planing your garage

[grumpyvette]

theres lots of very impressive garages out there that could double a recreation rooms or dens, but a real garage in my opinion needs enought room to work on a car or two and enought space for storage all the tools that requires.(AND THOSE TOOLS) IM constantly cleaning mine and putting tools away, or Id never find a darn thing, but its never going to look like some places I see on line that appear to be advertizements for expensive cabinetry, more than a working repair or performance shop.

Im always impressed with those garages that have the expensive stainless or wood cabinets, and tile floors, they look spectacular, but a decent shop has several tool boxes and a lift of some kind even if its just a kwiklift

http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm
or on the low end several good jack stands and a couple floor jacks
now IM not about to say any garage is better or worse than the next one, we all build, buy, or use the best we can afford, but a real SHOP, will look WORKED IN, not sloppy or dirty, but there sure will be signs that theres been a few cars in and out of it and at least a trash container full of parts packaging and busted/worn components some place near bye, and indications the tools got used and the floor jacks have been rolled across the floor.
an epoxy coated floor and great lighting are a huge advantage to getting the shop looking clean and bright, and a clean bright shop makes things easier to work on, but don,t let JUST a shops appearance alone be your only indication of the quality of work that gets done,the MECHANICS SKILLS DO COME INTO PLAY HERE AS WELL AS THE SHOPS APPEARANCE, if its a dumpster you can be reasonably sure you don,t want work done there, but if you can eat off the floor and shelfs Id doubt theres much actual work going on either. and shop tools like welders,grinders,drill presses, and jobs like engine assembly and radiator repairs, and tune ups generally leave some indication that work was done recently!
keep in mind guys generally do the best they can,and are proud of thier shops, but thier budget may not allow some of the nicer touches, like tile, or cabinetry.
what you need

as much floor space as possiable, that can be securely locked up

decent tool storage

a flat dry floor

protection from weather

as many quality tools as you can buy, beg, or borrow

decent referance materials and safety equipment

hopefully a lift

good lighting

almost everything else is optional

these pictures were taken of my shop as we were just stuffing crap from the storage into the new shop to get it in out of the rain the first day we had electric, I worked and saved and planed for 35 years to get my dream shop!
naturally its a bit neater now but theres alot more tools and shelves also,plus motion sensors , alot more lights ,phones,cameras, redundant alarm systems and intercom etc, pictures give you some idea of size if nothing else

[85vette]

That is a nice size garage!

[Rich Z]

I'm actually back in the mode of thinking about getting a garage built. But I think the definition of "garage" will mean different things to different people.

When I think "garage", I think of merely a place to store the cars out of the elements, and closed up so rodents can try to make homes underneath the hoods. While it's quite possible I may do minor work on the cars in the garage, the goal is not to have a "shop" or work area. I had considered getting a lift, but honestly, it raises the price of the garage quite a bit (thicker concrete floor and taller building), and for the number of times I would really want to use one, it just won't be cost effective for me. I'm just not that keen any longer of busting my knuckles, or cussing over the things that can go wrong with an "easy" fix or mod. Been there and done that way too many times in my younger lifetime (having a machine shop send me wrong oversized crankshaft bearings for my GTO had a lasting effect on me...).

Anyway, I'm thinking a very plain vanilla metal building that can hold four vehicles comfortably. By "comfortably", I mean I can open up the doors on any one vehicle FULLY without hitting another vehicle or a wall to the building. Either four doors or two much wider doors, depending on expense involved. Electrical for lights and receptacles along the walls. I believe Wakulla county has some strict codes involving drainage, so what should be a simple sink in the garage may be too cost prohibitive. I may have to settle for a hose bib on the outside front wall. Maybe some sort of venting or exhaust fans at the top near the roof line on the ends for those hotter summer days. And possibly a dehumidifier running most of the time to keep the humidity levels down somewhat. And a walk-in door and maybe a window on each end.

I'm hoping to start talking to some contractors pretty shortly to get some ideas and pricing.

The steps I am looking at are:

1. Determine the size and dimensions of the garage
2. Determine the best place to construct the garage.
3. Get necessary permits
4. Clear the land where the garage will go
5. Lay conduit for electrical if under slab. Run pvc for the water line for the hose bib under the area for the slab.
6. Lay concrete slab (or would asphault be better?)
7. Have building delivered and assembled
8. Do electrical work needed for lights, etc.
9. Put on hose faucet.
10. Try to think of what I may have forgotten to do....

I do hope I'm not setting myself up for another headache. I guess it would be too much to ask that this all go smoothly without any hitches...

[vett boy]

Having built over 400 metal buildings in my life time so far ,there are two general facts.First people build for today and not for tomorrow.Small structures are expensive no matter what you build them out of.Your cost curve goes down with volume.(guess thats three points)

I built my garage with one bay just for me 16x40 .Finished it all off ,TV ,nice chair and all the man fixin's.My son gets a divorce and bingo ,guess who's livin' in my space.

[85vette]

Rich, do you know where Manny's Used Autos is? The metal two bay garage with an office on the front located on 319 just south of the library? I asked him what it cost when he had it built (3 years ago IIRC) and he told me the building was $35000.00. That was just the building, doors, and slab. No plumbing...not sure about electrical. I believe he told me it was 1800 square feet, not positive though. These buildings may actually be cheaper today though. There is an unassembled 45x80x17 steel building in Crawfordville on Craigslist for $14,000.00 if you are interested.

[Rich Z]

Originally Posted by 85vette

Rich, do you know where Manny's Used Autos is? The metal two bay garage with an office on the front located on 319 just south of the library? I asked him what it cost when he had it built (3 years ago IIRC) and he told me the building was $35000.00. That was just the building, doors, and slab. No plumbing...not sure about electrical. I believe he told me it was 1800 square feet, not positive though. These buildings may actually be cheaper today though. There is an unassembled 45x80x17 steel building in Crawfordville on Craigslist for $14,000.00 if you are interested.

Hmm, got a link to it for me? I doubt it will be perfect for my needs, but I'll take a look.

I'm not really going to sink a lot of money into this with the economy the way it is right now. I've sold off enough guns to pay for it in cash, so I won't be dipping into anything else for the expenditure. But still, the cost may just be more than I want to spend. The problem with spending money on a garage is that I wouldn't be able to liquidate it to turn it back into cash if things got rough. And I'm not really located at a place where renting out space would be feasible.

But I'm going to check around regardless. I'm not committed to anything until I sign the papers....

[85vette]

Try this link Rich...

- S-45x80x17 steel building -

Wouldn't link...PM sent

[shakedown067]

Wow, that's sharp. Dig the C4's too.