Guest Island Son Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Hello ya'll, Getting ready to put the shop up and am looking for some opinions for those in the know... Wondering witch would be better in your opinion and why... 24" x 40" or 30" x 30" I have a limited budget but for usability what would be the better layout? Thanks in advance all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas28O Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I would go 30x30. I just built a 22x26' garage, I would have gone larger but this was the limit with the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Island Son Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 It has to be big enough to have the project car in it and still be able to work on the daily driver, and also be doing some wood working as well, i'll get suggestion on the benches and shelving and such later, for now i just want to get the size figured out, the shop i use now is 24 x 24 and is great but only for one rig at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 My shop size is 24X32 and I've got an upstairs. If I had it to do over, I'd build 30X40, OR 40X60. I plan to build a 40X60 when we buy our next place... I strongly recommend you do TALL ceilings. You may come across a deal on a lift Like I did, and you'll need the ceiling height to make it work out! I'll NEVER be without a lift again... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeK280z Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 30 x 30. It can never be big enough and you can never have enough room . If you are planning on using it for many years you will want room to grow. Remember, you will always run out of room. I may be jumping the gun a little here but as far as i'll get suggestion on the benches and shelving and such later, I'm assuming you mean as the next step, not after it's been built. Planning your set up so that there is enough room for benches against wall and enough room to walk around, get under, sit on the floor next to your car should be a major part of the plan. My garage is a standard 2 car garage, however one of the bays is short due to a set of stairs going up to the loft. The loft is/will be my wood working shop. It will also be used for other stuff that you have to do when you own an older house. I'm trying to keep the down stairs limited to automotive, and yard applications. Yes that means I hang the rakes and shovels on the wall. Depending on where you live you may require room for snow blowers, mowers etc. Then there is lighting, floor finishes, etc. If you haven't already, Google search for a website called ultimategarage.com. Great for ideas. Good Luck and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 My garage is 30x60 and I wish it was bigger.I don`t have near enough wall space for shelves,workbench,compessor,mill,surface grinder,toolboxes and fridge. I really want to get a lathe but I don`t have room along any wall to put one. I might have to get a BIG storage barn to put shelves and misc parts in. I know it sounds bad to be hurting for space with a garage this size, but you will have a tendancy to fill whatever amount of space you have. Wall space is the key. you have to have space for all of the larg imobile stuff, and still be able to work. Don`t go any narrower than 30' wide, and your ceiling should be at least 12'6". This will give you headroom for a lift someday, and give enough room for along the side walls for tools and workbench and allow you to work on two cars at a time with the doors open on each. I would NEVER build a shop smaller than 30' wide X 40' deep. Also, get 8' tall doors. you`ll kick yourself in the a$$ if you don`t. This will allow you to put your car in the garage while it`s still on the trailer. You would be surprised how handy that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 My shop is 34x 40. 40 wide. 32 deep was not sufficient to get two cars in end to end and still walk between them. My solution to more wall space was to build a "clean" room that is 10x16 in the left rear of the shop. Because I have 3 doors in the front and one in the rear, the outside wall were monopolized. adding the internal wall added a lot of space for cabinets, benches, chests, welder etc. in two different rooms. I park 4 cars on the right 2/3, leaving a 17x24 work space on the right hand side for projects. My lift is in the middle bay at the rear so I can pull my long bed truck in underneath my Camaro. The right hand wall is 34'x2' deep cabinets. I used scissor trusses on the right 2/3 for clearance, but I used conventional trusses on the other 1/3 in order to have attic storage. I used 9' walls and recommend that over 8. Mine is conventional wood frame construction to match my house because it is right beside it and right on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Man, i feel ill-equiped, just have the 20*24 attached to the house. Plenty bit when you have just the z, but for any other projects you have to empty it. I think the key is how you organize your storage. I am going to start designing and building all new shelves/bench/work area for the perimeter when I get the Z running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Dude.. you wana talk 'ill-equiped? I am currently working in a 12 X 20' PORTABLE garage. On the grass/dirt in the back yard. Yes, those stupid things with a metal frame work and tarp/plastic covering... sort of a tent on steroids.. It is tight, but do-able for now. When the rear of the car is done, I will roll it back 3-4 feet to have room to work on the front end. And the doors only open part way, so it's a good thing I'm skinny! Me an my 'signifigant other' (I say girl friend, my buddys say 'almost wife') are looking to buy a house in the new year, and I have already made sure she understands: I NEED a real garage. Or at least a place to build one! As for size, I would go for the 30x30. I like wide more than long work space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 40' x 60' with a 2nd floor mezzanine/office area and still too bloody small... But back to the origional question, I would say that you are probably best to maximize the volume and not worry too much about the shape. (within reason) So I guess 24x40 over 30x30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Island Son Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Thx for the reply's fella's. 30' x 40' may be an option yet, i plan to heat the floors and put in the best lighting system i can, the shop i use now has very poor lighting, i wired most of it myself but the buddy that owns it has his own ideas