New House Built - Garage Suggestions

I am building a new house, and getting to pick the options for the garage, one of the things I am on the fence about is getting a 220/240 V outlet in the garage. Not sure what I would do with it now, but I am planning to be in this house for at least 10 yrs.

I dont know how to weld, and dont see myself learning, or my wife letting me...

Would it be useful for anything else? Only thing I can think of is an electric space heater.



As for the rest of the garage, I am getting 2' extensions on 2 sides, so it will be 24' square with double 9'x8' doors, lots of 110/120 V outlets, and a laundry/slop sink with hot and cold water.

 

Larger electric air compressor...

 

Ok, it is $125 extra, seems worth it.

Anything else I should get in the garage?

 

You can do basic welding with a 120v machine and most space heaters are 120v as well, so I'm not sure what benefit you'd really get from a 220/240v outlet. Of course, no harm in such an outlet either unless it's adding significantly to the cost. Personally, I'd probably opt for a few extra 120v outlets, which you've already thought of. The sink is nice as well (for cleaning hands, parts, etc), but I already have one right inside the door leading out to the garage.

 

I had a urinal when in the city. Was easy being a plumber. If ya have a sink you can have a urinal. I tracked tranny fluid thru the house one too many times before

 

make sure you put a number of electical outlets around the interior perimeter... also, ...on the garage door(s), ...if it's not too late, might consider a single double-wide door?...

 

I would assume the addition of those extra outlets means a couple more circuit breakers. Having more outlets on a circuit doesn't necessarily mean you can run more things at the same time. One space heater will draw 15 amps.

I would insist the outlet circuits in the house and the garage be wired with 12 gauge wire, using 20 amp breakers. I would also insist no lights be on the outlet circuits. It is aggravating to have lights dim when a load is added to an outlet, such as when the wife is ironing clothes. I learned the hard way. I built my own house, wiring it this way, about 30 years ago. When we bought this one, it was wired with 15 amp circuits (14 gauge wire) with lights and outlets on the same circuits.

 

Hot water spigot / mixing valve in the garage

 

hot water is a must, toilet would be nice too

I installed 6 standard outlets in my ceiling in the garage and use them more than I thought I would. Four of them are for the retractable power cords which I love.

 

Michael, if the flooring for the garage has not already been poured, would HIGHLY recommend a concrete/stain mix be done, pre-mixed prior to pouring. superior to these epoxy coatings now popular. as for the 220/240 option, i would recommend it. previously had this wired for a basement to accomodate a large woodworking tablesaw, though ended up with a portable dewalt that has sufficed. kinda like the 4X4 option, you may rarely use it, but nice to know it's there when you need it

 

How about one of those fold up ladders that lowers down so you can get in the attic? I have one at my house and I love it.

 

Make the garage bigger. Mine is 25'x30' and it could be a little bigger. I just park cars in it though. I have a shop for all of the fun stuff. Go for storage trusses or if stick framing the roof make sure to have a floor for storage. You can never have enough storage. I would go with the 220v outlet. Whether you run a bigger compressor, welder or do a poor man's back feed for a generator hook up it can come in handy. I have a sink in my garage as well. I have a hot and cold water outdoor spigot as well.

 

I will have a sink w/ Hot and Cold, but my wife axed the 220V connection, since my Father-In-Law is a general contractor, he said he would install it with me, so my wife said to do it later... Not thrilled, but my Father-In-Law has seen the plans and still says it will be easy.

There wont be any storage over the garage, because the master bedroom will be partially above it.

The foundation hasnt been poured yet, but this builder isnt open to that, so I will to the epoxy stuff as soon as I move in.

I got 3 standard outlets, plus 2 on the ceiling, plus 1 between the garage doors, plus an additional dedicated outlet that is not connected to any of the lights or other outlets.

Builder isnt open to this either, kinda lame, but I did get a dedicated outlet in the garage, so that should help.

Cant do a Doublewide, the builder doesnt offer it, the community wont allow it and my wife hates them... and I really wanted one.


Thanks for the ideas, I am going to build my own work benches, and shelving. The standard garage was 22' x 22' and I had them enlarge it to 24' x 24', and going bigger would cost a lot more. I test parked my truck in the 22' x 22' garage and was able to get out of my truck (DCSB) and walk around it without a problem, so the extra 2' should make it even better. I wish enlarging the garage was cheaper, because I would go even bigger.

Any recommendations on a good epoxy or non-epoxy floor sealer paint? That is priority one now. Then lots of overhead floresent lights. Then the 220V connection and some more dedicated outlets in the garage.

 

Obviously no offense intended , but that is stupid

So much easier to do stuff in the right order , especially for $125

 

my suggestion: double-up on garage door controls.

I gutted/rewired my 2-car garage a couple years back and one of the features I really like is that I can open my garage doors from either end of the garage. I used low voltage lighted doorbell buttons for mine. In between the doors I have one button for each door, so if i'm on the way out I can close the door. Also, i have a button for each door on their respective side of the walk-in door to my basement so I can open the garage door as soon as I'm in the garage from the house. The final detail is that I have the two openers on a dedicated circuit controlled with a lighted switch... at night i turn off the light switch to kill power to the door openers for added security and it's easy to find in the dark because it's illuminated.

 

The 24 x 24 garage will shrink when you put your junk in it.

 

We built a pole barn garage. 30x40, with attic trusses. They give a 12' wide, 7 ' high storage area upstairs. They're rated at 60#/sq ft. Attic storage areas fill quickly. Electric service is 220/100A. Walls are insulated with 1.5" foil faced poly sheets and 6" of fibreglass. Outlets are every 8 feet, at 4' off the floor. I also have the ceiling outlets as well. There's 2 8x10 OH doors and a man-door on the gable end, with a side entry facing the house. The 220/20 cfm compreesor is adequate. "Island" work benches are real easy to get used to. Be sure to think of conduit in the floor to bring electric to them. Going to a 10' ceiling had no extra charge, and a drop ceiling was installed. This gives room for high storage. The building is divided into 2 sections, the garage area is 30x25, and the shop is 30x15, with an insulated wall and twin 4' wide insulated doors between them. Big windows are a plus. Wish I had more. Regrest are minimal. Shoulda had rebar in the floor, and 6" thick instead of 'glas re-inforced 4".
Believe it or not, the project was my wife's idea. Bless her. The neighbors joke that I push my house into the garage when it needs work.
If you're thinking of a floor drain, be careful. Some locales frown on them. You could install one, skin it over for final inspection, then expose it. Same with a pit.
B-13

 

Make some space for a refrigerator, whether it be a large or small one. It's a great place to drink a beer or two when working on minor projects. A deep basin sink is a must too.

 

Run Cable so you can set up a TV (man cave)

Pull Cat5 for a hardwired internet connection. Don't count on the wifi being strong enough to work in the garage. If you have a Cat5 line, you can set up and old computer on your bench for Net Searches / Pandora Music etc...

 

Will have both a refrigerator space and a deep basin sink.

Good idea, I listen to Pandora in my garage a lot, that or the radio.