building a shop
 

so what would you consider essentials in building a home workshop? some parameters:

1. i'm building a new freestanding garage. probably two car or oversized one car depending on cost and available funds.
2. assume basic wrenches and etc are already covered. also have air compressor and related tools already.
3. i possibly have access to a 12' lift for a good price.
4. primary purpose is for regular maintenance of several cars and working on one project car at a time. mostly the maintenance side though.

so what are the things to target?

• minimum amount of space around the car for work room (i know get the most possible, but what would you consider a minimum including workbench space etc.
• shop essentials like utility sink (which means i have to run plumbing), power placement, lighting, allow small room for painting/powerdercoating, oven...
• and any other considerations in making it "shop friendly".

budget is pretty limited. i am guessing (this is before even having talked with an architect) that i will have $15-$20k to spend and have to have the garage look like belongs with the house (HOA) so have to do stucco. so i have to cover garage and tools with that money.

1. 240 volt sub panel to power everything
2. Epoxy coated floor(light grey to reflect light)
3. Insulation/Heat/Air cond. ( Kero. heater and window unit will do)
4. Light....lots of light
5. Paint the walls white(reflects lots of light)
Build it as big as you can, with a high ceiling and maybe storage in the atic with some outside stairs to it. Build it deep so you can have the workbenches and tools on the back wall and room to work.
Then do the rest. Like a lift, work benches, cabinets,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,some real tools :D

I'd go 2 1/2 car garage to allow room for a bench, shelves, and tools (tool box, welder, oven, jacks, etc.). Several other suggestions:

Install a seperate access door.
Plumb for a utility sink. (your wife will thank you :agree: )
Plumb for natural gas for a furnace or radiant wall heater.
Plumb for compressed air with couplers every 6'-10' and 1 or 2 overhead.
Install a floor drain.
Wire the walls with 110v outlets every 6' and seperate circuits on each wall to prevent overloading.
Wire each wall with one 220v outlet.
Wire the ceiling with 110v outlets for overhead fluorescents, ceiling fans (to stay cool/warm and keep the bugs away), and garage door openers.

Hope this helps...

Granted I just refinanced on my current home, and probably won't be moving for a little while, but I have for a while pondered what my ideal garage would be like.. specially if I have the opportunity to buy a home with a garage (current doesn't have one).
These are great ideas, that I definitely wouldn't have thought of..

Thanks
ALex

i have a two car now, just no room around the cars. i also have 4 cars and two kids growing up quick (4 & 9). so thought was 2 car with a lift in the center and lift one and park the other underneath. will go to 2 1/2 with lift on one side if i can since that adds storage for one more car. as usual, budget will dictate a lot and not sure how much i can get for the money. land size may be a slight issue too.

all good thoughts so far. open for more...just remember $15-$20k.:D

I never got a good look at your house since it was dark when I got there. But I remember that there is a pretty steep incline to your property. What if you sunk part of the garage into the hill side so only 1.5 stories of the 2 story building would be visible to your neighbors. First level would be say 25' wide by 35' deep so you could open the doors on you car with another car in the garage and have plenty of room in the back for a bathroom, tool box, benches, ect...

The second story would be 25' wide but only 10' deep measuring from the back wall. That way you will have plenty of room to lift a vehicle without hitting the ceiling. You could keep a fridge in the loft along with a mini couch and some VW literature to take a break and get some ideas. You could also place hooks along the walls to hang body panels from to get them out of the way.

nice thought, but the back is pretty flat. the front has all of the incline. still doable above ground though. lining up architects this week and talking to HOA. still have to sit back a little and make sure the contract on the house goes through.

Build it on the flattest piece of your property you have. That'll save the cost of grading the site before you build.

Allow for at least a 12+ foot celing so you can pick a car up on a lift with the hood and rear hatch or trunk lid open. If you can, have the roof done without conventional trusses, or a celing for more headroom.

Build in as much bench space, and storage as you can. You can't have too much storage space in your shop. Large workbench or countertop opposite of the doors is ideal. Put the compressor outside in a "doghouse" to free up some space if needed.

if you install some sound deadening material, your neighbors will like you more. :p

Do as much as posible yourself to save the most $$.

24x30 is an excellent size.
Build the rafters so you can use them for storage, even and unfinished room.
See if you can get a separate power panel from the house, I got a 200 amp service for only $12 extra a month as a second meter.
Get wire in your slab for the foundation, even if they put the fiberglass in it, and make sure your grading is as close to level as posible to save concrete.
Lots and lots of outlets, all 48" up from the floor, usually in gangs of 4.
Insulate and use luan ply instead of drywall, then paint it white, very durable.
Wire for phone, tv, computers, stereo now, never know what you might want in the future. Even run iron pipe for air.
You can make an inexpesive ceiling with 1" foil coated eps foam board.
A 10 or 15k btu window ac unit will cool it off well.

What else can I think of? Hmmmm.....

LOL You sound like a man who's done this before...

:bowdown:

Who me? Maybe once or twice.... :laugh:

Well for min work room around the cars... i would have to say 3 feet, i have about 3 feet to work around my project (shelving and benches take up lots of space) and its about the min i would want to work in, its fine if things get picked up and things stay un cluttered.. but once you get things all torn apart and clutter starts the build up, it cam become a little tight and a mess to walk/work around.

I think you should try and build it so you have around 5-6 feet around the car.
For work benches, make some ones that have a crapy(cheap top) and some that are nicer (like a lamanate or somthing) aswell as a 1/4 steel toped area for welding/ banging....ect. the cheap top ones make replacable so when they get all messed up you can easily replace it, this kind of top i like when making things, its great not to have to worry about messing up your counters whne the going gets tough...or whatever.

Cabinets should be large enough to store tall paint cans and other autochemicals and be strurdy and well ancored to the walls. get some beefy hinges to, dont skimp on hinges!
Make it so you have storage under your counter tops, maybe even some that have no shelf and only doors and no bottoms so you can slide a shop vac in witout having to lift it..ect

Dont forget a drill press, bench grinder, and maybe other large tools you use... at least i like to have all that as i like to make stuff, but im not sure what you do so...

MAYBE even make a "pit" under one of the bays if you dot get a lift, this would make under car work easy. i know a friend who did this to his concrete slab floor... it was a good 8 feet long.

Well thats all i can think of now,

Later,
Jonathan

me and my dad have been workin on our shop for about a year now. its 20x20 and its basically a green house with a reflective top instead of plexi. The setup cost 700 and the concrete cost 700. its got plenty of room. One important thing about a shop is you gotta have lots of ventalation and lots of light. Their is nothing worse then coming into a shop and having stagnet air with the smell of gear oil and brake clean. Storage space is also a biggie and for me its a nessasary to have a nice sound system so I can blast some tallica while a grind and weld away.

we just finished ours its like 30x34 i think, all of the upstairs is storage, plugs - 1,10s, 2,20s. whole house fan, and carport.