Decided to build a garage. Now the fun begins.

[South VA]

3/4" PVC waterline is cheap, same as drainline.

sink is the right answer... pee drain is the practical answer - lol

Got it! Makes sense!

 

[BuiltToWork]

Here’s a plan view

You have good CAD skills.

The roll up doors that typically come with the building are reportedly not so great,

My roll up door is awful and am going to replace - was thinking about a sliding barn door set up.

 

[South VA]

You have good CAD skills.

My roll up door is awful and am going to replace - was thinking about a sliding barn door set up.

Thanks.

I’m probably going with Amelia Overhead Door for the garage doors. I also have to decide which doors get openers, and which ones to leave as chain or rope operated.

 

[Carlaisle]

If building from scratch, a pit is worth consideration. Safer and faster than a lift for many jobs.

 

[RDF1]

When i built my shop i went ahead and made a H pattern of Footings for the 2 post lift that was 12"x12" wide x deep. and the long runs of the "H" were 10' with 4 runs of 1/2" rebar and the concrete wire tied to that.
Got my 2 post lift in and started reading the instructions they only needed a minimum of 4" thick 3500psi concrete. here i am trying to over engineer this thing and spent a bunch of extra money in concrete and didnt need it. but i know i can put 12,000# on the lift and the foundation isnt going anywhere.

 

[Trio]

Here’s a plan view that I worked up on my computer. I placed the entry door and a 6’ x 6’ roll up door on the left rear corner of the building, due to the site slope, and to preserve wall space for the work area on the right side of the building. The rectangles on the front right corner are where I’m thinking of installing a workbench and a parts washer. The circles on the floor are about where a two post lift would go.



It not a huge amount of work space, but it should be enough. It’s about 5 feet from the right hand building corner to the right edge of the 10’ x 10’ garage door opening.

I’m trying to envision this thing as best I can; I really don’t want to screw it up and wind up with something that should have been just a foot or two different. Fortunately, I’ll be able to make changes to the building, such as relocating doors, up until the time the site is ready - a couple of months, most likely. So there’s time to fine tune the design if need be. Suggestions are welcome.

The roll up doors that typically come with the building are reportedly not so great, so I’m sourcing better doors from an overhead door company. A bit more expensive, but worth it, I would think.

Congrats! I love garage projects.

I have a 25x40 shop on my Colorado property (7250' elevation). I chose to do in-floor boiler-fired radiant gas heating. It doubles as a snow-melt system for the first 30 feet of concrete on each end of the building. You are correct - it is pricey - but a wonderful luxury to have in winter. I have used hung forced-air units in other garages (Hot Dawg, as someone else mentioned) and they work great. That should work for your size space and intended use, and they run about $1100 for the unit itself.


One thing I would STRONGLY recommend is to not skimp on lighting. In fact, I encourage people to essentially double the amount of lighting that a typical contractor thinks you need. I like my workspace to be lit like a surgery suite - and the older I get, the more I love good lighting. I use 8' LED fixtures similar to this, and place one between each car stall, between the end stalls and the walls, and directly over any workbenches etc. Cheap to run the wiring when doing the install, and a PITA to install after the fact.

Keep this thread updated, and good luck!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Metalux...76-Lumens-4000K-UNV-Voltage-8SL8040/305053569

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[South VA]

If building from scratch, a pit is worth consideration. Safer and faster than a lift for many jobs.

I agree that a pit would be worth considering. Unfortunately we have a really high water table here. The one pit that I’ve seen in this area, at a friend’s farm, sometimes has a foot or two of water in it during periods of high rainfall.

My thought is that a lift allows removing the wheels and working on the suspension more easily, too. But they are expensive, and have their own safety issues.

 

[South VA]

When i built my shop i went ahead and made a H pattern of Footings for the 2 post lift that was 12"x12" wide x deep. and the long runs of the "H" were 10' with 4 runs of 1/2" rebar and the concrete wire tied to that.
Got my 2 post lift in and started reading the instructions they only needed a minimum of 4" thick 3500psi concrete. here i am trying to over engineer this thing and spent a bunch of extra money in concrete and didnt need it. but i know i can put 12,000# on the lift and the foundation isnt going anywhere.

From what I’m reading, 4” is a minimum, and 6” is preferred. Nothing wrong with having some extra capacity.

Which particular lift did you install? I’m trying to figure out what size I’ll need for the Suburban.

 

[Trio]

One more thing. If going with overhead garage doors, I encourage using the high-mount option on the overhead door tracks / rails. Mount the rails as close to the ceiling (or angled if your ceiling is sloped) to give yourself as much overhead clearance as possible, especially if planning for a lift. Any garage door company installer should know how to do this. Not common, people often overlook this detail, but a game change for overhead clearance, and very little extra cost.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

The roll up doors that typically come with the building are reportedly not so great, so I’m sourcing better doors from an overhead door company. A bit more expensive, but worth it, I would think.

That would be a good time to trade 2 of your 10' doors for one 16' or 20'. Move your stub wall out to fit and have a welding outlet on that wall. You mentioned a tractor, you may need to work on implements you want to do indoors. If you can afford it, go with 6", driving heavy equipment on 4" isn't great. Plus, you won't get as many cracks either. Concrete always cracks but you can control it when done properly.

If you look closely, you can see where they made the expansion cuts with a soft cut saw which helps keep the floor flat and level. The floor in my 30'X60' (still too small) is pretty much zero bubble level. The door slabs are sloped a little.

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In the desert, I'm more concerned about venting heat. These roof vents are way better than the "whirlybirds" plus you can close them from the floor. I have 2ea 16' X 10' commercial grade doors with 12' eaves for clearance. HTH

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