Detached Garage / Shop Build - 24x32

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makes my tummy all tingley.
 
It is seeming bigger and TALLER than what I anticipated, but I'm sure the more I look at it the less shocking it will appear.

Next up on my list is lighting and outlet placement...I'm thinking the following:

Lighting exterior - one light above the man door and one massive flood above the garage door (thinking FloodZilla style so it will light up a huge area).

Lighting interior: I'm planning to go with two bulb 4' T8 fixtures and thinking 20 fixtures should do it. That would give me ~100 lumens sq/ft assuming a balast that is 88% efficient and photometric efficiency of 75%. I looked at both LEDs and T5HO as options however the LEDs were slighty more total cost (purchase price and annual usage) at 10 years (this was also leveraging a low priced LED option - Costco plug-in version). The T5HO were slightly less 10 year total cost but I don't think my ceiling height is tall enough to gain the benefits of these versus the downside of glare.

When it comes to outlets, I'll have 4 220s; one plug in the front left corner near the garage door for welding outside, one plug in the back wall centered, and then one hardwired for the compressor in the back left corner and finally one hard wired for the lift on the left wall. I considered adding a 5th plug for plasma cutter, etc but figured I'd likely not be welding and cutting at the same time in the back of the garage and I already have an extension cord for the welder that I can run from the front plug.

Regular plug outlets will just get spaced throughout the garage but will additional work bench height ones in the back right section (where I will have benches and cabinets installed).

Thoughts / critiques on my setup?? Any feedback is welcome!
 
T5 lamps take time to warm up, and may not even reach full brightness, when it's cold out. The LEDs are instant on and require no warm-up time.

Do you have any drawings of how the floor layout is going to look?

For power, I love my retractable 220v cord and my retractable 110v cord. I want to put a retractable air hose in as well. I have my welding cord on a wall, but want the others in the ceiling so it's easy to get to when I need it, and most importantly, the cord reels up and out of the way.

Are you going to have compressed air lines ran through the shop? Is the compressor going to be inside the shop or outside on a pad, in an enclosure?
 
Sounds like a good plan.

Add an outside outlet on the back and open side.
Be careful of light pattern of main light over garage door. Easy way to piss off a neighbor

I'd block a couple areas between trusses for structural support of something like a retractable extension chord and air line. A ceiling outlet next to that area would not hurt.

Put all your outlets at work bench height


Are you running water to the shop? That is the one thing I miss most in my shop. The main water line is on the other side of the street here so eventually I will have to pay to bring a line under the street.
 
T5 lamps take time to warm up, and may not even reach full brightness, when it's cold out. The LEDs are instant on and require no warm-up time.

Do you have any drawings of how the floor layout is going to look?

For power, I love my retractable 220v cord and my retractable 110v cord. I want to put a retractable air hose in as well. I have my welding cord on a wall, but want the others in the ceiling so it's easy to get to when I need it, and most importantly, the cord reels up and out of the way.

Are you going to have compressed air lines ran through the shop? Is the compressor going to be inside the shop or outside on a pad, in an enclosure?


I have some crude graph paper drawings but nothing fancy like Sketchup, etc. I'll work on something so it's easier to visualize.

Definitely will have a couple 110s in the ceiling to install a retractable cord or just use the extra plug from teh garage door opener. I forgot to add that I'll have 2 wall mount fans hardwired too.

Compressor will initially be indoors, but may get moved to an exterior room at some future point. It would essentially just be moved to the outside wall from where it will be placed in the interior (if that makes sense).

I'm also planning on air lines throughout...not sure if I'll run then behind drywall or on top...behind would be slick but a pain in the ass to modify and/or address leaks. Probably use an out of the box system and manifold...I've already got a hose reel from my previous garage that I plan to reuse.
 
Sounds like a good plan.

Add an outside outlet on the back and open side.
Be careful of light pattern of main light over garage door. Easy way to piss off a neighbor

I'd block a couple areas between trusses for structural support of something like a retractable extension chord and air line. A ceiling outlet next to that area would not hurt.

Put all your outlets at work bench height


Are you running water to the shop? That is the one thing I miss most in my shop. The main water line is on the other side of the street here so eventually I will have to pay to bring a line under the street.

Good call on the exterior outlets and blocking for cord reels, etc.

Are you recommending to put all outlets in the interior at workbench height versus typical height? What's the benefit here?

No water at this point...it would be a huge pain to run to the back and was something I had to cut from the plan from a cost perspective. Definitely would be nice though.
 
"Normal height" applies mainly to homes and offices where lights and office equipment is generally lower. They are also at that height so that they are hidden by furniture. In a shop setting all outlets are at bench height where they will be used. You can even store something below them against the wall and still have them usable.

On the wall outlets I also alternate the home run feed so that if you are using two outlets on the same bench they are two separate circuits. I am a bit ADHD on this stuff but it comes from building shops in the past. I wish my shop had more 220 outlets and a floor drain

If you are thinking about some sort of HVAC system in the future you may think about pre wiring the outside box the unit will require.
 
