Clean slate garage / Shed recommendations | Page 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Clean slate garage / Shed recommendations

I went the other route when I built the house. As the area for the garage was already excavated to put the footings in, I got an Engineer to do up some drawings for a structural slab, and now have a room under the garage, accessible from the basement. Can still park vehicles in the garage (I don't as it's more of a workshop, but I have on occasion) and gained about 400 sq ft of room in the house. The size of the garage wasn't optimized for vehicles, but to ensure that I could put a 6 X 12 snooker table in the room underneath, with no need for shorty cues. Cost about $4000 for those 400 sq ft. Heat the garage with a 1500 w electric heater when I need to.
 
But they are good for the approach landing that way!
 
Dont discount on floor lighting for working under the car. So called "trouble lights" are nothing but touble. My mechanic has LED flood lights on both legs of his hoists and its like daylight down there . The new generation of rechargeable LED lights are an excellent addition to a work space, dont set anything on fire (Quartz lights) , low consumption and dont break if they fall 2 ft.
 
Wingboy said:
No heated floor in my cave. Just lots of insulation and a 4800w 240v heater and an infra red heater in the ceiling.
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This is my plan as well. Once I get home I'll rip out all the **** wood paneling in the garage, throw in some good insulation, and dry wall the entire mofo. Should be much more comfortable. Thinking of an epoxy floor but that'll be next year and won't do it until I level the garage. Would be easier to pour another thin layer of concrete on top of the existing uneven one. Will post pics when I get home.
 
mimico_polak said:
This is my plan as well. Once I get home I'll rip out all the **** wood paneling in the garage, throw in some good insulation, and dry wall the entire mofo. Should be much more comfortable. Thinking of an epoxy floor but that'll be next year and won't do it until I level the garage. Would be easier to pour another thin layer of concrete on top of the existing uneven one. Will post pics when I get home.
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Make sure you do some research and choose proper products. A thin layer of concrete is just begging for any excuse to crack/chip/spall/generally become much worse than the original surface.

In key walls of the shop, I would probably put plywood behind the drywall to let you hang whatever/wherever without being constrained by studs.
 
I suck at posting photos but I have two of the 60w equivalent LED corn bulbs ($20 each on amazon) and they light up my 24x24 garage beautifully.
 
Lyndsay said:
I went the other route when I built the house. As the area for the garage was already excavated to put the footings in, I got an Engineer to do up some drawings for a structural slab, and now have a room under the garage, accessible from the basement. Can still park vehicles in the garage (I don't as it's more of a workshop, but I have on occasion) and gained about 400 sq ft of room in the house. The size of the garage wasn't optimized for vehicles, but to ensure that I could put a 6 X 12 snooker table in the room underneath, with no need for shorty cues. Cost about $4000 for those 400 sq ft. Heat the garage with a 1500 w electric heater when I need to.
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If you have space it's preferable to do it the otherway around, garage in the basement and 400sq' on top. Way cheaper, way more practical. Only problem is you need a sloping lot, or a big lot.
 
It would be interesting to see a garage in basement vs garage with load bearing floor cost analysis. I get that it would be a project by project estimate. We did an "engineered" slab on an old house, we used open web steel joists (ZigZag joists like you see in industrial buildings) a steel pan on the joists to hold the concrete and pumped concrete onto the rebar and mesh grid that sat on little metal 'chairs' to be at the correct hieght. The engineering was provided by the company that sold us the steel joists, standard parking garage specs, since it was 24ft x24ft it wasnt complicated. Joists sat on a ledge poured when the poured house foundation went in. Added about 400sq ft of basement storage and since the basement was heated it made the garage a bit more comfy. Sadly only lived there 3 yrs.
 
I looked at doing that when I converted by underground garage, the cheapest route was 8" precast concrete planks, they were $15/sq' installed + another 2" concrete cap with rebar brought the material cost to $17/sq' ($10K) add in 2K for doors and $15K for the reno labor -- for my project that didn't make sense. I have a decent sized lot for a subdivision so I built a 20x30 detached coach house style garage with a 450sq' unfinished loft for $30K.
 
