Nissan 370Z Forum

Nissan 370Z Forum (http://www.the370z.com/)
-   Nissan 370Z General Discussions (http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/)
-   -   Building a garage (http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/114054-building-garage.html)

Rusty 05-26-2016 07:54 AM

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:

Chuck33079 05-26-2016 07:59 AM

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.

Wiggins3377 05-26-2016 08:12 AM

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.

Rusty 05-26-2016 08:16 AM

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:

Wiggins3377 05-26-2016 08:17 AM

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

old guy 05-26-2016 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3487324)
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.

Agreed! You will never regret it! Put up the largest you can afford, and the biggest your lot / city / township will allow.
I wanted to go larger but the township said: 20 ft. Off the fence line, 20 ft. Off the septic field,50ft. Away from the pond. Ended up with 30 x36 gambrel style pole barn with an up stairs & 9ft. Door. Built in 2004 was completely empty and now is completely full ... Go figure. Lol.

Mike 05-26-2016 09:08 AM

Mine is 16x32x8, but I built it to be my powdercoating shop. Now that its not a full time business and I only coat a couple days a month, I recently added a driveway and a garage door to it and brought my Z31 home.

As for air compressor, mine is pretty big, so I had about a 3x6' extension built on the outside of the shop and it is just an air compressor room, so it doesn't take up inside space. Also, it insulates the shop from the sound.

If you can swing it, central air is nice also. I got lucky and had a friend in the AC business who gave me a practically brand new unit that they had to replace for someone because it was too small for their house.

Wiggins3377 05-26-2016 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 3487358)
Mine is 16x32x8, but I built it to be my powdercoating shop. Now that its not a full time business and I only coat a couple days a month, I recently added a driveway and a garage door to it and brought my Z31 home.

As for air compressor, mine is pretty big, so I had about a 3x6' extension built on the outside of the shop and it is just an air compressor room, so it doesn't take up inside space. Also, it insulates the shop from the sound.

If you can swing it, central air is nice also. I got lucky and had a friend in the AC business who gave me a practically brand new unit that they had to replace for someone because it was too small for their house.

Great info Mike. It sounds like your space is similar to what mine would be. Understanding mine would be 1' shorter in width and 5' shorter in length do you think there is still plenty of room to work all around the car?

mults 05-26-2016 09:44 AM

1 Attachment(s)
I built mine in 2009 (30 deep x 24 wide) and as everyone is saying, wish I would have gone bigger. If it would have been only 2 feet deeper, I would have been able to park the Z in front of my wife's car in the winter. Instead, I have to park it sideways if I don't do offsite storage.

One of the best things that I did was to have a door installed at the rear so I can access the back of the garage without moving any vehicles (for the lawn tractor).

Mike 05-28-2016 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiggins3377 (Post 3487362)
Great info Mike. It sounds like your space is similar to what mine would be. Understanding mine would be 1' shorter in width and 5' shorter in length do you think there is still plenty of room to work all around the car?

1 car in the shop and not a working powdercoat shop too, you would have plenty of room!


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:30 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2