building a garage

[maroman]

It's NOT big enough. I just built a 48X60 and it's full, can't go too big.  Go to the garage journal website, part of jalopy journal. You will find all the answers you need there. As John said, insulation is your friend.

[dannystarr]

Here is my new unassembled building. 18 feet at the eves with a 1:12 pitch for mor stand up room. 400 Amp dual meter service for welders, lifts, glass beader, compressor etc. etc.No snow in Northern CA.The left door will go directly into my living space. Pull up right behind my couch! Radiant heat on 4 separate zones. If it's 30 degrees out and you are having dinner. And you know you are going to be working in the shop, you set that zone for 70 degrees and when you are done eating it's ready. BillOhio, it's actually on demand tankless you are probably talking about, not an instant hot. Instant hot goes at the kitchen sink. 2,600 Sq. Ft. living space and 1,600 Sq. Ft. shop. So it's 4,000 sq. Ft. CLEAR SPAN with enough room for a stand up loft, or storage or another bedroom another house to rent out with separate outside entrance. It's endless. OR.... I might switch it to 2,600 shop and 1,600 living. Roll up doors are R-9 insulated w/openers. Hit the button in the rain and drive right in my house. Kinda Dan Tana style. 2 - 10 X 10 doors and one 12 X 16 for a boat/RV/ ?  Good Times!....

OK, now the bad news...I bought this to have for my Z/28 storage spot and work shop. Lost the car in the middle of paying for it, { See picture of car } gotta sell the building as I can't afford the 50K for permits, slab, sewer tie in, etc. etc. etc.. Wanna buy it?....Danny

40' X 100' X 18' Prefab metal building. Includes bags of hardware for assembly. This is a clear span 4,000 square foot Steel building. Open floor plan with NO center supports. The bracing is set-up for CA building standards to pass inspection. If you wanted to, you could take one door out of the front and put it in line in the back. That way you have a drive-thru. You can see how the roof vents split between the bays. And the Skylight panels can be put in where you want. This is 18' at the eves. So the pitch of the roof is higher by what looks like 2 or 3 feet. Never assembled. Manufactured in San Diego CA. This is a very nice building, far superior then most on the market. This building is 18 feet at the eves so it is set-up for a stand-up live-in loft inside. Use for shop and a Granny unit or bigger above. It is "A" frame gable symmetrical. With a 1:12 pitch. It is 4 bays at 25' each. Wind load is 85 MPH. It comes with the following: Assembly Manual, 2 sets of Blue Prints; 2 sets of Foundation Plans; 2 sets of foundation calc's; 2 sets of structural design calc's; 2 sets of Houston-Atwater spec's. ALL are stamped by a licensed engineer and ready to go for CA. 3 - 36" X 70" metal man doors with hardware. It is framed-out for roll-up doors on one long side for.. One 10' X 10', One 12' X 16' and another 10' X 10'. Door's not included; 10- Skylight roof panels; Trim is full cover deluxe formed for siding; 3- 10' Roof ridge vent's. Outside color of siding is light stone. The pictures just show what it would look like. Of course you would have 3 door openings on the one side, or you could buy some extra siding and only use one or two of the roll-up openings. You don't have to use all 3. This building is at my property in Sonoma CA and is ready for Pick-up. You will need a 45' flatbed if you want to do it all in ONE load. Otherwise 2 or 3 trips with a smaller trailer is fine. It did all arrive on ONE 45 foot trailer. To load I would use a JLG or Back Hoe. This building is ready to go. Just lay a slab and put it up. I have approx. 36K invested. Make an offer. Please be ready to bring help to load, as I will be unable to help.

[z28z11]

It's NEVER big enough. I built a 32 X 28 foot, 1-18' roll up, 1-10' roll up, and made 3 mistakes: 1) a 10' ceiling, 2) a 4/12 pitch on the roof, and 3) I had one car when I built it. There are three inside now, with the fourth going in soon. I stick built it myself, so the only person I can complain about for the error in design is me. Do yourself a favor, and put a steep enough pitch to the roof where you can either second-story above the garage space for storage or a rec area. A friend of mine had a good idea (and lived in a heavily code-strict area), so he floored the upstairs in 2 X 10's with a tongue and groove sub floor, a large (wide) staircase attached with hinges and a winch to raise and lower it, and stored heavy items like blocks, heads, and manifolds there by the dozens. Ceiling was at least 12 feet. Clear span, no posts.
I wired mine myself (as long as you permit here, and have the requisite rough-in and finish inspections, they'll approve it), and saved myself a bunch of money plus I got everything I needed. 100 amp primary, ground faulted wall and ceiling outlets, 30 amp 230 service for welder/light compressor, 50 amp circuit for the big compressor/heater, 8 foot strip flourescents and eve lights, side and entry lights. Alarm circuits, cable TV and phone lines to boot. Now, if I had only built it larger - I might have had room to work on the cars inside (parts and cars are tough to step on when walking through the garage).

Good luck,
Steve

[dannystarr]

And here is the lost car....... Danny

[68camaroz28]

Joe, you saw our garage (stable converted) but we cannot say enough about insulation. I placed the heaviest mill sheating I could find for what I concreted but wish the rest had been done as well due to moisture. What John had the foresight to do for his floor is quite commendable. Those dehumidifiers eat the electric up..... Not sure if you can but orientation can play also as its always nice to have the back wall facing north with no windows or doors. Our ceiling is 12' 4" so our 2 post lift was a breeze. Insulated garage doors are a must! Thinking of your heat source will be one of the many things to decide on before starting IMO. Since ours was already built we added a ceiling Reznor 75K propane heater to the one side which works nicely but if building from scratch I'd be considering other heat sources. Also added alarm system and heat pods for notifying in case of fire. Helps with insurance as well....
Gotta love all those horses in just a couple stalls....

