What Do You Wish You Had Done Differently?

[mike22grady]

Hey guys,
I'm building a detached 20' x 30' 2-storey garage to replace my old dilapidated garage. Building it bigger would be an obvious one but I am restricted to the same size as the existing building. It will be insulated and heated in the winter, upstairs will be man cave/office. To those who have built garages in the past, what would you change or do you wish you had done differently? Hoping to avoid any regrets once it's all done.

 

[steve308]

Lots and lots of plugs --- 220 a must - put a lift in now -- floor drain if allowed - enough lighting to get a tan - internet - tv - phone - beverage fridge - microwave - lots of locks - alarm - fire extinguishers - security lights - good floor treatment of your choice - light interior colors with washable paint - best equipped toolbox you can afford for whatever you will be doing - compressor outside in a separate room - run all airlines with top notch material - plenty of water / oil filters on those lines - arrange your stairs to the upstairs so they take up as little interior space as possible - shop sink - small hot water tank ------

 

[zmotorsports]

If I would have had the real estate, my number one change would have been to build it larger. Unfortunately that was not possible due to budget as well as acreage.

The only other thing I would have done differently is installed my two-post lift sooner. When I built the shop I poured the floor accordingly for a two-post lift "someday", but I shouldn't have waited so long for that someday to come. After having a lift for coming up on four years now, that should have been closer to the top of the lift, if not THE top of the list.

Mike.

 

[CudaChick1968]

I wish I'd been born rich. It would make everything so much easier.

 

[shortykorte]

I built a 24x32 with 10ft ceiling. What would I do differently.....
Use a prioritized to-do list and stay focused on task at hand.
Get help, hire out build or pop a lot of energy pills
Well planned out electrical and install it from the get go since I've made this mistake twice now.
Move clean room/man cave to attic and include attic storage.
Put garage door on long side of building not gable end.
Wider garage door. Had 8'x8'. Ideally min. 10' x 2 or a single 16'.
On demand hot water heater.
Don't use it for storage until completely built. Then methodically add benches, tools, storage.
Full utilities/telecomm would be nice but not required.

 

[ymurf]

My garage is 24x42x10..I could kick myself in the but now for not making it at least 12' tall. would like to have enough room for a full size lift.

 

[PeterT]

Finish the flooring, before you move in all the stuff. Like Epoxy or some other concrete floor finish.

 

[rubicon01]

Mine came attached to my house, the list of things I added while they were building and checking what was supplied
-enough power to run anything you'd like, sub panel if you don't know where things are going
-concrete thick enough for a 2 post lift.
-gas line and plug for a heater
-I had a hot and cold running water and drain line out to the garage for a sink
-switched plugs for the garage doors.
-cable and phone into the garage
Wishes now that I've been in for a bit
-better storage,planing of the wall space for storage
-more room between the garage doors, and to the wall
-wish I had them install the heater right from the beginning.
-2 switches instead of 1 for the garage doors
-more lights
-floor drain if your allowed to
-epoxy the floor
-paint the walls

If I was to do it all over again, I'd try for more space, but I'd still have the same issues. For me it's the use of storage. I need more of it at a workable height, but still allowing me to use it as a garage to park the vehicles in.Trying to find a spot to put everything out of the way but still in easy reach is getting hard to do, or it's just so far out of my price range.
As well figure out what you want to do in the garage/shop. Parking, hobbies, woodworking, car resto, they all have a different need and use of space. You cant do all of it in the same space.

 

[theoldwizard1]

It is now code in many areas, but I would pour the foundation so that it is 6" above the floor/grade so that the walls are built on a "curb".

Build your walls as tall as possible based on local codes. 10' is good, 12' is better, but you also need to think how it will look compared to you house. 8' garage door, minimum.

If you really want a "man cave", you need a gambrel roof. Consider 15' of upper room and 15' of open space.

 

[Evilunclegrimace]

Radiant floor heat.

 

[larry_g]

Not move a single piece of stuff back into the building until it is fully finished...

lg
no neat sig line

 

[zmotorsports]

Not move a single piece of stuff back into the building until it is fully finished...

lg
no neat sig line

So true and so, so glad I didn't prematurely move in.

When I was nearly complete, insulation, sheetrock, lighting and paint our budget had run out. I figured I needed approx. $5k more to complete but we were tapped out and being somewhat strapped with a young family it may as well have been $50k shy.

I was ready to move my tools in from my parent's farm shop and start earning money to complete the shop. My wife being the wonderful person she is suggested that we borrow the $5k to complete the shop so it was 100% complete before moving a single toolbox or piece of equipment in. At first I was against it because I am not a fan of borrowing and was quite proud of us for saving up for the shop and not borrowing. I conceded that she was correct about if I were to move in and plan on finishing it later, the shop would probably never be completed to my satisfaction. I had two friends who fell subject to that scenario and I didn't want to follow suit.

I completed the shop and within a couple of months I had easily paid off the $5k dollar loan and was very glad the shop was done.

Mike.

 

[RPH]

Gone to medical school.

 

[rburke65]

Going to need 12' plus ceilings for most lifts.

