Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT New garage=new beginning

[69charged]

Hello all. I’ve been a long time forum member but have never done a build thread. We are in a new to us house now with an unfinished garage so I thought I would start somewhere!

I grew up working on stuff since I was a little kid. I can remember working on things with my dad as he was a welder/mechanic in the mining industry. So I’ve always been wrenching on something. In our last house it was a cab over style with 8’ ceilings and it was rough. The drywall had gotten soaked at some point and I always wanted to start a build thread of redoing the whole thing how I wanted. But, as time creeps by way too fast, especially with three kids in sports, I never found the time to redo it. This past summer we made a VERY quick decision to try sell our place and buy an acreage. I really didn’t think anyone would want a 90% finished house that we were in. I was wrong. It sold and before we knew it we were moving. We only moved 10 minutes away, and lo and behold, the new place had an attached 28x28 unfinished garage with 12’8” ceilings! So that brings us to now. I’m all moved in, with my junk everywhere in the garage, and now get the fun of starting to wire it up. I’ve read so much lately in how others have wired theirs, and ideas from lots of members so I’m grateful for that. I will be getting the whole thing spray foamed once it warms up. Here are a few pictures of how it started, and how it sits now. In an ideal world I would have loved to do all this work when it was empty, but that was not even remotely possible.

 

[69charged]

Pictures:


This was the old garage. Moving day.


The new, stuffed garage!




I hope to move the doors closer to the roof with extended track. And a jack shaft opener.

 

[69charged]

My plans so far:

Wire up 2 gang boxes roughly every 6’ about 50” off the floor. Either run 12-3 and pinned breakers or just run 2 separate runs of 12-2. Not sure yet. Weighing the pros and cons of that.
Plugs in the ceiling for lights. My thoughts are that if one fails I can easily change it out and if styles ever change or newer tech comes out I can just easily unplug a light and change them. I plan to use the hyperlite UGO lights in the 100w version. Beside the plugs I will run a dimmer circuit and have the lights on 2 switches. I think!

For the walls I am thinking just plain ol drywall. I am also contemplating the dri-core stuff, but not sure.
On the ceiling I really want to do barn board. I know it will be a bit darker, but I really want that look with the UFO lights hanging down.
Like this-ish!!



Some kind of jack shaft opener. The chamberlain one or some other brand.

For heat and AC I’ll use a split unit. But I will also have to wire in a 5000w heater as there will be days the heat pump won’t work due to the cold. But the AC in the summer will be something new!! Looking forward to that. It gets so hot and the concrete just sweats!

I’ll be putting in a 100A panel in the garage fed off the dual lug house meter. I have to trench all the way around the house to get it there. Really I want to put a drop pole on our property and put the meter on there and run underground to the house and garage. We’ll see how well the wife is with that!!

Anyway, that’s about it for now. If anyone has any suggestions about any part of this, please let me know. I’m totally open on more ideas, and this whole plan is pretty loose. I don’t have any cool drawings or anything. Going by the seat of my pants here.

Thanks all
Clarence

 

[wyndscreen]

You'll need AC?

Love a good rehab thread!

 

[69charged]

You'll need AC?

Love a good rehab thread!

It does get hot enough in the summer. It’s more the humidity. Not a lot, but will be a nice treat for me!! But I will have a 5kw heater as a second source as the split heat pump combo units don’t work down the the temps we get here in the winter. So the other heater will fill in when needed.

It’s slow going right now with permits to trench the power to the garage. I was going back and forth about also trenching a new line to the house at the same time, and changing out the panel in the house from a GE to a cutler panel. But in the end decided to just leave it. So the final permit application will be to trench from the meter on the side of the house, all the way around the front and then into the garage.
Instead of coming into the garage right in the centre between the garage doors like originally planned, I’ll come in one of the corners. I want a hose reel and wall mounted vacuum right between the doors and the panel would have to be too high to accommodate everything.

 

[69charged]

The panel is going to go to the right, in that corner. I am going to turn my stairs around to come down towards the hockey lockers, and those lockers will go to the far left where the stairs currently are.
That little 5’ framed section you see there sticks out past the front of the house, so it works perfect for me to bring the wire up to the panel.
Was going to move the stairs and such this weekend but now have to move my mom down after finally retiring at 70!!!

 

[69charged]

Well, small update. Slow progress. Got the hockey lockers moved, and the stairs turned around. What a mess. The panel is mounted temporarily to get an idea of layout and wiring.
Slowly but surely I’m getting there! Maybe get to trenching next weekend.

 

[69charged]

Still really slow progress. I’ve been waiting for 2 months for my buddies company to come trench power to the garage. Decided I’m done waiting. Started digging the trench and will hopefully get the wire in the ground this weekend. 100’ trench.

 

[69charged]

Just about there!! Wire is in the ground, just putting it into the garage. I wanted the panel to be nice and flush, but the stud spacing won’t allow for it in this location. I’ll have to put a beauty panel around it or something later.

 

[69charged]

Of course it would rain and make our trench a river!!

 

[68400BIRD]

Lol, before I read your last comment I thought you poured cement over it.

 

[cvairwerks]

A consideration before you move to the new garage door opener, is change the tracks so that you have the door much higher when open. Easier to do with the ceiling open and before you select the new opener.

 

[69charged]

A consideration before you move to the new garage door opener, is change the tracks so that you have the door much higher when open. Easier to do with the ceiling open and before you select the new opener.

Yes. I do plan on doing it here shortly.
One thing I noticed is they framed the door opening, then put the door tracks and top shaft on 2x6’s nailed to the framing. And a 2x10 across the top. So my drywall will **** up to it. Won’t be pretty, but I guess I’ll paint the 2x’s the same paint color as the walls. I’ve never seen that before.

Almost got everything done except the connection to the meter. But, better weather prevailed, and we had to take advantage of it and hit the water for the day yesterday!!


As a side note, I’m a ******* and forgot to put my grounding wire in with my grounding rods!! So I’m lucky enough to have to dig up about 5’ of trench again to put them in!!

Clarence

 

[69charged]

Lol, before I read your last comment I thought you poured cement over it.

Yeah it definitely looks like it!!
Wouldn’t that be fun to try dig up again because I forgot the grounding rods!!

 

[69charged]

Not garage related, but this is what took me away!

 

[69charged]

Welp, finally got my power hooked up and passed that inspection. Man, this is the slowest pace I’ve ever worked at!!
Time to get started wiring.


I am putting the boxes at 50” to avoid any sheet goods blocking them, should that ever happen. Also, I don’t have any 12-3 so I am going to do 2 runs of 12-2 so they are on separate circuits. Really trying to go over in my head what I may need now and into the future. It’s kinda nerve wracking hoping I think of everything and don’t forget something.



As for the lighting, I had this grand plan to have 2 circuits so I didn’t have to have all the lights on at once, plus dimmers, plus it all on a 4 way as there are three man doors in the garage. But I’m not so sure it will work with these lights. It would be nice to have the more advanced wireless dimming control, but that’s not gonna work with these lights. Oh well. I will run all the dimming wiring anyway in case I upgrade in the future.

Anyway, more wiring today.

Clarence

 

[cvairwerks]

Might look at using low voltage controls for the lighting, if you want three separate control locations.

 

[69charged]

Might look at using low voltage controls for the lighting, if you want three separate control locations.

Like as in a hub and all out from there? I posted in the lighting section and that’s what Cyber posted in there but these lights run on an older style 1-10v rather than 0-10v so weren’t sure it would work.
Or do you mean something else?
Thanks

 

[cvairwerks]

Might take some digging to do a design, but there should be 1-10V controllers and switches out there that will do what you want. I'm not a lighting control guy, but have dealt with it a little bit, long years back. We had planned to go low voltage control for everything in a house we were designing, but work changes scuttled that project.

 

[69charged]

One box down, 16 more to go!!

 

[69charged]

Little update again.
Got all the boxes installed and wired and powered up. All good there. Just starting to run wire for the heater, outdoor plugs, and going to finish all the runs for lighting. Then I hope to get a couple boxes up in the ceiling to have 2 fans.
My garage is a MESS!!! I have all my cabinets and tool boxes and everything off the walls so I can work. Then the spray foam guy has to come and work around all that mess!!


The mess!!










Getting there.
Also have to run a circuit for over the bench lighting and all my stereo equipment and tv up in the corner. Was going to run some CAT cable, but every tv is wireless now so don’t think I will bother.
Oh, and an outdoor RV 30 amp plug just in case. I don’t own one, but did for 20 years. But maybe the next house owner will want it!

Thanks for looking.
Clarence

 

[69charged]

Pretty much done the electrical. Just have to run one last circuit for the soffit pot lights.

OSHA was not here to approve this!!!



Decided to to it in the dark, and while raining on my sketchy ladder. But, got er done.

Ongoing with the insulation baffles and stops. It’s fun up there when it’s 30 degrees C!!


Wiring is not pretty, but I keep telling myself it will be covered!

Trying to push to get spray foam done before it gets too cold. Still have to put sheeting up on the ceiling.

On a side note, we went away for a week to Minneapolis to watch some jays games. Took the kids this time. Whole family enjoyed some time together.




Thanks for looking.
Clarence

 

[69charged]

Last circuit for the outside pot lights. Real fun!!!