Decided to build a garage. Now the fun begins.

[BuiltToWork]

Wow @South VA , you got everyone excited about your new shed! It's like you are expecting a new baby boy or something.

Lights in my small shed: Home depot $26 LED - four of them: - made it just the right brightness that others mentioned

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[JDGMC]

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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With cold weather climate areas it’s very difficult to avoid floor cracks. Drainage around the area you plan to build on has everything to do with it. Take the time to survey the area and remediate it if necessary before you put down the concrete. BTW another accessory related to the floor is an Anchor Pot. It’s very useful for pulling down on various locations on a vehicle. I have straightened frames, separated rusty components, and pulled my vehicles into the garage with these anchors.

 

[rebel04343]

Thanks!

I love garage projects too! Sounds like you have a really nice setup. Where in Colorado do you live? Front range, Central, or Western Slope? 7250’ is high enough to get serious, sustained snow. When I lived in Eagle County we often didn’t see the lawn until April, and sometimes had drifts that persisted until late May.

And I’m with you - the older I get, the more I appreciate good lighting. It’s critical. LEDs have changed the lighting game for the better, and I’m also looking at long LED fixtures. I’ll be doing most of the wiring myself, so I won’t be limited by the contractor’s preferences.

One suggestion that the guy whose garage inspired me to finally go ahead with this project was these:

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They’re expensive, but work really well. I’m thinking I’d combine them with tube - style LEDs.

I have about 15 of these in my 30x32 barn. They are amazing, cheap and so far have lasted 6+ years with no issues whatsoever.

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[Hipster]

Someone suggested that I look into using a couple of mini splits, for heating and cooling, maybe with some overhead fans. In-floor radiant heat is awesome, but outside of my budget. Whatever I do, it will be an all-electric installation. We don't have utility-provided gas here, and installing a tank and so forth for gas heat would significantly increase the overall cost.

I'll be using the garage for repairs and maintenance for our small fleet of vehicles and equipment, including lawn mowers, a tractor, and a Kubota RTV. My guess is I'll be in there pretty often, but not every day.

A couple different HVAC guys told me the same thing. I did a 30x50x 12ft side walls steel building last summer. Did 8 250w ufo type lights on 220v along with exterior lights on 220v, only thing 20A 110v is wall sockets around the perimeter of the shop. 8 250w lamps should make it like daylight in there and draw less than 5A total. All done in steel conduit etc. Ended up going eill 200A separate service in instead of tying into the house for there being a septic drain field in between. And the power company handles the cable, digging, etc. to the meter box for a small fee.

 

[Hipster]

With cold weather climate areas it’s very difficult to avoid floor cracks. Drainage around the area you plan to build on has everything to do with it. Take the time to survey the area and remediate it if necessary before you put down the concrete. BTW another accessory related to the floor is an Anchor Pot. It’s very useful for pulling down on various locations on a vehicle. I have straightened frames, separated rusty components, and pulled my vehicles into the garage with these anchors.

floor pots, a quadra clamp , a pulling post and you're in business.

 

[Road Trip]

Since I moved to the farm ~10 years ago, I've wanted a garage...

I'm retired, and with every year that goes by I realize how short life really is.

You put it succinctly. Seems that we have a lot in common, especially developing
a true appreciation for a garage/shop while wrenching in the driveway while searching
for my tools in 3 different places and also being an amateur meteorologist. :0)

Congrats on setting up your very own Garage Mahal. When it's up & running,
your quality of life will be off the scale as compared to right now. (!)

Moi? Long story, but I'm trying to find the impossible, which is a modest,
easy to heat/clean/maintain bungalow with room on the property for a
righteous garage...set up to make the most of my remaining joy ride time.

Can't wait to live vicariously through your garage project. Plenty of photos,
if you please. Best of luck!

 

[South VA]

Wow @South VA , you got everyone excited about your new shed! It's like you are expecting a new baby boy or something.

It's one of those topics upon which we can pretty much all agree: a garage is a Good Thing.

I mean, who doesn't want to park their ride(s) inside? Hell, I'm excited at the very thought (I think I already said that).

Building a garage is archetypal; its roots in our motorhead psyche run deep. It seems to me that every car, truck, or motorcycle owner, from the early owners of horseless carriages, through the EV owners of today, deep down, fundamentally, wants a garage.

Lights in my small shed: Home depot $26 LED - four of them: - made it just the right brightness that others mentioned

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Nice shed, btw! Well equipped and well organized. What do you mainly do in there?

 

[South VA]

A couple different HVAC guys told me the same thing. I did a 30x50x 12ft side walls steel building last summer. Did 8 250w ufo type lights on 220v along with exterior lights on 220v, only thing 20A 110v is wall sockets around the perimeter of the shop. 8 250w lamps should make it like daylight in there and draw less than 5A total. All done in steel conduit etc. Ended up going eill 200A separate service in instead of tying into the house for there being a septic drain field in between. And the power company handles the cable, digging, etc. to the meter box for a small fee.

Nice! This one has 12 foot side walls also. I wish I had the budget for a 50 foot long building.

Sounds like I need to educate myself on 220v lighting. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

I’m going with a 200 amp service as well, taken from the same pole that the house power comes from. They may have to upgrade the transformer, maybe not, but I’ll find that out when the power company engineer comes by to look it over next week.

 

[Hipster]

Nice! This one has 12 foot side walls also. I wish I had the budget for a 50 foot long building.

Sounds like I need to educate myself on 220v lighting. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

I’m going with a 200 amp service as well, taken from the same pole that the house power comes from. They may have to upgrade the transformer, maybe not, but I’ll find that out when the power company engineer comes by to look it over next week.

I went this way after looking at another 30x50 that was set up this way. Very bright inside. On 220 the lights use about half the amps, same lumens. 8-10 hrs a day might add up over the long haul. Almost negligible cost to set up that way as the lights are dual voltage ready. Not my garage but a friends. Think the ceiling lights ran about $70 each.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I went this way after looking at another 30x50 that was set up this way. Very bright inside. On 220 the lights use about half the amps, same lumens. Almost negligible cost to set up that way as the lights are dual voltage ready. Not my garage but a friends

Our building was done in the early 80s before all the developments in lighting that have come out since then. It's all florescent tube lights, and probably should be converted to LED lights. The electrician who set it up put conduit around the perimeter walls with plug boxes every 8-10'. It was a great place to work, when it was set up to begin with. No AC but we had several big fans. And it has some fiberglass batting insulation, so it's not too cold in our winters.