What garage size would you recommend?

[jbailly]

I am in the planning stages and wonder what you all think is an "perfect" size. I know this depends on what I want to do with it. It will store my '69 Cutlass, my '11 F-150, and hopefully my Dad's '67 Impala. So I'm thinking 3-4 car size. Would 30 x 40 x 14 be enough or should I think more along the lines of 40 x 60 x 14? I would like to have a lift, maybe a paint booth, and just be able to work on my cars if I need to. Thanks for the advice.
Jon

 

[Mike007]

I would build as big as I could afford. 30 x 40 sounds a little small for what you want IMO. My next garge will be no less the 40 x 40. It's going to be a while for me.

 

[Gary S]

My Son has a 5000 sq ft garage in his yard. It isn't too big.

 

[papabil]

Build it as big as possible and it will still be to small bill

 

[gricegear]

I would say the bigger the better! You are wanting three cars to be stored and a lift and paintbooth. Sounds like you need to plan enough room for 5 cars at least since the lift will take up a nice space and the paintbooth will need to be walled off seperately. All depends on your budget as well. It gets pricey! I'm adding a 26x30 onto my existing 2 car and it still wont be big enough but its what I can afford and what fits into my lot. There are a lot of factors to consider. I hope you can make a game plan and end up with something that works best for you!

 

[dandan111]

As big as you want +10 ft in both directions.

 

[ky-mike]

I have been thinking through the same thing. I figure that you want at least 13 feet of width per car (5 feet wide plus 4 feet either side of it to open doors without hitting another car or storage cabinets). For 3 cars, that would be 39 feet, but I would round that to 40. For depth, 30 feet should be adequate. This leaves plenty of room for cabinets at the front of the main work area and is deep enough to easily park 2 vehicles in one bay.

So, a 30x40 will work fine for me. Of course, whatever size you build, you will fill and want more room.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

you can't ever make it to big, I think the 40 x 60 would be good for what you need. If your building a pole building the length along the eves is usually in 8' spaces because the poles are usually on 8' centers so.......56', 64', 72', it goes on until your wallet is empty.

The nice thing about having extra space is you can have more than one project going at a time, you don't have to finish something before you start something else especially as unexpected things arise.

The only draw back with having a large garage is there is a lot of places to set things down and if your like me you can spend a lot of time looking for stuff..........lol ...."lets see where in the hell did I set that down, I just had the dam thing"

I have a 36 x 64 x 14 and it has worked out good for my needs.

 

[Kevin54]

No shallower than 28' deep. 30' is a good size. And with storing all of what you want to store, I'd go no less than 50'.

 

[csp]

Build it in increments of 8' to make the best use of building materials.

 

[Falcon67]

I have 960 sq/ft. It's great, no complaints. If I came home today and it was 6' deeper and 10' longer, it'd be greater still and even less complaints. Start as big as you can and scale back if the budget dictates it. We're working on a parade float for homecoming made on a 16' car hauler. I've kicked one race car out in the yard and the other is smushed up against the wall to make work room.

 

[jimp]

Build as big as you can afford.

I have 6,000 sq.ft. and running out of space, looking at putting a 40 shipping container in the trees for off season storage.

 

[McKay]

Twice as big as you could ever imagine yourself needing.

 

[sberry]

40x60 or a bit wider could work, I make paint booth collapsible so the space can be used for other things when not needed. With any garage door location and some layout is critical, being short on sq ft in the first place doesn't help and there are a quite a few fixed cost to building that are the same on a small one as a big one. Bigger gets overall sq ft price down. Only reason I would have made mine bigger, longer was more space along the wall.

 

[sberry]

I like doors in one endwall if possible, at 40 wire there is enough space to line the walls with tooling etc and still park 2 cars wide comfortable.

 

[StaggeringGoat]

150x200.

I've had 12 cars in my 40x60, but it was tight...

 

[larry_g]

(5 feet wide plus 4 feet either side of it to open doors without hitting another car or storage cabinets). .

