If he was concerned as to why a 50 year old needed or wanted a Vette, you should have taken him for a ride. If he still had questions, then you should have run over him. Son't trust a local politicain. It took me 18 months from starting with the township till I actually got the first shovel of dirt removed. Am I bitter, nah. I got my garage, not the one I originally designed but certainly one that will house my Big Red Money Pit.

Glenns,

Nice garage. Are you going to insulate it, too? 100 amp service should work great. I have that in mine, and I have never run out of power. I have 220 V plug-ins along with A/C. My back garage is only 18x24, with a 10x18 ft lean to, on the back. I wish it were a lot bigger. But when I built it, I would have had to cut down two big trees. Before I moved here, I had never had shade, and I wasn't about to cut them down. Now I wish I would have.. My son-in-law has one about the same size. I believe it is 28x40. It has a 16 foot door in front, along with a pedestrian door, and about 8 feet of siding. He doesn't have a corvette though. But he does have two fishing boats in it. He does something I wouldn't though. He has the two boats in the garage, and he leaves his car sit outside. If they were new boats, it might be OK, but only one is good. The other one would be outside, and my car would be inside!!

Glen,
Yes, I am going to insullate and drywall the inside. Also in the works is a "sissors " lift from Eagle Supplies. I have a 200 amp service in the house so I am installing a 100 amp breaker and running 2,2,2,2 cable out to the garage. The hardest part of the garage so far has been the electrical....that is because I am doing it ! :-)
Drilling holes through joyces, digging 18 inch trenches, messing with the cable. I stopped being 20 years old 34 years ago. This stuff just isn't fun anymore . I plan on heating it with a 60,000 btu propane heater I got from Sears on sale last year. I also plan on putting a heavy gauge plastic sheet at the mid-span and drop it down during the winter so I only have to heat half the garage. Air conditioning sounds nice but hey , aren't ya supposed to drive these cars in the summer. That is why they call so many jobs "winter projects". The car is on the road whenever the roads are dry and salt free so even winter jobs need to be done quickly.

Glenn,

I built my garage about 10 years ago, and I thought that the electrical was the easiest part. My son was about 15 or 16 then, and he and I built the whole thing. We had a little more help at times, pouring concrete, roofing etc, etc. but Dan and I did it all. It took about 1 1/2 months to complete, but that wasn't too bad, most of the time , it was after work, and when I had spare time.
When you put in the 110 v plugs along the wall, be sure to put in a lot of them. Also put in 4 or 5 220V plugs for Air comp, air Cond, Welder and so on. I only put in 1 220V plug. I have to unplug one tool to use another. One of these days I am going to fix that.
If you can, put running water out there, too. Maybe your garage is closer to your house than mine. Mine's about 150 ft from the house. I have found out that I need two of everything, cause every time I need something it is in the other garage.
My son is getting antsy about having more garage space at his house, so I'll probably be down there one of these days building him one.... He has too many cars. One of them is under my lean to in back. It is an 85 GT mustang, that he is going to hop up. H e has a 351 V8 that is going to be built up, and installed in it. And his S-10 truck, and his Expedition company car, and his Saleen 351-S Mustang. Isn't that something, 4 cars and he is the only driver... Can you tell that he is a Ford man.. Don't know where I went wrong???
later,


|UPDATED|6/10/2002 5:34:47 PM|/UPDATED|

Rick and Glenn,

Don't forget to put wires in the ground for cable TV, and a telephone. You will need them out there
I put mine in the same ditch as the electric wires. The electric wires are 30 In deep, and the TV and Telephone wires are 6 in deep.


Rick, one more thing, think about putting in a drain in the floor, so you can wash the car inside. I have two in my front garage, and I wash cars year around, with warm water...

|UPDATED|6/10/2002 5:54:57 PM|/UPDATED|

The drain is a great idea (wish I had one), but pay attention to your local ordinances. Lots of places don't allow the old 55 gal. drum full of rock like you used to be able to do. Has something to do with contaminating the ground water with the nasty stuff that tends to rinse off cars (like oil, antifreeze, etc.). So unless you plan on plumbing a return to your home sewer hookup I'd recommend doing some homework first. (Sorry to throw a wet blanket!)

Hey, great idea about the telephone and cable lines. I would have forgotten them. I plan on plenty of 110 outlets, just like my other garage. They only thing I didnt figure on was more than 1 220 outlets. That is a great idea, as I plan on a new compressor and mig welder. Thanks for the tips.

If you put in a floor drain, taper the floor to the drains. You don't need much, 3/4 to 1 in drop, but at least there won't be water sitting around. I did this at my home, when I had it built, and there is only 1 spot about 2 ft square where water stands. Works great. Also if you drive it in the winter , and you get snow or ice on your car, and it melts, it will just go away!!



|QUOTE|RXWHITE74 said: Hey, great idea about the telephone and cable lines. I would have forgotten them. I plan on plenty of 110 outlets, just like my other garage. They only thing I didnt figure on was more than 1 220 outlets. That is a great idea, as I plan on a new compressor and mig welder. Thanks for the tips.|/QUOTE| |

Water and drains.....man do you guys know how to hurt a guy ! I am not permitted to have a drain of any type, but am allowed to have running water...now go figure that out. This township is strange to say the least. I can understand no drains as we are all on wells here but allowing running water without the drain is mind-boggeling. The one mistake I ( and the contractor ) made was to put in only one 3 inch PVC tube in the cement. For as nutz as I am, even I won't run both water and 100 amp service through the same conduit. My only other option for water is to trench up about 80 feet of back yard and then screw up a brand new siding job. The garage is finished to the point I am parking in it now but will still have to wait a few days to fix a truss and hang the main door. I want water even without the drain !!! I'll figure it out !

|QUOTE|glenns said: Water and drains.....man do you guys know how to hurt a guy ! I am not permitted to have a drain of any type, but am allowed to have running water...now go figure that out. This township is strange to say the least. I can understand no drains as we are all on wells here but allowing running water without the drain is mind-boggeling. The one mistake I ( and the contractor ) made was to put in only one 3 inch PVC tube in the cement. For as nutz as I am, even I won't run both water and 100 amp service through the same conduit. My only other option for water is to trench up about 80 feet of back yard and then screw up a brand new siding job. The garage is finished to the point I am parking in it now but will still have to wait a few days to fix a truss and hang the main door. I want water even without the drain !!! I'll figure it out !|/QUOTE|

Hey Glenn,

After those inspector so and so's get done harrassing you, and won't be back any more, run a water line out there, and bust a hole in the concrete, somewhere in a corner, and put in a weatherproof spickett. By chance did you slope the garage floor toward the door? If you did you can always just let it run out under the door. Of course, when it is really cold you can ice skate on the driveway...