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New Garage Build - looking for input


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Starting a Detached Garage build to accommodate boat, work shop and office.  Plan and front view below.

Roof will be covered in 15KW of solar to run garage and main residence.

Let's here it - what should I be sure to include?

 

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You will never regret going wider on that deep bay. It will leave you room for some storage racks and other surfaces to collect junk. I have never heard anyone say “I wish my shop was smaller.” My primary shop bay is about 14’ wide and it gets pretty tight when I’m working inside of a rig and want the doors open. I also have storage racks down one side taking up 2’ of my width.
 

after having a shop with water in it, I don’t know if I can ever go back to the dark ages of walking to the house to use the bathroom or get water for cleaning something.

we are in the Pacific Northwest so having a wood stove in the shop is also a must. Depending on climate that might not be necessary for you.

Having a door from your shop bay to the storage room is something I would definitely want.

looks like a great home base, makes me kind of jealous. I would love the opportunity to design and build my shop just the way I wanted it from scratch. 

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Quick questions before I step away for honey-do list.

Where is the office?

No access from the shop or storage into the garage?  Depending on the site and if you can back the boat in front of the storage room doors it looks like a lot of walking to load/unload

I like the idea of solar but 15 kW is a lot of output.  It would be off topic but if you want I will go there.  :innocent:

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I don’t see a room for Christmas ornaments, crafts or other “important “stuff”. JK, not really, I had to give up a corner. :Frustrated: I don’t have a bathroom in my 30x40 garage either. It was thought about, but I live in a very rocky area so the money would not allow it. I have a drive through on both ends, but insulated garage doors aren’t cheap! Maybe a window next to the door and on the backside of the storage room,  natural light is free. I would also want internal access from the garage to storage. The junk coming out of the boat you may want to put into seasonal storage. And an awning over the walk-in to keep dry while you are trying to get in. 

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18 minutes ago, BillyChinookVLX said:

You will never regret going wider on that deep bay. It will leave you room for some storage racks and other surfaces to collect junk. I have never heard anyone say “I wish my shop was smaller.” My primary shop bay is about 14’ wide and it gets pretty tight when I’m working inside of a rig and want the doors open. I also have storage racks down one side taking up 2’ of my width.
 

after having a shop with water in it, I don’t know if I can ever go back to the dark ages of walking to the house to use the bathroom or get water for cleaning something.

we are in the Pacific Northwest so having a wood stove in the shop is also a must. Depending on climate that might not be necessary for you.

Having a door from your shop bay to the storage room is something I would definitely want.

looks like a great home base, makes me kind of jealous. I would love the opportunity to design and build my shop just the way I wanted it from scratch. 

I was going to mention the garage width but span is money and decided not to.  Not only not much room to open doors if you have an LSV backed in that is only 2 ft free on each side which will pretty much kill storing much beside the boat.  if you store the boat in the back of the garage it makes it hard to use the sides for much at all.  Perhaps a double door on the opposite end from the main door in the garage so things are not "trapped" behind the boat.

Love the idea of water and at least gray water drain.

Edited by Surf4FamFun
left off a word!!
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The space listed as 'Storage' is going to be my office.  Want is closed off from the garage and am going to finish it to be 'my' space.

I'll have open access to the attic area above the 'Storage/office' from the garage and am going to have that be the Xmas and other storage area for bins.

14' wide allows me to maintain a 10' wide access down the side of the property so I can get landscaping gear to the rear of the property which is still unfinished.  I considered a front and rear garage door for that access and but was deterred for reasons I won't go in to.

I will be including two drains in the floor of the boat/rv parking as well.

Going with a two-zone mini-split heat/AC system with one head in the office and the other in the workshop.

Water - HUGE point of consideration, its just pricey to add water and sewage to the space and I'm only 15' away from access to the house with a bathroom just off the doorway.

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+1 for a door on the 'far end' so you can get in/out without walking all way to front. 

And also like idea of a door between storage and shop/garage so not going outside to get between the two zones. If worried about width with boat in there maybe just a slider (either pocket door or a barn door style slider)?

Finally, why does the storage stop like 8 ft short of the garage section? 

