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I built a detached garage about 5 years ago. It's approximately 32'x28'. I made my own heated floor system for about $1500. I put 2" of ridged foam board under and along the sides of the slab, and stapled 800" of pex to the board before the concrete was poured. I used a simple electric boiler, expansion tank, and pump. The thermostat reads air temp and slab temp with a thermocouple in the slab. I set the temp to around 45, just to keep things from freezing up, higher if I'm going to be in the garage for a while. It takes a while to heat up due to the thermal mass. It's insulated very well and haven't noticed much of an increase in my electric bill over the winters.
-If you can afford it, go with closed cell spray foam insulation for the walls and roof deck. That said, I'm debating that or fiberglass batts for the garage walls.
-Consider a mini split for HVAC. The better ones are 100% efficient down to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not a typo (Mitsubishi hyper heat option). Mine is set to the lowest heat setting it will go down to (65 degrees, IIRC), and the insulated garage is warm enough to let me do all the work I need to do. If I set it to 85+ degrees, it would be even toastier, but that temp is overkill and not necessary.
-Add a floor drain.
-Add hot and cold water from the house or add a dedicated water heater in the garage. Pex is the stuff to use since it can withstand freezing better than CPVC or copper.
-I'm a fan of recessed lights and will have sixteen to twenty in my garage. Recessed lights allow you control the sharpness or softness of the light, along with the color temperature (2700K to 3000K is close to halogen/incandescent bulbs and is ideal, IMO. Stay away from 5000K bulbs that are too blue.) If you're concerned about CRI (color rendering index), you'll want lamps that have at least a 90 CRI. Incandescent bulbs have 100 CRI, as does sunlight. Our basement has mostly LED PAR38 bulbs, but the fixtures over desks have halogen PAR38s for better CRI.
Recently bought a LED shop light for my basement to replace an old 4' tube flourescent fixture, the 4k light is nice and white, probably about the highest color temp I would go to. Agree with Mark, 5k is too blue for my tastes. If a 2 stall garage, minimum of 5 light fixtures (assuming the 4' shop light types) laid mine out kinda like wallra, 2 the width of the car in front and the other 3 running the length of the car alongside the tracks of the garage doors. I have an unheated garage and did 4' T8 flourescent at the time, they need to warm up, will most likely replace with LED's soon. Eventually the garage will get insulated.
I had my one stall garage widened from 14' x 22' to 28' X 22' . Couldn't have gone deeper, city lot and house at an angle on the property. 28' width is nice, wish had it at least a couple of feet deeper, 28' would have been great.
Went through this recently. Designed 2014, completed 2015 and didnt get lift in until 2017. Casually designed around a specific 2 post lift. But when finally time to install did more detailed research on lifts and changed. But was limited now by ceiling height. My advice is do enough detailed research now to pick a lift if you can. Then can be specific with specs. If not Then build floor sufficient to support the largest you might likely install - floor specs for new constructed floors for lifts change over time. Heres what mohawk provided me a couple years ago - as an example. Check more recent standards and work with your builder so you have flexibility. Do a large enough footprint in the floor because you may decide to shift the location of the lift once you see how other stuff fits in garage - if reenforced section is too small youll have to alter later.
Ceiling height is just as critical IMO. Need 12.5 feet for most overhead 2 posters to install and have enough clearance under medium size vehicles. Tell your builder to find some room - there are ways and easier to do now. Mine is not ideal (11.5 designed for my poorly considered original lift plan) but it works using a specific lift. Still Wish i had 14 ft.
High mount lift for door and side miunt door opener.
I didnt go with in floor heat. I am in cold minnesota and good insulation around and above and a gas furnace in the far end of the garage workss great and simplifies the floor design, drilling etc. think about cooling if in hot summers - run some air to it helps or at minimum windows to get air moving. Heat in summer is a bigger issue for me than cold in winter.
Lighting is critical to consider - overdoing it helps.
Take the amount you have budgeted for the garage and double it!
Get the highest R value garage doors you can afford, I think mine are R 19. I'd skip the "man door" and windows for security reasons - buy lots of lighting.
Find a concrete guy who will put a drain in the floor then cover it with a thin layer so it is there if you want to open it up. :-)
-If you can afford it, go with closed cell spray foam insulation for the walls and roof deck. That said, I'm debating that or fiberglass batts for the garage walls.
-Consider a mini split for HVAC. The better ones are 100% efficient down to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not a typo (Mitsubishi hyper heat option). Mine is set to the lowest heat setting it will go down to (65 degrees, IIRC), and the insulated garage is warm enough to let me do all the work I need to do. If I set it to 85+ degrees, it would be even toastier, but that temp is overkill and not necessary.
-Add a floor drain.
-Add hot and cold water from the house or add a dedicated water heater in the garage. Pex is the stuff to use since it can withstand freezing better than CPVC or copper.
-I'm a fan of recessed lights and will have sixteen to twenty in my garage. Recessed lights allow you control the sharpness or softness of the light, along with the color temperature (2700K to 3000K is close to halogen/incandescent bulbs and is ideal, IMO. Stay away from 5000K bulbs that are too blue.) If you're concerned about CRI (color rendering index), you'll want lamps that have at least a 90 CRI. Incandescent bulbs have 100 CRI, as does sunlight. Our basement has mostly LED PAR38 bulbs, but the fixtures over desks have halogen PAR38s for better CRI.
-Garage Journal has some great ideas.
I will agree that the Mitsubishi Hyper Heat units are fantastic. If you add the additional wall unit thermostat, which is what I've done, you can turn the heat setting down to 59 degrees. It will also allow you to sense the temp at the thermostat, rather than the temp in the headunit, so the temp is more controlled. I have two of these in my garage, and it is fantastic. I set my garage at 62, and never have to make an adjustment.
03-09-2019, 10:45 AM
