New Build - What would you do differently

[Biggie's]

Little background ... Long term lurker, infrequent poster

Im closing on new land shortly and can build a modest home and separate shop in the next few years.

What would you do differently, if you were starting a new build?
What "I wish I had know this earlier" moments did you have?
Has your garage/shop exceeded or lessened your pursuit of happiness?
And anything else to add?

 

[T_R]

I would have made the wall height 12 feet and added a man door on the back.

 

[yeldogt]

Have built a few and bought places with outbuildings .... my #1 complaint is windows. If you are building a one story A Frame type building consider building 10' walls and adding a dormer .. wide stationary windows high on the wall. The additional cost is minimal and the results worth the small extra cost. Most amateur designed building throw one or two large windows on each side ....a garage door and a man door. The windows mess up all the wall space ... I never use the man door by the garage doors .. and the light at ground level is bad if you do work in the day. You don't need lots of windows.

I have also never been in a location where design was not very important in the overall value of the property -- so the above can be achieved is a proper way.

 

[Jackfre]

Yeldogt, I agree that windows to many windows can cut the space up. I do recommend northern windows as they bring in good light for bench work. Aside from that, receptacles in the floor and ceiling. I am going to go back and add a couple ceiling receptacles with reinforcement that I can hang along the ceiling and drop when I want them. Also, I put in some "pull points" in the floor. I used the trailer receiver hitch material with the reinforcing collar on them set flush with floor level. I put one in the garage bay and made a square of four others on the shop side. They have been really handy.

 

[sixty4]

Little background ... Long term lurker, infrequent poster

Im closing on new land shortly and can build a modest home and separate shop in the next few years.

What would you do differently, if you were starting a new build?
What "I wish I had know this earlier" moments did you have?
Has your garage/shop exceeded or lessened your pursuit of happiness?
And anything else to add?

A few things I wish I had done.
1) A bathroom and a slop sink, Zoning but the kabosh on that one.
2) More outlets 110/220 (inside and outside). I thought I had more than enough at the time.
3)More free wall space as mentioned above, but added the windows to match the house better.
4) A through the wall fan for when I weld to remove the smoke, but have worked around that.
I spend a ton of time working on my cars and projects so I can now look back and say it was well worth it. My contractor was a great guy and we hit a few snags when digging the footings (rock everywhere), so we went a little over budget.

 

[wcp0611]

On my 40x60 shop, I wish I had put the electrical panel in the center and not at one corner. That would've saved me time and money on running wires to all other parts of the shop. Also, the difference between a steel prebuilt and a wooden pole barn isn't huge. I would've gone with the prebuilt in hindsight.

 

[finn]

More windows. High on the North and East side, low on the South to let the sun provide passive heat in the long winter.

White steel for the entire ceiling.

Move it closer to the lot line, and place the doors on the gable ends rather than the eave side to eliminate the snow pile in front of the garage door when the roof sheds.

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

Bigger!

 

[RVDan]

I'd start with more money.

 

[kwb]

Size - I was in my 20's when I built thinking that 1500sf was good for a lifetime. I didn't own a full sized table saw or really any "real" shop equipment. Now almost 20yrs later I have tooled up and use a lot of space just on tooling and material storage.

Site - I should have put it closer to the house and made it a visual block to the neighbors and increased privacy of my house.

Interior - I should have sheetrocked the lid before moving in. Don't mind not having the walls as stud cavity but the lighting benefit of the lid would be nice.

 

[-Brent-]

I recently went through a year of transforming my space and a big portion of that effort was thinking about how to best utilize my space in a way that I could negate some bad habits. It's the bad habits (e.g., messiness, disorganization, not finishing projects, leaving stuff around or not putting things back or where they belong, etc.) that will overtake your space. My space is small but even if I had 10 times the square footage, I'd still go about planning the same way.

All that said, be real about the type of person you are. For me, I was tired of things not having a place to work. The garage had a couple pathways because the garage's purpose was to store stuff (rather than be a work space, which is what I wanted it to be) and it didn't even do that well. I had little organization and too much stuff.

