The only thing that I would have changed was a taller ceiling height. Mine is only 9' so I can't put a good lift in there.

 

Get that ceiling as high as your code allows, the truss makers can design that for a combination of storage and height.
Also, consider heat in the slab instead of the wall mount heater. Id highly recommend Wirsbo in slab hot water tubes that run off a water heater with circulation pump. Then in winter your floors are warm to work on the cars. With the wall/ceiling mount gas heater, your floors will be much cooler than your ceilings. Once the slab is poured, you cant add the floor heat later, so consider it now. If its out of your budget, then at least put 2" of pink rigid styrofoam insulation undrer the slab to retain your heat.
Lots of 110v plug ins, some 220v outlets should be wired in before sheetrocked. Dont forget the speaker wires, tv cable/internet wires, phone etc. Allow space for your microwave and fridge.
And a lock on the door going to the house to keep distractions from bugging you just kidding. Take pics and give us progress reports, we love seeing garages built.

 

I have a 30 x 35 with 12 ft ceiling. It was built the year before I bought the house. I finished the inside myself and added a forced air propane furnace. I wish the guy would have put in running water and a floor drain. Radiant floor heat would have been nice but I don't know the cost. My advice is to build the biggest you can afford.

 

Just try to keep in mind that in this case bigger is almost always better. It is cheaper/easier now to make the garage a few more square feet larger than it would be to add-on in the future. Keep in mind the amount of floor space a workbench and tool box etc. will eat up.

Also, even if you currently have no plans for anything that will use 220, it is cheaper to run it during initial construction as it becomes more expensive once the walls are closed up.

I hope to build a new garage in the next few years myself, and much like yourself, I don't want to break the bank doing it either. But certain things "just make sense." For example, I can see myself living without drywall finished walls and ceiling for a while in order to offset the cost of some more square footage. Just a couple things to think about.

 

Does anybody know the cost for a full radiant heat floor?

Say for a 24x24 or a 30 x 32

 

Does anybody know the cost for a full radiant heat floor?

Say for a 24x24 or a 30 x 32

Here's some sample estimates:
http://www.radiantcompany.com/prices/quotes.shtml

From: http://www.radiantcompany.com/

 

Build it the absolute biggest you possibly can. I gurantee no matter how big you go you will at some point say i wish i built it bigger. Built mine 30 x 42 with 2 stories and i now wish i would have gone a little bigger. Good suggestion on the heat. Those ceiling mounted deals are pretty bad for trying to get an even heat. The floor is always cold. Especially if you have higher ceilings. Definitely try to put in a 10 or 12 foot ceiling to leave your options open. Floor drain is also a good idea.

 

You may want to check into attic trusses. They will be a little more expensive, but well worth it for storage. They can span 24' easily. You do have to go with a little taller roof, like 8/12 or 10/12. Just have your truss place give you some ideas about size and hight.
Good luck.

 

I too am looking into building a shop. If you have not looked at web style steel truss, i highly recomend them. They really open up your building and give you a lot of height for things like lifts. They are light weight and you can build them yourself you want to go that route. There are a lot companies that make these. I'm not going to list any particular ones but you can search for them on the intranet. Try to find a place that is local. This will save you a bunch on shipping and if you have problems. What ever you do, I would shy away from wood construcyion. My 2 cents.

 

I just have a 2+ car garage...but i have helped build some rather large shops before. The things that stick out in my mind are:
size of the building, absolutely NO load-bearing columns/posts in the middle (you'll thank yourself later), more outlets than you think you need (they're cheap and you WILL use them), a good heat source!, hanging flourescent fixtures everywhere (gotta see what you're doing), plento of space for benches and places to stash parts (racks). These are some of the basics. If I were building a shop for myself, I would write out a list of what's important "to me". What features do you want to incorporate into it. The best way to find this out is to look at other peoples shops -either online or get a book on it and then prioritize your needs and wants...
Have fun! Dano

 

I agree......GO UP ! It costs very little more and it is like free space. stack'm !

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e188/buzzworth/blueorangestack2.jpg

 

Hello bussworth, Very nice looking building! Iam also getting ready to build a 30x50 10ft, Do I need to go 12ft? Can you tell me more about your lift? and cost of it? That really looks super duty! Let me know if you don't mind? Thanks Jimi302z28s

 

The "hanger" is 30 x 60 x 12'. It takes all of that 12 foot ceiling to stack the cars. If you are going to do any truck, you might want even more.
the lift is:
https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=28

cost was around $1800 with drip trays, steel jack tray, and wheel kit to move it around. check out their video at that site.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e188/buzzworth/Hnager.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e188/buzzworth/inhanger4.jpg

 

If you have a deep sink, then you're gonna have to have heat in the building to prevent freezing, say at least to 40*F.

Good suggestions given,
A window/door in every wall for crossflow ventilation.
Sky lights for natural light, glass ones cause plastic lens cloud over with age.
As said, height for the future lift.
Epoxy floor coating for clean-up.
A deep-water well or extension of city water.
A billards table, frig, gas grille, stereo system, cable/satelite TV, Army cot, LazyBoy chair, restroom.

Hostess(es), see Haulnn for examples........

 

Keep in mind building codes for the city you live in. For example, the city I live in will not let me put a building within a certain distance from my house and from the property line, it also limits the size of the building in relation to my main house, and how tall the building can be (not taller than the house). You "should" be able to verify all the city building codes for the one you live in from their web site, unless it's a really small city.

 

One mo thing.......I have 4 clear/white panels in the roof of the hanger as skylights. The entire building is insulated except for these panels so when it is freezing out (and in), they will frost up on the inside and sweat like a fat man in a marathon when the sun heats the panels. amazing how much water comes off them.
We've had to take clear plastic and drape it over the ceiling area, below the skylights to contain the drippage and channel it to strategically placed pails.
We also hung plastic tarps on a steel cable so that when we want to heat an area, we can isolate different sections. (see pic in above post)

 

I've been a builder/remodeler for 30 years. Build it as big as you possibly can! It's never as cheap as it is now. Look into storage trusses if they can work with you're design. Don't get three prices and take the lowest, much of my work is fixing low bidder's sloppy work. Find a good builder and check his previous jobs. Don't let some smooth talking salesman sell you a product if they don't have good work ethics. Hope this helps.

 

As the others have said, bigger is better and up here in the northest you need heat if you plan to work in the winter. I have a 25x24 now and am planning to build something around 40x40. I'm definately thinking about radiant heat, better lighting, plenty of power... Also, enough height for a lift is mandatory. Who knows what your next two (three, four) cars will be. To be able to store two cars in one space is key.

FYI - the 25' depth that I have is pretty good for a car the size of a camaro. I have full 36" deep benches on the back wall and enough room to work. Working on anything bigger like a pickup is a bit tougher.

http://chuckbro.smugmug.com/photos/25938392-S.jpg
http://chuckbro.smugmug.com/photos/50878746-S.jpg

 

I have a 40x40 3door with a rear garage door, (great for ventilation). I have a 12' ceiling for my lift. I still need to finish putting in insulation and plan to have the garage heated.

 

Definately make it as big as you can possibly make it. Then add 5 feet in all directions. You will not regret it. Typically we dont need heat for to long here in TX but a heated floor would be awsome since you spend so much time near it or on it.

 

http://www.haulnss.com/MiscPics.htm
I just built a 30X50 a couple years ago. I went with "keyless" lights, a bunch of them, much cheaper and better looking then the hanging flourescent lights. I use GE 100W clear bulbs. I also put outlets every 4' and 220 in every corner. My Father in law made fun of me, but commends me now. I also went with all enclosed cabinets, I hate the look of clutter on open shelf cabinets. I ran speaker wire to each corner of the garage and outside, for basketball and entertaining. The one thing I wish I had done was run piping for more connections on my air compressor. Could have easily put them in the wall. I recently added a bright motion light inside the garage. My wife didn't like walking into the garage in the mornings when it was all dark.
Go as big as you can! I am already considering adding a two car off the back, with higher ceilings for a lift. I live in my garage on the weekends. Also great for Poker parties!!!

 

I also offset my door so that I could line up all my cabinets and misc stuff on one wall. I have seen friends build garages and line up their walls with $hit and then the garage just got 6' narrower. I really thought mine out before I built it. I was lucky enough to help build a couple others first, that way I could see what I wanted to differently in mine. I also ran a network line out to the garage for internet. Very useful when working on the car and hanging out here at the same time...lol

 

I "thought" I'd thought of everything when I did mine, but did not put in enough power or lighting. More width would have been nice, but was at the setback limits and couldn't. More ht. would have been nice, too.

Find a way to do the luandry sink, it's so nice for cleaning parts and dirty hands before going in the house. I had mine roughed in but didn't install it for 3 years. Wife is much happier now that greasy hands are never washed in her kitchen sink.

I did the hanging gas furnace, and love it. It heats the space like nobody's business. Warm floors would be good, but you have to keep it on all the time, takes forever to heat up several dozen tons of concrete, my cieling hung will bring it from 45 degrees to 65 in 10 minutes and cost way less than a grand.

 

Think BIG.I have 45x40 thougt it would do.Now i wish it was 50x100.

 

Have the "step" at the front poured 54" or 60" deep instead of the usual 30" or 36" deep; makes space for your workbench with plenty of room for stools, and you can walk around the stools without having to step up and down. Not expensive, but very useful. :thumbsup:

:beers: