Garages

[typhoon]

I am finally looking at buying a decent house in the near future(after 30 years in the inner city, grew up here...working on cars and boats on the street is just no fun anymore!), and I was wondering what you guys think is the best feature you have seen/used or owned in a garage.
I have no one else to please when buying the house..I'd be happy with a one bedroom flat over a triple garage...so that gives you an idea of my priorities...I take my hobbies very seriously!
Thought I'd throw the question out and see what's about.

Regards, Andrew.

[delawarerick]

Andrew I could say the parts washer or the engine hoist but to be honest and pratical I have to say shelves with out them the parts wind up scattered on the floor. A friend of mine came over one day and put up simple plywood shelves and at least now you can walk around. The garage must be wide enough to accomodate the shelves. Good luck with the house and keep me posted. Rick

[MTCM]

Andrew,

I have owned 4 homes. The garages went 1, 2, 3, 4, respectively. They are NEVER BIG ENOUGH!. The next house I buy will be a double bay 12 car garage with entries/exits on both sides with a kitchen and bathroom attached. Something to think about.................

3 car with a flat on top? You're on the right track, but I would go BIGGER. Take care.

[Talon2.5]

the absolute smallest garage any man that works on his own toys should accept is a 2 car and that will grow small fast (absolutely without a doubt NO 1 car garage)

engine hoist thats foldable

quality roll around tool box

parts cleaning basin

small bead blast cabinet

shelves up on the wall above head hieght if possible

fold down wall mounted work bench

rolling work cart with wheel brake to use as portable bench

sealed work floor with quality paint, helps keep concrete dust down and spills wipe up quick and easy, sweeps nice too

hang multiple 4 foot flouresent lights

by all means a stand up 6 horse or above air compressor

[Rickracer]

Here's some more.....at least a 4X6 or larger area on the wall with good sturdy pegboard. You wouldn't believe how many tools can hang on the wall out of the way with a properly accessorized tool board. If ya look at Rule1's garage, you can see the possibilities. And you can never have too much shelving. At least one good sturdy bench with a Vise mounted on it is nearly a necessity too. Depending on location, climate control is a good idea, either A/C, a big exhaust fan, heating, or a combo of all of these. A sink (w/hot water) for washing hands and parts is handy too.

[typhoon]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys!
What I would really like to buy is a corner block and something that really has no garage at the moment, but a nice big back yard. That way I can really go to town and get at least a 3 car garage.
I'd really like to get a reasonably high roof too, so I can store bits and pieces in the rafters(another reason to build fron scratch..be able to make the ceiling structure nice and strong to carry all the junk! Would also like to have one door in the back of the garage so I could take things through and store them in the yard.
I'd also be putting a nice big vinyl awning out the front of it so I could leave the car outside, and do dusty work outside in the shade.
What do people think about standard garage door heights..have they ever been a limitation or annoyance in the past? I know I have to just duck under most of the ones I have been through...

Regards, Andrew.

[H2Onut]

AIR COMPRESSOR !!!!

#2 Understanding wife !

[B.Leonard]

Compressor is standard equipment but I'd pipe compressed air to all 4 corners with black pipe. Try to design it so your water seperator is as far from the compresor as possible (cooler).

Use cabinets not shelves. Shelves are the worst thing in a shop! They collect dust and everything on them is soon caked in years of dust.

Wire for 240v and have a special outlet wired off one side of the 240 for your Mig. It needs big wire for the current it draws.

If you have room, partition your shop into two areas, long term and short term areas. You need a long term project area where you can get into something and leave it without cleaning up but this cannot be in an area that is used everyday.

Try to keep tools that create dust away from areas that will be used for assembly.

-BL

[typhoon]

The compressor goes without saying! I intend to start my business back up again someday(boat covers and boat upholstery) in the future, and that will need air for staple guns and spray glue etc...plus just very handy to have.
I have worked in places that had the air hose running on a cable strung tight across the workshop, have slides on the wire and cable tie the hose to them, works great. Also had an extension lead for power set up the same way. Just slide it out of the way against the wall when done.
We have 240v as the standard household power over here, so that's not a problem.
Keep those ideas coming!

Regards, Andrew.

[B.Leonard]

The one thing I would like but I don't have the room in my shop is a metal fab area.

A place where the bench is metal and there is nothing flamable. A place where you can leave your welding equipment, grinders, torches etc. all hooked up and plugged in so when you need a peice cut, drilled or welded you don't have to take the time to hook everything up and you don't take the chance of burning your shop down because of sparks.

Then a dedicated painting area! Booth, ventilation, spray gun washer... ok now I'm dreaming :D

-BL

[Scott]

everything I read here so far with regard to acoutraments!

The Garage itself however....

If ya have a choice....NO ATTACHED GARAGE...always thought my Dad was nuts for having our garage built what seemed like a mile from the house on a windy winter night...Ours is attached, Kathy can be at the other end of the house and can tell instantly when I open a can of ANYTHING!!! The fiberglass resin fumes, enamel reducer, paint etc. went straight through the house! I myself did'nt mind it! Heck I'd have lacquer thinner sected candels if possible, (what a rush!, just use caution when lighting!) but if ya got an attached garage, better have a very understanding family! I guess all this goes w/o saying though hu?

My gramps put in small bathroom, SWEET! no runnin to the house when nature calls!

Bathroom?
intercom to the house?
phone line?
floor drain?
small water heater ( my gramps had 15gal? mounted up in the rafters)

Oops..forgot to mention "Congratulations!"

[Ziemer]

of building a new house and here are a few basic items I'm going to include in the garage:

1) Ceiling fans - gets very hot here in Florida.
2) Plenty of outlets - can never have too many.
3) Flush mount speakers for music - easier than wearing down the battery in the car or boat.
4) Good, solid, sturdy workbench- the bigger the better, I prefer a 42" height, easier to work at.
5) Plenty of good fluorescent lights - can't work in a dark garage.
6) A vise - very practical.

