What would you change?

[WX4SNO]

I'm in the planning stages for my garage and I'm sure this has come up on other threads here and there, but if you could go back in time (or have made a modification) to make changes to your garage, what would you do differently? I know the obvious answer is going to be make it bigger, but other than that, what things should future garage owners consider doing now, in the planning and construction stages, to make things easier down the road?

Anything big or small to help make things easier just say so...things like the best height for wall outlets, types of lighting, locations of drains in the floor, anything! I appreciate the help!

 

[F150tech]

Kind of depends on what kinds of things you will be doing in your garage, I would lay out power, air and water carefully, and make plans for storage of tools, parts, materials etc. also lay out work zones depending on what you would be doing i.e., welding and fabrication area, carpentry area, maybe a clean area if you plan on doing anything that might have environmental requirements

 

[dmcintosh]

I put up a 24x30 pole barn. So far I a man very happy with all of my choices, except my decision to NOT add Tyvek under the metal. I think it would have help seal the structure more. I did insulate and am planning to run both heat and AC, so am concerned with energy efficiency.

 

[ovilla]

Outlets - PLENTY of outlets on every wall and at least every 5-7’ from each other.

Install a circuit breaker panel in the garage.

Gas line to the garage.

Water line to do the garage.

Paint all walls before moving in.

Don’t make it too pretty. Otherwise you’ll be afraid to get it dirty.

Stereo and tv is a must from day one so your really enjoy your shop. Run coax or a 50’ hdmi cable from the house so you can watch all of your recorded car shows out in the garage. By “watch” I️ mean have them playing in the background.

 

[bd8134]

A sink in the garage is one of the best "features" I added. AC & heat separated from the house. Put in large return AC air filters, I run the filter when grinding, welding, etc even if the heat / cool is not on, keeps the fumes down. Outlets in the ceiling so you can run drop lines down. Consider spray foam or good sound insulation if your garage is attached to the house, also good if your neighbors are close.

 

[apollo11]

https://www.lilmynx.com/index.php/dance-poles-accessories/dance-poles.html

 

[Cairo94507]

Doing a remodel right now. Adding air lines, in-ground flush mount scissor lift, AC/Heat unit, hi-lift new garage doors, jackshaft openers to keep the ceiling clear of ****, serious LED lighting triple switched, sink, plenty of outlets, all major things on separate circuits, water for the refrigerator, 65" TV, 5 high "clock" outlets for plugging in a clock and a few neon signs for decoration, porcelain tile floor, custom cabinets with a large section built to house my tools so I can get rid of the roll-a-way box, air compressor going outside in a small house of its own, wiring an LED fixture on either end of the garage to work with the garage opener so those two will turn on when the garage door opens so I can lose the stupid little ceiling lights that come with these wall mounted openers. Also using a wireless garage opener for inside the garage and the hard-wired opener mounted next to the single car door outside. Allows me to put the wireless opener anywhere near the house entry door from the garage. Also heavily insulated walls and ceilings to help keep it comfortable and quiet. Also a wi-fi repeater to give me great signal in the garage. A storm/security screened back door so I can keep the solid door open if I want and keep everything else out. Lastly, roll-up shades on all 4 large windows that allow you to see out but people can't see inside.

 

[Grandpa Menard]

Taller Garage door for lifted truck.

extra space for mowers, bikes.

taller roof for lift

 

[78C-10]

I have a 30x40 pole barn, like dmcintosh said I wish I would have had Tyvek wrapped around the outside before the metal went up. I wish I had forgone the two side windows, and I wish I had an overhang on the rear. Until I can get up high enough (need a taller ladder) to spray foam on rear of building, every year snow blows up inside of building and coats whatever is stored against the back wall.

At the time of building though it literally took every cent I had at the time so Tyvek and front and rear overhangs were out. Not sure if this is out of line or not but the builder charged $1000 per overhang! I went with overhangs on both sides for proper venting and looks. He did install a smaller overhang in front free of charge as he said it looked better, which it does.

 

[slip knot]

make it bigger!

 

[2CRUZ]

I built a 30x40 garage and the only mistake was that I let the contractor talk me out of higher ceilings. He told me that it would need custom trusses and the would be very expensive. My ceilings are 9 ft. I should have insisted on at least one side of the ceiling being high enough for a lift. I have it all finished inside now sheet rock and insulation so it would be too costly to do it now.

 

[lakeroadster]

if you could go back in time (or have made a modification) to make changes to your garage, what would you do differently?

New Build - What would you do differently

If you could start your garage over what would you do differently?

if you could make one change to your garage

What would you do differently if you had the chance?

