Garage Layouts

VJ and P,

I walled off a section for a train room. Area about 22x12. Insulated and heated.

If you have the room that would be a way to go. I just have a point to point switching layout. Lots of fun and many projects to keep one busy.

Tom

This is my former 22' X 42'  garage site right after I sold the house and removed all the modules.

The fresh concrete at the lower edge is where I filled in the illegal four step down walk under and 4 step up to avoid a duck under.

I did leave the 1st and 3rd level passenger terminal build out.  The new owner uses it for garden tools.

Really miss that place.  Solid foam filled walls and ceiling for year round comfort.

Thanks guys.  I hadn’t considered walling off but that’s probably not an option.   We’re building a new house so I don’t want to put too much effort into modifying the garage.  Plus, the area has garden tools, all of outside furniture, the riding mower, etc … so the outside door would be open and closing away.

@ Tom (can’t find your user tag!) ...love that you’re able to incorporate a turn table in a small space.

What I’m leaning towards is building a table and using some 1x6 around the edges and putting a small wall around the perimeter. That would allowed me to lay a tarp over everything when not in use to help keep the dust in debris off the lay out.  I would either leave one side open or maybe hinge it for better visibility & access at least from the side I would be sitting at the most.

- Vin

Addressing your comfort concerns:

There is R-37 in the walls and R-58 in the ceiling.  The horizontal 95% Trane (of course) brand HVAC system is in the garage attic.  Direct vent to the attic front wall.

If you look closely you will notice the summer / winter set up in the supply ducts and the returns are in the ceiling.

I upgraded the low pressure natural gas supply from 3/4" to 1 1/2".  With three HVAC systems for the main house, new in-law addition and the garage I wanted to have a healthy margin.

The 18' over head door was replaced with a 10' door and extended side walls.  The 10' door was subsequently  replaced with a 2" X 4" core plug door caulked in place over foam strips for a clean future removal.  T-111 on the outside former door space.

I built a 12' X 16' shed for the lawn equipment.  The cars and boat stay outside.

The black paint patch on the floor was for backing in my off shore race boat.  It would only fit if the tires were on the paint.

Finding a way to close off and seal the garage door was pivotal.

I pushed the garage enlargement to 1 sq ft less than the maximum allowed.  The extra single square foot was use for the concrete piling to support the passenger station.  Code enforcement smiled and signed off on the project.  Net result  was an extra 20 sq ft for the RR for 1 sq ft of ground.

Vin, I believe you are looking for the other Tom.   If your TT question is for me then let me know.  I found different ways to fit in five TTs.

@Tom Tee posted:

Vin, I believe you are looking for the other Tom.   If your TT question is for me then let me know.  I found different ways to fit in five TTs.

Hey Tom … Sorry about that. I did use the wrong tag but thank you for the response.  

@VJandP posted:

Question for those of you that have a layout in a garage - especially a multi-car garage that is used daily for parking, storing the lawn mower, etc…..

Our garage gets DUSTY.  The workbench, shelves, most surfaces accumulate a good amount of dust weekly.  Plus it’s not uncommon for leaves and sometime grass (after cutting the lawn) to get blown in.  And since the garage isn’t climate controlled, it gets cold in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer.

I’m concerned the labout will be exposed to less than ideal situations.

How do the garage dwellers handle the above?   Is it even an issue for you?

My old 37"x63" layout was designed for the garage and was out there for a year or two.  I live in the Phoenix area, so the main issues were sand and heat.  The sand didn't end up being a problem.  If the dust gets in through air vents for a gas water heater, you might try cutting up HVAC air filter elements to put in the grates to catch the dust.  I doubt the garage ever fell below maybe 45.  On the high end, the heat proved to be a bit of a problem insofar as an MPC auto rack softened and car tires sank in and made divots.  This was during a really hot summer where the outdoor temperature was 120 and the garage with two hot turbo fours parked in it probably exceeded 125.