Dream Garage

[buck667]

Guys/Gals,

I'm building a house and more importantly a decent size attached garage. The garage is 4.5 stalls wide and double deep. (45' wide x 40' deep with 12 ft ceilings). The sky is the limit as once it's built (framed and concrete only) I'll be finishing off the rest. Note; i'll be doing everything (electrical, plumbing, cabinets, etc) so cost i'm not worried about.

I'm looking for any and all ideas!! (Crazy, stupid crazy, practical, elegant, classy, etc).

I trust my fellow SVT enthusiasts more than anybody so your ideas are truly welcome and appreciated!

Thank you for any assistance!

 

[mysteed]

The Garage Journal is a GREAT place to get ideas.

 

[THE_STIG]

The Garage Journal has everything you could ever dream of.

 

[zporta]

how many cars do you have that will be in the garage? i think you need to start with what space needs to be filled to see where to layout the rest.

also do you plan on a lift, what kind of shop tools do you have?

i want a nice long workbench with cabinets under and above for storage and also like having a table that you can walk around to work on projects.

i dont have anything crazy fancy for my dream garage, im worried about practicality.

it would be nice to have an overhead lift thats on a track. that way you can pick up really heavy objects and move them throughout the garage (i forgert what exactly they are called)

 

[hoamskilet]

A big work bench, lots of storage cabinets, a lift, a feed to a welder if you ever want one down the road, finished floor (epoxy, tile, etc....), air compressor with hard plumbing to a few drop down feeds, power outlets everywhere, cable and cat 5 feed for a nice big flat screen and pc, stereo with a couple good speakers, and lights, lights, and more lights

 

[thomas91169]

My dream garage has a mezzanine/furnished loft that overlooks most of the garage space, but you cant really do that with 12' ceilings....

A 4post lift in one of the bays is a must. Epoxy flooring and nice hpl (high pressure laminate) cabinetry (easier to clean). Lots of storage space and wall pegboards are both pluses. Oh a big ass central compressor with both air and electrical drops from the ceiling.

 

[GM Nitemare]

Awesome dimensions. But I would go with a higher ceiling height. 14 ft.

 

[buck667]

Thanks for the input. I've searched garagejournal and have searched this site thoroughly. I’ll provide a little context/background. I'll have the following to fill the garage with.
• 98’ BAB
• 10’ Ram
• 02’ Grand Cherokee
• Soon to have Kubota BX2660 Tractor (Front loader, 60” mowing deck and 51” snowblower)
• Soon to have 4-post lift.
• Currently have 30 gallon compressor but, that’s going in the woodshop. I’ll need a big dog in the garage 80+ gallon.
Current Ideas:
• A LOT of 8’ fluorescent ballasts
• Track lighting that can be adjusted for detailing
• Ceiling Fans
• In-wall speakers and subs
• Finished area with wood flooring that’s a step or two up up off the concrete containing (cabinets, big concrete sink, Fridge/Freezer, couches, coffee table)
• Acid stained floor
• Trench drain
• Bathroom/urinal
• Big TV somewhere
• Outlets everywhere
• Gas heat
• 100 gallon fish tank
• plumbed Air and Vac lines (front, rear, sides) for easy access and multiple tools can be hooked up.
• Wainscoting where no cabinets
• Sconces for ambiance lighting
• Insulation under slab and around foundation
• 220V outlets for big compressor and welder’s
• Insulated box for compressor

 

[trevkm7]

My dream garage has a mezzanine/furnished loft that overlooks most of the garage space, but you cant really do that with 12' ceilings....

A 4post lift in one of the bays is a must. Epoxy flooring and nice hpl (high pressure laminate) cabinetry (easier to clean). Lots of storage space and wall pegboards are both pluses. Oh a big ass central compressor with both air and electrical drops from the ceiling.

I was just going to say. I've seen pictures of garages with a finished loft upstairs and its truly awesome. So the garage can truly be the man cave :rockon:

 

[CobraBob]

Thanks for the input. I've searched garagejournal and have searched this site thoroughly. I’ll provide a little context/background. I'll have the following to fill the garage with.
• 98’ BAB
• 10’ Ram
• 02’ Grand Cherokee
• Soon to have Kubota BX2660 Tractor (Front loader, 60” mowing deck and 51” snowblower)
• Soon to have 4-post lift.
• Currently have 30 gallon compressor but, that’s going in the woodshop. I’ll need a big dog in the garage 80+ gallon.
Current Ideas:
• A LOT of 8’ fluorescent ballasts
• Track lighting that can be adjusted for detailing
• Ceiling Fans
• In-wall speakers and subs
• Finished area with wood flooring that’s a step or two up up off the concrete containing (cabinets, big concrete sink, Fridge/Freezer, couches, coffee table)
• Acid stained floor
• Trench drain
• Bathroom/urinal
• Big TV somewhere
• Outlets everywhere
• Gas heat
• 100 gallon fish tank
• plumbed Air and Vac lines (front, rear, sides) for easy access and multiple tools can be hooked up.
• Wainscoting where no cabinets
• Sconces for ambiance lighting
• Insulation under slab and around foundation
• 220V outlets for big compressor and welder’s
• Insulated box for compressor

Now THAT is a dream garage! :rockon: You have a trench drain on your list so I assume that is for indoor vehicle washing. If so, be sure your walls or waterproofed. I see a bathroom, too, so add a hot/cold set of faucets (or two sets) on the walls for warm water when washing those vehicles.