So, come up with a plan and be thoroughly critical of said ideas/plan. Continue to test it in your head and flush out issues. Give yourself room to grow; whether it be the ability to add more light or circuits or actual space that's empty where for room to swap out to a larger piece of equipment, or toolbox, or workbench, etc.

 

[dcguillory]

Lots of good advice here. My shop basic construction is done (40 x 40 x 16) and already I have things I wish I did different. The biggest thing is ventilation. I knew I didn't want windows but I didn't think about how fast the air would get stale or fumed up. I am going to put a powerful vent fan at one gable end and a remote controlled vent at the other. I cant keep the roll up door open because this is horse country and the flies would make me crazy.

 

[Ggg]

I wish my overhead doors were 14' wide minimum for ease of backing semi trailers in, I went with 12' wide. I wish my walls were 16' tall to give apporiate ceiling height for a loft.
I'm installing hydronic floor heat. It is stupid expensive up front. At 50 yrs old I will not live long enough to recoup the initial costs.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I would have added a drain pipe for my 2 cubic foot catch basin (equipped with grate) but didn't have a chance as we poured the slab Nov. 3rd which is unheard of where I live. Did manage to place 2 2" conduits for power and data. Should have brought these up in the slab inside the building instead of on the outside. Did manage to fill the data conduit with a 12 strand fibre, 4 pr. BSW for voice, Coax and Cat 6 cable all good for direct burial as there was a trench involved for service from the house. I know that this is overkill but I had the product laying around anyways. Should have extended the conduit all the way to the house but time was a constraint. Also should have mounted lug rings in the slab as well. But my time was spent insulating and tubing for infloor heat. We actually had trouble having gravel hauled in as many of the suppliers had already put their toys away for the year and were taking a break before the snow removing business kicked in.
Hope this helps.

 

[Jeff May]

I would have gone a lot bigger, 12' ceilings, a really good heating & cooling system, did I mention BIGGER??? LOL..

 

[matt_i]

I have a few 20/20 hindsights...would go 50% bigger if I could have the space without having the attachment get so large it messes up the backyard.

I would have excavated and poured my footing in one concentrated week of work. Instead I got massive repeated rainfall which added 6-8 weeks of scraping mud out of the trenches.

I would have made the overhead door 10' wide instead of 9'. Not a deal killer but would be easier to get trailers in and out with more clearance.

I would have insulated under the slab.

But everything else has gone very well, so its hard for me to complain.

 

[A**holes Garage]

I'd start with more money.

 

[yeldogt]

Another. I like to have a step out of the door and little grade up at the apron to the main garage door. I also don't like the apron to be flat with the slab of the garage floor. I always have the slab up 1.5 inches and set back so the door closes on the apron .. this puts the slab behind the door. We get wind and rain ..leaves ... this keeps it all outside. Some people like to work out in the driveway and the lip would be a pain for large rolling cabinets etc .. I don't work this way and rolling a jack occasionally is no problem.

Lots of things can be fixed .... getting the basic building correct is very important. I find people end up installing outlets all over the place and forget to put one by the doors.

 

[klassenl]

I agree on the 10' wide garage doors instead of 9'. The other thing is air. Have compressed air at multiple points. If you work in the alley have an air line run to the exterior of the garage. If you have work benches that aren't pushed against the wall bring air up through the floor. Don't short yourself on power, plugs or lights.

 

[PhantomEB]

I'd do exactly what I have done but one stall wider, extra deeper for more workable room in front of the truck and only taller if I have a hoist.

I think if we move to an acreage.... it will be a 32 wide, 40' deep 10 foot tall triple car garage with one 9x9 and a 16x9 door. This would allow me park all vehicles inside, even the wife's ride as well all toys. Compressor and garden tools go outside in an insulated shed that i would vent shop heat out to in the winter.

