must have garages

love the glass garage door look. I wonder how heavy that door must be with the glass panels

 

The glass sectional doors weight is a non issue. I just had an 8x10 glass sectional door installed on a apartment project I am working on. The owner chose not to have a motor installed, but with the spring counterbalance assisting the opening and closing there is very little effort required to operate by hand. With a motor you won't have to worry about weight at all, but in case of a power outage, you will still be able to operate the door by hand without being a power lifter.

 

In floor power outlets is a great idea especially where you plan to have lifts and even if you don't think you need it, it is far easier to place it on the front end before the slab is poured vs trying to cut out concrete later to run conduit when you decide you need it.

 

After seeing Fortis' fortress build, I have really wanted to see LED accent lighting in a show garage application. It is not a NEED for a garage, but I think that would be a very cool design touch to add.

Hot and cold running water (including the spotless water treatment). We use CR Spotless and it works incredibly well.

 

Even if not a working garage - if you'll entertain it's nice to have hot & cold water. If you do have a wash bay - hot water is important, especially in a place with cold weather.

 

Can't believe I forgot that part, absolutely hot and cold water in ANY garage. Good call!

My "out building" is more of a working shop, but if I could add to your wish list...

 

Recessed floor lighting sure make it easier to work on them when they are on a lift.

 

Be sure to add length for longer ramps for a lift. Low cars are hard to rack.

 

When you add a compressor, be sure to have a good quality filter dryer system. A good dryer will automatically purge water as it collects it.

 

A mezzanine that goes around the car while it is up in the air on the lift is really useful.

 

220v items can have different plugs.

 

Restroom and wash sink.

 

Monitored security

 

Dedicated laptop station and wifi

 

 

Having 220 available in multiple locations is a must, especially for the lifts.

 

Lighting is huge, and spend the $$ on bulbs with a very high CRI (color rendering index) it will keep everything from looking washed out. Don't be afraid of recessed fluorescent lighting, it isn't as hip as can lights but you get A LOT more light power and distribution. I have six 8' (4x T8 bulbs) fluorsecent lights in my garage (just under 1k sq/ft) and it's a great amount of light. I would have needed about 75 recessed can lights at 90w each to get the equivalent light output. The only downside is they aren't dimmable (if that matters to you) but you can stagger them on separate switches easy enough.

 

Put in more outlets than you think you will need.

 

Liftmaster 8500 jackshaft openers.

 

Think about a utility closet with a small air compressor (10 gallon) and pulling some air drops. I know it isn't a "working" garage, but the lifts might have options for air locks which is nice. And even when washing your cars, having the ability to blow things off or air up a low tire is nice.

 

I'll second the idea of a wash bay with treated water. They have "shower curtains" on tracks so you can enclose the bay with no overspray.

 

For cleanup I like polished and sealed concrete mainly because you can squeegee it. Epoxy is great if it doesn't have the flakes (for cleanup) but it can be slippery as shit when wet.

 

I actually designed a few things for a place in SoCal with a turntable (Carousel model), it wasn't cheap but this one actually worked pretty well. I still think I would skip it unless the property layout mandates it. In this instance they were doing an underground garage on a beachfront house and were really confined width wise so they kinda had no choice. If you get one, buy it bigger than you think you will need, 16' is not that big and it's relatively inexpensive to move up to the 18' (all other things considered).

 

Talk to your architect about having the garage doors and tracks go into an empty space OVER the finished ceiling so they are completely out of sight when up. You can also get the garage door openers up into this space and hidden. You're essentially dropping the ceiling in this area by about 6" but in the end you'll end up with the same overhead space and it looks a lot cleaner. But you'll definitely need good attic access for any repairs in the future.

Omg, fantastic well thought out suggestions. Thank you!

I also think it's important to have a "man" door to the exterior of the garage so you have ingress/egress without having to open a bay door.

 

We have friends who don't have exterior man doors and anyone entering the garage must enter through the house, or through an open garage bay door.

EyeDoc,

 

I'm in the process of building a garage/show space right now as well. I decided to go with a roll up door, instead of the standard track door. It's super quiet, made of steel, and insulated, which would be good for your Utah winters. I agree with the exhaust fan idea. I'm having mine wired so that when the big door opens, the fan will come on automatically for a preset length of time to clear the exhaust gases out. The fan size should be selected based on getting a certain number of air exchanges every hour, I think mine was 6 exchanges per hour. Don't forget to have a vent installed to allow make-up air back into the garage, to replace what is being blown out. I also had 4 Velux Solar powered opening skylights installed to let in natural light and to vent out hot air in the summer. They have solar powered blinds on them, if you want to block out the light, just push a button on the remote control. While my garage was in the framing stage, I had it wired for speakers and a home theater system. Not sure what your plan is for wall construction, but since we get cold winters here too, I had the walls framed 9.75" thick with a total of R40 insulation, also added a layer of Styrofoam to create a thermal break, then double layer of drywall for some extra sound proofing. Good luck with your project. Keep the forum updated with pics as you progress.

We are doing radiant heat for the house and heated driveway (a must where we live) but never considered radiant heating for garage...I need to look into that. As far as doubling the size, I agree but I'm having a hard time getting hubby on board. Love the look of the glass but it would also make the garage cold (and we are talking about Utah ).

