garage features for new home construction

Obviously all of the suggestions made are excellent, however could be costly. So making the the assumptions that this is a garage for detailing just your own cars, it's a 2 car garage and you don't have unlimited funds you'd want to keep the costs reasonable----so have the builder do the things that would be difficult or expensive to do later on.

To be able to comfortably open doors and walk around when two cars are in the garage you need at least 22' in width and if you want to have the back wall for cabinets and or shelves you need 24' in length.

You want a floor drain and hot and cold water and at least two 2 way electrical outlets on each side wall then a 4 way outlet centered on the back wall about 4' off the floor assuming this is where you'd put a work bench. Directly above this you could put a 2 way outlet in the ceiling so you can later hang a work light over the workbench. It's nice to have all of these on a separate breaker from other rooms in the house. If you have a 220-240V outlet placed 2 feet from the ceiling somewhere in the garage you can easily add an electric heater later that won't cost an arm and a leg to purchase or to run. Here's an example Garage / Workshop Heater Dimplex DGWH4031 13648 BTU's Electric

All walls and ceiling need to be insulated and the garage door needs be one of those that have a foam core again for insulation so the garage will stay reasonably warm without heat and won't be rediculously expensive to heat. Would also be nice to have at least one souble hung style window in the garage that you can add a window air conditioner to later. I don't think it's a good idea to have your garage heating and cooling conected to the whole house units for safety reasons.

For lighting I find this to be enough (although some will say you need more)--centered over each bay a 2 way 4' fluorescent fixture positioned lengthwise -- these two on one switch so you don't have to turn on all the lights for general use. Then two more 2 way 4' fluorescent fixtures over each bay in line with the first two--so now you have a row of lights over the center of each bay. Finally 2 more 2 way 4' fluorescent fixtures at each end of the two rows mounted width wise. All of these controlled by another switch mounted near the first switch. This allows you to easily turn off all the lights at one position when checking your work with an LED or Halogen light. (Anymore I find myself doing correction and polishing with all the lights off and use just a couple of 100W LED spots to work under--the LEDs really highlight swirls and rids.) So basically you have a box of lights on the ceiling -- when working on a car pull it into the center of the garage under the box and you have lighting all around and plenty of room on all sides to move around. All of the fixtures should have 5000K bulbs as it seems to provide the most natural light--6500K bulbs are too blue for my liking. I find the inexpensive fixtures with no grills or covering to offer the most light and even coverage. Paint the walls white or light grey to help with light distribution.

Lights mounted low on the side wall are also a nice touch, but this impacts your space for those things we all need to hang in the garage so I just use a couple of 150w equivalent 5000K CFLs in clamp light fixtures that I bring out when detailing.

I have everything--cabinets, shelves, anything hanging on the side walls all at least 6" above the floor so I never have to worry about anything getting wet while washing cars and it makes it simple to hose down the entire floor when it needs it. I have my back wall covered with plain white kitchen cabinets from IKEA attached to the back wall but mounted on IKEA plastic legs that allow you to level them and keep them off the floor. This all can be done later DIY of course.

Another nice touch is a garage door opener with no center bar if you can find one---I have the iDrive Pro Wayne Dalton idrive Openers This unit is mounted directly over the door on the front wall so there is no bar running down the middle of the garage ceiling.

A lift would be great, but very expensive and I certainly can't justify this cost for just detailing my own cars. If it was my lively hood it would be another matter.

All of this is going to cost you extra as most builders will not include this in a standard package, but it's not difficult or too expensive to have added electrical or insulation included while under construction.

Hope this at least gives you some food for thought.

These are some great suggestions! One thing I have noticed is that light walls reflect too much light and make it difficult to see swirls and rids. I am going to paint the bottom 4 feet of my garage a dark charcoal gray (I want black but don't think it will look as nice) and above that a lighter, almost white color. In between, I am going to add a 6 inch red stripe for a little accent and interest.

I have seen pro detailers with moveable fabric black shades that they put parallel to the surface they are working on in order to see everything. That is where I got the idea of painting the lower portions and I had white walls in my last garage and noticed how difficult it was to see things at time.
 
These are some great suggestions! One thing I have noticed is that light walls reflect too much light and make it difficult to see swirls and rids. I am going to paint the bottom 4 feet of my garage a dark charcoal gray (I want black but don't think it will look as nice) and above that a lighter, almost white color. In between, I am going to add a 6 inch red stripe for a little accent and interest.

I have seen pro detailers with moveable fabric black shades that they put parallel to the surface they are working on in order to see everything. That is where I got the idea of painting the lower portions and I had white walls in my last garage and noticed how difficult it was to see things at time.

I've thought about this in the past but since I've been using this LED EcoSmart 18-Watt (90W) Day Light 5000K PAR38 DayLight LED Light Bulb (1-Pack)-ECS 38 CW FL 120 at The Home Depot I haven't had any difficulty spotting defects--I turn off all the other lights when using the LED and just use the general lighting for general detailing so the light walls help keep an even brightness thru out the garage. But your plans sure will look better than my light grey walls--mine's like an institution, but I guess that goes with my OCD in the garage.
 
Lots of good suggestions , something also to consider if you actually do mechanical work on your car is a large exhaust fan in addition to the climate controls.
 
I'm very surprised nobody suggested apoxy coated floors, unless I missed it.
It so much easier to clean the garage floor. salt, polish, dirt and grease all come off effortlessly with some pinesole water and a squeegee

Also maybe get a radio, mount some speakers and put a woofer so you can jam in the garage!!!!!
 
I'm very surprised nobody suggested apoxy coated floors, unless I missed it.
It so much easier to clean the garage floor. salt, polish, dirt and grease all come off effortlessly with some pinesole water and a squeegee

Also maybe get a radio, mount some speakers and put a woofer so you can jam in the garage!!!!!

This is new construction so I think he'd have to wait 6 or more months for the concrete to fully cure before applying epoxy??? Or am I totally wrong on this??
 
Considering the price is already worked out...what can I ask for and get away with?

They are not going to do all the stuff mentioned obviously.
With the price worked out then all you may be able to get away with is requesting the placement of things that are going to be installed. I would make sare that all the garage outlets are on their own/separate circuit, with a 20amp CB at the least. Requesting the provisions for future expansion and additions to the garage would be worth a shot; things like sub panels and pre-run wiring/conduits for future lighting. Make sure the garage utilizes all the available space available and if the ceiling can be raised take advantage of that.
What are the dimensions of the garage as planned right now?
 
This is new construction so I think he'd have to wait 6 or more months for the concrete to fully cure before applying epoxy??? Or am I totally wrong on this??

Opps I forgot its not built yet, it shouldnt be that bad I waited 3-4 months to apply epoxy, I guess it depends on the mix you get and if you add fibers etc.
 
  1. 2 Car with extra room on the sides and in front
  2. High ceilings
  3. Insulated
  4. 9 foot doors
  5. Epoxy finish on floors and walls
  6. White walls
  7. Gray floor
  8. Benches
  9. Storage cabinets
  10. Service sub panel
  11. 20amp 115 volt outlets
  12. 20amp & 30amp 230 volt receptacles
  13. T8 lighting wired for bank operation
  14. Insulated Pex piping
  15. 2 post lift if possible
 
I can't overemphasize the value of good insulation. My house has expanding foam insulation in the walls and R-38 in the ceiling, including over the garage as well as insulatied garage door. The coldest moring this past winter in Tulsa Ok was 18. My unheated garage never dropped below 60 degrees. Oh, I just rememberd, framing on my house is 2x6.
 
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