wish I would have....

[drps10]

I'm in the process of designing my garage and when all is said and done, I dont want to think "man I wish I would have done this different"

Post up what you wish you would have done different....give an explanation to why it would have been nice

But lets be realistic.. I'm looking for the ideas like... wish I put my 4 post car lift In the front instead of the back of the shop...or put in more outlets...or different style lights

 

[brownbagg]

two foot concrete stem wall, with floor drains, tool boxes off the ground so I could hose the floor down

 

[TerryH]

For me it really is the outlet deal. When I built my shop I never dreamed that I'd be doing anything but working on cars. Bodywork mostly so I didn't do very many outlets because all the tools were air powered. Now that I do woodworking, metal working etc... and hardly ever do body work I would love to have 5 times the outlets. I'd do 1 every 6 feet minimum. Believe it or not, there were only 4 outlets in my 1200 sq.ft. shop to begin with. I've added some more now but it was a major PITA with everything finished.

 

[Mystic142]

I NEVER heard anyone say they have too much square footage, outlets, or light ..... ever.

I got a lot of pushback from my builder (who is also a friend) on lights and outlets. In the end, we did it my way as I was footing the bill. No regrets.

I have 28wx33d and wish it was 30 x 35. I wish I had done a full second floor with a taller first floor instead of vaulted ceiling and no second (money stopped both of these). I wish I had a people door on the front (the extra 2 feet width would have allowed it). The extra 2 feet deep would have allowed room to walk in between 2 cars parked back to back.

 

[XS29L9B]

Instead of three doors (each is 8' 9' and 8'), I would have made them all 9', min.

That, and a 12' ceiling vs 10'

 

[socapots]

Good question to ask man.
Keep the answers coming guys.

 

[KLRCraig]

A/C instead of a swamp-cooler!

 

[Journaler]

Higher ceilings, a wide man door at the back(so I can go through vs around to get to behind garage), 2 double doors + man door in front vs 1 of each, insulated walls and ceiling, separate 100 amp electric panel, sink+toilet+shower, make it about 5' deeper than it is now, much, much more ceiling lights, and that's just off the top 'o my head.

 

[Benw455]

I have a 30'x40' with 10' ceiling should have went 12'. Now I want a lift as 10' limits my options.

 

[Journaler]

... floor drains, tool boxes off the ground so I could hose the floor down

I actually asked my builder about that. He said there were obstacles to floor drains in a residential home because of the likelihood of oil/fluids getting in the water system.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

I just recently went through this sort of, after having moved in to a garage already built, top of my list...more outlets and a rear door

 

[socapots]

Floor drains to a sump pit you can pump or have sucked out for proper disposal.

 

[the_saint]

1. 12' 6" ceilings versus 12'
2. Made it 4-5 feet deeper.
3. More outlets.
4. More lights.
5. Separate hot and cold water, in addition to a sink.

 

[wedge40]

Regardless of what the planned use will be lots of lights and outlets. Mine isn't completely wired yet, but I have two outlets ever 8 feet. One on each side of the main 6"x6" post. I plan on having at least 3 220v outlets put in maybe one or two more.
One of the questions you have to ask yourself is "how long will you be there?" If this is your retirement shop, then anything goes. If you think in 5-10 years you're going to move that changes things.

Wedge

 

[Jen......]

skylights for more lighting its way to dark with doors down and i dont like to use lights due to cost , wider building made it 24 ft wide now wish i had it at 40 ft . not enough room so now i am considering garden sheds to store alot of items that is taking up floor space

Jen

 

[pmiranda]

The stuff that's hard to change:
A bigger subpanel in the garage (more to the point, fed by heavier gauge wire so I could have added more circuits at minimal cost)
A higher ceiling
Leave space on the side or back to add on
Floor drain (if you can get away with it) to wash cars in the winter...draining to a greywater system so I can water the trees with it during summer droughts.

 

[drps10]

I grew up with a big barn!!! Dad built it to work on his semi. 40x60, heated, gable trusses for storage uptop... There are alot of things I like about it.. but will be over kill for my shop.

He had tons of lights!!!!!! we had 4 outlets every other pole. Water.