If you are doing any rockscape type work let me know. My friend owns the rock place in town. They do heated driveways under their rock driveways all the time. Water features, tons of cools stuff.

 

 

EyeDoc,

 

Don't forget a security system and maybe some security cameras.

 

Have you thought of having a fire suppression system installed? Sprinkler? It may lower your insurance premiums.

And I thought I had a cool garage... mine is nothing compared to these! Ugh... LOL

Lots of great suggestions. I like the idea of a fire suppression system and skylights to let in natural light. Thank you all for the great ideas

For cleanup I like polished and sealed concrete mainly because you can squeegee it. Epoxy is great if it doesn't have the flakes (for cleanup) but it can be slippery as shit when wet.

 

I'll second the polished and sealed floors. You can stain them as well. So much easier to live with on a daily basis than epoxy. You will be tracking snow/salt in and out and epoxy will start to show wear and tear.

Only think i would add is may be a small bathroom/toilet/washroom

Avoid epoxy, I will have to redo the floor in my garage, a hot tyre caused a patch to lift, you really can't beat a good quality ceramic tile.

Avoid epoxy, I will have to redo the floor in my garage, a hot tyre caused a patch to lift, you really can't beat a good quality ceramic tile.

 

I agree, I had nothing but problems at my house garage, but I built another garage and had the floor acid etched and ground (roughened) and this one is 2 years out with no issues. My other garage has race deck black and white checkerboard. That works very well, but expensive.

I wouldn't hesitate to put epoxy on a garage floor.

 

Surface preparation is the key to having the epoxy bond to the concrete.

I recommend shot blasting the surface and then applying a top quality 100% solids epoxy.

I would recommend the use of an anti-skid additive to the epoxy for safety reasons.

I did my garage floor in 2002 and it has held up very well. (It's just a regular garage so it takes a lot of abuse).

 

I agree with the others that LED lights are the way to go. They are not inexpensive, but the quality of light is incredible. The savings in energy costs and maintenance (20+ years on some bulbs) will pay for your investment in 3-5 years of use .

 

Even though you are having a working area adjacent to the garage, I would consider using hidden panel doors to house some of your detailing items or audio/video system in the display area.

 

Have you thought about a central vac or an outlet in the display area?

Avoid epoxy, I will have to redo the floor in my garage, a hot tyre caused a patch to lift, you really can't beat a good quality ceramic tile.

I had the same issue and went with ceramic tile. I haven't had one issue since!

Avoid epoxy, I will have to redo the floor in my garage, a hot tyre caused a patch to lift, you really can't beat a good quality ceramic tile.

 

Unfortunately that's a prep issue. Also with new concrete it's possible they didn't let it cure long enough (30+ days) and you still had moisture coming out.

 

If you're putting tile in the garage make sure it's Porcelan, ceramic will be much more likely to chip and crack.

 

Staining and clearing concrete does also look very good as someone else said.

 

Regarding the bathroom, building codes here (CA) won't let you do it, they don't want the "garage" being easily converted into living space. That being said if the plumber puts a water closet it and you install a toilet after inspection, nobody will be any the wiser.

Avoid epoxy, I will have to redo the floor in my garage, a hot tyre caused a patch to lift, you really can't beat a good quality ceramic tile.

Like others have said it's all in the prep, just too many things that can be done wrong before the epoxy. I would do something else with better results.

Has anyone tried commercial grade carpet with vinyl at the spots where the car parks?

 

 

 

Garage thread with 380 pages worth of pictures, enjoy and good luck with the garage

 

http://www.luxury4play.com/automotive/3656...cs/36568?page=1

Like others have said it's all in the prep, just too many things that can be done wrong before the epoxy. I would do something else with better results.

Has anyone tried commercial grade carpet with vinyl at the spots where the car parks?

 

Had it prepped very well, ended up grinding back the entire surface took few mm off, filled in all hairline cracks, acid etched etc. the guy stripped it once and reapplied the top coat because of tiny imperfections, some dust etc, I think is like emanon says the moisture in the relatively fresh concrete, the other issues are tyre marks, it marks everywhere and drives me nut, I will never do it again but that's just me, now I will have to remove it and tile it, when I could've just done that from the beginning and avoid all this aggravation and frustration, what a massive PITA.

No problem with epoxy floor in my garage (waited 2 months)

Like others have said it's all in the prep, just too many things that can be done wrong before the epoxy. I would do something else with better results.

Has anyone tried commercial grade carpet with vinyl at the spots where the car parks?

Anyone ever had carpet in their garage? I'm thinking I would try it but asking for input for any cons from real experiences, stains would be isolated from the cars with vinyl car mats in the parking spots.

Wow, nice garages, Im really hating living in a high density environment about now.

Here is another forum specific for garages, not as fluffy as the other posts but some good info in it.

 

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

 

 

 

Anyone ever had carpet in their garage? I'm thinking I would try it but asking for input for any cons from real experiences, stains would be isolated from the cars with vinyl car mats in the parking spots.

That picture looks like fine carpet. I'd imagine it would be more for show than anything. You'd have to lay down a track under each wheel and remove it once driving forward in order for it not to stain or wear. I could see wear marks arising quite soon after installation, assuming you were driving your cars weekly.

I'd stay away from carpet for those very reasons. Texture the floor and then just wash/blow to clean it. Nice and easy.