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The Garage of your Dreams


Owen

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I know this was posted before, but I can't find it....

 

I was looking for info on making a dream garage, for my purposes, 20 ft x 20ft. I was trying to find what sort of ideas people have for cabinets, storage, compressed air, epoxy coated floor, etc.

 

My garage is cluttered enough and when I eventually move, I want to do things the right way. That means not shuffling things around just to get back at the tools stored way behind everything else, etc.

 

My concerns are:

lighting

ventilation

storage

sound deadening

dust

etc

 

Also, this garage will be shared with my wife's car so I can't take over all of it...:(

 

Anyone have any good links to products or actual photos?

Owen

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My garage is 20X20 and I can tell you it is a bit on the small side for the Q45 and Z project that is in it on rotisserie.

 

The Town Car takes up that whole side when the Z isn't in there.

 

I have some pics I can post of the selving I put up across the front and part of one side wall. The front set has a fold-down workbench that even when open allows the Q in without having to raise the work surface - but I have to back the Q partway out to utilize the workbench. The other side has the supports for the lowest shelf high enough for the TC to pull in - only about 11" of clearance on both ends....

 

I have my compressor in the basement in the furnace room and have the air piped to the garage upstairs and over to my workshop in one corner of the basement.

 

Currently the basement is unfinished. One of the first things I will do is to enclose the furnace room because that 60 gal Husky compressor gets loud when I work down there and use it (not very much).

 

If I were to build a house again I'd have a garage with 2 9' doors (not 8'), and would measure 24' deep and 25' wide - enough room for a good workbench and ability to get around bigger cars and projects. Actually, my better half says we'll have a regular farage for the house and a detached Workshop - meaning I could have it even BIGGER, with a lift, pit, hoist (more power - grunt grunt). Were talking Mike Kelly here -I'll have to put an apartment above it because I'll be in the doghouse from wanting to spend too much time in it.

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Thanks guys,

I've seen that wall storage stuff before, where you can hang just about anything. And I'd love to have those roll around cabinets, Lista makes some good stuff.

 

I'll add one for piping,

http://www.garage-pack.com/

Looks pretty cool.

 

I was thinking last nite, it would be cool to have a triangluar raised section of floor right underneat the middle of the car. Cuz you know, whenever you drop something while working in the engine bay, that it'll drop RIGHT OUT OF REACH! :x

 

Owen

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Guest mkokimoto

Yeah, mentioned above, 20x20 is the minimum code size for two car garages made today. If you have more than one car in that kind of garage, things get tight quickly, even if one of them is a z car. When we were designing buildings in class, the minimum size for a 2 car garage was 20/20. Some of us found out that it was bearly big enough for two cars, without a waterheater and washer/dryer combo, though it can be done with compact cars.

 

24x24 sounds like more of a reasonable minimum number. So does 220v service. :D

 

I have my compressor in my garage... it's some gigantic IR compressor that i don't even use half the capacity of... and I wish it were in an outside enclosure now. It's pretty loud.

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Owen, Get another compressor if you can swing it... And I lived in that suze (Maybe a little larger) garage with ONE car project for two years. I couldn't imagine Squeezing in a second car.

 

My dream garage at our next place will be 40X60ft, one story, and will have a dyno bay if we can swing it. I'll also upgrade to a new lift and let this current unit go with the house we're in now.

 

Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yup, one day at work my buddy was working under a car and the chain that was holding up the lift snapped – luckily those safety locks were there, because he would’ve been squashed. He had to go change his pants after that… :oops::oops:

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If you can swing it, 24x32 is what I have. In a pinch I can get both 240's, the 260, the Grand National and the G35 in the garage all at the same time. The Grand National is usually at my grandparents house in their garage but the other four live in my garage. Oh yeah, the wifes Volvo stays outside. It leased!

 

Joe

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I would recomend a heated floor with a drain and running water for those who live in the salt belt . I am getting too old to enjoy laying on a freezing floor while working cars anymore. It would be nice to be able to wash the salt off the car and not have it coated again on the drive home.

Tom

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One of the minor things I enjoy is having everything on wheels. Some of the stuff in the garage is heavy. The lathe, welder, tool boxes and an industrial thickness plainer move around nice and lock when they have too. It makes cleaning up quick and when it comes time to relocate they go up the ramps with just a few minor back aches :roll:

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Thanks guys. Garage size can't change so the lift is my best option (it's more for working on the car than parking another one under it). Hmmm, 2 post or four....my wife is gonna ding her doors on the 2 post.

 

Glenn, yeah, casters on everything is cool. Especially in my situation where I have to move things around to get at stuff I hid in the back!

 

I guess I won't be painting in this new garage, or will put up a temporary booth, don't want overspray all over my brand new cabinets!

Owen

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Did some more thinking on the lifts again...

A two post would be better when working on the car. But it would place a post right in the middle of the garage floor, vs a 4 post which would have the posts and each end of the garage....How about a forklift style post? I've seen these as parking solutions too.

 

Either way, one side of the car will be against the garage wall (unless I get a caster kit). I assume two post lifts have to be bolted down permanently? I know the "mobile" ones cost a lot more.

 

Owen

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