I'm sure there are plenty of other things I would love to have, but there is a budget involved, so it's all in how much you want to spend. Good Luck.

[H2Onut]

Do a search there is a picture of BALZY's garage when he moved in, it is sweet, may give you a visual of some ideas.



A garage is a lottery dream for me, 40x 60 loft machine shop,

BridgePort, Lathe, Plasma Cutter, Heliarc, lift, test tank, traveling chain hoist, A/C, shower , LOUD STEREO, NO PHONE. X-10 camera

Shower,head,sink, fridge... Floor drain. paint booth, back getaway door. Lots of posters addorning the ceiling. Disco mirror ball suspended from ceiling. and air filtration device. Krypton lighting, Big ass compressor, checkerboard tile floor with anti-skid

pressure washer, blast cabinet, parts washer, cabinets galore, big work bench, metal brake....

Ahhhhh, it is OK to dream isnt it ?

[Balzy]

just blew the wad on the cabinets. Here is a basic plan of what will be installed in the next week or so. All white flat faced for cleaning. The one on the left is a diagonal cabinet and wraps the corner about 4 feet.

[Balzy]

Checkered floor with red carpet runners, TV, VCR, Microwave, Stereo, Beer Fridge, Urnal, 3 Ceiling fans with seperate switch for fans and dimmer for lighting, Furnace, Central Air, Drain, 5 car attached with insulated 16' door between front 2 stalls and back 3 stalls, 60 Gallon Vertical Ingrasoll Rand Compressor, More air tools than I know what to do with, Fire Extinguisher, Merc Racing Banners, Recliner, Table, Guest Chairs, Workbench made from a gym floor, Sink, Hot and Cold Soft water on the hose for washing cars and boats, 20 Gallon Parts Washer, Portable Sand blaster, Rolling tool box, 50' retractable air hose reel, can't think of anything else right now.

Cabinets will be installed in a couple weeks, air compessor is being moved to the front garage, 8 4' floresent fixtures (T-8's) replacing the incondesant bulbs soon, punching out the back wall in one stall for enough depth for the boat soon also.

keep the ideas coming, I am always looking to add something to the palace. As Rule One would say "The Checkerboard Wonderland" LOL

[MODVP22]

Blazy, ok u got us onthe floor, the central air, and the tv/vcr microwave thing. What about an area to paint? We got body shop curtains for that. Our place is always a mess...stupid fiberglass sanding and paint. If I could only get the hood back on the Corvette then that would really free up some room. What about an electronic hoist? Oh yeah, we got an attic that is supposed to be turne dinto an apartment, but there are too man boat parts up there!

[Balzy]

But I only do small stuff. I suck at body work anyway. I forgot about the shop crane. I knew I would miss something. Hopefully I won't need to pull the powerhead more than once or twice a year so the shop crane does ok for now. I was going to put in a beam and electric crane but decided the shop crane was more mobile. Oh yea, I forgot a few more things too. LOL Merc Clock, oak prop rack, boating pictures etc. Here's a few more pics.

[Balzy]

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[Balzy]

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[Balzy]

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[Balzy]

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[Talon2.5]

balzy, i would never get anything done in your garage :D i would be busy hanging out having a cold one with my feet up relaxing :D

[MODVP22]

Balzy,
OK, I am envious, once again you are Head Amigo. What's up with that prop missing part of a blade?

[delawarerick]

Balzy thats the dream boat garage. Just one question does the merc clock work. I think Ive heard there is trouble with merc outboards. mmmmm Later Rick:D

[Balzy]

caused this........... :eek: :eek: :eek: Ouch, that was a really nice 24 ET too !!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: Now it's just a decoration in the shop. Go here for the details: http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/montana/513/id33.htm

BTW, got all the cabinets and bases ready to hang last night. Changed the original plan already for more storage. 14 cabinet doors and 9 drawers now!!!!! Dark charcoal counter tops. Ahhhhhh, this is gonna look cool !!!!

[halveb]

Stop it already Balzy!!!

Don't you have enough stuff in your garagemahall already!!! :D Heading up to RP's tomorrow night to get my 2.5. Was shining on the black widow last night. I think I'll call it a black widow cause trying to get that thing shined up like yours is gonna kill me and make my wife a widow.

Matt's motor is coming home with me and he and thumper gonna throw it on. Now we can't miss this opportunity to recognize the star John Deere mechanic from OMC working on the dark side. :D

Thumper, have you turned to the darkside? Is reassembling Matt's motor just the start? Should I order you some phantom black paint for you? :D ;) :D

[H2Onut]

I'm not worthy


Damn Balzy that is tooo sweeet,

Are you in for adopting ???

[Balzy]

I'm not done. Just got in from hanging half of the upper cabinets, wiring a new swith fro the undr-counter lighting, wiring and installing the range hood exhaust fan. Half the upper to go yet along with 3 base units amd 2 countertops. It is look'in sweet !!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll post some pics when I get done.

delawarerick, Yea it runs, It's the only Merc I haven't blown up yet !!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: Just kidding !!!!!!!!!

[lyle]

only thing i didnt see was a first aid kit and eye washer

[Capt.Insane-o]

That goes right next to the ice maker! Get with it man!:p

[Balzy]

I installed new white cabinets all around and over the workbench complete with exhaust fan. Have to finish the undercounter lighting and the (8) 2 bulb T-8 florecent fixtures yet. Oh yea, I did move the bar to shop too and the blender is in it. As far as an eye wash station, I could always point the urnal flusher up in an emergency .........:eek: :eek: :eek: