[s-cars] Marc's garage tips

[Ray Tomlinson]

better yet, move next door to Marc.  Cheaper, and your wife will thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of CyberPoet
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 2:29 AM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] Re: S-CAR-List digest, Vol 1 #1165 - 10 msgs


OK, you asked, so here goes:

1. Don't think so small. Go for a 2.5 car garage instead (or 3.5, if
the other half would even consider it). Easier to build it out once
than twice, not to mention that the differences in cost is not very
high (about 20%  - 30% more) :)  If that isn't feasible, make the
garage 30% deeper than you expect to need, as well as 40% taller. Some
day you will be thankful.

2. Pit and pit access. If you are in area where the water table isn't
too high to permit it, have a pit placed in the center of one of the
car slots, with an in-laid steel rim that will permit drop-in steel
cover plates (ones strong enough to hold the car).

3. Structural steel I-beam directly over the engine compartment if the
car were to be parked backwards (this permits you to to lift the engine
out and then not have to still move it to the other end of the garage
when trying to load it onto a pick-up truck or such). Attach hoist or
winch system later, if money doesn't permit now. While you are at it,
also have them obviously tag where the studs are and make sure the
joists are doubled-up in a few places, so you can hang things out of
the way on the ceiling.

4. Lighting, lighting and more lighting. Think Hollywood's version of
laboratory lighting -- at least three double-tube fluorescent 36" light
fixtures per bay. Then add at least one set of motion-detector lights
inside the garage on the same wall as the garage door, so they switch
on when the car pulls in, or you're walking about the garage during
night-time hours with your arms full (install so that the lights point
at the ceiling and reflect downwards instead of blinding you --
pointing in from the garage door so they aren't directly visible when
pulling into your garage). Externally, add more motion-detector lights.

5. Integrated exhaust fans... so you can evacuate the air out of the
garage quickly when you have a build-up of fumes (such as gasoline).

6. Roll-up electric door -- the type that coils into a roll when
raised, rather than one that consumes ceiling space above your work
space. Alternatively, if your architecture permits it, you can consider
doors that open outwards, carriage-house style instead.

7. Rain gutter catch at the exterior, just beyond the door, sloped
floor, integrated drain. If you have your water heater, washer in the
garage you will love yourself for this one day. Even if you put in a
pit, you can still slope correctly and place the drain in a front
corner. Always slope towards the door.

8. Stop bump. Imagine a speed bump in the floor of the garage designed
to be passed over by both sets of wheels, which serves multiple
purposes -- a roll-back preventer (good with even slightly sloped
floors), an indicator when the car is in all the way, etc. If you place
a drain into the garage, make sure you place the edge of the stop bump
next to the drain, so that water draining towards the exit diverts
across the stop bump into the drain.

9. Electrical outlet bars -- available from all electrical outlets,
most home depot's, this is a fixture that is 3 to 6 feet long with
continuous strips of outlets. Place at 4 foot height (instead of the
conventional 1.5 feet from the floor), all the way around the
perimeter. Then go back and add three 120 volt dedicated circuit lines
with a 4-way outlet box for each. Use the strip stuff for light duty
items (radios, etc) and the dedicated circuits for heavy tools...

10. Elevated cabinet steps. Raise a step 4" off the floor 24 - 36
inches wide around the entire perimeter of the garage. This permits
cabinets, work benches, tools to be placed slightly higher than the
floor (helps prevent damage at the floor/cabinet interface), and also
provides a stop for your tools and small parts rolling away from the
car while you are working on it. If you want to get fancy, have the
vertical edge tiled.

11. At least two 240 volt outlets. In case you should ever decide you
need a welder :)

12. Lead in all wire via conduits, so that outlets can easily be
re-pulled without tearing up the walls -- 3/4" steel conduit is ideal,
because it is easily grounded (if you later decide you need good
network or cable TV access, you'll love yourself for it).

13. Use dual runs of Cat 5e wire to run the phone lines. That way in
the future if you decide you either need to add phone lines or computer
network access, the cable is already in place.

14. Shop on eBay for proper birch workbenches from someone's estate. I
just saw a very tempting 29 foot long, 30 inch wide solid-surface birch
work bench go for under $350, with legs and integrated vice and about
fell over: wish I had a 29 foot stretch of garage to put it in. Also
take a look at the whole Gladiator garage concept (which I think is
over-priced by neat as hell -- integrated wall & cabinet systems that
permit you to rearrange your garage in minutes rather than days, as
needed for work space): http://www.gladiatorgarageworks.com/

15. A good 120-volt to 12 volt power converter. Why? Because you'll be
able to test vehicle electronics and such, as well as the ability to
reuse that old car stereo as your garage stereo system.

16. You already mentioned the frills (beer fridge, etc), but did you
remember the industrial sized sink with hot and cold taps, and
self-draining soap dish, a towel rack & tiled surface to hold your
orange hand cleaner?

17. Half a dozen of those small bin screw & parts racks that have 50
pull-out bins. Every garage needs them, and running low on some part
that you traditionally store (like electrical male/female connectors --
no jokes about butt-plug connectors please!) gives you an excuse to
visit the hardware store...

TOP TIP OF THE DAY: If you are planning on buying this stuff yourself,
set up a corporate account with Home Depot or their competitors so you
get dealer pricing :)

18. A dehumidifier unless you already live in a desert environment.
Cheaper to run during humid times to keep your tools from rusting than
running a separate wall/window A/C unit continuously (but I prefer the
idea of a heated/cooled garage).

19. A goodly overhand on the roofline above the garage, so that even
with the door(s) open, the rain won't blow in.

20. Short windows placed high up about the exterior walls of the garage
rather than at traditional level -- permitting light and conception of
time of day (a real problem if you're married or trying to maintain a
job without looking bleary-eyed), but still maintaining privacy and
some degree of security.

21. Integrated dryer vent -- if you plan on placing the dryer in the
garage.

22. Breaker box & breakers (rather than fuses) for the garage (if the
house main isn't already located there) to control the garage electrics
-- last thing you want to do it run back into the house to shut off a
short). All wiring should be ground-fault interrupt (GFI) wired.

23. A recess about 3/4" deep, 24" x 18" wide, at the door to the house,
to hold a floor mat to wipe your shoes on. Recessing the area will
insure that dirt doesn't tend to travel from it to the rest of the
garage...

24. Integration of motion detectors if you already use a bugler alarm
system. Another bell for the door-bell system if the front door of the
house is a bit far away from the garage (like around a different side
of the house).

25. A telephone with hands-free (which someone else already mentioned),
but also a high-powered flash ringer (available for about $20 - $30
from Radio Shack) that mounts high up on the wall. It flashes as a very
strong strobe signal when the phone rings, you can see it even if you
can't hear it (like over the engine noise when the headers are off, or
over that bench grinder).

ETC: Want to go really overboard? A chimney vent and hood so you can
BBQ and grill in the garage during inclement weather.

I think that just about covers the very rudimentary basics of good
garage design... For more whistles and bells, just ask :)

Cheers!
=-= Marc Glasgow



On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 11:51 PM,
s-car-list-request at audifans.com wrote:

> So fellow listers - what are some of your best tips for a new (1.5 car)
> garage? I know Lee likes his floor drain, I'd love to heat the floor,
> running water, beer fridge is already on the list...

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