Back closer to the original subject. If I had a 'clean' garage and was starting over , and not prepared to blow my brains out a garage....
If my electrical panel for the house was in the garage, ok. If it was in the basement I'd put a small pony panel in the garage so when I eventually blow a breaker it resets in the garage not a trip to the basement, and put the lights on a separate circuit from the outlets so your not in the dark when it pops. I'd put in a 220v plug so if I wanted a small welder, thickness planer, compressor, I had the power for it. LED lighting.
Use wasted space over the door ect for stuff you need, but three times a yr. Picnic coolers, extra lawn chairs, skiis , all the stuff that takes up floor space. Plywood behind drywall is a great idea, or just use plywood as a wall panel, consider the fire code. I'm not sure I'd level the floor, its a garage. They get poured so the snow melts and runs out. Unless the kids are skate boarding the ramp that is your floor, then thats different.
 
@crankcall Thanks for that. The panel is actually in the garage. I'm happy about that because even though I sold the Volt, I want to keep the L2 charger in case I get another EV. As for the ceiling, that's a great idea. I'll have to see what kind of clearance is up there, but junk likes to accumulate over the years and I'd definitely want to put something up there if it's never used.
Same goes for the plywood idea as a wall...never thought of that but might do that. I'm literally tearing out everything to the studs and it's something to look into. Not a huge cost in the overall scheme, but super handy.
The floor...I was more worried about having a level floor to jack the car up for tires/oil changs/brake work. I'll have to see where the uneveness is, because I'm still milling the Quick Jack option. But I know that it needs a level floor to work properly and safely.
 
flat storage over the garage doors if you can do it, each section is just a 4x8 sheet of board

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and the rest of the garage

rBJVUSe.jpg


I am still working on it, still need to put something on the walls, lighting is a 2x4 square led panel in the front of the garage, and 4 1x2 light fixtures but have changed them to use led bulbs and not the florescent tubes

Looking to get 220 into the garage as well, put it near the central vac, as that is the closest wall to the basement

I did put up a 55 inch TV on the white block wall, nice to have when working on bikes to see diagrams, or just watch some Netflix, or racing from You Tube....

.
 
That over the garge door shelf system is excatly what I have , it was under $100. and its 64sq ft of otherwise wasted space.
Just make sure on the day you do it, the opener is unplugged. I'm on a 6 ft ladder, I see the headlights in the garage windows, oh there is the missus, she can see a ladder through the windows and me standing on it. Nope, she opens the door. Key the circus music.

If your back to the studs put an electrical outlet every 6ft, extension cords suck, and at the end of the run near the front corners of the garage put an exterior plug outside whiule walls are open, halloween lights, C'mas decor, block heater, hedge trimmer.
 
GateKeeper said:
flat storage over the garage doors if you can do it, each section is just a 4x8 sheet of board

Hp4tmma.jpg


and the rest of the garage

rBJVUSe.jpg


I am still working on it, still need to put something on the walls, lighting is a 2x4 square led panel in the front of the garage, and 4 1x2 light fixtures but have changed them to use led bulbs and not the florescent tubes

Looking to get 220 into the garage as well, put it near the central vac, as that is the closest wall to the basement

I did put up a 55 inch TV on the white block wall, nice to have when working on bikes to see diagrams, or just watch some Netflix, or racing from You Tube....

.
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Be careful with weight if you are building like this. The bottom chord of a truss is not supposed to support weight. It is easy to put a lot of weight on 32 sq ft.
 
He's correct, they are there to keep the walls from spreading out. To suspend significant weight you need to put some vertical load bearing support, or at the very least you will mess up your roof line.
 
So what should they be hung from? I'm seeing online some shelving from ceiling is held from the ceiling but I assume it's just from the beams running through?
 
mimico_polak said:
So what should they be hung from? I'm seeing online some shelving from ceiling is held from the ceiling but I assume it's just from the beams running through?
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The double width door is complicated. For a single width door, drop a post at 4' from the wall, use 2x6 joists at 12" oc and you basically dont need to worry about weight on a 6' deep platform. The posts wont be in the way of car doors.

If the entire garage is only a single, ledgers on all 3 walls and 2x6 on 12" and you are good.

Obviously deeper joists are better, but they cost you some height.
 
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