If you are thinking about some sort of HVAC system in the future you may think about pre wiring the outside box the unit will require.

Along those lines, putting insulation in as well.
 
Way nice I am going to put a shop addition at my new house when I move in June or July. Your shop has given me some ideas as to what I may need in my plans. In the near future I will send my rough plans to an architect for plan design so that I can meet all the codes for our area then send it out for bid. It is exciting when you are creating a new structure good luck. BTW what are costs per foot where you live.
 
On the wall outlets I also alternate the home run feed so that if you are using two outlets on the same bench they are two separate circuits. I am a bit ADHD on this stuff but it comes from building shops in the past.

Yes, this is a great idea. 2 or 3 circuits per wall, 1212, 123123 or something similar. And you can color code them.

I'm learning a lot of lessons from the crappy layout where I work.
 
Way nice I am going to put a shop addition at my new house when I move in June or July. Your shop has given me some ideas as to what I may need in my plans. In the near future I will send my rough plans to an architect for plan design so that I can meet all the codes for our area then send it out for bid. It is exciting when you are creating a new structure good luck. BTW what are costs per foot where you live.

Thanks, it's an exciting process and I'm lucky to be able to build it. My final costs are in the k range but that's me doing nothing other than critiqueing and the design. Keep in mind this price includes lift and compressor which would be ~6k by them selves (3.6k lift installed and 2k for compressor).

sq/ft cost comes in around (fully insulated, drywalled, 8 windows, man door, electrical, vinyl siding, architectuaral shingle, insulated and windowed garage door, concrete, underground power feed with separate meter, etc., etc,.
 
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holy crap

Yep - that was my first reaction...but refinancing our current home mortgage that was at 4.375% to a new loan including the garage cost at 3.875% and the fact that I will not need to pay a 165.00 per month storage unit bill, we will actually be paying only 8.61 more per month...different perspective with what I'm getting for that extra 8.61 per month!!
 
Yep - that was my first reaction...but refinancing our current home mortgage that was at 4.375% to a new loan including the garage cost at 3.875% and the fact that I will not need to pay a 165.00 per month storage unit bill, we will actually be paying only 8.61 more per month...different perspective with what I'm getting for that extra 8.61 per month!!

Yeah, I need to call my mortage guy.
 
Good job on your new addition that doesn't sound out of sorts for California and that is a smoking deal on interest rate. I will be doing mine a little different as I already have my compressor 26. 5 CFM duel stage. I will need a lift and am looking or starting my journey I am going to need a 8k lift for some of my heavier vehicles I have, can you remember how much the trusses were with the cut out for the lift. I know I will need 14' walls if I don't do what you have done. Anyhow TNX for sharing your travels with me
 
I would put all of the receptacles at workbench height. There is no need to put them lower, and you won't have to bend over to plug/unplug. Install more receptacles than you think you'll need. My shop is 32' x 32' and I have a receptacle every 4' on each wall, and every 2' at the workbench. I have nine (three rows of three) 8' T8 light fixtures overhead, and the lighting is very nice. I plan to add another 8' T8 on the wall above the pegboard at my workbench area in the future.

I hard wired the lift to the panel. I ran the wiring overhead, through the ceiling and back down the wall into the panel. Running the wire through the ceiling looks very clean, it's barely noticeable.

Something else to consider is the garage door location when the door is open. Will the door in the raised position interfere with your planned lighting arrangement? And, will a vehicle raided on the lift interfere with the garage door as it opens?
 
Really look into other options. I will be redoing my lighting here soon.

What options are you thinking? T5HO doesn't seem like a good option as my ceiling height is b/w 12' - 16'. LEDs could work but not for the money I have allocated. One plus I see to my plan is that T8s can be easily retrofitted to run LED bulbs once/if they become more affordable.

Are there other options?

Interested in your thoughts.
 
I built a similar garage in 2002 - even did the same type of trusses. Mine was 27 x 37 IIRC

I put two huge fans in the gables to move hot air and fumes out. Did not do a ridge vent to make the fan's work better. Also no point in a ridge vent if you don't run drywall as all of the heat goes right up and out in the winter.

I also put an industrial kitchen fan in the back right corner wired up to a motion sensor light. This was my welding area, when you walked into that area the light kicked on and so did the fan. Right over my welding table.

In the other corner I had a pellet stove mounted 18 inches off the ground with a wall mount fan to blow the heat around. Worked great.

I ran a combination of industrial grade fluorescent and incandescent. These days I'd mix it with LED's

I mounted the fluorescent lights in the corners at a 45 degree angle to shine into the room.

Run shop air to the outside of the door so you can work outside with the door closed and still have air and electricity. Nice when it's hot or cold and you want to keep the main door shut.

I'd also run the foil backed sheathing - I have it in my house, keeps the temps much cooler in the summer.

http://www.buildgp.com/thermostat-radiant-barrier-osb
 
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