One Big One or Several Smaller Ones? (LONG)

[Ken P]

OK, I've been daydreaming, or brainstorming, whichever and thought I'd ask some questions and get opinions.

When I finally do get to build my garage(s) what is the general opinion of the best set up?

I could build one huge garage with everything under one roof. I would partition off the different areas by work that will be performed. This sounds OK but I would have to separate the different HVAC requirements, some heated and cooled others not, as well as electrical and plumbing requirements. Also on site preparation I would need an area large enough and graded out flat to support the building and various driveways, parking, and storage of my finished running and driving vehicles.

Since flat land in my part of Georgia is very hard to find, and usually very costly if you do find a decent site, would it be better to build smaller separate buildings by work to be performed?

I figure I would need 5 buildings of various sizes :

1) Finished, clean, showcar storage only. I figure this would require a very durable structure. Maybe poured walls, steel roof / I beams, a single theft proof roll up and side door? It would need only electrical for lights, dehumidifier, and a very basic air filtration system which could be a stand alone floor unit in a corner. Also water for a fire sprinkler system.

2) A final assembly area where the major bulk of my tools would be along with a mobile four post drive on lift. Also the work benches and prepped finished parts storage. This area would have all the bells and whistles. Of course heat and air, bathroom, stereo / TV, a lounge area with fold out sofa bed & chairs area carpet, refrig., computer, office files and desk etc.

3) A painting and detailing area. This would be a paint room with ventilation / filtering, air compressor ( outside ) with spraying equipment storage, wet sanding as well as a car washing area. This would require all the electricals to support it as well a non heated water supply.

4) A deconstruction area. This would be a "dirty" area for blasting, welding, metal cutting, prelimary cleaning. Also a fixed 2 post lift for body / frame separation, drivetrain removal, and heavy lifting.

5) A flammable / hazardous materials storage area. This is where I would keep all paints, cleaners, fuels, oils ( new and used ), solvents, etc. This would need to be heated at a minimum I guess as well as fireproofed all metal construction.

I'm thinking of renting / loaning some of the facilities to friends who paint and do some resto work on their own. This could be either for cash or their services on my projects. I understand I would need to look into zoning and property building requirements before taking on something like this.

Does this sound like too much? I'm currently in a forced ( layed off ) early retirement situation but will eventually go back to work at least part time. This would be for no other reason but to get health insurance and some money coming in on a regular basis. I've already had my "career" and would like to do something I enjoy for a change.

Ideas, opinions, or concerns? Let me have it...

 

[1320stang]

Hmm, I can see how the seperate buildings idea is a good idea here. I can see how #1 & #2 could be in the same building, or at least connected in a manner where you could walk from one to the other. Might be able to go split level here, your lounge/office area could be above the final assembly area and could overlook both that area and the showroom area as well. #3 & #4 could be seperate buildings, I'm seeing the 3 buildings layed out in a sort of 'U' shape (gaps at the corners between the buildings) with a large concrete/asphalt parking area between all of them that they'd all utilize. I'm not so sure #5 is needed, fireproof cabinets where these materials are needed should work fine. If you lay it out right and come in off a corner, you could put another building across the open end of the U for more storage of finished, or semi finished cars, or rent it out and have a total boxed in area and not have to add any more 'parking lot'.

 

[...dave]

i can definitely see setting up a separate garage for "finished" cars. One problem is that area #4 is really going to need just as many tools as area #2. 2,3, and 4 will all need air power, and at least for 3 and 4, a $250 compressor won't cut it. Also, are you planning to have separate electrical subpanels for each one, or what?

If the main reason you're doing this is significant elevation changes in the lot, do you have a plan for getting non-running vehicles from one building to the next?

Honestly, i think that you're going to spend a LOT more money building multiple buildings than you would on a single one with the same square footage, and once you're done you'll find it to be extremely inconvenient. i'd hold out for the right piece of land, particularly if you're semi-retired and not tied to a short commute.

...dave

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I doubt you plan on living there forever, and a hodge podge of buildings will NOT be a good selling factor. Aside from that, it would have to be more expensive than one large building. I can see a second building if you have several finished show or collector cars you want to store in a controlled enviroment, but beyond that, I wouldn't want a bunch of different buildings, unless you are out in the country on several acres.

Charles

 

[rodnok1]

First off I would keep #5 outside away from sparks anyways.
I would think two would be more than enough, one just for show cars.
The other split in two for everything else, unless you are going to have multiple cars in different stages it should do. One part for final paint/detailing/assembly clean area the other area split between tear apart/welding/grinding/sanding. Since the are all pretty messy. it would be alot of buildings if you ha done area for each and I agree with the others on how are you going to move everything from one building to another. I would be more concerned about storage for all the parts you take off myself, maybe a loft in main for parts??

