Garage Options.
 

I'm just looking to see if anyone has anythig they would suggest looking into when building a new garage. I went over a new garage with a builder this week and will get the bid back in a few days.

We are looking at 960 sq ft, 4 car tandem built on the same spot our current one is. I think he said the size woudl be 24 x 40 and we are going with two single doors in the front.

Re: Garage Options.
 

Make sure you have at least 1 floor drain. The biggest regret that both my Dad and Grandpa have is that they did not integrate floor drains when they built their garages.

Are you going to heat the garage? If so, I recommend in-floor heating.

Are you going to have an attic? My garage is a 24 x 24 but has an attic above it and I absolutely love it. Next summer I'm adding some support pillars so that I can store even more shit upstairs. :D

Re: Garage Options.
 

I never thought about a floor drain, may have to ask about that one. As for heating I am thinking of just adding insulation up in the roof and then in the walls and then rock it. Then put in a larger heater up in a corner at some point. I never thought about in floor heat and I wonder how much more that would be.

We are going to have an attic for storeage. We are using a roof design that will give us 5 foot high walking space down the center and then narrow out 8 feet on each side. Thus, it will have a solid floor on at least the rear section, possiblly the whole thing.

On anoter note, I am going to have it wired up for 30/50 amp (not sure which it is) so I can have an air compressor in there and at least have the ability to run a welder and such if it ever came about.

Re: Garage Options.
 

A cool design for an air compressor a friend of mine has is an enclosed air compressor right outside the garage in a weatherproofed box.

Maybe something to think about.

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You won't regret it.

I'd check with your insurance company on their garage heat policies. I know that Farm Bureau is very anal about what is acceptable for garage heating.

Have you considered having your garage on a separate power supply from the grid? Then you can really "crank the juice" to your garage. :D I wanted to put my garage on a separate supply until I found out that my power supply is in-ground versus aerial (i.e.- major $$$$).

Re: Garage Options.
 

The in floor heat would be about $4k and you can heat it with just a hot water heater, so it is very efficient. Working under a car on a cold floor sucks ass though. It depends on how much you are going to use it. 50 amps to the garage doesn't cut it if you are doing much. 80 would be a lot better. How high are you ceilings going to be? You'll want 12' if you get a hoist at any point. I would do a minimum of 10'.

I was looking at putting one about the same size on this house, adding an upstairs doesn't cost much more. You can really add a lot of space to the house for little money. It can make a kick ass party room, but it will up your insurance some.

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Check with your city code, I don't think you can put a drain in a residential garage anymore, at least in town.

Definitely get the high ceilings for a lift down the line. It's the best purchase any car buff can make.

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Yah Im pretty sure that in my city(Shoreview) you cannot have a floor drain in the garage(unless already there of course). Also I would run seperate power to the garage. The garage in my house is wired with other stuff in the house and it blows everytime the small air compressor is on and other lights in the house. Also maybe toss in an outlet for high power stuff, I dont remember what it is, 220 volt or something. Ya know, just in case.

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I am sure he has 220v coming in, any decent compressor or welder will need it.

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I think your mostly covered. floor drain attic storage. I'd make shure they run a gas line and vent for a future furnace if you arnt planning on gong the infloor route. Id also sugest putting down a good epoxy floor covering before you get your cars and other crap in there. I really wish Id done that.

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I may have to look into the floor heat, $4k is a jump for heat but it would hold value I think and I like the idea of heating from the ground up.

We also thought about using spot #4 and walling off a section for a rec room or better storage room. But I think in reality we would end up needing it for a car or "hopefully" jet skis or a boat.


I think you are spot on with the floor drain now that I think of it. And I don't plan to need a lift or hoist as I'm never one to want to pull a motor or anything myslef. Course I will need to think about what will be more attractive when/if selling comes into play.

Yeah, 220v sounds more familiar after talking with him.

Yeah, we are going to put down a nice epoxy flooring, I'll just have to check to see which one would work best with a floor heating setup if we went that route.

In the end I'll have to look into more options after we get the initial bid back.

Thanks guys!

Re: Garage Options.
 

Most houses are wired for 220v @100amps, so if you run power to your garage off the house I would only do 50amps, Talk with an elctrician but the idea is to not have more amps in breakers then your service is rated for, but we all know how that goes. I have 220v @ 50amps to my garage, runs my Husky compressor, lights, MIG welder (when I had one) and the heater just fine. Having 220v power is nice, you lower your amps needed with higher voltage. On the floor heat, its not needed but if you are looking at resale value then go for it, I could not justify spending that much. I bought my heater from an industrial place for ~$500 and works great with insulation, even befor I insulated my attic was 90deg and the floor was 50deg. Now with a small box fan on low to move air its a constant 65deg or higher if I want. Also an electric thermostat that you can program to come one only when you need it will help the energy bill a lot.

~John

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Vaulted rafters and oversized doors are what I'd do if I built another garage.
My garage has 100amps running from the 200amp service in the house and a 12ft roof. I'd rec. at least 80 amps to the garage if you plan on having any toys out there.

As far as the floor drain, you can only have one in the city if it runs to a storage tank that you can pump out. Earth drains are a big no-no nowadays.

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All the high end houses I work on have drains in the garage. Im shure you'll just have to check the local codes to see where it can drain to.

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220v is not hard to run out to a garage. You can even break it off your main box into its own. Then break it down from there. But pretty much my plan for my new garage is two and a half with an attic too. Oh and also you can look into the raised floor tiles. Were they let water drip under them. I seen them some were....

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the best reason for having the floor heat is that over the long run you will save money, especially if you ever drop the heat down once or twice in the winter. Last winter I was in and out so i didnt keep my heat on and it got very expensive, since you end up having to heat the entire concrete slab before the garage starts warming up. If it were my garage I would do the ceiling high enough for a lift, incase you change your mind, and for resale

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How does in floor heat work if you arent planning on keeping it heated all of the time? Wouldnt you have to worry about pipes freezing? How about maintenance as far as cleaning the pipes for mold or whatever?

We have in floor heat at the new shop that I am working at and it is awesome. Nothing beats laying on the warm floor. The water evaporates quicker and the heat stays closer to the floor.

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The floor heat tubes Have a type of anti freeze in them so they wount freeze. There shouldn't be any mold problems because theres no air or food sorce for the mold in the tubes.

In floor heat seams to recover faster then forced air heat after a garage door has been opened. we have two 16x16ft doors on our shop that wre open every morning. It seams like its warm in there as soon as we close the doors.

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I agree. I work in a 12 bay Semi shop. Not sure of the door size but there are 12 of them and it doesnt take long to recover after a couple have been open.

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Yes, the heated floor is a giant thermal mass, so it will recover from a door open faster. AJ, if you don't plan on heating the garage for long periods, then conventional heat is probably the best. You can pop it on and be out there 2-3 hours later, but with a cold floor. With the in floor heat, it will take a long time to heat up the slab and then heat the air.