I have a terrible dilemma. Just to give you some background, my wife and I have been discussing refinancing. Well, long story short, 4 7/8 percent and about $25,000 left over. My dilemma? How big is too big for a garage? I was thinking of something like 36'x48' so I can put my 26' fiver in for the winter too. My wife insists that it will have a concrete floor. I just don't know how big to go. Any ideas????

 

I had a 42x42 shop once. It was not big enough :... A buddy just built one 48x60 and it seem's nice. After I put my river boat in mine for the winter I was allways fumbling for room. You can never have "TOO" much room. ;D

 

For me, no garage can be too big. A cement floor is a must, SEALED and sloping with a proper drain for indoor winter washing. Also suggest that you make sure that the walls for the doors are extra wide next to the door(s). This will allow for storage, worktables etc against the walls without having to worry about anything hitting the vehicles. Another suggestion, even tho it is a garage, install more electrical plugs than you think you will ever use. Make sure these plugs are on a minimum of two circuits. Make provision for extra lighting later. Have a sink with hot and cold water installed. You will be amazed how often you will use this. If you plan on doing a lot of your own work on your truck, mower, fiver etc then I would also suggest that you consider installing a 220 volt outlet somewhere for future use for a welder or compressor.<br>Hope my unasked for .03c worth is of some use to you.

 

A sealed concrete floor is NOT optional.
Figure how big it needs to be to store evrything you'd ever want to put in it,........and add 10 feet in each direction.
High ceilings, and PLENTY of overhead light and outlets.
If detatched from the house, a phone WITH intercom will save many steps.
Open space in the rafters/trusses with 5/8-3/4 plywood floor will also come in real handy for smaller seasonal stuff.

Man,......we are GOOD at spending other folks $$$$ ain't we?

PS: the &quot;Toybox&quot; is 30 X 30 and waaaaaay too small. :

 

30'x50' I thought would be big enough for my stuff! Got more stuff

 

[quote author=nelburg link=board=10;threadid=16208;start=0#152139 date=1056319001]<br>30'x50' I thought would be big enough for my stuff! Got more stuff <br>[/quote]<br><br>No kidding. <br><br>I put up a 30x50 at the start of our house building adventure. It's full. <br><br>Also, put in WIDER doors than you think you'll ever need. I have 9' wide doors and my flatbed trailer only clears by about an inch on each side. Makes backing it in a PITA.

 

I would go as big as you can afford and your local building codes will allow. I would have a cement floor...it would be heated and have a small washroom. However...i think i would just finish the outside of the &quot;shop&quot; and leave the interior finishing work as time and money allows.

 

I agree with the others. It can't be too big. We are building a new house and have dropped the floor in the garage so we can have an 8' door. I want to make sure there are no problems with my baby fitting in the garage <br><br>Have fun with your new playroom I just wish mine was going to be that big.

 

Well, here's some of my thoughts on this very topic!! <br><br>I wanted 3 bays - the middle bay with a minimum 12' high door to clear a trailer &amp; wide enough for the tow mirrors;<br>The outside bays could be a little lower in height, just enough for the E350 with roof rack (10'?) &amp; the 4Runner.<br><br>So that adds to about 35' wide just for everything to fit - add some door &amp; work room, &amp; that brings it up to maybe 50 or 60' wide (ideally).<br><br>Then there's length - I want to be able back the trailer in &amp; leave it connected to the truck. So, let's see: that's about 21' for the truck, plus 23' for the trailer, plus another couple feet for the Hensley; that's up to around 50 already. Add some maneuver room fron &amp; back, and I probably want 70', with the 23' trailer I now have; when I get the 30', I'll need more...Ok, let's say 80' long... Maybe more, if I keep the mowers, snow throwers, trenchers &amp; such in there, too. :<br><br>And, of course, it must have 6&quot; walls for better insulation; radiant heat in the slab; a floor drain for winter washing; mucho power circuits for all the stuff to run; space for a nice frame lift; maybe room for the rest of the workshop, too....<br><br>Hmmmm....<br><br>sure would be nice, tho... ;D<br><br>Rene<br><br><br><br>

 

From a utility viewpoint and having helped relatives set up their home shops: Have a 120/240volt - 125 amp service panel wire installed, sub panel of course. Sure, you could get away with a 60 amp subpanel but if you're starting from scratch, do it right, the cost difference is neglible. Insure that receptacles and lighting are on separate circuits. Too often these are combined and it's difficult to find the circuit panels when you've tripped the breaker and you're in the dark. If you're doing any welding, make sure you have a 50 amp circuit. Welders can really put stress on an electrical system. Air. Helped my brother-in-law install a large air compressor (220v, much more efficient than a dinky 110v system, make sure its on a separate circuit from the welder, of course) and plumb it throughout the shop with air connect/disconnects in each of the bays and a line routed in the overhead towards the front of the garage. A garage without air and insufficent electrical is just a place to park a car and for storing all that junk you manage to accumulate. <br><br>~JustafewthoughtsDave

 

What Dave said.<br><br>My shop was designed for working on Volkswagons (previous owner was the local VW guru). At 24 foot deep (outside) it is nowhere near deep enough. It is 40 feet wide with only 2 garage doors so I have plenty of room on both sides and in between. <br><br>I designed and built my brother's shop - 30X30 with 12 foot ceilings, two 8 high X 10 wide doors. We are planning on putting a lift in so the 12 foot ceiling is just about right. The center beam was designed for carrying an extra 1000 pounds on a trolley hoist. At 30 feet deep we have workbenches on the far end and in middle since the sides are too close.<br><br>It really depends on what you plan to do as to what you need to build. My brother's shop is aimed at working on our Oldsmobile musclecars but we have had all of our trucks in there at one time or the other. <br><br>Local building codes also need to be considered. My brother's shop could only be so high so I had to really work the truss design to get headroom and width to where we wanted it. Lots of details.

 

[quote author=MnTom link=board=10;threadid=16208;start=0#152121 date=1056316608]
.............I was thinking of something like 36'x48' so I can put my 26' fiver in for the winter too. ............
[/quote]

Dang! Why don't you add a second floor and call it a house?!

 

[quote author=Commatoze link=board=10;threadid=16208;start=0#152397 date=1056380484]<br><br>Dang! Why don't you add a second floor and call it a house?! <br>[/quote]<br><br>My new spread will have a 80x90 shop with running water and electric. The wife gets a pool in trade, I think it was worth it.

 

Sounds great! Wish I had the room to be thinking about an 80x90 building, but I'd have to tear down the house! <br><br>We're getting ready to build a garage, but our space limits us to 22x22, barely big enough for both vehicles, the lawn mower, and maybe my motorcycle. It is going to have 100 amp service and an air system, though, even if I have to hang a 220v compressor from the ceiling. Now that I think about it, I might also be able to squeeze in a bicycle lift... Downside of living in the city. I do like that 8 minute commute, though.