3, the finer details :o)

Pieter

[Kevin Mienke]

My old garage was of similar dimensions and I found it to be a sufficient workspace for rebuilding tractors. Mine was 1.5 story and the upstairs was used primarily for storing parts. I had overhead doors on three sides.

While the dimensions of your drawing are not small, the space will fill up fast. I would definately recommend the extra half story. It could be used to accomodate your compressor and/or any items you don't want to trip over.

[sret43]

Stuff for my garage

I apologize for not getting back to everyone any sooner but I took a 495 mile road trip on my Beemer today. Look at what I found and this is only a very-very small portion of what's out there that I had the pleasure of seeing.
The WC-54 ambulance seemed to be in extremely good condition. The front end is laying on the other side of the vehicle and I have a couple of shots of that as well. I think it's a 1942-45 early production model.
The (what appears to be) W300 has the wrong fenders on it. The hood also says 100, so this might be a front clip replacement and an entire cab mounted on some other type of running gear. But what the heck, it still looks cool.

[pieter]

Thought I would ~bump~ this up and see how your garage efforts were coming along...

Pieter

[Joe Flo]

Steve,

The layout you drew is similar to what I having been thinking about for years. My problem is trying to figure out how to do the roof framing for a roof that overhangs like in the attached picture.

Joe

[rickt4498]

joe flo's garage design

hey joe...great looking building, looks like it's MUSEUM quality !!!

stone work around the bottom really makes it have a striking appearance !

[Joe Flo]

This barn is actually a pumping station in a nearby town. I love the looks of it.

[pieter]

Steve,

The layout you drew is similar to what I having been thinking about for years. My problem is trying to figure out how to do the roof framing for a roof that overhangs like in the attached picture.

Joe

An overhanging roof like that wouldn't be too hard.
It all depends on what options you could live with.
In the case of the original poster, he is working with setbacks and property lines which are going to make the biggest impact.

If you are free and clear, your valley either extends past the walls, or you could have a partially covered patio in the "L" area... Specific dimensions would help determine the best method though...

Pieter

[monkeymissile]

overhead beam trolley and chain hoist

A friend of mine is finishing up a fantastic shop/barn. He installed an overhead trolley system in one bay that runs on two lengths of I-beam with a third length of beam perpendicular and fitted with a chain hoist. It gives him a simple X/Y cross-slide means of lifting anything heavy and moving anywhere in that bay without assistance.
I am definitely putting one in mine (someday).

[Bruce]

Drooling

Still drooling........
My Bank barn has a trolly, but it's nearly 35 feet in the air (and an antique), below the coupola.

[sret43]

Well, I'm still thinking about my garage build. I just found a link today dedicated to garage construction.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php

[Desoto61]

I like the kick out to the side. Gives a nice work space, mine is 20x30 because that's what the building code and my budget could afford, but the kick out or a few extra feet to the side like that would have been great.

I would leave yourself the height for a lift regardless of if you plan on a lift now or not. The extra height left me room for shelving for extra storage of parts and extras, plus how much bigger the space feels. 12' should be about the minimum.

If you do want to add a lift I'd do it off center (front to back). I placed mine forward of the center of the garage. With the 30' length I just pull forward about an extra 5' if I want to use the lift. Otherwise I can park closer to the the garage door and retain the ability to swing the doors wide open and have plenty of room up front.

I second the electrical outlet suggestion. I wired both my garage and my Dad's. We placed them about every 6', ran 20 amp circuits instead of the typical 15 amp, and put them about 4' off the floor so they were much easier to get at. Where I was going to put work benches I moved them high enough be be above the bench top and spaced them even closer. Even with that I have locations where I wish there were more plugs.

I would also second oversizing any 220 runs (at least for wire size). Your welder may only need 20 amps but in the future you may have a bigger welder or want to plug in some other device that pulls more juice. Same with the compressor wiring. I sized mine for the compressor I have and now that I want to upgrade I have to run new wire. You don't have to protect it for that amperage but if you needed more it's as simple as changing out the breaker.

Oh, and don't forget exterior plugs, and not just beside the garage door. Easy to put in and always nice to have just in case. I put one on the two sides that aren't up against the property line.

The two other modifications I wish I had made is to go with a taller garage door and at least frame out a few more window openings. My garage door is standard height and it's a tight fit for some trucks. An extra panel would have left me with more flexability, especially considering the cieling height I have. I didn't have the budget to put in a bunch of windows initially, and don't have a ton of open wall space open now to put them into, but I want to add a wall mounted heat/ac unit and now would have to frame out a new opening which would have cost little to nothing to have framed during construction and just boarded over.