Who makes a rig 5 foot wide with 4' doors? May I suggest that you take a tape measure and measure a few...

My old shop was 30 wide and 36' deep. It was a two car shop and if one was undergoing full resto then a 1 car shop. For parking and storage of cars you can alot ~8' of width per rig and 18' of length. Don't forget stacking with a lift if you have long term storage needs.

I once read that to do a full resto in one shop it would take 4 bays minium. One for the chassis, one for the body, one to do mechanical work in and one to do upholstery and other stuff. And if you have done this kind of work then you will believe it.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[NUTTSGT]

A 30x40 wouldbe a nice size but if you're already thinking of a 40x60, I'd start pricing the larger size.

 

[sberry]

I got a bud with a 30x40, figured it would be big enough, its really tight.

 

[thightower]

No matter how big you go, it will never be big enough.

 

[holdover]

40 X 60 with ½ scissor truss, half garage ceiling height is 10’4.5” then the other half is 15’3” at peak in center. Outside roof pitch is 5/12 inside is 3/12. I have two 4 posts one is next to the wall in the vaulted ceiling section, I stack my ‘65 and ‘67 Mustangs there, lift is a Bendpac HD 9, the other lift a Bendpac HD12 is in the center of the garage, and with all that ceiling height there is no problem lifting most anything.
Electrically everything is in metal conduit with recpt. every 10’ along the walls and every 5’ on the work bench. There are two 220 volt plugs along one wall for the welders (Mig & Stick), where most of the work is done, there are also a dedicated 220 for the compressor and two 220’s for the lifts mounted on the ceiling. Lights everywhere
A 25’ work bench is across the back wall with top sections of kitchen cabinets for storage, the other 15’ is tool boxes, lathe, metal cutting band saw and compressor. Two pull points are in the floor about 25’ apart for frame straightening, they are each anchored in about one yard of cement. The slab is 6” in the front/ parking section and 8” in the rear section with the lifts, a bit of overkill, yes, also ½” rebar throughout. Entrance door is 9 X 16 and placed on one gabled end. Plumbed for bathroom and H & C water.
There is a 16’ X 60’ lean-to on the side of the garage. Here was my error, I never factored in all the tools I had, SO a 20’ X 16’ section of the lean-to is now the tool/ parts room. Secure, alarmed like the garage with a 4’ wide entry from the garage. In that room will be the lathe, drill press, the 3 welders, work bench, storage shelves, Jacks, transmission jacks, engine stands, bolt collection tool boxes etc etc. All tools like the welders are on wheels for easy moving, the tool room is for storage when they are not being used

I also have an outside wood stove and heat for the garage will be a ceiling mounted heat exchanger and fan. The garage has a cable for curtains at the break where the ceiling changes, so I only have to heat ½ of the garage. With the tool room in place, there is nothing I would change, except make it 50‘ X 80‘ next time . The garage can hold 11 cars using the lifts to double stack, the lean-to 2 more.

best investment I have ever made, only regret is I didn't built it 35+ years ago

 

[Stuart in MN]

I am in the planning stages and wonder what you all think is an "perfect" size. I know this depends on what I want to do with it. It will store my '69 Cutlass, my '11 F-150, and hopefully my Dad's '67 Impala. So I'm thinking 3-4 car size. Would 30 x 40 x 14 be enough or should I think more along the lines of 40 x 60 x 14? I would like to have a lift, maybe a paint booth, and just be able to work on my cars if I need to. Thanks for the advice.
Jon

People are throwing out all kinds of crazy numbers (and they are right in that you may as well build the biggest garage you can afford), but getting back to the real world a 30 x 40 garage will be quite roomy for four cars as long as you don't fill it up with a bunch of other stuff.

I have a 24 x 40 garage and four cars will fit fine in there; the problem is I have six cars (one on a lift) along with a half dozen motorcycles, so it's pretty tight.

