Garage Layouts and Desires

[Dobish]

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.

maybe i will have them prep a side of the apt for a garage door, so I can get my 57 chevy in there when i buy it

 

[Ashful]

maybe i will have them prep a side of the apt for a garage door, so I can get my 57 chevy in there when i buy it

Now you’re thinking. You will never have enough garage, IMO.

BTW, 23’ deep can work, but it will be tight walking around a pickup truck, if you ever put one in there. 25’ would be ideal, if you can swing it. I keep my pickup in my attached garage in winter, so I have some experience with that.

 

[Dobish]

23' is my max... i was shooting for 26, but with the setbacks, the dropoff on the back, and the existing window on the side of the house, it would mean having no access or another 40K in dirt.

 

[Dobish]

Now you’re thinking. You will never have enough garage, IMO.

BTW, 23’ deep can work, but it will be tight walking around a pickup truck, if you ever put one in there. 25’ would be ideal, if you can swing it. I keep my pickup in my attached garage in winter, so I have some experience with that.

Ole rusty may only be parked in there once i believe. the 4runner and the mini van will get full time spots...

 

[semipro]

maybe i will have them prep a side of the apt for a garage door, so I can get my 57 chevy in there when i buy it

That's not a bad idea. The at-grade wall could be framed with door and window openings that can later easily be converted to garage doors.

 

[Dobish]

in Sardo's thread about insulating the garage, it reminded me that my last garage I used to have slat wall in a large portion of my garage. that was a nice feature, I might think about trying to find some more when I put in the shop.

The only problem with the slatwall is that while it is nice to move tools around, but it is difficult to keep a shadow board. I love the fact that I know what tools are gone, and people know where to put them back... not so easy when the tools keep moving around.

 

[sardo_67]

i have been looking at this stuff for my gun room, i hear it's very nice and strong, also it covers up all the mounting screws which looks waaaaaaay better. all the other ones i have seen you can see the screws that are used to mount it

if you buy 4x4ft kits it's cheaper than 8ft ones

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCJTXV0/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[sportbikerider78]

I think a natural stained slatewall would be bad ass! I might do that in my new office I'm building. Of course I will keep my sportbike in there and have a gun bench for cleaning and light smithwork. My wife isn't a huge fan of the dining room table smelling like hopp residue cleaner.

 

[Ashful]

My wife isn't a huge fan of the dining room table smelling like hopp residue cleaner.

There is no smell on earth that holds more fond memories for me, than Hoppe's powder solvent.

 

[shoot-straight]

only thing i learned about garages is- make it as big as you need, then make it bigger....

 

[sportbikerider78]

only thing i learned about garages is- make it as big as you need, then make it bigger....

Yes..and plan plan plan. I even do cardboard cutouts to mock up the spaces I want for things when I'm doing a renovation and talk to myself for hours about the activities that will be done there. Something I learned from designing work cells in manufacturing.

 

[Dobish]

Yes..and plan plan plan. I even do cardboard cutouts to mock up the spaces I want for things when I'm doing a renovation and talk to myself for hours about the activities that will be done there. Something I learned from designing work cells in manufacturing.

Yeah, I'm pretty good about trying to plan and lay stuff out visually. Drawings are great, but being able to walk around is important . Planning for all the crap that doesn't have a big footprint is key, as often the stuff takes way more space than you think.

 

[Rob711]

I’m in the process of getting garage built. Coming from house with attached single garage, unfinished basement and a shed. None of that at current house.
To avoid variances has to be under 600 sqft. My property is 70x300. It’s going way back, 200’. This is due to aesthetics/wife. It’s going to be a hike but I have three small children so I might be better of far away. Compromises.
The plan is 26’wide 22 deep two 9 wide 8 high doors. One man door on side. It will be built for a lift on one side with a loft over the other. Thinking windows in garage doors. Also one in man door side.
This will be a glorified shed. My 1984 Mexican Vw bug will live there to. Next to the quad, generator, power washer, etc!

 

[Ashful]

Yes..and plan plan plan. I even do cardboard cutouts to mock up the spaces I want for things when I'm doing a renovation and talk to myself for hours about the activities that will be done there. Something I learned from designing work cells in manufacturing.

... and then your hobbies / requirements change. Just build it big, adapt to suit. I currently have 650 sqft attached, 1500 sqft detached, and another 300 sqft off-site. The intended purpose of two of those three has changed in just the last five years. You never know what life has in store for you.

 

[Dobish]

They are coming out tomorrow to do the geotech drilling. I guess this will determine what happens with this project

 

[Dobish]

they came out and dug today


this is what I have to show for it:

 

[Rob711]

Exciting!

 

[Dobish]

on the plus side, they found no car frames, which was a concern. Bedrock is 19ft down, so that might be a pain if we have to do piers, but we will see!

 

[Ashful]

on the plus side, they found no car frames, which was a concern.

Maybe they just drilled between two. Even the airport parking lot has space between the cars. ;-)

 

[Dobish]

Maybe they just drilled between two. Even the airport parking lot has space between the cars. ;-)

they dug a couple of holes, just to see

i still won't be surprised, given the other things i have found in my yard...

 

[semipro]

Bedrock is 19ft down, so that might be a pain if we have to do piers, but we will see!

Actually if the bedrock is sound it you can typically use it as foundation -- no need to drill into it.

 

[Dobish]

Actually if the bedrock is sound it you can typically use it as foundation -- no need to drill into it.

problem is we are on a dipping bedrock zone, and I'm not really sure about the soil above it. I am going to leave that part for the engineering company to figure out!

 

[Dobish]

so the next fun part of this adventure: they discovered groundwater at 20', and 24 hours later, it was at 6'. I guess that means we are doing piers...

 

[ben94122]

What is a lift in a garage? Is it actually an auto lift, for working on your car? Didn't know that people put those in their personal garages...around here we don't even park in the garage; they're just attached storage sheds

 

[sportbikerider78]

What is a lift in a garage? Is it actually an auto lift, for working on your car? Didn't know that people put those in their personal garages...around here we don't even park in the garage; they're just attached storage sheds

Of course. You can be sure there are plenty of people in CA that wrench.