[69pace]

Some nice garages for sure here, but you might want to also cruise around this site http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/
for some truly amazing garage plans and tips as well as tons on radiant floor and solar heating.

[camaro jock]

4000 psi concrete would be the most appropriate for the floor slab, 3000 psi is plenty for the footings. Also make sure you use a high reach garage door where ever you are going to install a lift, also you will want to use a sideloader garage door opener so make sure the electrical is on the side that you want the opener. Insulate all you can afford it will be the cheapest part of your construction costs. Your plans look good, have fun with the construction. Darrell

[JohnZ]

John Z,

Checked out your garage article and drooled over your Z. I noticed it has wheel opening and drip rail moldings, so I'm guessing it's an X33? It doesn't look like it has the quarter trim pieces though? Or maybe I just can't tell in the pics?

Jimmy V.

It's an original X33 car, but the original owner didn't care for all the jewelry and removed the fender emblems and quarter panel gills, and brazed the holes shut. He liked everything else, though - he ordered everything you could get on a Z/28 except a tilt wheel, vinyl top, and RS.

[GI JOE]

Thanks everyone.. you all have given me some great tips and this advice is just what I needed to help me... 
 

I have the homework you all have provided me.. ha ha ha .. I just need to review it all

As for the size...  I sure would like to go bigger but I am limited by the septic system...

(my health district requires a minimum of ten feet away from the system... I have a dispersion line that is limiting the depth..) 

I will post here when I get the garage going when the time comes...


BTW   -        Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all my Car brothers and their families out there...

[jmcbeth]

i totally agree with building bigger. Couple of other thoughts:

1. My lift is a Rotary Asymmetric 10,000 lb lift. Very nice, particularly for working on the wheels.
2. Suggest lots of lights. My goal was "no shadows".
3. HVAC. It's very nice working on your vehicles during the winter in comfort.
4. Lots of electrical outlets. My rule: never need an extension cord.
5. Some suggested I install air supply lines throughout. I didn't, but wish I had.

[dannystarr]

JMCbeth you are right in alot of ways. I never got my shop up, but I did alot of work on friends shops.
  
   The lift idea is great on wheels. Build a lean-to on the side and when not in use roll it out of the shop and out of the way. IF you have room??
   Lighting is great, nice commercial lighting does the trick. Don't get them from box stores, go to an electrical supply house.
   Heated floors are the best. Trying to heat large cubic feet can be expensive. Like I mentioned before, on demand tankless with zone valves.
   Check into a company called "BIG ASS Fans". Throw one of those with 6 or 8 or 10 foot blades in the ceiling with a remote and variable speed.
   Electrical outlets at both sides of the lift mounted to it AND in the floor! That's right flush mount in the floor with nice brass covers.
   Air lines on both sides of the lift and all over the bench area is great. I am a plumber for the last 24 years, and I do all my friends air lines in type "L" or "K" copper. With gauges, moisture filters and drain downs    
   looking down so you can drain condensation. Also make sure to stub out air lines OUTSIDE in front of the shop in between the rollups. A few feet of pipe and some fittings.
   While you are at it always run a mixing valve out front also for hot and cold water. Install a filtration system in-line so that way you can wash your car with filtered warm water.    And when you spill trany fluid or the like, you have hot water to wash it down.
   It really is endless, I could go on and on. But I will tell you one other thing I have built for friends is a tall bench. And by that I mean a bench that is 48 inches high. Almost everybody builds there benches to low. Then I  
   watch them bend down while they are trying to see something. If you don't want your whole bench that height, then just build a 2 or 3 foot section at 48 to 50 inches. TRUST me,... when you are trying to solder some wires, or work on a small item it is great to just look almost right at it with out bending over. I have even built REMOVABLE 2 foot sections that clamp on your bench. Hang it on the wall, and take it down when needed and drop it into place and clamp it. Mount a baby vice, small light, magnifying glass, and those little vices with 2 or 3 flex arms on it ready to go. I wish I had pictures. I have been in multi-million dollar shops with live dolphins in the back yard!! And they build there benches at 30 inches??? Why  Never could understand that. I mention it and people laugh at me. And they do it with a sore back     ... Danny

[69Z28-RS]

I agree Danny; I always build my benches so they are chest high when I stand in front of it..  (who sits down and works at a bench?)...

[jmcbeth]

I agree with Danny's comments regarding  counter height. My counter was custom built by Moduline. You provide specifications and they build and ship. I opted for a stainless steel counter top. Couple of other things I thought to mention:

1. I have a stool that fits under the counter. I use this occasionally for long, detailed work, such as rebuilding a carb.
2. I also installed bright fluorescent lights directly over the counter. As I get older, the additional light has become very important.
3. The counter height allowed me to roll a Snap-On tool cabinet under it.
4. I also mounted a big screen TV on the wall above the counter. Nothing like putting on a football game while working on the cars.
5. I had speakers installed throughout the ceiling of my shop. This allows me to hear the TV or music from anywhere in the shop, regardless of the noise.

This is my fourth "garage", so I learn from each one.

[mickeystoys69RSSS]

Don't forget to add the incadescent desk lamp because the 12 bulb flourescent just isn't getting the job done. 

[69Z28-RS]

that's the 'garage ambiance' illumination...