Garage Questions: Not Previously Addressed | FerrariChat

Garage Questions: Not Previously Addressed

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by WJC, Oct 21, 2019.

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  1. WJC

    WJC Formula Junior

    Apr 28, 2004
    855
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Joe C.
    I am tearing down a two-car garage and building a three car garage. Because of permits and what not, the size is going to be 21 ft by 28 ft. I know that I will have a single garage door, 8 ft by 8 ft, and a double garage door 8ft by 16ft. We have having it built, but I will be doing the insulation, drywall, trim and paint with a buddy.

    Couple of questions I have:

    Lighting:
    Are cans ok or do I need more than only cans?​

    Light is a big deal for me. I see a lot of garages that have lighting over the CAR, and not over the space BETWEEN the cars. It seems like you would want to put the light over the gaps in the parking spots. Any thoughts? I was thinking about having four can lights on each side of the cars (four rows total).

    I might add secondary long bulb/work lights above each car just in case I need extra light - but I am not sure about this. The only reason I am thinking about this is because cans are always facing down and don't cast light all around.​

    Heating:
    Is there a specific temperature that it is good to keep a garage to? Above 40/45/50/55 to protect leather/rubber?​

    This is a detached garage in Chicago. I am not trying to keep it 72 degrees all year long, but I am trying to keep it from getting below freezing. I was going to get a 220v heater and keep the garage around 45 degrees or so. I thought about running gas but that would not be easy in my case.
    Flooring:
    Any word to the wise for putting down the epoxy floor other than reading the instructions and YouTube?
    Electrical:
    The heater will need 220v and I am considering pre-wiring for an electric car - but I will need to talk to the electrician to see if there is a problem with having both.​

    Anything else that you really enjoy about your garage that I might should consider?

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    Attached Files:

  2. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2002
    5,966
    Milton, Wash.
    Full Name:
    Jeff B.
    I love trees, but take the tree out before remodeling. It WILL ruin your floor. I should have done it 30+ years ago on my detached garage.

    And of course, watch out for setbacks to front and side property lines. We just had someone locally who thought he could get away with fudging his designs on his permit applications for a new house on a good building lot. He got the whole thing built, failed the final inspection, and they made him tear the whole thing right down to the ground. Not a stick remains. Don't know how it got that far, but a month ago there was a new stick built house on that lot, and now there is nothing.
     
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  3. WJC

    WJC Formula Junior

    Apr 28, 2004
    855
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Joe C.
    The tree will be staying - but we are building the garage further from the tree this time. When the garage was originally built, they put it pretty close the to the tree and much more into the lot than we are planning to with the new garage. So with the new garage, we will be about two feet further away and the tree is relatively mature at this point - thankfully.

    The can lighting will be evenly spaced down each row but I didn't want to redesign the drawing to make it accurate. And since electrical will be one of the last things, we will be able to eyeball everything because the cans go in.
    • Pink represents doors.
    • The electric heater will be by the entry door.
    • Electrical outlets are the 'E' with green border.
    • Outlets will also be in the ceiling by the garage door motors.
    • Security camera lights are highlighted in light blue on either side of the building.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Nuvolari

    Nuvolari F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 3, 2002
    6,370
    Toronto / SoCal
    Full Name:
    Rob C.
    I'm in the middle of re-modeling my garage so I have been through all of the considerations you have recently. Some observations:

    Lighting: Install LED panels instead of pots. They are cheap, give out tons of light, and are super thin and modern looking. I bought mine at Cosco and installed 6 panels 4ft by 1.5 ft in my 400 sq ft garage. The wiring was also done with 4 panels over the 2 car parking spots and 2 over the work bench at the front. Great lighting

    Heating: I know it seems hard but run gas and have a gas heater. Heating electrically is EXPENSIVE. You will pay everything back in your first Chicago winter.

