Building a Garage, debating the size?

[gdrill]

I hear you on no loans. I saved up and payed cash for everything in mine. I did every bit of labor I could as well. Being old it sometimes hurt but it was worth it. I did the dirt work, formed for the pad and installed the radiant lines, then payed some one to pour and finish. Fortunately my bro-in-law erects steal buildings so we did that as well. I went with a "self framer" building. They are pretty well priced. I did all the interior construction and hired a third year electrician to wire it up, after I had hung all the lights, lots of them, and outlets where I wanted them. I even learned how to correctly build stairs. Now dimension-ally, I went 32' X 54' with 14 1/2' sidewalls. 32' was so I would have a ton of room walking around my newer 4 door truck front and back. I also figured this would allow 3 projects stored side by side with shelving along the walls. This is on the end opposite the bench and out of the way of the overhead door, which is the "work bay". 54' was so I could cut 14' off one end for a bench area an office with a mezzanine above and it still left me a 32' X 40' shop space. 14 1/2' sidewall will allow me plenty of height for a hoist......whenever I get it! Here's some pics, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. But I did think about it for a long time prior to committing to the build.

 

[747mopar]

I hear you on no loans. I saved up and payed cash for everything in mine. I did every bit of labor I could as well. Being old it sometimes hurt but it was worth it. I did the dirt work, formed for the pad and installed the radiant lines, then payed some one to pour and finish. Fortunately my bro-in-law erects steal buildings so we did that as well. I went with a "self framer" building. They are pretty well priced. I did all the interior construction and hired a third year electrician to wire it up, after I had hung all the lights, lots of them, and outlets where I wanted them. I even learned how to correctly build stairs. Now dimension-ally, I went 32' X 54' with 14 1/2' sidewalls. 32' was so I would have a ton of room walking around my newer 4 door truck front and back. I also figured this would allow 3 projects stored side by side with shelving along the walls. 54' was so I could cut 14' off one end for a bench area an office with a mezzanine above and it still left me a 32' X 40' shop space. 14 1/2' sidewall will allow me plenty of height for a hoist......whenever I get it! Here's some pics, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. But I did think about it for a long time prior to committing to the build.

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See now that's about perfect, I really like your layout. Not huge but plenty of space and the loft above the bench is how I'd do it too. Looks great.

 

[HYRDGOON]

I love the mezzanine above the work bench area as well. An absolute perfect use of space giving you storage but yet keeping the ceiling space high enough in the open areas for a lift.

Damn looking at some of the shops you guys have it's hard not to get jealous!! Real nice fellas!

 

[super-bee_ski]

Yeah gdrill, that is SPECTACULAR!

 

[747mopar]

Here's a peak of my current shop (32X60) that I share with my dad, I built a paint room on the right and did the loft over my work area as well. This is about 25 years old now and has served me very well but need more room.

 

[gdrill]

Lol, they don't take long to get cluttered up. Mine certainly doesn't look so roomy anymore!

 

[conv67bdere]

Another Heating possibility . . .

747Mopar . . . another heating possibility, might be to go with something like my neighbor installed in his shop.

He bought an oil burner heater - and it burns the used motor oil that you remove from your car to heat the shop. He'll go out early in the morning and fire it up when he knows he's going to go work in the shop. It seems to work pretty well - but out temps down here have been pretty mild lately . . .

Just want to throw that out there for consideration - it's basically the heat on demand that people are seeming to prefer since it's not a "lived in" space.

Check it out . . . I'm anxious to see your final plans for the shop ! ! !

 

[kelly]

does not matter.....it won't be big enough.....

