new garage: electrical upgrades + compressed air lines?

[slakwhere]

hey all, just went under contract on a new place with a 3 car garage. it has drywall up and mudded everywhere, but looks like no insulation. the electrical and lighting is woefully inadequate. So i'm considering ripping a 1' horizontal stripe in the wall @ outlet level and adding more double gang boxes before i officially move in. based on posts here it looks like every 4' is plenty. do you see anything wrong with this plan for electrical?

while the walls have big holes in them, i'd also like to plum for compressed air lines. what size line should i run through the walls? copper or will PVC work? or maybe a mixture of PVC lines with copper fixtures? anything wrong with running this right under the outlets for power for the main bits and then adding QR wall ports and perhaps vertical drops for a few more drops closer to the floor? i know they must be slightly angled so i can get drains on ballvalves to remove moisture, but any other tricks i need to know?

anything else you wish you did to your garage before you moved in?

 

[930dreamer]

Do you need to run the lines behind the drywall? If you want to make a change later..... PVC has a bad rep here.

 

[jake26]

I can tell you from reading related posts that GJ posters will suggest keeping the airlines exposed in case of maintenance or leaks. Also, why not use conduit along the walls instead of cutting into drywall?

Personally, I would rip the drywall down from the walls to insulate and install electric.

 

[Steevo]

Take your time to map out where you would like every receptacle location, every light fixture, and every light switch, and then assess whether this is realistic to do with the sheet rock in place.
I think that, for just a run of receptacles at bench height, your idea of cutting out a strip will work, but I think you will actually want some high, some low, some lights in/on the ceiling, some light switches, etc. If they add up to a lot of cutting and repairing of sheet rock all over the walls and ceiling, you'd be better off to remove the current sheet rock, wire and plumb everything you might want (a gas line for a heater?), a utility sink?, etc.
You do not have a location in your profile, so we don't know if it gets cold there, but even in Texas, insulated walls and ceilings are beneficial. going back to bare studs will allow proper wiring, insulating, plumbing, etc. before you re-rock it. Then run your air lines (copper, steel, etc. but no PVC) externally along the walls.

 

[ddawg16]

Welcome Slake....

All the questions you are asking have been asked 'many' times.....

I would suggest doing a search....read all the good and bad....(that way you don't ask a question that will get you flamed)....then come back and ask the finer details.

Just to get you going on that search...

How many Outlets

How High

How many lights

Compressed air lines

Cabinets

Best Floor

Happy searching....

 

[bd8134]

Plan for 240v plus 120v
Maybe plan for ac and heating, ie ceiling propane heater
Cat5/6 is also nice, can be used for cameras, remote thermostat wires, door bell wiring, even ethernet..
Maybe a ceiling fan
Smoke/heat detectors

 

[Will67]

What I did was make a scaled drawing of my garage and then make cut-out shapes of my truck and daily driver and but them on drawing. I then began to fill in the space left with cabinets and shelving welder and other "stationary" tools. After I had populated my garage I began to draw in overhead lighting and electrical outlets.

What I learned was my original layout I had in my head would not work and had to move cabinets to maximize space and storage ability.

 

[KenS]

1. I don't know if you are in a northern climate, but insulation is a real plus if you plan to work in the garage in the winter. At a minimum, have it blown into the ceiling, or better yet, install batts up there.

2. If you decide to take down the drywall, install heavy-duty 20 amp 120-volt outlets every four feet or so around the perimeter of the garage at about 3-feet high, code permitting.

3. Even if you don't currently have a 240-volt air compressor, plan a site for it and run a 240-volt 30-amp-- or even 50 amp-- outlet to that site. Same for a lathe and/or mill, most of which these days even if they are 3-phase can be run off single phase with phase converters.

4. Add at least one 240-volt 50-amp outlet near the front of the garage for a welder. Two outlets-- one at each side of the front of the garage is better. Even with a short extension cord, this will allow you to use welding equipment either indoors or outside.

5. Is the garage well lit? If not, now may be the time to address it.

6. If a lift is in your plans, be sure to wire for it.

7. Like others here, I would not plumb air lines inside the walls. I prefer copper, but I admit today it is pricey. Opinions on PVC, black iron, and some of the new air line kits have been hashed and rehashed here, so a search is your friend.

7. Run Cat5 and phone lines to prospective work areas, same for garage door opener and thermostat wiring.

8. I can do wiring, but hired an electrician to wire my garage and it was well worth.

 

[billsr4]

I ran plugmold on the walls in my garage it has 1 duplex outlet every 12" and you can adapt it over the existing wall outlet.

Mine is made by Hubble and is black plastic.

Ran my air lines in pvc make sure it is rated at 250 psi.