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Is the solar grid tied, and will it have storage batteries?  Have you purchased the equipment yet?  Have you done an energy audit, or did you just decide that 15kW of panels will fit?

On solar, you may get better performance from two independent smaller mini-splits rather than one larger two-zone unit.

Anyway, I would box in the back right corner and use it as a solar room with wall space for your inverter(s), etc.  This is particularly true if you will ever have storage batteries and the corresponding charge controller(s).  Insulate the heck out of the building to help save your "free" solar energy.

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1 hour ago, justgary said:

Is the solar grid tied, and will it have storage batteries?  Have you purchased the equipment yet?  Have you done an energy audit, or did you just decide that 15kW of panels will fit?

On solar, you may get better performance from two independent smaller mini-splits rather than one larger two-zone unit.

Anyway, I would box in the back right corner and use it as a solar room with wall space for your inverter(s), etc.  This is particularly true if you will ever have storage batteries and the corresponding charge controller(s).  Insulate the heck out of the building to help save your "free" solar energy.

When our central A/C died years ago I put in mini-splits through the whole house.  Single head units are more efficient if you are going to keep the space conditioned all the time.  The Mitsubishi units that I put in with the hyper heating (H2?) really do maintain capacity in low temps, recent cold snap went down to 5 F with is the lowest I have see it here in ATL.  The multi head units (did not have H2 option for them when I installed) were not doing much at that point, the H2 units were using lots of kWh but heating well.

Insulation saves on equipment since smaller units can be used and on energy cost for the life of the building.  Hard to go wrong on that one.

If you can keep your inverters (and or batteries) in conditioned space that would make everything work and last better.  

I bought an energy metering system from Emporia Energy.  Have continuous monitoring on mains and 16 circuits which is really good data to have when you are sizing solar or a home generator.  Good post install to figure out where your solar kW'ss are going once commissioned.  

Edited by Surf4FamFun
changed wording
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IIWM, and the wallet would support it, I would do the following:

  1. Plumb it with water and sanitary and put in a water heater.  Have interior and exterior hose bibs and put a trench drain in the boat bay.
  2. Extend the storage area's rear outside wall to meet the rear of the garage and use it as an equipment room (compressor, water heater, distribution panel, slop sink, etc.).  Use sound bat insulation in the walls separating this space from the office space.
  3. Plumb the garage with compressed air piping with quick disconnect outlets, filters & dryers.  A compressed air hose reel would be awesome as well.
  4. Install a high quality, chemical resistant, slip resistant urethane flooring system.
  5. Ceiling fans.
  6. Bar in the office.
  7. FRP panels up to 10' above the floor in the garage bay so fluids don't damage whatever wall finish you want elsewhere.
  8. Wall mounted or ceiling mounted exhaust fan for any time you're doing something that creates fumes or dust.

 

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+1 on the overhead door at the other end, that is a HUGE must have to me, I did it on mine and it has been priceless.  I know you said it's already been addressed, but it's a really big deal.

+1 on the exhaust fan in the garage area and also with a louvered (and filtered) air input at an opposite end

+1 on the FRP panels (or other) up from the floor, maybe not 10' but definitely above the splash zone

I don't think I'd use space for a bathroom either if it's that close.  But I would run water, a shop sink with hot water and drain for grey water would be huge (and not real expensive).

I assume there will be a meat smoker in the open air spot next to your office?

I would increase the garage space by 2' and recenter the door, and take 2' from the other side.  For the reasons cited by the others, it's just too tight.

 

 

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My favorite add I did in mine was putting outlets at boat height on the wall so I could just lean out and plug things like a vacuum, charger, etc in easily.  

I'd clarify - ceiling fan should be above the boat to promote drying

  • Like 2
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Built my garage a couple years ago, unfortunately I didn’t have the space for a pull through setup. I can tell you that you will want more electrical outlets then you think. Put them EVERYWHERE! And don’t skip a 220 outlet.  We did an attached studio apartment, and having a bathroom is nice. Having a utility sink is a must, plus hose bibs on the exterior and I put a hose bib with hot and cold on the inside, which I use all the time. I spent one small fortune on water and sewer, but I am glad I did. 
Cheers

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I would make the door taller and get the opening to a minimum 14ft height. If you ever buy a motor home or fifth wheel you will need the extra height. 