 

[lakeroadster]

I would have picked a different contractor. I chose a big name barn manufacturer, Lester Buildings. I assumed that all their erectors were great quality, since I had bought a Lester barn back in the 1990's and the crew was outstanding. That was an error on me... Mistake... huge mistake.

The contractor who built my barn had no employees, and the guys he used on my barn had never built a barn... they showed up to the job site and didn't even have a tool belt. The contractor had his tool trailer stolen a few weeks before my barn materials arrived. So we ended up using a bunch of my tools and ladders.

So do some research on the contractor and his crew. If they aren't experienced, look for another.

Hope this helps some folks.

 

[Bruce Amacker]

Partition off your work space(s) so you can heat/cool it separately to save money. Mine is currently set up this way and it saves a ton on utilities. I have two work spaces with heat and A/C as well as several unheated storage areas, it's the way to go.......

 

[kentenn]

Put lights on two or more circuits so you can switch off portions if you don't need them. Make sure your concrete guy slopes the pad correctly. Make your overhang deep enough. Put lights in attic area. Get garage door openers with motion operated lights (really nice when your hands are full). You never can have enough lights....

 

[Biggie's]

Thanks to the replies. I honestly can say I hadn't thought of 3/4 of the suggestions. Looking forward to building in the next year or two.

 

[JMartel]

Haven't started the build yet as I'm in the permitting stages, but:

2-gang outlets wherever you want the outlets. Run the left side on one circuit, and the right side on another. Then you aren't overloading a circuit with multiple tools at the same time.

Insulate and put in pex for radiant if you think it might be a possibility at any point in the future. Can't add it later.

In addition to multiple circuits for overhead lights, put a few small lights in controlled by motion sensor. If you are just grabbing a tool or something and not staying inside, you don't need to fire up a whole bank of lights.

Floor pots for chaining things down, pulling equipment into the garage, etc.

 

[jetnow1]

Haven't started the build yet as I'm in the permitting stages, but:

2-gang outlets wherever you want the outlets. Run the left side on one circuit, and the right side on another. Then you aren't overloading a circuit with multiple tools at the same time.

Insulate and put in pex for radiant if you think it might be a possibility at any point in the future. Can't add it later.

In addition to multiple circuits for overhead lights, put a few small lights in controlled by motion sensor. If you are just grabbing a tool or something and not staying inside, you don't need to fire up a whole bank of lights.

Floor pots for chaining things down, pulling equipment into the garage, etc.

I would suggest alternating the outlets rather than left side/right side. Might
also consider emergency lights, not expensive to put in when the walls are open and if you loose lights when working may save you from an injury.

 

[acelottski]

I have a few 20/20 hindsights...would go 50% bigger if I could have the space without having the attachment get so large it messes up the backyard.

I would have excavated and poured my footing in one concentrated week of work. Instead I got massive repeated rainfall which added 6-8 weeks of scraping mud out of the trenches.

I would have made the overhead door 10' wide instead of 9'. Not a deal killer but would be easier to get trailers in and out with more clearance.

I would have insulated under the slab.

But everything else has gone very well, so its hard for me to complain.

You would have insulated under the slab? I have an old pool liner I'm going to put put down as a vapor barrier before they pour the concrete. Is that what you mean?

 

[jives]

Plan and communicate with the builder. I did, but my own oversight left our 10' wide porch at 8' because I assumed I remembered the plan and told the builder when he arrived on the site.

Most all of my other plans were spot on. . . lots of drawings, measuring, laying out on the driveway to see how the cars would fit. Got the biggest I could afford, but the made sure it was big enough to fit a basketball hoop, fit the cars, etc. The 10 x 10 carriage style garage doors look good on the 14' sidewalls, my LOTS of windows also look good and allow in a lot of light and ventilation (the window thing is HIGHLY dependent on the function of your garage. Our garage (pole barn), though separate from the house, fits in the house/yard design. It has a nice roof line, cupola, large overhangs. . .looks like a cool barn, and the windows help).