What's Your Garage Size - And How Do You Use It? (2 Viewers)

[diabetik81]

It appears I have neglected to update my garage/shop space and usage. I now have a 40’x50’ post and beam shop with a 10’x40’ mezzanine and a10k lift. Usage is still the same just more room to do it in. As an added bonus now gets to park in the garage. There is also a 10’x20’ “office” area, that isn’t finished yet.

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I'd move to Alabama just to own something like this. NJ is ok(ish) but to have something like this you need $2mm.

 

[johns94cruiser]

Building a house in Bay County, Fl, near Panama City Beach. Have to be on piers due to flood. Garage is all mine. 42 ft wide x 35 ft deep. 9 ft ceilings.

No idea what I’m going to do yet…never had this much space and all to myself…might have to get some projects.

 

[PIP]

My 2 car garage is 20' x 24'. It's just big enough for the bicycles, quads, dirtbikes, camping gear and pet food. We've never parked a car in it. I have a large shop though.

 

[spazzyfry123]

We’re building this three car on the house. These are redlines, but 34’-8” x 24’-8” + an additional 4’ deep storage area. Plan is for a separate actual shop, but excited for this space attached to the house. Hope is for a solid garage space for Mrs. spazzyfry to pull in the 200 with kids in tow and pop open the hatch to pull groceries.

 

[bkfj40]

32x40 garage. Hoping to break ground soon on 50x100. Dream big!

 

[PIP]

32x40 garage. Hoping to break ground soon on 50x100. Dream big!

50x100 is a good size. Of coarse you can fill anything up, but 5000 sq ft supports some healthy projects and toys, even a business and a few employees if the need arises.

 

[greenbeast]

32x40 garage. Hoping to break ground soon on 50x100. Dream big!

Agree dream big!! No regrets

This is going serve as our home for the next year with old 5th wheel in it along with our cruisers and couple other cars. Single bathroom, 20x23 office/ living room upstairs.
Building imprint 80x70, wood structure. Spray foam insulation. Floor being coated next week, then sheet rock back 25% so I can finally move tool in and we can finish bathroom and room to put gun safe.

Wife and I aren’t going anywhere and wanted to build what we always wanted. The shop and her small farmhouse. Been a chore doing things here and there.

 

[bkfj40]

50x100 is a good size. Of coarse you can fill anything up, but 5000 sq ft supports some healthy projects and toys, even a business and a few employees if the need arises.

I’m thinking of starting up a woolwax or similar rust preventative spray operation / and then seeing if there is a need for frame repair shop

The land is free where I’m putting up the shop, that helps to grow the dreams.

 

[knuckle47]

WARNING: This reads like my life story…but, it’s not…that part is seriously more complex ….I am not bragging…just really proud of, as @Michael B says, finally getting the shop I wanted.

Funny but I have needed a garage space for working on my stuff for over 40 years…bought the house when I was 25…it is NEW JERSEY and as @diabetik81 has said< it’s OK(ish). I have restored Victrolas, Edison phonographs , built acoustic guitars, maintained my house Big time… I had restored vintage antique America motorcycles from the 1920’s to 1965 in a two car garage attached to the house…since 1979 there was never a car in there. One side was all larger tools…bearing press, drill press, welders, glass beader, table saw, band saw…..I have a dirt road and dirt driveway so when screws, nuts and washers would fall. It was a rare time that you would find them. when Harbor freight came out with the magnet bar, it was a Godsend except for stainless . It was so tight I had to move around sideways from all of the stuff stored.

never had the extra cash raising my family. The bikes, Victrola's and guitars were sold every year as an additional source of income for family needs and vacations… kids are now 44 and 42, on their own and at 69 I was able to build my pole barn. We have some great acreage in a very secluded rural NJ area, believe me this place is waayyy overpopulated only a few miles away. The Amish came in and did an incredible job it is 44x 32 with concrete floor and 3 overhead doors. The main door is 18’ wide the other two are 9’ wide. 16’ to the peak of the roof, spray foam insulated and seems too small once again.

we recently decided that after 45 years in this same house, maybe we want to move. We moved to NJ from Vermont where we were 4 miles from Canad. My wife’s family is scattered these days between Vermont and Michigan. We may decide to add on to the house or move back to VT or even Michigan…very near the souther parts of the giant Lake Michiga. When we started looking at houses, we dictated a minimum of 4 acres and pole barn permission. Well, Michigan houses over 2 acre have some of the biggest pole barns I had seen….one of them houses an airplane With room for 3 more. A big incentive for us.

on the other hand, we are both going to be 71 in a few short months. We would not have access to family only 5 miles away, if something were to happen to either of us, we may be too isolated to deal with the inevitable conditions of aging. If we lived to be 150, I could easily pick up and go but hey, we all know where it goes from here.

