Building a shop, hit me with your advice
 

I’m building a detached garage/shop for boat storage. The one piece of advice I know is to build it bigger than I think I need. My lot will only fit 24x36 so the foot print is set. Need to decide on how tall to go and if we should try to fit in a loft. The dream would be to fit a small travel trailer next to the boat. I like the look of the attached pic but that would only give me 10’ wide doors. Not sure if that would be enough to be convenient. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...26ac68fc3a.jpg what advice do you have for me on anything like sizing, window placement, fans, interior organization etc.

Current boat is a 2007 Malibu vtx but the goal is to upgrade to a modern 23’ in the next few years.

I’ve tried searching in here but haven’t really been able to find old threads. I know there has been some advice in the past so sorry for the repeat.

You might want go with a double wide door if you only have 24’ http://nebula.wsimg.com/057c77a236f4...&alloworigin=1

And put a walk-in door beside it : https://www.theshedcompany.com.au/as...ed-storage.jpg

I just recently finished my house renovation which was based on making my garage deeper. I went from a double door and a single for my triple car garage. With coming out 9' and set backs the one side had to be angled in. In doing so I would have to have 2 smaller doors and I didn't want to deal with a post as the average tourney boat on a trailer is all of 9' or wider with the guide poles. I went with a 20'x10' and I'm glad I did. In your case with both a boat and a travel trailer I'd consider a single door as it will just provide you that much more room.

-If you are going to have a bit of a shop area I'd suggest putting different sets of plugs on different breakers.
-On the recommendation of someone else I put a ceiling fan in over my boat to help dry it out after lake days.

I'd follow bc's advice and use a single door. it'll be much easier to put toys in and out with the large opening.
I'd try to squeeze a 12ft door heightwise so you don't have to drop a tower and would future-proof you if you add an rv with a roof ac unit. downside is that makes for a VERY tall shop if you want to add a room above. figure you are now almost 25ft high with a 12ft door and a bonus room above.
if all you want is a loft in the back and are not going to enclose it or make it liveable, 12ft door and 14 or 15ft ceiling height would be my choice.

not sure on your budget and location.
bathroom would be on the list.
floor drain depending on location and weather.
enough amps to support 220.
depending on lot shape/shop location/subdivision hoa's, I'd try to pour rv parking on one side while concrete is being dropped. never have too much parking. run outlets and water to that side. you could also build a separate extension off the shop on this pad as a storage shed for lawnmowers/shovels/etc. keeps it out of the garage/shop.

Thanks for the advice so far. I like the look of the split doors but based on the advice here I guess I should go with one 20x12’ door. Function over form for this project!

The loft would not be enclosed and just for additional storage. I definitely want to have 12’ head room on the bottom floor so I don’t have to drop the tower. So will just have to play with the drawings to see if we can get enough height for the loft without having a sky high building.

We just built a shop, but way less nice than the one you posted. I would do like others have said about the double door. A 10 ft wide door is gonna be really tight backing a trailer in (it's semi-tight to pull your truck in too). If you are planning on put an RV in it someday you may want the door to be at least 13 ft tall. Here is my shop. Door on the left is 10x10 and the other two doors are 12x13.

14 foot door (same legal height as highway bridges) 12-14 feet wide.

Geothermal floors.

Lots of electrical outlet plugs. Put more in than you think you need. I have one every 4' in my shop.

If just for storage and unfinished the only critical pieces that I'd focus on would be future roof solar placement, subpanel size, in floor heat, door size, and ceiling height in that order. If you can drop a few solar panels on your roof, get a 30% rebate and power the entire building it's worth exploring in the initial phases. I saw a Geo-thermal comment above and they have some good options depending on climate but probably not for an unfinished garage.

For the panel go as high as you can initially. I've got a 400amp external disconnect because it was the same price per foot no matter the size. 50amp welding circuit? no problem. 80amp tesla charger, no problem. You may not ever need this but the initial cost is minimal compared to upgrading a circuit later.

In floor was easy for me as I'm in MN. There is never ice on the slab in the garage in the winter and it's just awesome to not have cold spots from forced air.

Finally doors and ceiling height - both depend on your needs. If you can swing 12+ height then you can install a 4 post lift and store your supercar above your daily driver. Also if you are in/out alot then just get a 20' wide door. Trying to back in an 8'6" boat into a 10' door at night can be painful.

Good luck on the build and share pics!

I'll add regarding plugs. I put all of mine at 4' so they would be above a bench or wouldn't get hidden behind the stuff that seems to start lining the floor against the wall.