 

[Glenwood]

I built my first shop and did nearly all of the work except pouring the concrete. I went with in floor heating and it was awesome. I used an electric hot water heater and a 1 gpm pump. I installed and programmed a small PLC I had laying around which controlled the pump and tank, but decided to do something simpler and used a programmable stat to just control the tank heater. I let the small pump run continuously which worked much better. I kept it around 10 deg C during the day & part of the evening. I never had problems or major delays heating the space up, although I had to think about when to start heating before I would normally work in the shop. The beauty of heating the concrete is that it really retains the heat, warms your feet and cools as it rises, which I found to be very comfortable. I insulated and used vapour barrier under the slab which makes a big difference. I really miss that shop


My existing shop came with the house, so after insulating, etc., I installed a two stage 85kbtuh LP tube heater. I'm amazed how well it works and how fast it warms the shop. I keep it around 10 deg C and just turn it up to around 16C when I'm in there. It heats up quickly, but my ceiling is only 9' which sucks for installing a lift unfortunately.

just my 2 cents

Glen

 

[johnny ga]

working on a 40x60 steel trusses 14 ft high good size.

 

[GetX'd]

I'm with the bigger is better crowd especially when it come to the kind of work you're going to be doing in there and the space you have available. It will be interesting to see which option you choose for heat. My friends have chosen the heated slab.

Bottom line is I'm jealous of what ever you build and all the shops the guys on this thread have built. I'm stuck with a tight 2 car garage and no land to build anything. Good luck with your project. I'm sure what ever you go with will be first class. Let us know.

 

[Brandy]

Wow...the stuff I could do with a shop that big. It boggles the mind. Looking good guys. I too am stuck with two car garages but I do have lots of land too build on, just no money. There's 11 acres out there with 3 acres in fenced pasture. About an acre the house sits on. We spent 25,000 getting the barn built in 2013/2014. Right now we are trying to sell our 4 bedroom 2 bath house in Camden, SC so until that is off of the books we are out of funds for anything else. Our renters move out in a few days.

 

[451Mopar]

I miss my detached 24'wide x 40'deep garage, even though it was pretty tight with 4 cars in it.
Currently have a 3-car? attached. I think it is only about 20' deep and maybe 30' wide. The single door side is setup for storage and workshop, so only two car in the garage.
Luckly, I have a friend with a (I think) 40' x 50' shop. It's already very full. If I had the money and lived where it is permitted, I'd build a 100' x 60' shop.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Here's mine. It's 28 x 44. I was limited to 1250sq ft since I'm in the city limits. If I were in your situation, a 30x60 would sure be nice. I put in an exterior entrance for the attic as I'm not getting any younger. It's 4' wide and is really nice when hauling up hoods and fenders.

Gorgeous garage!
Holy cow!

 

[Hemirunner]

Thanks Ski! Built it myself.

 

[69 GTX]

Mine is 30 x 54 with a divider wall @ 30 ft so I have a "clean side" & a work side. Toilet, running water, a window AC unit on clean side, and a 90% furnace. Pole building with 10 ft side walls & sheet rocked on inside. Well insulated, costs less to heat than my house. Wish I had another 20 ft for a paint booth! Oh and no windows, out of sight out of mind!

 

[patrick66]

Here is my 38x64 shop, from atop my bathroom. You can see that the Imperial and the Coronet make for a snug fit at the end of the shop! I actually have quite a bit of room, but I've got **** scattered to the four winds in there, right now.

 

[barbee6043]

around here, with wood truss if you go wider than 30 f. then it takes equip to install trusses a nd ups costs. less exp method would be build a 30 ft deep, side doors, tall enough to add lean to across the back for working on a car. that is places to park cars and separate area for work. very important if you do any body work.
every car guy will say, nothin is big enough and everything is stupid expensive, even just materials.... nails went from $2 to $4 a pound here in one yr. will roof tin remains constant! go figure....

 

[747mopar]

I've pretty well settled on the size and layout but because of the landscape and cool looking bolders sticking out of the hill I'm having trouble nailing down the location. I hate to build in front of any of the larger bolders just cause they look cool but building it behind them makes entry into the work bay a real problem. I need to check property lines to see if there's an alternative entry route? Hopefully I can get started soon once my plate is clean?

 

[Mike67]

Build as big as you can afford....then add 25% more! We built our 40x60 2 years ago and never thought we would fill it...between 6 cars, tractors, 4 wheelers , lawn mowers, golf carts, 2 post lift and all of the other amenities it is pretty tight quarters. That does not include the 25'x60 overhang (which I highly recommend) that has the trailer ect under it!!