Garage/Shop Design - Any Input?

[CurlyDave]

I have a 15' ceiling in mine, and it is not too much. My doors are 10' high x 9' wide, and I have already wished for 10' wide. Not necessary, but if you are building new, something to consider. Think about 12 foot high doors. After I built mine, Kubota come out with the M59, and if I ever win the lottery, this puppy will not fit in my 10' door...

Eddie suggested a sink, and I agree. I will even take it two steps further. I have washer & drier hookups in mine, and when we upgraded DW's laundry, the old units went right in my shop. I never have to put a load of greasy rags & coveralls in DW's laundry facility, which is a wonderful thing. The other thing to think about is a full bath. The reasons are two:

A quick potty trip will not mean greasing the inside of the house, and

Taking a shower in the shop at the end of the day, will keep down the grease/dirt/chemicals brought into the house.

Plus, with your weather, I bet a trip from the shop to the house in mid-winter is going to be a mighty journey. Even more reason to be as self-contained as possible.

Something inexpensive which is very handy is hot water outside, as well as cold. Get one of the hot/cold laundry faucets where you can screw a hose on the outlet.

 

[firemanpat2910]

beer fridge, sink, wood burning stove, air lines in the walls, compressor outside under a lean to, electric outlets every where, outside hookup for air- water and electric, electic outlets in ceiling with automatic reels with plugs and drop light. plug for welder next to roll up door. just a few ideas.

 

[ray66v]

I spent a lot of time considering the same configuration. Here's what I built: 30'x40' with attic trusses. Does not increase the price a lot, and gives you another 700-800 sq feet of storage with a 7' ceiling up stairs. First floor ceiling is 9'. The work shop has a full bathroom, and is divided from the garage area so they can be heated or not, separately, depending on what I am working on. The stairs are aligned with the door, and 44" wide, so I an carry things like a table up stairs, for the winter, with no trouble.

I found the wider over head door is more practical. It leaves big deep corner areas to store things in. If you go wide, spend the money for a steel flitch plate to prevent sag.

Yes, I knew going in, that I wanted a larger building. I did not go bigger for 2 reasons: 1. My utility bills with the big house, are murder here to start with. 2. I had to consider ascetics. The shop is close to the house and would have competed with it for main focal point, if it was any larger. When I finished the building, I stood back and got the exact effect I was looking for. I will eventually build a small garage further back, to house mowing and gardening equipment.

 

[wedge40]

I haven't read EVERY response, but you could always put one door on the end of the building. This would give you plenty of room front and back. When I do mine it will have one large door on the side and one large door on the end.

Wedge

 

[dfkrug]

Women look at kitchens but men drool when they see a garage with a pit.

You got that right!

I designed and built my workshop with a pit and I love it! It is only 3x3x6,
but it allows me to sit on a stool and reach up underneath various vehicles.
I have a piece of 1/4" aluminum diamond plate that slides over it flush with
the surrounding concrete floor. This was a far less expensive solution vs
installing a lift, and it keeps my limited floor space clear. I rarely have to
jack up any car, truck, or tractor anymore.

Another design element no one has mentioned yet is I went with a simple
rafter design with a steel I-beam ridge beam. That supports a trolley and
electric hoist for lifting tasks. The ridge beam extends outside to allow
me hoist things there too, kinda like a hayloft hoist.

 

[alchemysa]

You got that right!

I designed and built my workshop with a pit and I love it! It is only 3x3x6,
but it allows me to sit on a stool an

I like the sound of a shallow pit. Easy to get in and out of. A chair on castors to roll in and out sounds cool too. I really wish I'd built a power point, and perhaps a fluoro light, into my pit. Its a nuisance always having to use an extension cord from the wall.

 

[atgreene]

I have been building a 42' x 42' 2 story garage for the last 6 years. It is set on 6x6 poles set on a 14' grid. The ceiling is 12' in the garage area and 10' in the 3rd level. There is an intermediate level in the back over the shop area that is about 8'.

I have put in 2 10' x 10' overhead doors and just ordered a 12' x 12' overhead door for the trucks. I have insulated with the foil faced bubble wrap in the upper areas, while I've been buying r 19 insulation to tighten up the lower garage area.

I poured all the concrete myself. Some is 8" thick with wire, rebar and fiber mesh. With an Oshkosh truck I knew it was best to do overkill in the areas where heavy equipment would be parked.

I ran a water line from the house 6' underground. It is run into a well tile under the staircase, to prevent freezing. I also ran 100 amp service off of the house.

A couple things I'd do different:

More overhang on the eves. I have a saltbox shape and the front has a 12/12 pitch, rear has 5/12. With heavy snow it's nice to get it well away from the building.

I wish I could have had afforded radiant heat in the floor. I bought some of the materials, but realized I could pour all the concrete for what the tubes and insul was going to cost me. It heats ok with a Kerr wood furnace and much better when insulated.

10 x 10 doors are a must. My 3/4 ton just fits with a 8' blade.

I set my rear overhead level so I can set pallets up there with my tractor. It works good, but I would lay it out slightly different.

I would lay the entire thing out on 16' spacing between posts (if you are going posts) to make a little more room. 14 is good until you put stuff against the walls.

If you can go with a frostwall you will be much happier. Water will not effect your sills, you will not get any grief from your insurance company (supposed to have concrete walls up to 2'? for cutting and welding) and you will have a much stronger building that frost will not bother.

I would build a shed on the back just for open storage.

Hope this helps, good luck. Here's a few pics, in no particular order.

 

[dfkrug]

Its a nuisance always having to use an extension cord from the wall.

It is a bit of a nuisance, yes. I thought about it at the time I was forming
everthing up, and I decided not to complicate the pour any more than I
already was . The mechanic's bay (pit) was formed up with OSB and a 6"
gap to the vertical wall of dirt that made up the hole. What a PITA. I did
put a drain pipe underneath the bottom in case I got water in there as I
have a high water table here. So far, dry.

 

[mjncad]

-In Floor Pits: NO Go....I've heard that even commercial shops are having hard times getting insurance unless they have been grandfathered in...even when they do, its WAYY cheaper to just have gotten a lift. With the advent of relatively low cost Bend-Pak type lifts, pits seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. BTW, when was the last time anyone saw a large diameter single cylinder lift in a modern auto repair shop?

-Radiant Heat...I love the idea and had been thinking about it, but I dont plan on heating it 24x7. Everyone is telling me for radiant to work property you really got to just set it and forget it... I was planning on using a Hot Air furnace...keep it just above freezing when not in use (35-40) and crank it up to 60-65 or so when I want to work...I figure for the few hours a night...probably not even every night at that, and the few weekend hours, radiant isnt for me. Instead of heating air that rises with a Modine style unit heater, how about using gas fired radiant heater tubes mounted to the ceiling joists? Heating air is foolish especially if the building is not tight. That is what I'm planning on for the shop area heating.

One thing I'd really like is a Useable attic...Was thinking of making the roof "Cape like" with a Dormer or two so I can get some space up there...

My biggest constraint is that she's already warned me the garage cant be bigger or taller then the house (house is 40x48) cause she doesnt want to make the house "look small" and I can kind of see her point... Face it guys...we might WANT the big garage, but SWMBO ALWAYS gets the last say on buying a place...so bigger closests and pretty paint will add more "Value" to my house then a super shop...

Others have said to add plenty of outlets, air drops, sinks, etc. This is great advice, and I like the washer/dryer idea of CurlyDave's in addition to the bathroom.

 

[Sackett2]

beer fridge, sink, wood burning stove, air lines in the walls, compressor outside under a lean to, electric outlets every where, outside hookup for air- water and electric, electric outlets in ceiling with automatic reels with plugs and drop light. plug for welder next to roll up door. just a few ideas.

LOL
Beer fridge-had it until this summer; its been moved to dads new woodshop
sink: got it 5 gal hot water heater wired to a light switch, if the light is on, the water is heating.
Air Lines in walls--- to much work
compressor outside under a lean to--Yep
electric outlets every where--yep
outside hookup for air- water and electric,yep, yep, yep.
electric outlets in ceiling with automatic reels with plugs and drop light. no reels and drop lights.
plug for welder next to roll up door. Yep

My shop lacks space, built on dads property but am proud of the features we did think of