What would you change about your shop?

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#3
Well insulated and a floor drain. Definitely go tall enough for a lift if possible and put in a beam for engine hoist.
 
#6
I agree with the big door. I would have a drum type roll up door instead of the traditional garage door that ends up taking away from ceiling hight and blocking lights.
 
#7
Shop drain for sure. Plenty of ventilation is a must too, my little shop gets stuffy and hot with the least bit of welding or grinding. Air lines ran around with the compressor outside covered. Bigger work bench around the wall is also nice with places for a drill press and other machines like that incorporated into it. A lift would be badass but thinking how your wanting an apartment on top I think that would be kind of hard to do.

I think the website is garage journal that's a forum all about shops and what not, check that out as well as the threads on pirate there is some pretty badass ideas out there.
 
#8
I was at discount tire yesterday getting the tires at on the DD balanced. I looked at their shop and their space. They had four garage doors and TONS of space to do work. If I was building a shop, I'd start looking at commercial shops like that to get an idea of how much space they budget per vehicle.

Also I would have a large room in the back for custom builds/restoration/etc. A dedicated spot for long term projects. Keep the bays up front for oil changes, swap tires, week long projects only, etc.

I painted my garage floor. IT IS AWESOME AND AMAZING. I recommend it. All I did was I went to Lowes and bought the kit. I recommend buying the kit, then reading the instructions. Then you know what else you need to buy. Also it is a long, drawn out process. Takes a while to do everything (prep + drying) so do it before you move in. Also get you at least 2 box fans for drying after prep. Lastly you can add non-skid to the paint. YOU WANT THIS.

An upstairs-loft type setup for BS parts/camping gear would be clutch.

Currently for my garage, I am going to build my work bench and enclose my air compressor underneath it with sound insulation. I also have everything I need to run air lines in my garage as well as a hose reel. That way my air compressor can run without pissing me off or the neighbors and I can have all the air I want.

On that note, drop lights and power plugs on reels are also pretty badass.

Wood burning stove. You can understand this.

As for lift, look for mid-lifts. 2 post and will raise it 48". Ok it isn't a BAMF 4 post lift but you can raise it up enough to get underneath the rig while you are on one of those rolling work chairs. Also some are portable so you can unbolt it from the floor and move it out of the way when you don't need it. I'm considering one of these. Would be super handy for working on the rig or changing the oil/brakes on the DD.

Overall, that is pretty much my ideal shop. However right now I have a 2 car under my house with a small work area so most of this I won't ever have. However there are tons of small things I've mentioned that'll make life a lot easier!!
 
#11
I would recommend against the floor coating, **** tears up fast when welding or grinding.

Make sure to have the expansion joints saw cut so things can roll over them easier.

Having vent fans built in is also great to get a cross breeze going.

On the drains, I have never found them that useful, and they usually slope the floor towards them. I would rather have a nice level floor to work off when building things.

Higher ceilings are always nice too, allows you to have pallet racking which makes for great storage.
 
#12
I agree with dave on the floor drains....my dad has them in his garage and water sprays on everything else....your winters are mild so not like its that cold to do it outside....

When building a buggy or any fab work, it sure makes life easy to have a level floor

Sent from my DROID BIONIC
 
#14
I agree with dave on the floor drains....my dad has them in his garage and water sprays on everything else....your winters are mild so not like its that cold to do it outside....

When building a buggy or any fab work, it sure makes life easy to have a level floor

Sent from my DROID BIONIC
Level floors are a must. If you plan on doing any major fab work. And Marcus, you know you are gonna build a buggy at some point.
 
#15
Screw all previous statements, I'd want this http://thechive.com/2012/07/03/a-garage-i-would-happily-call-my-home-18-photos/


this it the website i was talking about that has a lot of good ideas. http://www.garagejournal.com/

If i was to build something like your wanting to, i'd want 2 long bays, one so that you could pull a vehicle all the way in for a longer term deal and have one behind it, then have the other with on parking space and then workshop area infront of it, if that makes sense.
 
#16
I have been thinking about a shop/house for a long time. What I have decided after seeing alot of them is to not have the living area above the shop. Exact size that I want will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 or 50x100. This will be divided up in 3 sections. 50x40 living area,20x50 breezway,50x40 shop area. Ceiling height would @ 18' or what is required for a loft area in the house area. From people I have talked to it is nice to have the shop and house broken up for noise issues.
 
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