Building Three Car Garage

[Coursey]

I am getting ready to start building my 32'x46' three car garage. It wil have 3 doors on the 46' side.

We have decided to turn the garage doors toward the house, and the garage will be 67' from the house. The only issue I can see with this is backing a trailer up into the garage, which might be hard to do or maybe impossible.

It will have an attic bonus room with stair access over two of the bays. One bay will have a vaulted ceiling to allow clearance for a future two post lift.

Is there anything that I may be missing that I should try to make provisions for?



I will post progress pics as soon as we start.

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by Coursey

I am getting ready to start building my 32'x46' three car garage. It wil have 3 doors on the 46' side.

We have decided to turn the garage doors toward the house, and the garage will be 67' from the house. The only issue I can see with this is backing a trailer up into the garage, which might be hard to do or maybe impossible.

It will have an attic bonus room with stair access over two of the bays. One bay will have a vaulted ceiling to allow clearance for a future two post lift.

Is there anything that I may be missing that I should try to make provisions for?

I will post progress pics as soon as we start.

Think hard about frequent usage, convenience, current and future needs and desires.

You can't have to much vertical storage space.

I'll guess more people than not regret not having taller ceilings. To capitalize on the benefits of the lift you need to be able to comfortably walk under the car and be able to park a car under it.

Garage doors can't be too wide or have too much insulation.

Simple conveniences like a wall urinal that ties into the roof downspouts or proper foliage/screening to conceal relieving yourself outside?

If you fabricate much, work bench and tool work space layout planning, materials and waste storage, air and power quantity and sources, water, wash basin, floor drain, TV, heat, ventilation, lighting, etc.

Without seeing a scaled lot plan, site photos, and knowing building code/CCR's restrictions it's hard to give sound advice.

[68ZClone]

We're considering a similar build. I'm thinking 30' x 46-48' with 12' ceilings and 2 x 18' doors across the front. Thought process - my father's shop is 30' x 40' with 3 x 10' doors across the front. This 3 door configuration hampers our ability to get more than 3 cars in the shop at any given time, even though the 40' dimension can accommodate more. 2 x larger doors make the area more accessible. Just my 2 cents.

Also, floor drains (as discussed in other similar threads) are a must. We use the center bay of Dad's shop as a wash bay in summer and winter (keeps the soap from drying and out of the cold respectively).

[GregWeld]

12' ceiling height will accommodate a lift.... Not much to spare but that's all you'll need.


On a shop that big make sure you build it with resale in mind. Most big azz motorhomes are over 12' tall -- and as much as 102" wide -- so I built my shed with ONE 12' wide 14' tall door... The other door is 10' wide and 12' tall -- and obviously my ceiling heights are at least 14' tall. That way a person with a motorhome and maybe a nice boat etc can use the shop... that's a big plus for resale.


67' is a lot -- should be plenty of room to pull in and swing almost straight -- and back into the shop with a trailer -- unless you're horrible.. which a lot of people are!