For those guys that want a drain... We put one in (not allowed) but it doesn't tie into anything.. just drains into the yard.. We NEVER use it! .. we have a uitilty sink with hot water (3gal tank) that just drains out the garage door via hose...( in the winter it drains into floor drain.. but doesn't accumlate much water so really doesn't do anything)

Has air line drop every other post.. all copper.

for those who more light or more anything....

how many are you working with???

 

[Xray Dave]

Pour 2' wide raised portion of concrete (3" or height of toe kick) around sides of slab/floor for your cabinets, tool chests etc. Then when you want to hose out garage no worries about water damage to cabinet bases. If you are vertically challenged (short) adjust height of pour or shorten cabinets.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Atleast 10' walls. If you do any working with 4x8 sheets, you'll find it's hard to do with an 8' ceiling.

36" man door, for the extra wide things going in & out without opening an O/H door.

Atleast one course of block or 8" of concrete stem wall to keep the wall material off the floor.

More lights than you think, just put them on different circuits.

2x6 walls for more insulation. It might cost more upfront but it will pay for itself back time and time again.

Spend a few days (many days) looking through the gallery section at what others have done, learn from other's builds and mistakes.

 

[Vicster]

Instead of three doors (each is 8' 9' and 8'), I would have made them all 9', min.

That, and a 12' ceiling vs 10'

This is a big one for me. I would do nothing under 9'

 

[ket-tek]

I thought when I did a 12' ceiling it would be plenty, after installing a lift in there the ceiling gets short fast lifting anything that is not a car. Full size Trucks and Vans can't get full walk under height, so I would make the ceiling 16' next time or at least as close to it as county code would allow since there are restrictions on that in some localities.

I would have made mine bigger as well, but that's a never ending dream as I would love a garage the size of a football field or two. But budget has to come into play at some point.

I NEVER heard anyone say they have too much square footage, outlets, or light ..... ever.

Agreed..

 

[Always_Thinkin]

...Put recepticals every 4 foot and had one breaker per receptical. 20 amp breaker is not meant to run a 15 amp saw and a vac system etc.

 

[7ate9]

Floor drains to a sump pit you can pump or have sucked out for proper disposal.

Speaking from experience I wouldn't go this route. That water will stink like heck if it sits in there too long.

I suppose you could keep it pumped often or maybe dump a little bleach in every now and then though..

 

[JakeKohl]

I would also reiterate the ceiling height. Go 12' if you can swing it. I went 10 feet because I have a second story on my garage and the building is free standing - I didn't want the extra two feet of roof height (I have a one story house...so it's doesn't match enough as it is) and I didn't want to extra stairs to climb (it's my daily office...so I'm up and down at least four times a day).

Also go as tall as you can on the garage doors - I made sure that mine were tall enough to pull in my Silverado but I didn't consider other things...like how nice it would be to pull in with my kayak on the roof and hoist it to it's ceiling mount right off the top of the truck.

Having a ledge for cabinets to avoid water is good - but you can do that with feet on the cabinets (I plan to).

Tons of outlets - they're cheap during construction (if doing it yourself).

One thing I don't regret in a major way is putting a garage door on each gable end and spending the extra $ to go with insulated garage doors. I have one door that opens into the back yard and it's incredible on nice days to open both sides of the building and have tons of air through there. Easy heating and cooling is nice with all the insulation.

I wish I had planned for the car lift in the early phases - I intend to do an in-floor scissors lift and I'm going to have to cut some concrete to make that happen...not huge, but would have been nice to do from the get go.

 

[ambenz]

I am landlocked so my 22'deep, 30'wide, and 10' tall with 9X16 and 9X7 ft doors is as big as I could go.
I suppose 30 amp service is adequate, could go 100 amp and that is a future consideration.
I wish I put in a line from the house to the garage with multiple TV coax, cat 5, a cables with 25c 18 awg (for security alarms, intercom, automation system, etc.) and I suppose water would be nice to wash the cars in the heated space during the winter...still all doable.
Everyday I thank my lucky stars I installed a 3/4" natural gas line to the garage, having heat 24/7 in the winter is sooo nice!!!!
Insulated doors, ceiling and walls are all positive dollars spent!

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I bought my property with the building already there and wish the ceilings were higher for sure. The mistake I made was not finding the garage journal soon enough. I poured a nice concrete floor then later learned about hydronic heat. I might have also made the floor perfectly level and not installed floor drains.