on what works and what doesn't and we clash heads allot but after all it IS his shop so i just do what he wants, i built a set of shelves for him a foot wide 12' long and 3' high, i plan on doing an entire wall like that it works very well, there will be no windows in one side of the shop, i have nabours that i don't trust. Anyway, i am going to need suggestions on lighting and bench's and such, so fire away guys think of what you would like to have in your own setup, this will probably be my only kick at the can here so i'd like to do it right the first time around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 If I get a digital camera for Christmas, I`ll post some pics of MY shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 I have two rows of 6 Four tube Four ft. long flouresant fixtures for lighting... My ceilings are 12ft. 6inches from the ground and it is SUPER bright in my garage. For a 24X32 setup, I still have plenty of room... I've got my Compressor in the corner next to the pedestrian entrance (To the left as you walk in through the Ped door), and then a 3foot by 6 foot wooden work bench. At the opposite end sits my 383 stroker on an engine stand, my fold up cherry picker, and my motorcycle headtube stand and rear wheen stand. Next is the fuse panel in the corner. Along the back wall from the corner where the fuse panel is sits a small metel shelf assembly with three 2X4 shelves. Then my refrigerator. To the right of the fridge sits a metal work table that has a lower shelf and is 3X4. I have parts sitting on both the shelf and the work surface right now. Next is my stainless roll around welding cart, which is 3X4 feet. It has two internal shelves, and that is where I keep my air tools, grinder, mig and gas bottle. Along the wall after that is an autoparts Wall organizer/grid with all my wrenches and sockets hang. Got this from an autoparts store that was getting rid of a line of tools... VERY handy. Along the next wall is a series of cabinets and shelving, both wall mounted and free standing. The front wall seperating the 12X8 roll up doors and the pedestriane door has another roll around 4X3 wooden table (one shelf) that holds my vise, bench grinder and drill press. I'm able to have my motorcylce sitting in the bay all the way to the left in the garage, then the Z, then in the bay where the lift is sits the Vette. The key is to be able to use ALL of your wall space... I think I'll be just about perfect when the stairs are built (Outside of the garage) and I have access to the second level. I had pics but deleted them... I'll have to post more on my Yahoo page.. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rags Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Can someone tell me why I still live in the metropolitan NYC area? I built my 24x32 garage that size because it is the largest I was allowed by law in my town. Seems there is a law that only allows you to cover 1/3 of your property. This includes the house, driveway, shed, deck, garage, etc.... And they would not let me have the peak of the garage higher than 15ft!! Upstairs is just for storage and would be perfect if i were only 4ft tall. I have the V8 260, turbo 71 240, bone stock 72, the Grand National, motorcycle, fridge, 3x6 bench and assorted cabinets all in there. I used 4 8 ft - 4 tube flouresant fixtures on the ceiling which is only 8ft 9in high. Anyway my point is, what will you be using the garage for? How many cars will be in it at a time? Like I said, I have 4 cars in the garage, the doors are closed because it's cold outside and, with the help of casters, I can still work on them. If I were to do it all over again the only thing I would do differently is add a drain. Running back into the house to go to the bathroom gets to be a pain in the ass! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeK280z Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 First link is to a sight called "the Ultimate Garage. http://www.ultimategarage.com/ Second link is to a thread over at Corner-Carvers.com. It is specifically about garage lighting. there is some good tech about cold weather lights and ballast in there (I notice you are in Canada). when you do your wiring, I would also suggest wiring for 220. http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=12397&highlight=lighting You mentioned having a heated floor. As far as working under your car in the winter goes, radiant heat floors are the greatest invention in the world. A guy I work with had it put in his new garage (attached to the house). He can't say enough great things about it. Consider going with a 2-part epoxy on the floor once it cures. I asked questions about that over the summer on this forum. the overall consensus was to go with the Sherwin Williams product. The Rustoleum version that Home Depot & Lowes sells does not stand the test of time. For a 1-car garage, The Rustoleum version costs about $60, the SW $120 but I am told it is worth it. I had hopes to put it down this fall, but it got cold to fast. The cement and air temp should be above 50 degrees during the curing process (10 days to completely cure, 2 days to drive on). I'm looking forward to doing it this spring/summer. Benches/Cabinets - since you are on a limited budget (like me ), I have an acquaintance that sells kitchen cabinets and sometimes installs. When he installs, most people throw the cabinets out. Free stuff is the right price for me. I have him on the lookout for a set of old metal kitchen cabinets with counters. By the time the floor is done, I'll clean and paint them and install. Point is, if you talk to people in that business, you could probably score a set free, or very cheap. Compressor - If you have one, or intend to get one, I would suggest a 3-sided shed built outside and against the garage. Gotta go. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeK280z Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Almost forgot. If you search this forum, there are already several threads on building and outfitting garages. HybridZ is a great resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rags Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 The "Ultimate Garage" is about a half mile from my house. I don't think any of us here are in that guy's league. I had a few emails between Steve and I when I was building my garage but when I stated I was a Z guy and lived so close to him the responses stopped. I guess Z's don't fit into his image of Prancing Horses and German machinery. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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