New member, New Garage!

[Calvin Mercer]

Now that we're finally building, I can finally plan my garage. Any tips, advice and/or feedback is greatly welcomed and appreciated.

The builder is still doing dirtwork on the lot, so I have some time to make changes. He is not one to drag his feet though, based on his other houses we should be IN by the end of June. ish.

As the plans are now, the garage is 22'-6"W x 22'-0"D. I know that bigger is better, and I've seen here on this site that almost no one recommends going less than 24'x24'. But I'm on a small, angled lot so the only direction I can extend is the depth, not the width. Our loan paperwork is already finalized, so any above-and-beyond changes on our part that are not covered by allowances (like this) will be out of pocket $ at closing. Builder quoted approximately $1,500 per foot to extend the garage.

With all that being said, I've already decided that only my wife's car will park in the garage, my truck will remain outside. That way I can utilize the garage as my small but functional workshop, as we will not have room for a traditional shop on our lot. I will plan the workspace so that anything not against the wall can be moved to temporarily bring my vehicle inside during the rare hail storm.

Jack Olsen's 12 Gauge Garage has been a big source of inspiration, and has led me to researching on this site and elsewhere how to make this space my own. He accomplished a lot with his space. I will be emulating and implementing several of the tactics and ideas I like about his setup. (Stronghold/Lyon cabinets, fold-down tables, swiss-army-table, etc)

I won't have a stairwell to deal with but I will have a central vacuum setup in the corner. I'm installing the system myself, so I'll be able to get a little creative with housing / hiding it as much as I can while still making it accessible.

No side windows. Builder recommended windows in the garage door, but I'm not sold on the idea. I know sunlight is important, so I'm installing at least (2) 18" solar tube skylights over the work area half of the garage.

All yard equipment will be housed in a small shed in the back yard.

Now I need to figure out if $3k for 2 more feet or $6k for 4 more feet would be money better spent on actually populating the space I (will) already have with cabinets, workstations, tools, etc.


We will only be in this house for 4 to 6 years, so I'm leaning towards putting that cash towards the contents of the garage rather than the garage itself.

Anyway, those are the plans so far

 

[GaryB1]

It's just me. but based on what you've described I would be inclined to stay with what you have planned rather than expanding. Make the most of the space you have and all that. Will there be room for overhead/attic storage for household stuff? Life has a way of filling every available cubic foot of space with the junk we accumulate. If you for sure aren't going to stay there more than a few years I would say put the extra money into things that can be taken with you when you move. That being said, it all depends on what kind of work you plan to do there and how long you plan to be there.

 

[kyle@hcb]

Because you only plan on staying for a short amount of time (why?), I would stick with your current configuration.

 

[Crusher47]

Welcome aboard

 

[Calvin Mercer]

Thanks! To answer-

We are having as MUCH of the attic floored as possible, and I'm opting for a slightly wider stair access pulldown to make storing stuff up there even easier.

Our daughter is going into high school next year, and we picked a home location based on the school we wanted her to attend. Once she graduates and goes off to college, we won't need to be in this city (and its crazy property taxes) and can find some land and build the home we really want.

I plan on the space being used for pretty much everything short of welding. Woodworking, LOTS of soldering, repairs, etc. I'm going to put in a HF sandblaster, and if I can get a good deal on a used one - a small plasma cutter. The rest will be your standard workshop tools.