 

[santagary]

Wish I would have made my recent added on/attached garage 3 bays wide instead of 2 and 3 or 4' deeper to accomodate a bigger pickup...also 10' by 10' garage doors instead of 7' by 10'

 

[skyking]

I built a 50x40x14 . It is too small. I dont know if you can ever have enough.
My biggest door is 12x40 (hangar door) so entry is no problem.

 

[62rat]

I'm sure that with unlimited funds there are many things that I would change but with what I have, 30X40X12 with 2-10X10 rollup doors, the one thing I would most like to change is the doors. I wish I would have gone with 12' wide doors because it would have made access to the middle part much easier.

 

[S4PLAY]

I wish I had found Garage Journal before planning anything. Other than that...

I have 24x40 I wish I had gone 36x40
I have 14' ceilings to fit any lift I want but a second floor for an escape retreat would have been nice
I have 38 outlets so I'm good there
More lighting would of been better
I did the epoxy coat myself, I wish I had done it slower in the middle of summer not the Fall trying to rush
Maybe a taller garage door, I did 8' wish i had done 10' Ya never know what you'll be diving in the future.

 

[Kevin54]

My garage is fairly nice. Easy to heat, TV, Stereo, can park three cars, nice to just come out and kick back in the garage.

If I had it to do over, I'd do EVERYTHING differently. I'd have a 3' stem wall. I'd build 10' walls on top of that with a portion of it Cathedral trusses. 10' wide doors and 10' tall instead of 9x7's. Smooth ceiling instead of a textured ceiling. Build it deeper and wider, probably a 30'x50' instead of 28'x36'. Metal roof instead of shingles. Garage door on the side. Have room for a lift. Would not have built it with a center wall on a foundation. I removed my center wall last year or so, had to knock the foundation block out to open the space up, now stuck with uneven floors. Would have put a floor drain in. Cedar siding to match the house instead of vinyl siding. Would have planned ahead for a bathroom and have running water. Or if possible, I would have built it with a second floor to kick back with TV, Pool Table, Pinball.

But, I have what I have, it's paid for, I have heat, TV, fridge, and my vehicles all fit in. My biggest gripe about it right now is the floor. If I can get a portion of it cut out and leveled between what was two bays, I'll be happy.

 

[Gregger Rod & Custom]

I went as large as the city would allow. So I added a storage shed all down one side between garage & fence.

What I wish I had done....

..... was add a 36" wide man door to the centre of that side of the garage wall so I could use it to get into the shed directly from inside the garage. (Instead of walking through the snow outside the garage). This would have turned the shed into a tool storage room.

 

[AndyA]

When you trench to install your electrical, also install another 4" conduit for TV, phone, internet, etc.

 

[LutzTD]

I wish I would have started 10 years sooner

 

[Jason280]

Outside of the normal wishes, I wish I would have run a 50a 240v plug on the outside wall of my shop by the garage door. It would have made it so much easier to run the welding machines and plasma torch outside of the shop, and would save me from having to run an extension cord. I have no idea why I didn't in the first place, as I strategically placed three 50a plugs inside the shop when I wired it up, but for some reason, I never ran a plug to the outside.

 

[Kentuckian]

I wish I had made my 42 x 36 garage about 4 feet deeper. Measure the length of what ever vehicles you think you would like to own someday and figure room to walk/work between them when they are end to end.

I am glad I used an 18 ft wide door and a 10 ft wide door. The 10 ft wide door makes it easier if I need to back my trailer into the garage.

 

[larry_g]

I wish I had read these threads on the GJ.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183628

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178070

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107311

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126255

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43876

And maybe a few hundred more.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[skyking]

I wish I had read these threads on the GJ.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183628

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178070

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107311

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126255

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43876

And maybe a few hundred more.

lg
no neat sig line

Party Pooper !!!

 

[larry_g]

Party Pooper !!!

I've been here long enough to know that it is bad form to just say search it out. I'm also tired of typing the same stuff to each newb that comes along and is not willing to work a bit.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[theoldwizard1]

A/C instead of a swamp-cooler!

If you live where cooling is a MUST, consider a mini split heat pump.

You can never have too much insulation !