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Build it as big as you can. It will NEVER be big enough. 
 

Sky lights for natural light. Big windows for the same reason. 
 

I have outlets every 8’. 
 

14’ door for resale to be an RV garage. 
 

I did a roll up door on the side of the building and it never gets used. Wish it wouldn’t have done that as they aren’t as well insulated as a wall. 
 

Ceiling fans. 
 

Whole house fan  

 

Here’s mine.  The pop out on the right was an addition as the original build wasn’t big enough.  I still wish I would have gone 4’ wider as when I have the RV with the slides out it is difficult to get between it and the boat.  

 
 

 

F051B4FE-56D2-4F7D-BE79-E70E6F421362.jpeg

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22 hours ago, justgary said:

Is the solar grid tied, and will it have storage batteries?  Have you purchased the equipment yet?  Have you done an energy audit, or did you just decide that 15kW of panels will fit?

On solar, you may get better performance from two independent smaller mini-splits rather than one larger two-zone unit.

Anyway, I would box in the back right corner and use it as a solar room with wall space for your inverter(s), etc.  This is particularly true if you will ever have storage batteries and the corresponding charge controller(s).  Insulate the heck out of the building to help save your "free" solar energy.

Interesting on the mini split - thanks.  $ wise there isn't much difference between two units vs one larger.

Yes to energy audit, though we're only in our 3rd month in the house so no summer data with AC use.  The 15KW is an educated estimate.  It's easier to get it through our power co in Northern NV in one go than to under size it and have to come back to add more (at least according to the installers I've spoken with).
Leaning toward TESLA panels, but no final decision yet.
 

On the fence with battery back-up.  Our power here is and has been reliable.  Not sure the extra $$ are worth it, and it can be added later without getting in to issues with power co.

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1 hour ago, Never said:

Interesting on the mini split - thanks.  $ wise there isn't much difference between two units vs one larger.

Yes to energy audit, though we're only in our 3rd month in the house so no summer data with AC use.  The 15KW is an educated estimate.  It's easier to get it through our power co in Northern NV in one go than to under size it and have to come back to add more (at least according to the installers I've spoken with).
Leaning toward TESLA panels, but no final decision yet.
 

On the fence with battery back-up.  Our power here is and has been reliable.  Not sure the extra $$ are worth it, and it can be added later without getting in to issues with power co.

So you are grid tied and using the grid as your "storage."  You may only want batteries if your power company's rates are unfavorable when you sell your power.  It might be worth leaving room on the wall for a charge controller and maybe a rack system nearby for batteries if you change your mind.

With Tesla you will probably have a string inverter on your wall since I don't think they are using micro inverters at each panel.

https://diysolarform.com/ is a great resource to learn from, even if you don't plan to DIY.  It might be worth running your plan past them to see if better options come up for your locality.  Don't count out a DIY solution for a lot less than an installer would charge, also.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My garage us being built currently 30x50 x 12 and my biggest plan is an 8ft wx 30 ft l x 8 ft high platform running the length of the back of the garage. I plan to use it for anything that needs storage and it gives me a place to setup a drying rack for boat gear. I just had concrete poured last week and was not able to do drains in the floor. My town wanted me to put a grease trap in since its a garage if I did a floor drain. Water wasnt feasible since my sewer is on opposite side of the house. Make it as big as you can, already wishing I could have gone bigger but have plans to make the most of my space. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm having trouble getting a clear picture of dimensions.  Is it 44' long?  I would go 50'.  Is the wall height 13.5'?  I would go 16' so you can have a 14' high door.  With that, you can fit ANY RV, which will be a selling point if you decide to sell the house. 

I am currently getting quotes to build a 24' x 50' building.  Storage only, with a 14' tall by 18' wide door.  That way I can pull my boat and truck in as one, on one side of the garage.  Then the other will store my 24' enclosed car hauler, quads, lawn mower, etc.  Doing a small garage door on the back of the building for small stuff access as well.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thats a nice garage.  I would go taller so you are not limited down the road.  Also more roll up doors for moving larger items in and out.  I am actually in the process of putting another garage door on the back of my garage, so i can pull through.  If you have the space it will make it nice. 

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