Garage Help????

[n_gong]

bathroom with a shower big enough for washing the dog, and of course a water heater.

[BP in ME]

If you have a riding mower, consider adding a small door on the side. You don't have to play the car shuffle on mowing day and most take up less space sideways in the corner

[swamprat]

Absolutely no roll up doors, You can't insulate or seal them in any way shape form or fashion. Insulated panel door only

[jjue1979]

If you are allowed to have a rear garage door, I highly recommend it. I have a rear garage door (in addition to the normal front garage door) for the garage where I park my bass boat and my truck, which means that I just let the boat drain into the back yard. I also can run my outboard on muffs when tuning/maintenance without moving the boat. I wish that I also had a drain for residual that slowly drips out, but I just let it flow under the garage door or use spill mats.

[rjvana37]

Install windows higher up so you get sunlight but nobody can look in, run water, many electrical plugs, switches and exterior lights controlled from the house, gas to heat it. Lots of LED lighting and maybe a ceiling fan where to want to park the boat to help dry it out.

Also, a drain in the area where you are going to put your boat

[northstar]

I just got done building a garage addition on my house. I was concerned about keeping the architecture similar to the existing house and didn't want it to look like an afterthought. Not sure what kind of permit requirements you have in your area, but to add a floor drain here you have to have a separate holding tank and if you want to add heating and cooling you need an insulation inspection.

I asked a similar question on here before I started and did add additional outlets (including on for a TV high in the corner of the garage), additional lights and upsized the attic access.

They fill up fast and going bigger than you think is good advice.

[cwenbass]

Add a mini-split. Best thing I ever bought for my garage.

[CastingCall]

All great suggestions so far!

• Back garage door - great for quickly airing out the space with a cross-breeze.
• Wire a 220v feed, with an outlet on the front garage wall - if you ever want a welder, large air compressor, etc. it is much nicer having it installed from the outset. Having it on the front allows a portable welder to be used on the driveway without a long plug-in cord.
• Wire outlets (20a min.) between each garage door on the inside and outside the building - nice not running cords across the garage openings for battery chargers, pressure washers, tools, etc.
• Insulate the walls and sheetrock, paint with high quality semi-gloss or gloss paint for easy cleaning.
• Get insulated garage doors.
• Install overhead electrical cord reels, and consider plumbing for air compressor lines (drop-downs, or hose reel). Nicer than snaking cords and air lines around vehicles.
• If you can afford it, put in a central vacuum with hook-ups between garage doors. Easy to plug in a vac hose vs. hauling a vacuum around.
• Install a drop down attic ladder, and a storage hoist. Carrying larger items up into attic storage is painful and can be dangerous - a hoist makes it much easier to store large totes.

You didn't say how tall the ceiling will be. If you have at least a couple feet of height above garage door openers, install a storage platform (I call it a "dock") across the front of the entire garage. This is otherwise wasted space and can eliminate a lot of clutter on the garage floor or on shelves.

Oh, and consider putting your box drain closer to the garage doors - keep runoff nearer the doors vs running all the way across the garage to the back (where you'll typically store items).

[Tarheel14]

Depending upon the direction it faces. Some insulation on the garage doors does make a difference. Also think about a camera or security for the garage. I dont know if thats important but they are not that expensive to get. A Walk out door opposite the roll up doors. Definitely the power cords on the ceiling is a must.

[nc370v]

Check with your home insurance to see difference between attached vs. detached garage.
The breezeway although useful-----may end up being not so useful.

[Fireball]

If possible a drive thru so no need to back the fishing machine in.

[Whiteboat]

Minimum 8” high door height (prefer 10”)

[Axkiker]

Multiple 220 outlets for compressor and welders. 110 drop outlets. Air lines throughout. Drop airlines as well. Beam and trolly setup. 3 phase circuit. Shower / pisser. Extra thick concrete. bar / pool table.

And all the other stuff mentioned. :)

[tcesni]

Im beginning to see how the BBC is the cash buyers of America. Man the size of some of these garages and then to say they are full and y'all need more room! Haha, real world problems we got here on the BBC! With all the said, yes get the biggest garage you can afford to build!

I noticed that as well, most of the garages described are the size of my house. Proper priorities!

[DMart1]

Wow, lots of great ideas in this thread. I’m just starting the home building process.

[jjue1979]

I noticed that as well, most of the garages described are the size of my house. Proper priorities!

I have only a 4-car garage (22'x21' for first garage, 22'x25' for second garage, 3 garage doors of 18'x9'), and a lot of people who come to my house say the same thing. With as many custom houses built in my area, I still don't understand why they build only 3-car garages and park the truck (and boat in some cases) outside.

[brushsjigs]

Install the over head lights between the cars and not over top of the cars. You get more light inside of the cars this way.