I am in the planning stage of my long awaited garage/shop and will be seeking advice as the planning continues. I will act as GC as I have construction/building experience and I like the flexibility vs hiring a GC where changes mid construction are difficult and can be expensive. Also this is going to be in my backyard and I would like control of when the construction takes place. Due to lot confines the garage portion will be 20X40 with the door on the 20' wall. On the end of other 20' wall there will be a 16x28 or so ADU as we want somewhere for guests and the eventual caregiver that may take care of us(I'm 62 but I like to plan ahead). So the building will be 56' long. I'm doing extensive research with the City and State building depts. and code requirements. As an owner I can(if I wished) do any aspect of construction except gas but since this is an ADU the state says a Licensed electrician has to do the electrical. This is somewhat of a disappointment as I enjoy electrical work and have been disappointed with the work I have seen from electricians such as using the push in terminals on devices and wiring recepticals on the same circuit as lighting.
An area I had trouble with on my last shop was lighting. Once it had been built the lighting was not where I wanted it and the wrong intensity. I want to use some form of linkable led lighting so it can be reconfigured to suit my needs. It can't be the DIY stuff sold at home stores-it needs to be hardwired to conform to new construction. If anyone has experience with hardwired linkable LED lighting I would love to hear it.
There will be a sewage ejector pump as the sanitary waste line in the house is somewhat uphill-just a few feet but gravity won't do it. So I have been doing research on that also.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

Make sure you have a slab thick enough and a ceiling tall enough to allow for a lift if you want one.

The way I did lighting was to rig four bulb, 4' long fluorescent types (thin bulb) with a chain and hung them all over above the hood area. Also, put a bunch of receptacles in ceiling and you will never need to have to look very far to plug them in. I'm fixing to build another shop and am planning on going LED this time.

__________________
Jim

I'm thinking about installing a single 1 bulb fixture so it meets code and then switched receptacles in several locations in the ceiling for lighting. I thought about a lift but not sure if I want to give up the space for it.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

I think there is a lift system call Maxilift. I think Home Depot carries it. It is suppose to be portable or movable.

I considered a portable solution. Depends on how much space it takes when not in use.
Major setback from the city: an ADU has to have it's own electric and water service and they charge a development fee as a new home. The development fees alone would be $10-15K plus the cost of the new underground electric service and connection fee for the water. I will just (try to) build it as a "guest house" which is a bedroom and hopefully a bathroom. If one builds a guest house the city puts on a deed restriction which says you can't rent it our use it as a vacation rental.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

I need to create some basic 2D drawings for my pre-application meeting with the city-a site plan and some elevations/floor plans. On the site plan I would like to be able to determine to total sq' or lot coverage of different surfaces. The city needs to know the percent of lot covered by various surfaces such as driveway, landscaping etc. It would be difficult to measure these areas since they are odd shapes. Anyone used some freeware that does this? I see lots of stuff on the net but reluctant to install some random software on my machine. There might already be something in Win10-I need to look deeper.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

You don't have pencil and a straight edge? It should be easy enough to sketch out on paper.

__________________
Jim

True and maybe I am overthinking it. But it is not squares it is a bunch of random shapes and sizes. Who is going to contradict it I guess. Kind of like the Brady Bunch house Reno where they are spending a great deal of time to determine what is accurate when no one remembers what it looked like.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

Use graph paper, a ruler and a sharp pencil ~

Begin with the entire lot, sketch it's boundaries then add in the house and buildings, etc. adding the details as you go .

I can barely sign my own name yet I managed to do this for my property and house some years back....

Maybe ask a teacher at your local trade school for help ? .

A student might take it on as a project .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I have done a few plot maps over the years. I just wanted it to look professional when I meet with the city. The property is irregular shaped. I thought of displaying the google satellite image on the TV and tracing it.
On the plus side if I don't build the guest room as a ADU I can do the electrical myself. As long as I don't charge rent someone can live in it as long as they don't prepare food.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

Do a search on acreage google maps and there is a way you can mark out the acreage/layout on the map.

__________________
Jim

Around here I have used inexpensive people (or yourself) to wire and hired a licensed electrician to do the final connections at the panel.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have also seen something called "the Mustang Lift" which I found in the Mustang version of the peach parts forum.


It's made from 2x12 boards, the longest 6 feet, then each one shorter by six inches.


By the time you get to 3 foot boards, you are roughly ten inches in the air.


This gives you about 18" under the car to slide in easily.


If you start with 8 foot boards and end with three foot ones, you end up with 24" under the vehicle for working on the underside.


These are good because they stand upright somewhere and are out of the way the rest of the time. you can make a second stack for the rear wheels and jack them up.


Pretty hard to knock the car off these because of their size.


One person in their club made them six foot to three foot for the front and kept longer boards around to screw to the bottom in case greater height was needed. They do store easily also.


I have seen variations in places that cannot afford expensive lifts or had no room.


I will be buying a farm in the next year and will need to build at least one building, I figger. I am looking at all options.



Good luck!

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Go to Staples and buy some larger graph paper or find it online.


A good drawing really helps!

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Real lifts require high ceilings. At least in the area of the lift. Some thought in the overall scheme of things should be given. If you intent to maintain cars into the future. Even just your own.

As a percentage of the overall cost it is small. Depending on only occasional use a car can be stored up top. As you age without a lift will mean more jobs farmed out.

A pit in the floor even if closeable is illegal now I believe. Anyways people fall into them. Then there are the old hydraulic center post lifts. Recesses into the concrete for the arms might allow a closure plate. Also allow you to get under very low objects.