 

[Ken P]

This is a great site. Thanks for the input and I guess I need to continue to give this more thought. I'm still only in the very first stages of planning and have a very long way to go.

As far as moving bodies etc. around I was planning on getting a rotiserrie and adding a trailer hitch to it and a body cart as well. I also already have a trailer with an electric winch and have moved stuff by myself for years.

I may be a little paranoid about flammables as my cousin had leased an existing body shop which was poorly designed. The fan motor in the booth shorted out which started a fire in the wall ( wood construction ) which traveled up into the ceiling. The paint room was on one side and the office was on the other. They had barely enough time to get the customers cars out before the whole place burned up. He lost all his employee records as well as his complete inventory of paints of which some were very expensive multi-chromatic stuff. I'm thinking more about insurance rates for separate structures versus explosion proof cabinets.

I do hope to find something a little farther out in the country and it could very well be my last house and garage(s). I'm sick of HOAs and if this means I'd have to drive a little farther I won't mind since I have all these great cars sitting just waiting to be driven. Anyway I guess all this will ultimately be dictated by any property I find and the terrain surrounding it.

I'll be back later as time progresses and I get into the actual planning / layout of everything. Due to family health problems I'm currently maintaining two homes as well as a 10 x 30 storage unit crammed to the ceiling with shop equipment and my 92 Mustang coupe track car project. All my other Mustangs are at my other house and are collecting cobwebs. I dream of having all my stuff in one reasonably central location...

 

[bluesman2a]

You may not have a choice, I know for Gwinnett County, you are not allowed to build a garage larger than the house. Not sure what Cobb county has on that, but I would check. I have seen where people get around the rule by adding separate/smaller buildings. Of course this also depends on the size of your home.

 

[bluesman2a]

I do hope to find something a little farther out in the country and it could very well be my last house and garage(s). I'm sick of HOAs and if this means I'd have to drive a little farther I won't mind since I have all these great cars sitting just waiting to be driven. Anyway I guess all this will ultimately be dictated by any property I find and the terrain surrounding it.

My wife and I JUST finished this. We signed the contract to begin our move last night. We just picked up 1.6 acres with a nice house, attached 2 car, a detached 2 car shop, and a pond. It's nine more miles to drive, but I think it'll be worth it.

Not sure how Cobb and Cherokee counties are currently, but any kind of houses with acreage on the east side of town are getting pretty rare. Good luck with your search!

 

[twostory]

You may not have a choice, I know for Gwinnett County, you are not allowed to build a garage larger than the house. Not sure what Cobb county has on that, but I would check. .

I live in Gwinnnett and that is true. The detached building must be smaller than the primary residence. But you can get around that by making the new garage an attached garage. Just join the two buildings with a hall way connecting the buildings.

As for the orginal question. I would try to build one big building to handle all your needs. It will be faster, simpler and easier to finish. If square footage is an issue, build a one story building with a 16 foot ceiling. Then add a second story loft after the county is gone

 

[Ken P]

I've been looking around mostly in the Bartow and Paulding county areas. My brother and his family live down the street from the Etowah Indian mounds and my sister lives off of Hwy. 61 going into Dallas. There still seems to be some land but they're building so many "communities" it's going pretty fast.

I've looked at the Bartow county website for land use to see what the zoning plans are going to be in the future. My previous career was in aircraft insulation fabrication to manufacturer specs ( Lockheed, Boeing, Delta, etc etc etc. ) I have a contact at Phoenix Air in the Cartersville Airport. It's not firm but just a target for possible employment. I'm hoping for an existing house on about 3 to 5 acres.

 

[KenBaker]

I used to work in a Warehouse that had curtains that segmented the place with these big clear plastic curtains that divided areas of the place. They work well for dividing areas that you want to hold heat or cooling in. Have one big garage for all of the work in process cars in and an appropiate sized one for the nice ones.

 

[Steve_S]

If I had all the land I wanted and could set up any type of workshop I wanted, I would build one of two ways.

1. One large building with complete separation between three main areas.

2. Three seperate smaller buildings.

I would use one building or area area as a parking facility and showroom. It would also have a lounge area for eating, multimedia, etc. Walls could be used for items of interest, models, signs or other interesting decoration.

The second building or area would be the main workshop. This would obviously house tools, lifts, etc. It would also have a clean room or at least a clean area for working on and restoring parts. Parts storage would reside here in lofts and / or cabinets.

The third building or area would be for paint, machining and welding work. I would divide this with hard walls with large doors in them to allow moving large equipment or even vehicles through between paint and metal areas.

Some day maybe...