Ideas for a new garage?

[Jon_E]

Looking for ideas from the GJ about a future project I am evaluating. I run a maintenance department at a health-care facility in the Northeast US. I am looking to build a new garage in a limited space for the benefit of my grounds-care crew. We do not have a place to park or maintain vehicles during winter months, and it is tough on the equipment and the crew. I am going to be limited to about 40' x 40', due to space available. The garage will be replacing a rather decrepit wood-framed garage which is 20' x 38' with four bays, and has 7' high x 8' wide doors. I want to put in something with either one or two oversize doors, maybe 12' x 12', and a single walk-door. Biggest vehicle likely to go in here would be a small E450-frame bus with wheelchair lift, or an F450-size dump with 10' v-plow. I don't think I need or want a lift.

Other ideas would be a heated (radiant) floor, hot water spigot, floor drains, washable/water resistant walls for wash downs of salt, epoxy floor (salt resistant), sufficient electric service, small air compressor. Not sure what kind of frame I should consider, whether it be steel, wood, metal studs or even block.

Just doing some brainstorming right now, going to get some input from the maintenance staff here, but I need to eventually put together a plan and some specifications for budgeting purposes.

 

[driz]

Well offhand at least one nice high door You know how it is. Sometimes those vehicles have light bars ect that won’t clear the doorframe *@#$. Boy don’t you hate working in the cold, I feel your pain there.
Space for storage ect. How about upstairs. They do make trusses that leave some that leave a fair bit of space for a partial second floor big enough for storage. Then there’s site built rafters that will really give you room above.
In the frozen arctic swamp I know so well Keep the panels up far out of the slop. Pour a short base or lay a couple rows of cinder blocks around the perimeter so the tin and sill stay dry. It also serves to get that doorway up to help your clearances at the samectime[emoji847].