 

[sr71]

A/C for those humid summer months

 

[carsdwl11]

Instead of 12' ceiling I should have went 16'.
A bathroom should have been in the plan since day one.
I wish I would have made my office bigger so that it could be used more like a multi purpose room.
finished and sealed the concrete better.

 

[curtrnev]

I got to watch Nolan Ryan pitch for the Angel's and the Astro's . Wished I would have made the trip to see him pitch for the Ranger's

 

[mr57]

Do not, repeat DO NOT put anything, not even one screwdriver into that garage until the interior is finished the way you want it - wired, insulated, gyprocked, paneled, whatever...If you do not follow this sage advice you will forever have an unfinished garage that takes 10 years to wire and insulate, you will repeatedly lose that 9/16 wrench never to be found again, and you will be putting the motor back into your Bel Air with gloves on......

Don't ask me how I know this.....

Shelves, shelves shelves. No such thing as too much storage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

White metal siding for the ceiling like I did the house garage.

 

[dlcwent]

I wish I'd been born rich. It would make everything so much easier.

You are rich Cuda, you just don't realize it.

 

[roscoe2000]

For me I would have cut my attic storage space by 1/2 with the use of scissor truss. Which would have allow me more ceiling height for a lift.

Since I had my garage built in the late 80's early 90's and if I were to redo the build now. I would also add the rough in for radiant floor heating.

 

[ratdoggy]

I bought a spec house that was being built.
Wish I had attic trusses spec'd for the garage
A larger capacity circuit breaker box
More outlets in the garage too

 

[Axehandle]

I would have 12' walls instead of 10'. More electrical outlets, figure how many you need then double it!!In retrospect I would have added more lighting, although that is relatively easy to correct. Larger doors. I had a 6' overhang porch on back, I should have had it 10' to 12' instead. I see something else everyday, although it sure beats what I had before.

 

[sammer]

Insulated slab!
Even without in-floor heat, I wish I had insulated under the slab.
Concrete floor is a big heat sink!

sam

 

[K588]

Built a 28'×40' with 10.5' ceiling downstairs, full upstairs. Whoever said don't move anything in till the inside is done is spot on. That mistake has drug my build out way longer than it should have, huge, huge pain in the *** putting up drywall,insulation,wiring etc when it's full of ****. I should have gone 32' wide minimum I work on some full size trucks I own and have found 2 14' bays are tight with tools, equipment and shelves of parts on the sides. Likewise should have gone minimum 48' long for pretty much the same reason. Should have done in floor heat, didn't know that much about it then. Should have done minimum 12' ceilings downstairs. Should have run water etc for a bathroom,sink etc. Thought about it but didn't think I really needed it at the time , that's BS. I laid everything out on graph paper and it looked like it would be perfect not so in real life those few extra feet each way would have made a big difference to me. In the end it's world's better than the 24x24 2 car I was in but damn if I only knew what I know now before I started.

 

[Chevy72pu]

Build it BIGGER!!! As in TALLER, DEEPER, LONGER AND WIDER!!

 

[slow]

Gone to medical school.

Ditto, but Orthodontics instead.

on my garage, have the floor professionally done before moving in.

 

[nadogail]

Engaged my brain before opening my mouth.

 

[gayler]

Planned for a lift to begin with. 12 foot ceiling instead of 9 and had the anchor spots planned out for the lift. With in floor heat it will be tricky to do now.

 

[Moose97]

Has anyone said build it bigger? That's my number 1 regret. The other thing is I wish I could have finished everything I wanted to do BEFORE I moved all my stuff in it. I needed the space and didn't really have the money to do all I wanted but it sure would have made life so much easier. I also didn't really know what all I wanted to do so make a good to-do list.

 

[Gerald O]

There are a lot of things that I would like to have done differently but couldn't due to location constraints. So overall I still think I've got the best design I could have come up with for my circumstances.

One mistake comes to mind that I should have done differently. I planned for a 4-post lift, and had the control cuts in the slab placed with that in mind. Later on I started thinking that it would be nice to have a 2-post as well as the 4-post. Unfortunately there is a control joint cut running right through the area where the 2-post columns would bolt to the slab. It looks like this may rule out the 2-post.

 

[mmb617]

As others have mentioned plan for a lift from the start. I didn't do that when we built our 24x36 garage with 8 ft walls because at that time I thought lifts were more than I could ever afford. When I found out they weren't nearly as expensive as I imagined I had to add another 24x16 bay with 12 ft walls. It all worked out as having an extra bay is always good, but it would have been easier to do it all at once.

 

[brownbagg]

i would build at least 12 feet walls, and i put it against the house so i could walk from kitcern, two steps in shop. no more lonely dark walks to the shop, and a different lift than bendpak. and of course bigger, 24x36x10 way too small, maybe 36 x50x12 be nice

 

[LS6 Tommy]

What do I wish I had done differently?
I would have dated my friend's sister. Years after high school he told me she had the hots for me. She was gorgeous then, still gorgeous now and she makes well over $300k/year as a Chinese translator for a BIG financial firm...

Oh wait, you meant in the garage....

Tommy

 

[KDXSR5]

... and a different lift than bendpak ...

What is your reasoning here? Have you had major issues?

 

[firworks]

Buying a house in a neighborhood with a single car garage. What in the world was I thinking...