Who has built a detached garage?

[rabler]

Great idea on the internet cable. At my old place shop was within range of house WiFi.
This place will be too far from house.

I've done that from house to shop (150 ft of cable) and house to barn (1400 ft of fiber cable). My shop is metal siding, so WIFI gets tricky. Not impossible but requires external mounted antennas. I have my house to shop wired for 10Gb/s ethernet, because I'm a geek. But 1 Gb/s is going to be fine for most folks (I run a server, my security camera system, and several NAS units from my shop). That place I linked to can set you up with the equipment (transceivers) to plug the fiber into a standard Cat5/CAT6 ethernet cable. I'm comfortable doing that myself but the advantage of a package deal is you can go back to them and say "it doesn't work ...".

 

[Cadillac]

If one is using 8 foot wall structure, you can run several courses of blocks on top of the footings to make the ceiling higher and
also have a taller door opening. It would be a good idea to put some foam insulation on the inside of the block for energy
efficiency.

They do sell longer 2x4’s than 8’. I’d say pick one building style and go with it. Frame or block.

 

[rabler]

They do sell longer 2x4’s than 8’. I’d say pick one building style and go with it. Frame or block.

Generally agree, but one advantage of block is if your building site isn't level. Block can be used where the slab is below the exterior grade. If you go full frame all sides of the slab have to be above grade. This can get into expensive fill, and commonly not done right, which will mean a cracked slab. Framing is generally cheaper and easier to insulate, wire, etc, so going full block is not my preferred approach. YMMV

 

[Winegrower]

There is a ton of good advice here. I adapted a three bay garage plus breezeway plus 12x12 annex as shop, lab and motorcycle parking (the breezeway). What worked out well is three 10' wide sliding doors, arranged so any one can be opened (but not more than one). This has given great flexibility for moving equipment and material in and out. While you're laying out the slab, provide for an outside compressor, maybe in a room or covered area. This is so much better than a compressor inside the shop. Might be a good time to plumb for air also.
I made a kind of lean to roof along one outside wall for sticking wood, etc.

While you can't have too much power, for a personal shop it's easy to overdo it. I'm pretty limited to a 50A 220 service, and it's been plenty for any operation I've encountered. Wintertime I run a couple overhead infrared electric heaters, and I can operate any one tool and the compressor, along with lots of LED lights, some power hungry computers, monitors, etc. with no problem.

I sure wish I had water and a drain, but it's not worth the trouble. There's a hose bib right outside the shop and it's 60 feet to a house bathroom with an outside entrance...seems farther sometimes.

Good luck, enjoy the process!

 

[den-den]

Lots of good advice above. I second the idea of an I beam to run a trolley hoist on. In addition to 120 v outlets regularly spaced, a surface mounted conduit high on the wall makes for easy wiring additions. Use 4 x 4 boxes instead of couplings and leave the conduit empty for future additions, much easier than fishing wire inside a wall.

 

[cathead]

Several layers of blocks also gets your building's wooden walls up and away from the moisture of the
ground which is adventageous. Sometimes one can get a real good deal on a garage package
that has 8 foot walls and use block to get the added height. I agree with rabler as far as building
on uneven ground or into a hillside and using block. The reason I mention this is because I built
a 24x32 garage and used only one layer of 8 inch block. Had I known better at the time, I would
have gone up two to three layers of cement blocks.

 

[Gnpenning]

If you are thinking about going the block route look into ICF. Very diy friendly and depending on your are what you save on block labor can be used else where. The blocks are generally 16" high and come in different thickness.

Do you have welders? Extra power available is much cheaper than trying to upgrade down the road.

Attic trusses or the like can be affordable storage and used to get more interior height.

Go with as wide and tall of a garage door as you can. The cost for a opener is the same for a 9' and a 10' door. Make sure you get a insulated door. If you plan to do any grinding or welding go with a steel back insulated door. The are much easier to keep clean. For single width I like 10' or 12' wide for double width 18' or 20'.

Water is great to have, even a frost free hydrant by a sink draining to a dry well if allowed.

 

[westerner]

Most lifts require a twelve foot lid (ceiling).

 

[Skippy]

Polish the slab and seal with lithium silicate. I did and love it. Much easier to keep clean and stain resistant.

 

[Cadillac]

Polish the slab and seal with lithium silicate. I did and love it. Much easier to keep clean and stain resistant.

Thats one thing that I will do to my next garage. I absolutely LOVE walking into a big box store that has polished concrete. It has to be a treat working on.
One of my biggest pet peeve’s are expansion joints. I get the advantage but I hate them. When I did my driveway and garage floor and I saw cut instead of troweled the joints. Then backfilled joints with self leveling compound. So much cleaner of a look. It’s been 13yrs no cracks but I did the job. Lots of base rock, compacted and vibrated.
Another thing I did was put two garage doors in so you can drive “through”the garage. Large 16’x9’ in front “street side “. Then opposite that wall a 12’x9’ door to the backyard. All in-line with the driveway. My thought was if I needed to get something in the backyard it would be easy. Works great for a cross breeze too.