 

[Crazyjake8493]

The biggest thing I would change would be to air seal, insulate, finish the walls, then surface mount all the electrical, air, gas, etc. Mainly electrical. For one, less wall penetrations helps create a tighter building envelope. And two, easy to add circuits/outlets later on as you buy more tools. Plus I enjoy bending and installing EMT conduit.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Foundation: There are NO good residential concrete guys around here. This may be a hopeless effort, but here is what I'd try next time:

Buy an 8' straight edge and show it to the bidders. Tell them you are going to put it all over the floor and if you find even a single gap greater than 3/16" ANYWHERE, you will require them to cut out the floor and do it all over. Put that in your contract. And make sure they are big enough to be able to afford to do it over (and won't just walk away). And pay nothing up front.

If no one can do that, ask what spec they can meet, and decide if it is OK with you.
I was unhappy with my floor, until I understood it was better than that typical residential quality these days. Knowing what you can actually get helps to be happy with the result.

PS: Lots of guys say their floor is flat, but they have never checked. VERY few floors are actually flat like this. I would love to say 1/8" above, but no one really accomplishes that in residential construction. (Those who say they do, I bet they haven't checked.)

More on flatness here:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5808741&postcount=44

 

[MikeF2316]

Most important: Make it high enough so water can't get in. Have overhangs at least over the doors, enough to stand under. It keeps the snow away from the doors in addition to keeping you dry as you unlock the man door, or wait for the vehicle door to open. Have lights at the doorways too. If it's big enough, a half bath.

I'd like a gentle pitch to the center, with a drain there, for the snow & salt and inevitable spills. My slab is not quite level, and on some occasions my car will even drop enough condensate from the A/C after it's parked to get stuff wet on the low side. So I leave newspapers on the floor to stop that.

 

[rsanter]

The best parts of my shop are the chain hoist and trolly on an I beam, the drop down hose reels, and the drop down power reels.
Those are things I use all the time that make life a little easier

Bob

 

[Thumper68]

I mostly like everything in the shop. The one thing that I would change is to delete the floor drain, with the infloor heat everything evaporates so quickly that it is not needed and I would like a flatter floor. I would also add more outlets in the ceiling, which I will be doing over the winter.

Also would like a toilet.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Flat and level are not necessarily the same thing. My "professionally" poured and worked shop floor is flat but not level. Our first heavy after the floor was installed, had water running to the back of the shop where is puddled against the far wall.
I rented a concrete saw and cut a drain just outside the main 10 foot door. the drain trench is covered at the top and the bottom drain is connected to the perimeter drain tile.
I have no regrets about installing 26 power outlets around the shop. 20 outlets are 110 volt and 6 others are 120 volt. One outlet is dedicated for the welders. The compressor has a separate circuit.
I installed a built-in vacuum and I almost never use it. The BI vacuum is a powerful domestic unit that matches the BI vacuum in the house. In the chop, the BIV struggles with metal chips from the milling machine and lathes. I bought one big Shop-Vac for the shop, two more small shop Vac for the lathe and milling machine. The MODUBLAST cabinet has it's own vacuum system.
I have built-in air lines. I used black iron pipe that I installed in 1991. I have lots of air volume but the pipe has some rusting going on, inside, and I was getting a burst of rust every so often. I now use filters at the shop wall mounted MILTON connectors.
The city roof height restrictions let me with a ceiling height of 10 feet. Now I am thinking about a BendPac four post lift. With only 10 feet to the ceiling I will never get full advantage of the lift.
I would strongly recommend some form of rebar or wire mesh in the concrete. The concrete guy did not install the reinforcement as we had agreed on and my floor has a dozen major cracks 26 years later.
I have a city permitted toilet, water heater. big stainless sink and a horizontal furnace with ducting. I installed the plumbing and heat, myself. If you have a dog, the toilet is a handy way to get rid of the dog poo.
I like ceiling fans and I have two of them. The fans prevent the air in the shop from becoming stratified, hot air up and cold down.
Here is one of my suggestions that will stir controversy. I would not install windows again. Every window is another weak security point, I had one forced entry since 1991. I have electronic security on all the windows and the doors along with CCTV. My other reason for not wanting windows is, the sunlight through the windows makes it much more difficult to see, under the hood of a car, for instance. I bought Venetian Blinds for all the windows to cut down on the light entering the shop.
I like two 10 foot wide doors rather than one much larger door. Smaller doors let less heat out in the colder weather. "Next time" I would install only one 10 foot door, not two. I just replaced one folding powered door with a powered roll up door. The roll-up does not waste ceiling height.
I like the wider eaves. the extra outside width helps to keep snow and rain away from the doors.
If I were to do it all again, I would move to a county that allows bigger shop space. I was restricted to 865sf. I would never build on the side of a hill again. There is always the worry of another roll-away. Our back lane drops off at the rate of 8 feet on a run of 55 feet. Try getting back home when there is snow. Try to not crash when leaving on a snow covered lane.

