Building a new garage, what do you wish you had...

[RIRamguy]

Kegerator, laundry connections for shop towels/clothes that are not allowed in her machine. Half wall separate one bay so you can wash vehicles without soaking entire space

 

[BadHemi2014]

Man...I need to move. Some of you guys with all this property and disposable income makes me jealous! I mean seriously. Beautiful garages. I have a good friend in South Bend, IN and he keeps telling me to sell my house here and buy a mansion by him, lol. It's tempting but I think I'd stick out just a bit when I talk...

Don't feel too bad, here's ours!


We do have the land but not the $, our 'garage' doesn't have electricity or even doors lol.
Some of these guys garages are nicer than our house no exaggeration.
Come on out and be a fellow Hoosier! It's affordable and NO EMISSIONS bullsh!t, and you'll pick up the Hoosier accent in no time!

 

[dhay13]

A bigger yard for a bigger garage

 

[John R]

A 12' roll-up door. I have 2 10' doors in my 40 X 60 shop building. I also have an overhead trolley with an electric ***** over 20 feet of the 60 foot length. The reason for the 12' door is so I could put my camper in to do wheel maintenance.

 

[smurfey002]

Some folks have mentioned various specific cables, if you're doing a tie in to your house or running anything new, an empty conduit run for future need isn't a bad idea and is super cheap. People mentioned cat 6 or coax or whatever, but if you need to run something different or a newer technology in 10 years, having an empty run will make it much easier. Install it now while you have everything torn apart and accessible and cap and label it.

 

[marks146]

Almost every time I enter my garage I wish the ceiling and doors were 14' high. At 12' ceiling height a lift isn't an easy option and I can't pull my RV into the garage with the 10' doors. If you put in a lift you need the ceiling height to lift the vehicle into. Otherwise you can't raise it high enough to work comfortably. Then with 14' ceilings a 12' door can be used.

The contractor who built mine told me no matter how big you build it, after it's built you'll wish for another 10 feet.

 

[RaptorHD]

Hmmm. interesting question, more room? my shop is good size, more room would be better.. I have a work area inside , benches etc. I have tire machines, paint booth storage etc.. Yeah more room!

 

[Samsung]

So, we are rebuilding our house and I'm re-doing / expanding my garage. Right now it is a basic 20x20 two car. I'll be adding 10" to the front of the two car and adding a 3rd stall that will be ~ 12x45. Will be completely open inside, no poles so if I need a large workspace for a project I will have the space. Ceiling height will be 12'+.

Planning on the obvious, tool area with a work bench, sink area, air lines along the wall, lift at the front of the middle stall and floor coating.

What do you wish you would have built into your garage that you didn't and is now too much of a hassle to have done?

Thanks!

This maybe getting outdated but run cable and speaker wires in the walls at every corner, also a subwoofer And a Split A/C, or the Big *** fan.

 

[Elkman]

I ran conduit around the entire perimeter of my garage and installed duplex receptacles every 6 feet at 40" above the floor and another run with receptacles at ceiling height so I could plug in overhead lights and a garage door opener. Also ran a separate leg for a 240V circuit for a welder or an electric shop heater.

I gave my electric hoist to a friend who is a blacksmith and the first thing he did was put a gantry in his shop so he could lift up heavy items and then sit them down on his workbench.

I have natural gas and in a colder climate I would have installed a gas furnace for the garage but in my situation the 220V electric heater is all that I need as the temperature is in the 50's or higher year round.

 

[d_coyne]

Definitely go more that 20'11" deep on the main part. The average half ton is 20' long now. I would go 24' for sure.

 

[jagman_xjs]

Man...I need to move. Some of you guys with all this property and disposable income makes me jealous! I mean seriously. Beautiful garages. I have a good friend in South Bend, IN and he keeps telling me to sell my house here and buy a mansion by him, lol. It's tempting but I think I'd stick out just a bit when I talk...

Move on out here man . It is ALWAYS nice to have good neighbors.

 

[Socalramfan]

How I long for a larger garage. Keep in mind that I do have a 2 car garage, which for out here isn't bad, but doesn't come close to whats on my bucket list.

 

[dhay13]

Some folks have mentioned various specific cables, if you're doing a tie in to your house or running anything new, an empty conduit run for future need isn't a bad idea and is super cheap. People mentioned cat 6 or coax or whatever, but if you need to run something different or a newer technology in 10 years, having an empty run will make it much easier. Install it now while you have everything torn apart and accessible and cap and label it.

When I built my 50x36 I ran a 3 or 4" PVC from the house to the garage underground and ran a couple of strings through them in case I need to run something else. I had hot and cold water, oil furnace and had cable for my TV in the garage but thi swas back in the mid 90's so no ethernet cables were ran...lol

 

[Denny B]

14' ceiling and a lift.

 

[HemiLonestar]

Property came with poured concrete 20'x30' but not tall enough for a lift. By code garage roof can't be taller than the house.

 

[smoke8r]

Pit in the floor to work on my vehicles. Think oil change or undercoatiining and the like.

 

[Moose2]

Gambrel roof, 10’ ceilings, engineered I-beams for ceiling rafters/2nd floor workshop, HVAC, wired for coax or Cat6 cable. Water & crapper not needed unless your house is a mile away.

Crapper is a must the older you get......

 

[RaptorHD]

My shop is "L" shaped.. One side (the short one) is 40x60 the tall side is 40x100.. So both back walls are 100' each.. The tall side is 21' at the peak and the short side is 16'..
6400 sq. ft..

I have 2 Big trucks, and 8 cars in there,,, a paint booth and a shop area, lawn mowers etc. a little cramped but I could fit more

I plumbed both sides with air (1 " lines) I also have it wired with 120 and 220 both sides not counting the direct wiring to the compressors or lights.. If there is one thing I could say, running the air in the shop is a must!

If you are going to build a shop, I built mine, figure out what you need and add a little more! it is best to go bigger and have extra space than to be small and have no room to work!

 

[Ram Night]

I put a 6" steel S type I beam the full length in mine in the ceiling so I could have hoist on a trolley system. This is very convenient when you want to lift heavy things in and out of your truck, or pull a engine. And the builder used the top of it for the roof support.

 

[Duane Smith]

More outlets, high and low....run one about 6ft and place one under it about 3 ft Can't have enough outlets...