Nissan 370Z Forum - Building a garage

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Quote:

Originally Posted by God-Speed (Post 3485187)

Here's another one.

looks great! what are your garage dimensions?

I'm thinking about a 15x27 or 15x30 now. Assuming you lose about a foot with framing and drywall that would put usable space to about 14x26 or 14x29. I'm also thinking I want to do a scissor style truss so I can maximize height in the center of the garage.

I found measurements for the Z online today. Based on what I see the car is about 6'x14'. Assuming the above measurements I should have about 3.5' on each side of the car and about 12'-15' feet at the front and rear to play with. Assuming another 2' for a work bench and storage at the head of the garage I should have plenty of work space all around the car.

Wiggins, one thing to make sure that is in the budget is to make sure to have an insulated garage door. Here in Austin Tx. with the weather, temps can get as high as 105*plus and that is not factoring in the humidity and can get below the freezing mark. On days when it is hot, I close the door and open the door to the house and put my fan to pull out cool air from the house. In about 10 minutes the garage is as cool as the house is and do the same in the winter when it is very cold outside. So make this a must, you won't regret it. :tup:

:iagree:

I replaced my garage door a year ago in January. The new insulated garage door keeps the garage at least 10-15F cooler during the summer than sheet metal garage door I had previously. In OH you may find the insulating benefits more useful in the winter to help keep heat in.

You can get insulating panels to add to a regular door instead of buying the insulated door.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3485924)

You can get insulating panels to add to a regular door instead of buying the insulated door.

:iagree::iagree: I have done this to mine (DIY) but if your spending the money, and have some available, I would just by a proper finished one will look cleaner on the inside.

Im leaning heavily towards 15x27 with 9' ceilings. I would prefer 10' or even scissor trusses to give me added space above, but im trying to keep it in a budget. The MaxJax says it'll work fine with 8' ceilings, so I hope ill be ok.

What does everyone think about some LED recessed lights in the ceiling instead of the stereotypical hanging fixtures? Do you think they will provide enough lighting?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiggins3377 (Post 3486905)

If it's in the budget, go LED. Not only will they be brighter but you will save money in the long run. Just remember, you can never have to much light in the garage.

I'm an architectural designer. ( I draw plans for a living. ) PM me if you need drawings for your garages for the building department.

One thing I learned when doing mine was about the shear wall. I'm sure the codes are similar in Ohio as to Indiana, but you have to have a certain % of the door wall a solid wall vs. doors. Since I was going with 2 doors, I ended up having to go with narrow doors and put a lot of space between them for the shear wall. The Z goes in fine, but on my Ridgeline, I've got about 1/2" clearance on each side of the opening for the mirrors. Just something to keep in mind.

I did have the option of going narrower on the wall between the doors, but it involved a lot of steel, extra thick concrete, and a whole bunch of money.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...orspainted.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/withcars.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by BGTV8 (Post 3484633)

I have a 10m x 20m shed at the back of my property, which is 5 4m x 10m bays, with 3.7m high walls and clear-span gable roof (5m+ at highest point).

The rear wall is lined with 2.1m high racking to store all the race bits and pieces.

I keep my race car trailer and the 6'x4' box trailer in the first bay, second bay is a 4-post hoist - has the Z34 on it at present, the 3rd bay holds my current race car whilst we rebuild the front suspension following lower ball joint failure last year (new uprights, upper and lower arms, steering arm and tie rods plus shock mounts - a total redesign). I have a 2-post hoist to be installed in the race car bay. Both hoists have 3-phase motors and power is dropped from the roof. I have an air-compressor at the back of bay 3 as well.

4th bay stores my Z32TT and my 1972 MGB GT V8 roadie (lazy 380hp).

I have 240v 3-phase available for a large capacity stick welder and maybe a tig as well (I cannot weld for sh1t but my nephew who lives locally has his boiler-maker welding ticket and can weld anything).

Every bay has 4 x 240v single-phase outlets and the floor is 4" reinforced concrete with 8" pads 1m square under the hoist posts

The 5th bay rear third houses benches (stainless tops) with space for mig-welder, parts washer, drill press, grinder/linisher and post-mounted vice. The middle third houses the garden stuff for SWMBO and the front third has the bar fridge, table with kettle (simply cannot bring myself to get a coffee machine in the shed) and a 50" screen on the wall with Dolby 5.1 system underneath, plus an old couch so we can watch motorsport and not annoy the women folk in the house. TV is networked to the house network so I have cable and internet TV available as well.

Recommendations (I have been planning this shed for 40 years !!!!) .........

Thicker floor is mandatory for hoists (Aus standards call for 8" or 200mm)
A sink and cold water is good, hot/cold water is better - no going back into the house to wash up
Heating and cooling is also good, I have a pot-belly wood-burner to go in for winter and a 2nd hand a/c unit for the summer
Acid etch the concrete and paint is with proper paint - I did not do it and bitterly regret it now - I get a "lot" of concrete dust and it is a pita
Shed is remote monitoring alarmed and fitted with IP camera's so I can view it on my phone

The exercise was not cheap but this is our last house before getting that old that I cannot enjoy my hobby, so what the hell ....

.............and we all hate you! :icon17: Pure jealous. :tup:

Wiggin's, once you build your garage. You'll find out that it's not big enough. They never are once you start putting equipment and stuff in it.

When my dad was alive. He built a garage. Me and my brother told him 30x30 with 8ft high door. We lost. Ended up 30 front and 24 deep, with 7ft door. Never heard my dad cuss before. Once the shell was up. He walked inside and looked around. Me and my brother was there. After he got done looking around. We heard him say, "this isn't fuckin' big enough!" Me and my brother was on the floor. :rofl2: My brother said, "we told you so". My dad said "shut up" and walked out. So let this be a warning to you about garage sizes. :icon17:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3487323)

Wiggin's, once you build your garage. You'll find out that it's not big enough. They never are once you start putting equipment and stuff in it.

Yep. Build as big as your lot will allow. It always looks big on paper. Once you get all the shelves and workbenches around the walls, it gets much smaller.

Bonus points for making it two story. Even if you don't finish out the upstairs, it can still be storage. I didn't and I still kick myself.

Because I live in the city of Cincinnati my lot size isnt large enough for a typical side by side garage, plus having some green space in the backyard is a huge selling point. That's why i need to either do a single or a tandem style.

unfortunately this limits how big i can actually go.

If I had my way. My whole back yard would be garage. This way, I wouldn't have to cut grass. Method to my madness. :rofl2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3487334)

If I had my way. My whole back yard would be garage. This way, I wouldn't have to cut grass. Method to my madness. :rofl2:

im the exact same way!!!!

If the area i lived in wasnt so popular for young families it would be done. hahaha