I sold a few other 1950’s cars I had. I really wanted to take a step back into my days as a 20 year old and picked up my FJ40 and that addicted me to dive in Full speed. The shelves are stacked with FJ40 parts, Bandierante parts, diesel parts, FJ45 parts and the garage has zero room except for 1 more truck and I am hoping to get. we‘ll see. If my property was farm assessed, they tell me I can build any size pole barn any where.. many ‘farmers” around here these days are listed as woodland management and sell $1000 of firewood each year to maintain status. Aside from that benefit, your land is taxed differently than your house.

so here is the result of decades of wishing for a pole barn….. for me. Can you imagine ME moving into a retirement community?

 

[PIP]

That's a nice shop!

On the subject of big home shops... When my wife and I were house shopping our real estate agent kept sending us listings with "big" shops. I never could get through to her that I needed a "BIG" shop, like 10 times the size of what she was sending us- Park a 747 inside big. We nearly bought a place with a 12K sq ft horse arena that I could convert into a shop, but it didn't work out. 1/4 of the arena was built on the neighbors property and they refused to do a lot line adjustment.

In the end we found the right place and I built what I wanted, but I sure would have preferred to buy instead of build.

 

[knuckle47]

Thanks….When you say ‘PARK A 747”. That is exactly what i would look for… I have seen a few 2400sqft and 1 larger than that…. My mind goes into a wild tangent. I have ZERO neighbors…no one to bitch and moan about the “ugly” building they have to look at but unless I was Farm Assessd, there are limits…I stayed exactly on that limit without having to get a variance…. I did not want to wait for 4-5 months…I may just apply for an addition and go get the F%$# varianc. I’m just getting too old and tired to really make it work for me that way any more. BUT I DREAM of walking in there and hearing my voice echo…..hahaha

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Apparently you only need a bit under 20,000 ft2 to park a 747. Who knew?

 

[TRDdrew]

Man this is probably my new favorite forum on MUD so much envy from some of y'all's massive work spaces. Well this is mine it's a do it all for me, work space, man cave and of course cruiser & parts storage. It a 36'x12' shop with a 36'x12' over hang off the back that I just finished not that long ago. Plans for a bigger pole barn shop on the other side of my property are in the works just not 100 percent ready to proceed.

It's not much but I have more than most so I'm not complaining

 

[knuckle47]

That looks great and the overhang is valuable space. I have an overhang that is 26 x 10 with 10ft tall ceiling and I could easily use double that. The future may see that happening on the other side of the pole barn as well. Of course for me, it was something I should have done 20 years earlier. At this point I should be looking to downsize. I tell my son he is getting one mother of a shop eventually …he still insists on doing his brakes on the ground instead of eye level ???

 

[TRDdrew]

That looks great and the overhang is valuable space. I have an overhang that is 26 x 10 with 10ft tall ceiling and I could easily us double that. The future may see that happening on the other side of the pole barn as well. Of course for me, it was something I should have done 20 years earlier. At this point I should be looking to downsize. I tell my son he is getting one mother of a shop eventually …he still insists on doing his brakes on the ground instead of eye level ???

ya the overhang is awesome! I wish the roof was a bit higher but I was on a budget when I built it. I mainly built it for the 80 to keep it out of the weather but it is so useful just to have covered storage. I think all in Lumber, hardware, shingles, rock and paint I'm right around 2500 into the overhang project. So ill call that a win.

Ya ill tell you what, I'm so sick of working on the ground lol, I work on the lifts at work every chance i get.

 

[knuckle47]

I have a 120 gallon vertical compressor that is now outside under the overhang…it is well protected, out of the elements and frees up space on the inside corners where it is not taking up any room…

 

[Broski]

The attached garage by definition is part of the house ... which makes it community property, so occasionally small projects hit the garage.

The shop is not attached to the house and was deemed dirty-n-unworthy by my bride when we purchased our home. It was promptly assigned to me. I gladly accepted. It is still very basic work environment (no insulation/unfinished concrete floors).

Interior dimensions: 40 ft wide / 80 ft long / 11.5 ft min. overhead height / 18 ft max. overhead height
Uses: Storage (Cruisers, tractor, tools, shop equipment) / auto maintenance / limited fabrication / ... the usual that we all dabble in

Front entry
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Interior (or at least a portion)
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Clear shot of the lift in use
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What dreams are made of.

 

[Waorani]

The technical term is "lean to."

 

[Hugh Heifer]

40x45. The size was due to the location. A little bigger would have been great but then I would have wanted more stuff to fill it.
I have 3 project cars going in it and a ton of lumber, parts and tools in there. I do hobby wood working when I have the time and the room.

 

[knuckle47]

It seems to me you plan on sleeping there…. Beautiful bed frame!

Everyone I have spoken with about their barns and shops said they wished it was twice the size