What Ceiling Height?

[HotrodHR]

I ordered my to be built with 12' ceiling height. Ended up 12.5' due to the curb. Glad it came out this way, installed a 4 post lift, and converted my garage door tracks to high lift. Worked out pretty good although 13 or 14 would have been even better!

 

[Samh]

Whatever you decide, go ahead and price out garage doors now, as that may be the ultimate factor in what you decide. I did a 12ft ceiling, and 10x10 doors. Those turned out to be pretty expensive, which has made me go another route.

 

[mike93lx]

I love all the debate on height when I can't even stretch my arms out above my head in my garage. 7.5' FTW

 

[rslaback]

Do you have any thoughts that you might some day want a storage loft? If so, 14' is the lowest I would go with my walls. Storing seasonal **** (including mowers, snowblowers, kid's toys etc.) eats up a lot of floor space.

https://scontent-msp1-1.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/56214420_2641736075853493_4058573451374362624_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=1480c5&_nc_ohc=Uu23laMvFZMAX8wd_CE&_nc_ht=scontent-msp1-1.**&_nc_tp=6&oh=a845589ce849f3c48b774f7d22f2569a&oe=5E92641C

 

[PhantomEB]

Mines 9’6” and I got 9 foot door, no wasted space there! Granted I had to sink the lights in between the rafters but no complaints there!

 

[u2slow]

Do you have any thoughts that you might some day want a storage loft? If so, 14' is the lowest I would go with my walls. Storing seasonal **** (including mowers, snowblowers, kid's toys etc.) eats up a lot of floor space.

https://scontent-msp1-1.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/56214420_2641736075853493_4058573451374362624_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=1480c5&_nc_ohc=Uu23laMvFZMAX8wd_CE&_nc_ht=scontent-msp1-1.**&_nc_tp=6&oh=a845589ce849f3c48b774f7d22f2569a&oe=5E92641C

^ That's pretty sweet! Got a build thread? or clif's notes for the dimensions?

Glad I built with extra height.

 

[lbperry]

Worst mistake I ever made when I built my garage was to go with 8' ceilings. At the time I was overjoyed at being able to build a garage to work in and not have to work in my carport & floor
If I had it to do over I'd go 12' so that'd give me room for a lift and for the floor of an upstairs storage area.
Only downside I can see would have been that 12' ceiling would have given the garage a kind of unusual proportion. Would have had to redesign the roof to try to correct that.
Good Luck

 

[u2slow]

Only downside I can see would have been that 12' ceiling would have given the garage a kind of unusual proportion. Would have had to redesign the roof to try to correct that.

I threw the aesthetics to the wind.... knowing that for re-sale, the type of person who values a good shop cares more about the size and possibilities than looks. End result looks pretty decent anyway.

 

[HPRifleman]

Whatever you decide, go ahead and price out garage doors now, as that may be the ultimate factor in what you decide. I did a 12ft ceiling, and 10x10 doors. Those turned out to be pretty expensive, which has made me go another route.

My village code limits garage doors to a max height of 9'.

 

[HPRifleman]

Mines 9’6” and I got 9 foot door, no wasted space there! Granted I had to sink the lights in between the rafters but no complaints there!

One of the things I was wondering about was how close the ceiling can be to the top of the door. If you only have 6" from your door to your ceiling does that mean the header over your door is only 6" high? That doesn't seem like very much even if there is minimal load above.

 

[rslaback]

^ That's pretty sweet! Got a build thread? or clif's notes for the dimensions?



Glad I built with extra height.

Didn't want to threadjack so I sent you a reply to your pm.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[JamesW84]

Not an expert, but I believe anything less than 15" or so requires low-headroom brackets for the door. I would want at least 16". If I were you, I would lean towards a 6-8" stem wall/course of block and then build 10' walls on top of that. 9' door and you're set.

I researched this a lot and along the same lines as your shop is rarely big enough, your door is rarely big enough. Many guys said their 10 wide 12 tall doors aren't big enough.

You never know what will happen in the future that you need/want a larger door. You could frame a 10 or 12 wide x 9 tall door and put the header in and then frame it down to an 8' tall door in case you want to change the door later you won't have to reframe the whole thing. I'd just do the 9' door now.

 

[rburke65]

I built a ‘pole barn’ foundation which +ame out of the ground about a foot, plus using 12’ 2x6” studs, plus bottom and top plates, I’m at 13’ 6” . I love it.