Where would you run air lines?

[Ira]

First, I don't want this to turn into a "what type of air line is best" discussion. I want to know how/where you would run your air lines. My shop is 24X48X8 with a wall dividing it into 24X32 and 24X16. It is a regular stud frame building with minimal attic space due to the roof trusses. The walls/ceiling are currently open, but they will be sheetrocked soon.

I plan on using Garage Pak or something similar for my air lines. At a minimum, I will have a supply line running along each of the 48' walls, and may go ahead and make an entire loop of the exterior walls. Would you go for...

1. The "clean look"...run all lines in the attic/walls and only come thru the walls or ceiling right where an outlet will be?

2. The "industrial look"...run all lines exposed, i.e., an exposed supply loop high on the walls, then an exposed drop to each outlet?

3. The "compromise look"...run the supply loop in the attic above the sheetrock, then run each vertical drop outside the wall cavity to the outlet point. In other words, the supply loop is hidden but the vertical drops at each air outlet are exposed from the ceiling down.

Once the sheetrock is up, the attic will be virtually unaccessible.

Thanks,
Ira

 

[Kevin54]

First, I don't want this to turn into a "what type of air line is best" discussion.

C'mon...you know deep down that you really do.

Personally, I would run it high and exposed. That way IF anything goes wrong, it is accessible. Because you know just as soon as the last piece of sheetrock is up and mudded, there would be a screw that barely penetrated the line somewhere. If I am correct, the Garage Pak is blue anodized, so exosing it adds some class. Kind of like a blue stripe. LOL!!! If it's in the attic it will draw more heat than just up against the ceiling or close to it. Behind a wall is asking for trouble. I'm just the type though that wants anything that has a joint or seam, exposed, because of Murphy's Law.

 

[JohnK007]

I agree 100% with Kevin for the very reasons he stated. Another vote for the "industrial look"

 

[flesburg]

I do not agree and would hide all of the lines in the walls. In my last garage I ran 3/4 inch copper, and did it after the drywall. Everything else was hidden, ie electrical wires, phone wires, water pipe etc. The garage is now 14 years old and belongs to my son. Not any problems with leaking air.

So, I moved, sold him my house, and am building a new garage.

This time, I hid everything behind the sheetrock except the short pieces which are "Quick connects", and other piping which extends through the walls about an inch, which have ball valves on them and act as drains. The compressor is in a "closet" under the stairway to the second floor "wifes hobby room".

We pressure tested the piping and it is good. Worst case senario.... it doesn't work and I have to run lines on the outside of the sheetrock. Worth the gamble for the "clean and neat look that I wanted this time.

 

[hblock72]

I'm in the planning stages myself. (groundbreaking rapidly approaching though) I'm thinking of going with something similar to your option #3, but unlike you, I'll have easy access to the attic and may even put the compressor up there too. As said before, I think the garage pak stuff would look good exposed.

 

[duggie]

I plan on running my hard lines just under my bench tops along each wall (18'x24' garage) with approx. 6" "drops" coming up through the benches. It will be hidden from view, but still exposed under the bench, if I should need to do any work on it. I also plan on having drains at the end of each horizontal runs, which will be exposed at the ends of my side benches so I can drain and snake them out.

You should consider that an option also ???

 

[FunfDreisig]

And yet another option....

I hate drilling holes through framing just to hide stuff. But I also don't like the full on industrial look. So in my new garage I'll be putting ALL wiring, air piping etc. in a utility chase 48" above the floor which is the height of the stem walls on the back and most of the two side walls.The chase will sit on top of the stem wall and be surface mounted in the areas without stem walls. The electrical outlets will be on the face of chase. This puts them about the right height above work benches etc. The chase will be made of wood with the top screwed on for easy access.

Visually, the utility chase will be a raised version of the horizontal stripes we see so often in garages on this board. But mine will be a handy place for setting down a cup of coffee or a brew

Funf Dreisig

 

[hemisteve]

And yet another option....

I hate drilling holes through framing just to hide stuff. But I also don't like the full on industrial look. So in my new garage I'll be putting ALL wiring, air piping etc. in a utility chase 48" above the floor which is the height of the stem walls on the back and most of the two side walls.The chase will sit on top of the stem wall and be surface mounted in the areas without stem walls. The electrical outlets will be on the face of chase. This puts them about the right height above work benches etc. The chase will be made of wood with the top screwed on for easy access.

Visually, the utility chase will be a raised version of the horizontal stripes we see so often in garages on this board. But mine will be a handy place for setting down a cup of coffee or a brew

Funf Dreisig

I'm doing the exact same thing but with only air in the cavity. Mine will be semi-recessed - my 2x4 garage walls will be firred out with 2x2's to get extra insulating value and the chase will be a 4" high by 2" deep cavity with an MDF cap to cover it up. I'll install drops with fittings and drain valves as needed.

Steve

 

[MisterCMK]

If it were me, I would run the air lines all exposed. Exposed lines makes it easier to add on in the future if you should decide that you want to add a drop somewhere in the garage.

 

[e-tek]

If it were me, I would run the air lines all exposed. Exposed lines makes it easier to add on in the future if you should decide that you want to add a drop somewhere in the garage.

