WX4SNO
Active member
Alright, here we go. I've built a few garages for friends and family over the past couple years and after finishing one a couple months ago, I finally decided to start planning for my own! I've seen so many posts on here and other forums, and heard many mention that they wished they would have built bigger. Well I tried to heed that advice, but you can only go so big with so much $$$. I decided on a little bit bigger than average but not so big it would be hard to heat/cool and cost a boatload to construct. So I figured about 30x44 would be a good size garage and I would have room for two vehicles, a side-by-side (SxS) UTV, and it would allow me to get my amateur radio equipment out of the house and into a separate room in the garage.
Here's the plan layout I created on my computer:
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8002/fgWBUy.jpg
We have the second-highest home in the county, and the highest elevation home that is occupied year-round, so we've nicknamed our property The Bergrückzug which is rough German for "mountain retreat." Needless to say, our SxS is a necessity during the winter months, as it is sometimes the only way in-and-out of the property. I wouldn't have it any other way; the wife on the other hand...well. So, I knew right off I wanted a separate access point for SxS so as I wouldn't have to move the other vehicles to get access to it. A 6-ft wide garage door will be sufficient for it and there will be a couple outlets located above the machine to allow me to plug in a trickle charger to keep the battery topped off after each use. For some reason, our Kawasaki drains the battery dead if its not ran every few days...I think it may be from a wire that's shorting out when it rubs against the frame but I'm not sure.
Anyhow, the entire garage will be on a 4-5 inch concrete slab, 6/12 pitch roof overhanging a foot and a half with architectural shingles. Three sides will be covered in Hardie board while the rear wall will be LP Smart Siding. I plan to install two rows of 6-in wide concrete block along the base of the walls for additional height since the walls themselves will only be 8-ft studs. The left side of the garage where the two cars will be parked and where I will be doing most of the work will have scissor trusses running the length of the garage, while the smaller section of the right will be regular common trusses. I plan to install fiberglass insulation and sheetrock on the walls and ceiling as soon as possible after the build.
The right-side of the garage will be 18-ft wide and 26-ft deep. Just last week I went down to Northern Tool and picked up my order of two 7500w shop heaters and a Vogelzang wood stove. The wood stove will be prominent there in the shop, along with a 50-inch TV someday. The 14x9 room will serve as my ham radio shack and will be serviced by one or two 240v plugs and several power outlets for the radios. I have a spare 96" baseboard heater I will throw in there for backup heat. The two wall-mounted heaters I already have too, they are electric and produce 4000w each; one for the shack and one for the "man cave" slash den there.
Our well is located just a few feet from the garage, so I plan on running water to it at some point. Therefore, I decided to create a small room in which to house a second pressure tank that will be connected to our main line running to the house. This will increase our water storage by another 40 or so gallons hopefully. This small room will have 2x6 walls for lots of insulation and a small 2-ft baseboard heater to keep the water from freezing. I found a good deal on a small instant hot water heater that I plan to mount in that room as well to help keep water piping to a minimum in other areas of the garage; the garage's sink will be on the opposite side of the wall. A future compressor will be stored in here as well, along with a couple high-voltage outlets. I plan to install PEX piping inside the garage walls for air lines.
The main garage area will be 26-ft wide and 30-ft deep. Each bay will have separate lighting and separate industrial ceiling fans for cooling. I am going to plumb out the backside of the 2x6 wall for a washer and dryer in case I ever decided I need those. I may also install some cabinets in the back corner and have a small refrigerator I'd like to put out there for drinks. Not many windows in this part of the garage...figured I'd rather have the storage space on the walls. The garage doors will be 9-ft wide, which is about as wide as I can go and still be able to get in and out easy.
I figure a 40 circuit breaker panel will be enough for this project. I am planning on having a disconnect installed to allow me to run things off my generator if there is a power outage. I also plan on putting a disconnect on the outside of the back wall for a future mini-split unit for heating/cooling once I recover from spending...lol
Lots going on, but I welcome any input you all have! Any thoughts or questions or concerns about the layout thus far?
Thanks,
Here's the plan layout I created on my computer:
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8002/fgWBUy.jpg
We have the second-highest home in the county, and the highest elevation home that is occupied year-round, so we've nicknamed our property The Bergrückzug which is rough German for "mountain retreat." Needless to say, our SxS is a necessity during the winter months, as it is sometimes the only way in-and-out of the property. I wouldn't have it any other way; the wife on the other hand...well. So, I knew right off I wanted a separate access point for SxS so as I wouldn't have to move the other vehicles to get access to it. A 6-ft wide garage door will be sufficient for it and there will be a couple outlets located above the machine to allow me to plug in a trickle charger to keep the battery topped off after each use. For some reason, our Kawasaki drains the battery dead if its not ran every few days...I think it may be from a wire that's shorting out when it rubs against the frame but I'm not sure.
Anyhow, the entire garage will be on a 4-5 inch concrete slab, 6/12 pitch roof overhanging a foot and a half with architectural shingles. Three sides will be covered in Hardie board while the rear wall will be LP Smart Siding. I plan to install two rows of 6-in wide concrete block along the base of the walls for additional height since the walls themselves will only be 8-ft studs. The left side of the garage where the two cars will be parked and where I will be doing most of the work will have scissor trusses running the length of the garage, while the smaller section of the right will be regular common trusses. I plan to install fiberglass insulation and sheetrock on the walls and ceiling as soon as possible after the build.
The right-side of the garage will be 18-ft wide and 26-ft deep. Just last week I went down to Northern Tool and picked up my order of two 7500w shop heaters and a Vogelzang wood stove. The wood stove will be prominent there in the shop, along with a 50-inch TV someday. The 14x9 room will serve as my ham radio shack and will be serviced by one or two 240v plugs and several power outlets for the radios. I have a spare 96" baseboard heater I will throw in there for backup heat. The two wall-mounted heaters I already have too, they are electric and produce 4000w each; one for the shack and one for the "man cave" slash den there.
Our well is located just a few feet from the garage, so I plan on running water to it at some point. Therefore, I decided to create a small room in which to house a second pressure tank that will be connected to our main line running to the house. This will increase our water storage by another 40 or so gallons hopefully. This small room will have 2x6 walls for lots of insulation and a small 2-ft baseboard heater to keep the water from freezing. I found a good deal on a small instant hot water heater that I plan to mount in that room as well to help keep water piping to a minimum in other areas of the garage; the garage's sink will be on the opposite side of the wall. A future compressor will be stored in here as well, along with a couple high-voltage outlets. I plan to install PEX piping inside the garage walls for air lines.
The main garage area will be 26-ft wide and 30-ft deep. Each bay will have separate lighting and separate industrial ceiling fans for cooling. I am going to plumb out the backside of the 2x6 wall for a washer and dryer in case I ever decided I need those. I may also install some cabinets in the back corner and have a small refrigerator I'd like to put out there for drinks. Not many windows in this part of the garage...figured I'd rather have the storage space on the walls. The garage doors will be 9-ft wide, which is about as wide as I can go and still be able to get in and out easy.
I figure a 40 circuit breaker panel will be enough for this project. I am planning on having a disconnect installed to allow me to run things off my generator if there is a power outage. I also plan on putting a disconnect on the outside of the back wall for a future mini-split unit for heating/cooling once I recover from spending...lol
Lots going on, but I welcome any input you all have! Any thoughts or questions or concerns about the layout thus far?
Thanks,
Last edited:
