Garage Layouts and Desires

[Dobish]

So there are a lot of folks here that have garages. I am not one of them, yet! We are in the initial phases of starting a garage plan, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want in there, and how I want it to be laid out, but there is always that idea that you see somewhere that you wish you had!

here are the basics....
Garage will be 23'deep x 30' wide. Single Garage door (8' tall x 18' wide). Plan is to get 2 cars in there, then have a work shop area, gear storage (we have a few bikes ), a utility sink, and a freezer. I will be running compressed air lines throughout the garage with some outlets outside, and will probably build some sort of moveable work bench to house the table saw, router, miter saw, etc.

i currently have most of my tools all shadow-boarded in what will become the "guest" room (next on the project list to redo), and my gear is pretty well organized, so I have been trying to calculate how much space I will need for shelving, etc. My problem is now that I have to constantly move stuff out of the way to get to the stuff that is behind it, so I plan on doing much shallower cabinets or pull out drawers when things get transfered to the garage.

The garage will be above an apt, and will not have a lot of overhead space since we are trying to keep a lower profile.

 

[sardo_67]

if you can go with an Oxford or barn style roof so you can get more out of it with a loft or 2nd floor if you don't need tall garage ceilings for a lift or large trucks.

 

[Dobish]

unfortunately, we need to go with a low profile roof, since we don't want it to be one of those houses that you drive up and see "GARAGE" first. we also never plan on having a lift in there. We also need to keep it lower because depending on where they take the elevations from, it would exceed the height requirements and require additional city approvals.

this will be what the street view is:


and this will be from the back:

 

[sardo_67]

oh bad ass so it will be 2 stores so to speak anyway. will the vehicle space be a wood floor or concrete?

 

[Dobish]

oh bad ass so it will be 2 stores so to speak anyway. will the vehicle space be a wood floor or concrete?

still working on the design for that, but it will be wood over concrete most likely, as the living space will be below.

 

[sardo_67]

you mean concrete over wood or you want the wood look for the garage part?

make sure a real engineer designs that part lol, don't want a vehicle falling thru or cracking the floor.

also if you do a concrete floor in the upper level or even lower will you put in pex for heating from the wood boiler? eventually when i am able to build my own house/garage it will all be heated that way, hoping for a 30x40+ garage space

 

[Dobish]

you mean concrete over wood or you want the wood look for the garage part?

make sure a real engineer designs that part lol, don't want a vehicle falling thru or cracking the floor.

also if you do a concrete floor in the upper level or even lower will you put in pex for heating from the wood boiler? eventually when i am able to build my own house/garage it will all be heated that way, hoping for a 30x40+ garage space

concrete over wood. We might do concrete over steel.

real engineer is doing all those calculations... i just build space toilets

 

[sardo_67]

probably over steel with some mesh reinforcement as i worked with a concrete guy a for a while, its easier that way and will last longer since no wood to rot, since you're in CO get some drainage put in for where the cars park, this way you will have a place for the snow melt to go and it won't just pool up on the floor making a mess or cause you to slip and fall. i've had many close calls like that over the years on wet concrete.

 

[Dobish]

probably over steel with some mesh reinforcement as i worked with a concrete guy a for a while, its easier that way and will last longer since no wood to rot, since you're in CO get some drainage put in for where the cars park, this way you will have a place for the snow melt to go and it won't just pool up on the floor making a mess or cause you to slip and fall. i've had many close calls like that over the years on wet concrete.

leaning towards steel decking, but waterproofing may be an issue. any thoughts on how to waterproof that would be appreciated! i won't get to park in there, so my wife will have to worry about the slippery floor!

Drainage is for sure an issue, as I don't want a car falling through onto whover is under there!

 

[sardo_67]

waterproofing what the garage floor?

 

[greg13]

There is no way I would put a garage over my home, just plain too many possibilities for problems. Start with noise coming through the concrete and go from there.

 

[sardo_67]

it's a residential garage, not a steel foundry with hammer forges and running 3 shifts

 

[Dobish]

Ours will be over a rental unit. The other option was to have the garage on the lower level, which means having to walk up a lot of stairs, losing half the yard, and having a tenant staring into our living room. It probably won't get a ton of use as we are not home most of the day.

 

[xman23]

It will add a real lot of cost to put the garage over the living space. Besides a lot of potential issues with melting wet cars above the tenant. Look at any code issues before you get to far into this. I do understand your reasons for this. Besides if I was parking my car I would want to go to and from the house without stairs. You might figure out a way to connect the house and garage without going outside.

I think the lower level up to the garage floor can be built all reinforced concrete construction. Today we build any height structure without steel beams and this method. Probably much less shaking than steel beams as a car is moving. I would go 2' above grade with masonry, and above that wood, with a truss roof so you have no columns in the garage.

Nice project, keep us posted with the details.

 

[Dobish]

It will add a real lot of cost to put the garage over the living space. Besides a lot of potential issues with melting wet cars above the tenant. Look at any code issues before you get to far into this. I do understand your reasons for this. Besides if I was parking my car I would want to go to and from the house without stairs. You might figure out a way to connect the house and garage without going outside.

I think the lower level up to the garage floor can be built all reinforced concrete construction. Today we build any height structure without steel beams and this method. Probably much less shaking than steel beams as a car is moving. I would go 2' above grade with masonry, and above that wood, with a truss roof so you have no columns in the garage.

Nice project, keep us posted with the details.

No issues for code here, they do it all the time in the mtns right up the way. Costs will be made up with the rental unit, and we can keep a separate yard and parking for the tenant. Due to the layout of the house, there is no way to tie into the house easily.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Put the garage downstairs. Living space upstairs. Rent the current house.

If i'm going to rent, I'm getting the new space, not my tennants.

 

[sardo_67]

you guys are reeeeeeeeeally over thinking this, wooden pole barns have held TONS of hay while being all wood as well as many factories from the 1800s on where all wood floors and beams, fairly certain a 2 car garage with a working load of say 10,000 is very easy to pull off in today's age.

seemingly this thread has gone way off track.......

are you going to heat the garage 24/7 or just when you are working in it, if so what method?

 

[Dobish]

Put the garage downstairs. Living space upstairs. Rent the current house.

If i'm going to rent, I'm getting the new space, not my tennants.

Thought about that... when we are older. We just finished a remodel on this place, so its still pretty new, and i don't want to put 4 of us in a 700sqft one bedroom. Now that i mention it, we just remodeled the cottage we are tearing down too, but its not big enough for a garage.

Heating will be electric cove heaters or propane. Only when i use it, not all the time. Good exposure all around, so it will get some sun to help out.

 

[Dobish]

seemingly this thread has gone way off track.......

So back on track. What do you wish you had in your garage or shop?

 

[Dobish]

[QUOTE="xman23, post: 2232993, member: 7107" You might figure out a way to connect the house and garage without going outside.
Nice project, keep us posted with the details.[/QUOTE]

We thought about doing a breezway or something like that, but we are setting back the garage in order to deal with setbacks and keep as much light and views from our living room. This would mean that it would be a really weird shaped covered area. If we didn't do the setback and covered it, then it looked like we had a veeeerrrry loooooonnnnng house, which was just bizarre looking. This also meant getting a variance from the city, because of the 20' minimum setback from the garage. Getting the variance would not really be an issue, but we also wanted one less headache to deal with (this house is already a headache. I don't really know why I am taking on another major project.... we originally wanted to just put in a shed).

There is an existing cottage there, but it is below grade, and you only see the roof. It is about 400 sq ft, built in 1948. that building goes away



This is the existing unit (different color and pre-living room door)


My current work space is a bit cramped, so I am looking forward to getting to lay it out a bit differently (again, a slightly old photo, pre-shadow boarding, but looks about the same).

 

[semipro]

Slope the garage floor towards the front and install a linear drain just inside the garage door.
Lighting, don't skimp on fixtures, go LED, do a combination of area and task lighting just like in a kitchen, and a nice white ceiling helps with illumination by reflecting light down.
Go with a well-sealed and insulated garage door with no windows. Plan on installing an opener one day and install the outlet for that.
Don't go too low on the ceiling or you'll find yourself hitting the ceiling with the boards you're cutting. I killed many fluorescent tubes that way and evacuate every time to avoid mercury exposure (another good reason to go LED).

Post on my mobile saw station. https://hearth.com/talk/threads/rolling-workbench-plans.52142/#post-654070

I ended up yawing the table saw 90 degrees later on. Its wider overall that way but the center portion acts as an outfeed table.

 

[Dobish]

Slope the garage floor towards the front and install a linear drain just inside the garage door.
Lighting, don't skimp on fixtures, go LED, do a combination of area and task lighting just like in a kitchen, and a nice white ceiling helps with illumination by reflecting light down.
Go with a well-sealed and insulated garage door with no windows. Plan on installing an opener one day and install the outlet for that.
Don't go too low on the ceiling or you'll find yourself hitting the ceiling with the boards you're cutting. I killed many fluorescent tubes that way and evacuate every time to avoid mercury exposure (another good reason to go LED).

Post on my mobile saw station. https://hearth.com/talk/threads/rolling-workbench-plans.52142/#post-654070

I ended up yawing the table saw 90 degrees later on. Its wider overall that way but the center portion acts as an outfeed table.

definitely going LED. My last garage, i had a few moveable spotlots that I would adjust based upon the project, and an old kitchen cieling lamp mounted sideways. Current setup is less than ideal with a 7' ceiling with 8' long fluorescent lights! i can't wait to get rid of those! i will think about where to get the rest of the lighting! Thanks for the suggestion!

I have a radial arm saw that I will have in there (it doesn't move very easily, but it is on wheels). The saw I have is an old craftsman, that the head rotates on so I can rip stuff down, and I have the planer option for it as well. Right now they don't get much use, but if I could figure out a way to have it accessible, that would be nice.

As far as a rolling workshop goes, I want to be able to use the table saw to rip, but not have to remove the miter saw. Having an outfeed table is really nice, and I don't know if I will put the router on that table, or leave it on the radial arm saw. I will most likely roll the entire thing outside, or move the cars out to actually work on something. I plan on having a fixed bench in the shop as well, so will use that for mounting and waxing skis, etc. Bike stand can go anywhere, and will only get used when needed. Definitely need a place to get the chain grinder and a vice for the chainsaw sharpening.

The tools I use most often are drills and drivers, miter saw/radial arm saw, jigsaw, vice, clamps, hammer. i have a scroll saw that i would love to get more use out of, but it is buried and never comes out.

 

[sardo_67]

So back on track. What do you wish you had in your garage or shop?

what I mentioned earlier, heated concrete floor with drainage and the barn roof design for more 2nd floor area.

LED lights for sure as I HATE working in the dark, I found if you guy a cheap $5 clamp on painting light fixture with the aluminum shroud and put a $6 100w equivalent bulb in it they work great for movable work lights and much stronger than the halogen or even LED work lights that are $50+

 

[Dobish]

what I mentioned earlier, heated concrete floor with drainage and the barn roof design for more 2nd floor area.

LED lights for sure as I HATE working in the dark, I found if you guy a cheap $5 clamp on painting light fixture with the aluminum shroud and put a $6 100w equivalent bulb in it they work great for movable work lights and much stronger than the halogen or even LED work lights that are $50+

can't do the barn roof design unfortunately, and the cheap aluminum shrouds are what I use (one even has a heat bulb)

 

[Ashful]

So back on track. What do you wish you had in your garage or shop?

This is a dangerous question.

Me? I’d ditch the apartment, and just have a two-story garage. Two bays over two bays. Vehicle access above, as you intend, to preserve yard space. Lower level would be shop space, but still have bay doors, so you could get stuff in and out. After all, you need a place to work on the hot rod, speedboat, etc.

Then again, we all have different needs, and different hobbies.