 

[smokey0810]

Would have paid the extra $$$ to have it insulated...

 

[T_R]

12 foot celings and a back door.

 

[Charlie51]

I would have had attic trusses installed rather than standard trusses. Even though height would not allow standing, the storage area would have made it worth the extra cost. (26 deep X 20 wide attached garage)

 

[theoldwizard1]

Build as tall as you can, 2 full stories is best. Even if you don't go 2 stories, with a 10' wall you can place a lot of shelving around the inside for storage. 2x6 walls will help when adding shelving and allow for more insulation.

I know it costs more, but I would not use trusses. They get in the way of too many future options. Also, use rafter ties instead of traditional joists.

Plan on insulating the roof as soon as possible, even if you do not insulate the walls.

 

[ChevyEFI]

In-floor lighting under a lift.

A two-ramp style lift for the easiest drive-on oil changes and transmission drops.
And a 2 or 4 post next to it for other work.

And an RV size bay / paint booth.

 

[Gixx]

I "second" the overhangs. One over the "man" door would be nice. I haven't gotten to gutters yet, but that will be nice. OH, "finish" the interior before you move in. Now finishing requires moving all my ****.

 

[isb cornbinder]

i "second" the overhangs. One over the "man" door would be nice. I haven't gotten to gutters yet, but that will be nice. Oh, "finish" the interior before you move in. Now finishing requires moving all my ****.

agreed.

 

[egnorant]

Insulation! Keeping heat in or keeping heat out just makes for a better space. Plus it stabilizes temps to prevent condensation.

Calculate your lighting needs and add 20%.

Plan ventilation ahead of time. I would not only look at eave or ridge venting to remove heat and fumes, I would look at filtered or clean positive pressure. Dust, pollen, leaves and such will be less of a problem.

I don't work well in a cold dark stinky place!

Bruce

 

[WX4SNO]

Lots of good ideas! I don't plan on putting in a lift attm, but am planning on having a 16" tall concrete block knee wall, then sill plate, and then the 2x4 walls on top of that. Height will be around 9.5 ft from floor to ceiling along the walls, and then I'll have scissor trusses in the bay which will give me 3-4 feet. I haven't even laid out the footers yet, but I've already bought enough insulation to do the build. I got it for a steal from a warehouse that said it wasn't the right color for Owens Corning to sell...so I got it for dirt cheap. Also bought some flooring from them to go in my adjacent garage office. EVERYTHING electrical has been ordered, including two ceiling fans for the bay, and two more for the office and man cave/den, along with some nice in-wall heaters for those areas, and two Northern Tool garage heaters for the bay; also bought a bunch of wire, switches, outlets, and controls for everything. I went with Square D Homeline since that's what I have in my adjacent house...but I was VERY tempted to buy the QO stuff. I did go with the new Square D Quik-Grip 40/80 panel to see how easy it is to wire compared to traditional NM knockouts:

https://inlinecontent.homedepot-sta...SQUARE D/Qwik-Grip Inline 6.14.17 Chitra.jpeg

Overhangs will be 1-1/2 feet on all sides along with continuous AL gutters. I can't legally install a toilet but have planned on putting in a dry well and running all my grey-water from the sink to it. Also thinking of moving our washer/dryer out there to get it out of our tiny house. Heck, the garage is going to be bigger than the house...not sure the wife is going to be happy about that, but at least it will be a place to put some of our stuff and get my tools out of the shed!

I'll have to start a new thread for my build here shortly and post some prelim drafts of the layout and things that will be included. But I wanted to get some ideas on what I might be missing before I start.

 

[theoldwizard1]

In-floor lighting under a lift.

Cool idea. I have never seen it. Got a pic ?

 

[Skunkape]

I have a 16" soffit all around the building. In hindsight, I should have poured a 3ft walkway all around the building. the dripline off the roof gets the sides muddy/splattered when it rains. Also, I should have budgeted in doing a nice floor epoxy BEFORE I started filling it up. It would be a nightmare trying to move everything to do it now.

 

[hard12catch33]

I would have added extra depth to my garage so when the truck is parked inside, you can completely walk around the vehicle.

I also would have added a gas line for some garage heat....