 

[HOTFR8]

Twice as big as you could ever imagine yourself needing.

Yes it can never be to big. Go as big as you can with in permitted size.

Now make sure you keep us advised on the progress as you build.

 

[sublimate]

I have a 24 x 40 garage and four cars will fit fine in there; the problem is I have six cars (one on a lift) along with a half dozen motorcycles, so it's pretty tight.

Stuart, that's pretty much exactly the size I'm looking to build and I want to fit 4-6 cars in it with a lift as well. Do you have any pictures here you can point me to? I did a brief search, but you a a LOT of posts.

 

[SportFury59]

Don't forget about the additional property tax on the new garage. Here they charge by the square footage. On my 30' x 48', they added $500 per year.

 

[Slick111]

If I could do it again would go 150' X 200' at least.

 

[cyamaha2007]

Is it going to be a polebarn? If it is go to diypolebarns.com they have a nice price feature that alows you to plug in size and options and it spits out a price. Play around with it and you will find whats the best size for the price. I found a 36x56x14h was the cheapest per sqft. It was cheaper for me to add 2ft on the entire building than go with scissor trusses. 2ft in height only added $900. I did a 36x56x14h and am disappointed with the size. With a fab area lift area its feels like a 3 car garage.

 

[akdiesel]

40'x60' for your choices. I have a 40'x60' shop. I have a lift and stor two 3/4 ton trucks, a Porsche, a two place trailer with snowmachines, and a four wheeler. There is also a full kitchen, full bath, and a 14'x18' office area, all on one side. With all that I still ave room to bring a suburban in to work on it.
I also plan on a paint booth but as suggested by others make it a temp booth, unless of course you do this for a profession.
Try to include three over head doors. This will make it much easier to move in and out instead of moving things around to get in and out.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Stuart, that's pretty much exactly the size I'm looking to build and I want to fit 4-6 cars in it with a lift as well. Do you have any pictures here you can point me to? I did a brief search, but you a a LOT of posts.

It turns out I don't have any online pictures showing the garage door side, but here's the back side from just after it was finished but before it was stained.

This one is from a few years later, after a little bit of snow.

 

[akdiesel]

Nice summer time shop and daylight basement winter shop.

 

[TeamTruett]

In the history of mankind, no man has ever said "Gee, my garage is just a little too big"

 

[buzz4041]

Build what you can afford. I would try to at least have 24' deep and 40 wide. That will give you a nice area for about 10 years. Mine is 24 x 48 and after 10 years it needs to grow a bit so a second one is in the plans for 24 x 37 (900sqft) addition.

 

[Al Bundy]

I am in the planning stages and wonder what you all think is an "perfect" size. I know this depends on what I want to do with it. It will store my '69 Cutlass, my '11 F-150, and hopefully my Dad's '67 Impala. So I'm thinking 3-4 car size. Would 30 x 40 x 14 be enough or should I think more along the lines of 40 x 60 x 14? I would like to have a lift, maybe a paint booth, and just be able to work on my cars if I need to. Thanks for the advice.
Jon

Based on your post 30 x 40 is not going to do it for you. Mine is 30 x 40 and it holds 4 cars nicely provided I don't want to actually do anything more than change the oil. When I planned mine I failed to take into account all the peripheral stuff that takes up a ton of space. Compressor, workbenches, shelves, cherry picker, blasting cabinet are all going to shrink your space quite rapidly. Throw in sheet metal like extra fenders, hoods, etc. and now the space is becoming small. Then consider if you are actually restoring cars where everything you remove is going to go. You need space to keep that engine and transmission until they are ready to go back in along with the interior and other goodies. In all honesty for my garage to actually be what I intended from the start would need to be 60 x 80. And that's probably not allowing enough for a clean area to store the cars after they're done.

 

[Chaz]

I'm looking for a defunct "big box"store. It'll be a bit too small of course.

 

[brownbagg]

80x100 14 ft tall