I definitely would have said exposed, just for the reasons above - but I LOVE the idea of a box/chase to hide them in! I guess I can still do that - I'll just box over mine. And if I want to add on or repair, it's easy!

As far as it not degenerating into a "what's best to use" debate: I'd still go with Black Pipe...no wait...copper...I mean Garage pak....Oh **** I don't know what to use now.

 

[PoorOwner]

I run my pipes about 8" from the ceiling along the walls..
people love the look since copper is so expensive right now,
it also adds "class"

 

[Mr. Welsh]

I see you're splitting your garage in half...I'm not sure what your intentions are, but if one side is the "workshop" and the other more of a storage/showroom, maybe you want exposed lines in the workshop for access and hidden lines in the storage area.

 

[RickP330]

And yet another option....

Visually, the utility chase will be a raised version of the horizontal stripes we see so often in garages on this board. But mine will be a handy place for setting down a cup of coffee or a brew

Funf Dreisig

Hey,
Do you have any photos of what the "chase" might look like? An interesting Idea, I also hate drilling holes in the framing, but what other choice is there?

FWIW, In my first garage I ran 1" black iron pipe outside the sheetrock - I guess the industral look. it was Okay, but it quickly became a source of dust every time I painted. it gets dirty and unsightly after time.

I have not run My piping in this garage yet (check out my threads below), but my plan is to use 1" copper pipe in the attic above the sheetrock and have a 50/50 split with the industrial / clean look. I'll drop 3/4" copper runners outside of the sheetrock on the walls.

Unless I can think of something else?
Rick

 

[FunfDreisig]

Hey,
Do you have any photos of what the "chase" might look like? An interesting Idea, I also hate drilling holes in the framing, but what other choice is there?...

I haven't finished the design yet. My new garage is still just a 3D model in Google SkecthUp

But 90% of the utility chase's length sits on the inner ledge formed by 8" wide stem walls with 2x4 framing. This leaves roughly 4 inches in the clear for the utility chase which will look like a long wooden box (roughly 4x6") sitting on this ledge. I'll probably use MDF to get a clean smooth finish that will hold paint well. On one interior wall and part of an exterior wall (without a stem wall) I'll reduce the depth to the minimum needed for an electrical outlet box but keep the same height. The step down in depth occurs at corners so it will not be hard to disguise. The utility chase will separate dissimilar wall finishes both in terms of color and durablity.

BTW you can get plastic, code approved, standoffs that allow you to pull several electrical wires in a small space and keep them both organized and separated (for heat) without using any staples. I've used these before in chases over GLULAMS. I'll use these on the back "wall" of the chase.

FWIW I like mid-century modern designs w/ strong clean lines. So my chase will probably be a simple square box. But it could be designed to look like fancy wainscot trim in a more traditional design. And the lower section of the wall could be firred out to make it flush with the outer edge of the chase.

Funf Dreisig

 

[larry4406]

I ran my black pipe in the walls behind sheet rock - nice and clean. I have taps every 6 feet along the walls as well as overhead drops. All taps come off the top of the main line which is pitched to a single drain valve at the end of the line. Main line is about 2 to 3 feet above the floor and pitched at 1/4 inch per foot in the direction of flow. Yes, drilling the 6 inch studs for the main was a small pain, but a chalk line, tape measure, and a 90 degree Hole Hawg drill made quick work. Also, I drilled through the corner stud of the structure so I could shoot full sticks of pipe into the wall.

I did not like the idea of a "high" main, with each tap then going up 6 to 8 inches then down into a vertical dead leg with a drip pot/drain valve on the end (I did not want to have both a tap and a drain valve coming out the wall for each point of use). Instead, I inverted this concept with my main low, then risered off the top of the main to each point of use (each riser is about 2 feet minimun) which then makes each leg self draining and I have one drain valve at the end of the line. I have about 100 feet of 1 inch black pipe for the main from the compressor to the end drain valve, and taps are mostly 1/2 inch, some 3/4. I used Rector Seal on the threaded joints, pressurized it to 100 pounds, and it sat there for 2 plus weeks before rocked.

Very clean look.

 

[kbs2244]

I like the chase idea. It can be a high sofit at the top of the wall or down low where Fun is putting it.
I have too much maintaince man in me to forever hide it behind finished walls, but when left exposed it sure is a dust and grime catcher.
When one of my sons remodeled his house we ran the new wiring from the panel that was by the garage door through a 12 x 12 sofit that ran the length of the garage and a laundry room before it got to the house to branch out to the different rooms.
We did drywall it in the laundry room, but in the garage we used screwed on plywood to cover it. It will be easy to open if we ever have to.

 

[kbs2244]

BTW
His wire is in conduit behind the finished walls of the garage. If we ever need to we can pull new wire through the old pipe.
He is not much of an air user, so he just uses hose from the compressor, but I would vote for exposed drops out the bottom of the sofit if he wanted to go that way. Again, I just do not like hidden joints that under constant pressure. (Even though plumbers do it all the time.) I have seen some that last 50 years and some that don’t last 6 months. The exposed ones are a lot easier to fix.