    Flooring: I did plastic race type tiles and love it. Super fast to install, hides everything, and has a slick look. If you want to go with epoxy prep is everything and it is a lot of work to do right. Finished epoxy looks great but it is a bear of work and quite expensive to do properly.

    Electrical: Talk to the electrician for input here. I put a lot of plugs in to avoid running extension cords to things like battery tenders. I also upped my house service from 100 to 200 amps and ran a second panel in the garage with future growth capability of an electric car charger. This is very cheap now and makes the house more valuable. Installing it later is much more expensive so it is worthwhile to do some homework.

    Other considerations:

    - Run both hot and cold water. A friend of mine showed me this trick and having hot water in the garage (even without a sink or drain) is wonderful for lots of different jobs
    - Look at getting a side mount 'jackshaft' garage door opener. Makes for a very clean install and keeps the ceiling free for car stackers or upper storage. Also run wire ahead of time for the garage door opener sensors and door buttons. Makes for a much cleaner install.
    - Consider sheathing the building in foam for insulation. I coated my inner and outer walls with 2" foam and stucco. Inexpensive and the insulation is great.
    - If you are running wires be sure to run an extra TV Coax and Eathernet cable. Super cheap and easy while you are at it and you can regret not having it later.

    Been there done that advice:

    - Hire a pro to do the roofing and drywall. Those trades are never worth the effort and the pros are eons faster than the best DIY guy. Spend your effort on detail items like paint but don't burn out your patience with drywall. Roofing is the same. A crew will knock out the whole roof while you are still getting your tools in order. This is coming from a guy who does almost everything himself and loves to save a buck.
     
  5. WJC

    WJC Formula Junior

    Apr 28, 2004
    855
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Joe C.
    Thanks Rob! This is exactly the feedback I was hoping for! Do you happen to have a picture of your finished product?


    Now that is an interesting idea! I never thought about looking at CostCo for the stuff I needed. Do you have a link? I couldn't find one with those dimensions. After a quick search - I did find the Koda LED Utility Light that might be an option. I have left over Philip Hue can lights that I can't return and can't use in my house because they don't fit the can holders from the previous renovation - so I think I will do a combination of some sort.

    I was hoping that since I was only planning on keeping it around 40/45 electric might still be an option with the insulation I plan on doing. If I were to add in gas, I believe there would be a lot more digging around the house. Gas is my preferred way to go, but I'll have to check on it.

    I am going to try for the epoxy - knowing that I can always cover it with tile if I royally mess it up. I have watched several videos on the epoxy and I would agree that the prep seems to be a lot of work but am I misunderstanding the process though? None of the processes themselves seem to be difficult on their own, just the work that goes into each step.

    I would love to be able to get water out to the garage, but adding another facuet means different types of permitting. I know that I am at capacity for my water connection at the street and if I add more outlets, I would have to upgrade that.

    I have never heard of a side mount and I am going to call my garage guy later about this!!! Thank you!! And great suggestion on the ethernet cable. We will have a Ring flood light camera and a smart garage door opener, so having the cable will be big help. I will need to ask if that needs to be protected from the electrical cable (if there will be strange interference of some sort). I was planning on insulating the inside, but we didn't discuss insulating the outside. I bring that up too.

    [/QUOTE]

    "This is coming from a guy who does almost everything himself and loves to save a buck." !!! If we lived closer we might be good friends!

    Roofing I am not touching. I agree. But I think they priced out the drywall high enough so I wouldn't want them to do it. So I am still planning on doing by hand. The friend that I have did his own house so I planning on assisting him. Luckily, with the dimensions of the room and the drywall, I will be able to stand the drywall up on the short edge and have the rounded sides butt up against each other for easier taping and mudding.

    The company is highly rated - but they wanted a ton to finish the built out and a crazy amount of money for a temporary fence. I didn't go for the fence and built a temporary fence with stuff from Home Depot. If some really wants to come in, they are coming in now matter what kind of fence I put up.
     

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