mgent
Member
So we are in the process of drawings and selecting a builder for an addition to our fairly new home, which we built in 2012/2013... We currently have a small 2-car garage (20x20), and are looking to add a larger 2-car garage, dedicated laundry room, and another bed/bath upstairs as well...
The garage portion is currently drawn to be 20' deep, which is a bit shallow, but we want to be sure it integrates well with the existing house and is easy to pull in/out of... The width is ~24' for the front half and 28' for the back half. The majority of the garage is 12' height, with one beam bringing that down a few inches, which we've designed to run down the center of the lift to it doesn't interfere...
The current plan is to install a Bendpak HD-9 SWX lift, with the RJ-45 jacks, in the new garage, which will give me a place work on my car and store my sports car in the winter while still having available parking spaces... The reason for the double wide is just space, in case we either get another car, or in the meantime we can use it for storage - patio furniture in the winter, kids power wheels, etc... The reason for the taller version is that our cars include a minivan and larger SUV, and since I don't know who will be parking where after the build, I want to be sure they can all be accommodated under the lift...
I'm planning on adding cabinets across the wall with the windows - still doing research on these, but leaning towards Sabre cabinets... The area to the left of the interior door, against the kitchen wall, I'm likely going to install either larger/tall cabinets that match, or heavy shelving for additional storage.
I haven't started looking at lighting yet, but will probably have 4 or 6 total 4-bulb shop lights, as I want lots of lighting as I typically work on the car at night after kids are asleep... I'm also just starting to look into flooring options... I'm familiar with the typical epoxy coatings, but am also looking at polished / decorative concrete as an alternative... I'm not a fan of the racedeck/swisstrax type, and am worried about how slippery high psi tile would be...
The other area I'm still trying to sort out is electrical, air, and vacuum... I know I want lots of electrical outlets, on the walls at mid-height as well as on the ceiling above the corners of the lift... I still need to figure out what sort of air compressor to get, and where to put it. I currently have a little California Air Tools 1.0hp, 5.5gal compressor, which flows 3.1cfm @ 40psi and 2.2cfm @ 90psi... I generally don't use any crazy air tools, and don't plan on doing any painting, but will need it for the lift, and will use it to power basic tools, fill tires, etc... Once I figure out what compressor, assuming my current isn't enough for the lift, then I need to sort out where to put it - I'd like to keep it up and out of the way... From there, I'll plan on 2 or 3 outlets around the garage - one above the lift, one on the wall somewhere near the cabinets, and another likely for a reel hanging between the 2 cars on the lift... Finally, I'll probably install some sort of vacuum system - not sure of the value of fully built in, as it will only be for the garage, but will want a long hose for sure... I've seen them with hoses that retract into the piping, which is slick, but again for a small area likely overkill...
This is my first garage project, so absolutely open to and looking for suggestions / comments / recommendations as I know a lot of folks here have been through or seen a number of garage builds in the past, and looking to learn from your experiences!
The garage portion is currently drawn to be 20' deep, which is a bit shallow, but we want to be sure it integrates well with the existing house and is easy to pull in/out of... The width is ~24' for the front half and 28' for the back half. The majority of the garage is 12' height, with one beam bringing that down a few inches, which we've designed to run down the center of the lift to it doesn't interfere...
The current plan is to install a Bendpak HD-9 SWX lift, with the RJ-45 jacks, in the new garage, which will give me a place work on my car and store my sports car in the winter while still having available parking spaces... The reason for the double wide is just space, in case we either get another car, or in the meantime we can use it for storage - patio furniture in the winter, kids power wheels, etc... The reason for the taller version is that our cars include a minivan and larger SUV, and since I don't know who will be parking where after the build, I want to be sure they can all be accommodated under the lift...
I'm planning on adding cabinets across the wall with the windows - still doing research on these, but leaning towards Sabre cabinets... The area to the left of the interior door, against the kitchen wall, I'm likely going to install either larger/tall cabinets that match, or heavy shelving for additional storage.
I haven't started looking at lighting yet, but will probably have 4 or 6 total 4-bulb shop lights, as I want lots of lighting as I typically work on the car at night after kids are asleep... I'm also just starting to look into flooring options... I'm familiar with the typical epoxy coatings, but am also looking at polished / decorative concrete as an alternative... I'm not a fan of the racedeck/swisstrax type, and am worried about how slippery high psi tile would be...
The other area I'm still trying to sort out is electrical, air, and vacuum... I know I want lots of electrical outlets, on the walls at mid-height as well as on the ceiling above the corners of the lift... I still need to figure out what sort of air compressor to get, and where to put it. I currently have a little California Air Tools 1.0hp, 5.5gal compressor, which flows 3.1cfm @ 40psi and 2.2cfm @ 90psi... I generally don't use any crazy air tools, and don't plan on doing any painting, but will need it for the lift, and will use it to power basic tools, fill tires, etc... Once I figure out what compressor, assuming my current isn't enough for the lift, then I need to sort out where to put it - I'd like to keep it up and out of the way... From there, I'll plan on 2 or 3 outlets around the garage - one above the lift, one on the wall somewhere near the cabinets, and another likely for a reel hanging between the 2 cars on the lift... Finally, I'll probably install some sort of vacuum system - not sure of the value of fully built in, as it will only be for the garage, but will want a long hose for sure... I've seen them with hoses that retract into the piping, which is slick, but again for a small area likely overkill...
This is my first garage project, so absolutely open to and looking for suggestions / comments / recommendations as I know a lot of folks here have been through or seen a number of garage builds in the past, and looking to learn from your experiences!