If you can add a room on one side (with door access) for storage of tools and equipment you don't routinely use, I would do it. Things that would usually be stored in an outdoor shed.

PLEASE post up a thread when you finish this awesome project!

 

[brendan.9]

Put an upstaris with couch tv fridge

 

[zporta]

Have you started the build yet?

What about heated floors? No cold concrete or tires!

 

[kirks5oh]

here is a thread detailing my detached garage. it has a lot of the stuff you're looking for. i didn't build it--it was already existing, i just made improvements

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/pics-videos-buffet-149/728145-got-my-lift-installed.html

briefly, the garage is roughly 40' X 60'. has a separate 200amp breaker, with actually a separate electric service. plenty of 220volt outlets throughout. the floor was etched and professionally painted, and is guaranteed for 10 years. it is wired for 4 speakers throughout the garage. plenty of heat from the large modine, gas heater--its set at 55 degrees year round. i can do car work out there in the dead of wisconsin winter in t-shirt/shorts, and our heating bill is reasonable. big fan in the center keeps air moving, especially in the summer. the central ceiling is 20', with a minimum of 12' in the back area where the lift is. tons of lighting, both bulbs and fluorescent. i need to increase the number of gladiator cabinets i have, but i have a good start. the front office is nice--its 8X8', and has internet capability, as well as phone jack--even though i have no home phone line. i now have a 42" plasma TV, no dish network yet, but i will get it. the celing is plumbed for compressed air, and i have 2 reels. the back room is nice---it houses the compressor (80 gallon), so its not loud in the main garage if it runs. i also keep any yard equipment, and all my spare car parts in the back room to avoid clutter/dirt in the main garage---i'd highly recommend this. the main thing i didn't have in this garage was a water supply, which i'm getting this year (i have well-water, so there were issues with getting water there for the original home-owner).

good luck. i did a lot of looking at the garage journal site as well

 

[virginiafiveo]

I went 16' walls. shop is 30x60 with a 30x20 2 story mancave that overlooks the shop (sealed off though, just windows that look into shop to keep cooling costs down. I live in my mancave, I have JBL eon speakers hanging on the walls that go to a little netbook that is wireless to my media server and internet in the mancave out in the shop, hot water heater over the top of my stainless shop sink, lots of custom work benches with overhead storage and shelving going up. 20 amp 110 outlets everywhere in the shop, try to keep your outlet per circuit to a minimum. I have a 200 amp service on the whole thing. shop is fully insulated with 12'x12' insulated doors. still working on it. pegboard everywhere. preparing an air shut off and PVC hard lines all over here in the future with a moisture seperator at the initial connection. 8' flourescent T8 housings everywhere up high and a few down low. no dark spots. security cameras hooked up to battery backup supplied PC. with night vision of course. haven't sealed the floor yet. but 5 inch thick heavily steel reinforced 3000 psi concrete with mesh and a moisture barrier. water spigots all around the outside (4, one on each corner) I'm in the country so it has it's own dedicated septic system and lines (switchable) I have 2 220v connections in the shop, one for a heavy welder and one for the soon to add shop dryer and washer hookups (wash your oily shit out there man, rags etc). soon to be installing extra wide asymmetric high lift 2 post when I quit researching and buy. motion sensitive lighting in the entryway, outside and in the shop. more so I can see where I'm going in the shop before I turn the lights on and same for when I go in the mancave I have lights that turn on automatically. very nice if you ask me. all ceramic tile in the mancave, heated and cooled through mini-splits. walk in low lip shower with rain head. ceramic tile goes up 4 feet in the bathroom to make it low maintenance. oak cabinets soon to be installed in kitchen area. dish TV upstairs and down with flatscreens, big upstairs on the wall and a 32 downstairs on the wall. full sized pool table downstairs. recommend if you get a real high ceiling and would like the room that you create workbenches that go high with shelves so you can keep things off the ground that don't require constant access. IE water heater, old car parts, wheels/tires, and other bulky items. I can give pictures of the currently how it sits if you like.

I also started a thread a while back in the pics and vids area that got quite a bit of attention, lots of ideas in that thread.

 

[buck667]

Have you started the build yet?

What about heated floors? No cold concrete or tires!

Build has not started yet. We're in final stages of design with the builder.

Been trying to analyze the cost difference. If it's not too expensive I might just do both. Have heated floors to keep consistent heat and utilize the gas heater when the garage door(s) get opened to quickly re-heat the garage.

 

[buck667]

Put an upstaris with couch tv fridge

Would like to however; it's not in the plans or the budget...

 

[samzram]

use white tin on inside celling and walls makes nice and bright, easy cleanup....

 

[gilby959798]

My father just built a 52 x 60 shop with 17' ceilings. Fully insulated, floor heat, bathroom and a dividing wall where one bay is by itself. The single bay has a loft over half of it for storage with air compressor and boiler in the loft as well as stock part and equipment. He is even putting an elevator in it to take the equipment up. On the working side there is a 2 post lift with more air and electrical drops than you could imagine.

My garage is still a work in progress but it's 32x60 with. 15x15 loft in the back corner. Eventually I plan to reside it, insulate it, finish the inside install a lift ASAP, and hopefully add some heat soon.

For comparison:

 

[1hot281]

If you have the space and the budget, I'd go for something like this:

 

[swordjr24]

If you have the space and the budget, I'd go for something like this:

+1

Only thing missing is a lift