New Garage thoughts

[bjoeaull]

So my wife and I are in the process of buying 5 to 6 acres to build on in the near future. We are thinking of going ahead and putting a dam in for a pond with a gravel drive over the damn running up to the house site for now til we can asphalt it later. We think it may be smart to go ahead and build a detached garage beside where the house will be so we can move things out there in case we need to move out of our current house if we sell before we are done building. The house will have a 2-3 car garage on it for everyday drivers and kids crap, I mean toys.

 

So basically I may have the go ahead to build me a man cave. Nothing fancy really just an extra deep 2 car garage to put my toys in and a big mower. Currently I have an extra car to store, but may add to that later, I'll need a big a$$ mower, and I would bet atv's someday. We don't have extra cash right now to go very elaborate with it, since we are focusing on the land and house.

 

So what I am wondering is are there any cool features that are cheap or free that I should keep in mind when building this thing. I figure, if we all know cars, most of us know garages too, lol! Also if I can't do them now, I can atleast plan for adding them later more conveniently after construction when $ allows.

 

Just brainstorming for fun here, throw out some cool ideas!

[Vink70]

Build it as big as you can possibly afford. Ive never heard someone say that their garage is too big. Ours is 56x72 and looks HUGE, until you put 2-3 cars in it.

 

Since you said detached, look into spray insulation foam. Little more expensive than bats but it seals it up VERY tight and will help you big time in the winter.

 

Agreed on the drain, be sure to put an overflow style drain in the floor, that way all the solids drop to the bottom of the drain and the water flows over the top of the dams to keep it cleaned out and not blocked.

 

Plenty of lighting... T5's are pretty bright as well as efficient.

 

Plenty of outlets where ever you think you will need them. Even where you dont think you will need them.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Vink70

[Chase@InsanePaint]

Put a DRAIN in the floor so you can wash indoors during inclimate weather!!! And figure a way to make that portion or "bay" of the garage waterproof for washing.

[txredgt]

Also the slab should be thick enough in 1 area to put a lift for future use. It can be a small portion of the slab too not just the while thing but it does have to be fairly deep.

 

+1 on the drain and might consider a utility sink/bathroom as well to clean up before heading back into the house.

[GXPaycheck]

Spray foam, drain, hot water tank, sink, thick slab and high ceiling for the lifts you will be installing!

[Bluezey]

When we had our house built, we had the pole barn added in the with the house, that way I didn't have to wonder how I might come up with the dough to bulid later.

 

Good Luck!

[Feets31]

What type of future heat? Plenty of plugs in a wide area of places. Larger Windows for light?

[bjoeaull]

Thanks, exactly what I wanted to hear! Keep them coming. Any special materials to allow for winter car washing?

[ksell87]

insulation, garage heater, drain, workbench, room for plenty of storage

[mikegeaney]

If I ever build a garage from scratch I am putting in a urinal.

[b_pappy]

You might reconsider making it detached. From our kitchen you go into the service porch and then into the garage. There is an attached 1/4 bath off the service porch, handy for washing up on the way in the house. This makes it really handy for parking in the garage and carrying stuff in without getting wet. I would go as big as you possibly can and add luxuries later as funds permit.

Drain, wash basin, lighting, outlets, tall, attic storage, insulated, etc.

Good luck, sounds nice.

Bruce

[LFairbanks]

Gas lines for heaters, insulation, concrete, electrical, and plumbing are all things that you should suck up and do right from the beginning. Yeah some of that can be added later like more plugs for example. But fishing wire in walls that are already sheetrocked and insulated is a PITA. At the very least finish a drain, do all your electrical, stub a gas line for a future heater if you don't have the funds initially for a heater. If your wanting a bathroom have all that plumbing stubbed so that you can add later. I would even go as far if your wanting a wash bay to build a 4' (or whatever height you desire) concrete enclosure (cement wall) around the area your wanting to set aside for that. You can always go back and seal it with high quality epoxy paint at a later date. This for example...elasticity of latex with strength and durability of epoxy Having an extra wall poured for a dedicated wash bay isn't going to add that much to cost while footings and foundations are being poured. Think of this way anything that is easy to change or add later skimp on it, if you have to. Like storage cabinets. But other things that are buried under concrete or in walls do with initial construction. It may cost more now, but will be a lot cheaper in the long run. Dirt cheap if you feel confindent in your skills and can do a lot yourself. Expensive if someone else does it, but outrageous if they come back and add it later. If your having someone do it for you see if they will let you be their assistant and maybe they will knock off some bucks, and you will learn something too.

Edited October 29, 2012 by LFairbanks

[GXPaycheck]

Another thought. Heated floor. Hydronic (?) like some aircraft hangars use.

[bjoeaull]

I figure I'll have to plan for some upgrades later, as like mentioned, there will be a budget and I want to make sure I get the basics in that are $$ to add later.

Things I'm thinking now:

 

plan for heat later

plenty of outlets and lights

insulate, although not sure yet on inner or outer materials.

plumbing for sinks and toilet

Not sure I'll have room for a dedicated wash bay, unless I can park on it too.

I'd like some upper attic storage with some real stairs up to them I think.

2 single garage doors on front, or one real wide one, with deep bays for more storage.

Possibly a small mower door off the back, since Ill have a big mower to tackle 6 acres

 

I wish I could go real big but I'm lucky to even be getting a detached, there will be a 2.5-3 car built on the house for our dailys and kids stuff

The detached is for my toys, which includes, 1 now, or maybe 2 vehicles later, big mower, and hopefully some yard toys later, like atv's or golf carts. Guess I could maybe do a small carport thing off the back hidden to cover some of the cheaper toys.

[McDuff]

I agree with Chris that if you can do a lot of the work you can save some major dollars. I built my garage addition and it sure is nice to go out especially in the winter now and turn up the thermostat and be comfortable. My buddy has the heated floor and it is dynamite. Everyone has given you all of the things to think about so best of luck getting the features you want. I love my vaulted ceiling with big windows for light. I have ten 4 bulb lights in the new garage (24x20) and at times it still seems dark. I put an oversized 18' door on the old garage instead of the single doors and love it.

[Vink70]

In floor heat will cost you up front but its worth it. We have TONS of extra pipe, you are not far away. I could talk to my dad and get you a deal on it. I believe we have tons of the staples to staple it to the foam as well left over. If you are interested I can talk to him and find out.

 

The nice thing about floor heat is once you open the garage door, it takes minutes to heat the building back up since its all radiating up from the floor. We accidentally had our thermostat kicked up to 80, we were sweating like no other, shut it off completely, it took a week for it to come down to 70 since the slab was radiating so much heat. WELL worth it. the long tubes that are heat tubes heat objects not the room. great for knocking snow off vehicles fast or a quick body warm up, but radiant is one of the best ways to go. Good news for you would be that you dont need a HUGE system for that size of a building. ill see if i can dig up pics later for you.