 

[jtbinvalrico]

You just never know where circumstances and your interests may take you.....I'd recommend running metal conduit and air piping outside your walls. Over the long run, I've been able to easily expand my electrical to outlets to every two feet.

It makes future expansions and adaptations so much easier

 

[slakwhere]

wow, thanks for all the responses, guys! i didn't realize my profile wasn't set to email me on response so that was a LOT to go through all at once

sounds like the big keys are:

1) insulation. i'm in salt lake city, utah so it will definitely be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. i don't think it's worth ripping down all the drywall, but perhaps worth blowing some insulation into the walls and DEFINITELY the ceiling/rafters.

2) power. need lots of it, and maybe some 220 drops (tho i can always do those later via the attic)

3) external compressed air lines for ease of install and servicing. this really does make the most sense, it's just way more appealing to my OCD to have them hidden by sheet rock. might have to again split the difference and do main runs in the attic that drop into the walls, but totally exposed will be easier/cheaper/quicker.

4) heating and cooling. still waiting to hear if there is any NG service to the garage. heat and AC will both be near the ceiling so i should be able to feed 240v form the box back up to the rafters and put them wherever is optimal.

5) accessory wiring. totally forgot about garage door openers, speakers, network, thermostat. i don't know that i'll ever have much need for this stuff but now would be the time to plan for it. the house is close enough to the garage (but detatched) that i should be able to get a decent wifi signal out there. if all else fails i guess i can trench some low voltage pvc and run cat5.

i do have a google sketchup of the garage space, and have filled it with all my big toys already (cars and motorcycles), and have sketched in most of the new work benches and where things should live... but the real test is how everything looks once i move it in there

 

[slakwhere]

here are a couple of snapshots from sketchup. it's missing a couple bikes, but that's the general idea. currently NOTHING is in there, it's a totally blank canvas... so any suggestions are 100% welcomed

 

[mhm993]

You do know an angel dies every time someone suggests PVC air lines?

 

[slakwhere]

You do know an angel dies every time someone suggests PVC air lines?

i had no idea, but i have always fancied the little devil girls more than the little angel girls, so i'm not horribly torn up by this news.

 

[buzz4041]

I run air and electrics all exposed in the shop. It not only looks good but it serves for future add on's if I need.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

here are a couple of snapshots from sketchup. it's missing a couple bikes, but that's the general idea. currently NOTHING is in there, it's a totally blank canvas... so any suggestions are 100% welcomed

Nice street triple!

I have two 675's. Best sounds bikes in the world!

-Nigel

 

[Provincial]

My dad ran an air line in his farm shop using 1/2" PVC pipe held with pipe staples (the hook-type nail things) up near the ceiling and about 10 years later it exploded. The loose end thrashed around and took out two 8' flourescent fixtures. What a mess, PVC shrapnel and glass everywhere. It's a good thing no one was around when it happened.

I use metal for air lines. Black iron pipe is preferred, the larger the better, since it cuts down on the frictional losses and provides additional storage "tank" volume.

 

[slakwhere]

Nice street triple!

I have two 675's. Best sounds bikes in the world!

-Nigel

there are 2 675's (1 street bike, 1 race bike) and a speed triple in my garage... along with another 6 or so motorcycles.

3 cyl motors are the best thing ever

 

[jeffmoss26]

buzz, that is a beautiful conduit install!

 

[CARS]

i had no idea, but i have always fancied the little devil girls more than the little angel girls, so i'm not horribly torn up by this news.

You may be tore up by PVC shrapnel though

Seriously though, use copper or black iron. It is not that expensive till you get to the 30 bay shop layout

 

[rburke65]

Buzz4041....that is some real nice conduit runs! You do that or??? Looks great!

 

[slakwhere]

You may be tore up by PVC shrapnel though

Seriously though, use copper or black iron. It is not that expensive till you get to the 30 bay shop layout

i will NOT be using pvc.

 

[buzz4041]

Yep I do electrical and instrumentation for a living. Have bent many miles of conduit, tubing and installed galvanized air lines in my time. I am not a fan of black iron due to the internal rust where I live. Galvanized air line or the copper is the way to go. I have installed GI in plants that I went back to 20 years later and still all fine and they were located right on the coast. Thanks for the kudos guy's.

 

[pro machine Engineering]

in my garage 30 x 40 I have an open loop system of 1 1/2 steel pipe going all the way around the shop and connected back to where the airdryer is plummed in. I have air outlets ever 8 foot all around the shop. and 2 cnc machines plummed in line. When I open the valve to the compressor It fills the line with air and gives you extra volume of air storage. most generally when it fills the pipe the compressor will kick on as it take a good amount of air to fill the loop