Fantasy Garage / Workshop essentials

[Silly Car]

The build of my garage is well on the way, 3/4 walls are up and the brick pillars will be sorted by the end of the week

Roof joists / boards / epdm roof to follow shortly after

Garage will be used to park cars, storage and as a workshop (as apparently the dining room isn’t for that…), so woodwork, painting, some metal work etc will all be done out there.

Given an unlimited budget and imagination, neither of which I have, what would you include?

My list so far:

PIR controlled lighting
Plumbed airline points connected to compressor
Emergency stop / safe isolation of majority of sockets
Few sockets on permanently to run chargers etc
CCTV camera & Ethernet for wifi (if needed)

[DefTrap]

Workshop / dirty area separate from storage and parking?

[Skub]

Parker knoll and fridge.

[MrLongbeard]

Double the floor space

[KungFooBob]

Two post lift.

[KungFooBob]

Inspection pit.

[slowsider]

Fume Extractor

[KungFooBob]

Costa franchise.

[KungFooBob]

Swedish sauna.

[weeksy]

I don't care about car stuff, so mine would just be bikes and bicycles.

So,
3 x Abba Skylift
1 x full sized bike workbench/hydraulic lift.
1 wall allocated to immaculate cupboard space. kitchen style, so lowers, then worktop then upper cabinets too. Plus 2 full height, 1 at each end.

Everything from Park Tools possible.

[Lutin]

Everything from Park Tools possible.

Only one of each?

[Silly Car]

Workshop / dirty area separate from storage and parking?

Sadly not possible but a plan is to use lidded boxes / doors & tops for the storage, cars will be parked elsewhere when space is used as a workshop

Parker knoll and fridge.

Double the floor space

Currently at 50sqm so difficult unless I steal more of the back garden, there have already been words about me extending the garage this far…

Two post lift.

Would love to but the garage roof would need a lift as well

Inspection pit.

I’ll happily watch you dig / cut through 300mm of reinforced concrete

Fume Extractor

Good thinking, paint spraying will be restricted to airless system using water based paint but still I’d help

Costa franchise.

Might transfer a coffee machine out there;)

Swedish sauna.

No space after the cars, two post ramp, Parker knoll, beer fridge, extractor fan, inspection pit

I don't care about car stuff, so mine would just be bikes and bicycles.

So,
3 x Abba Skylift
1 x full sized bike workbench/hydraulic lift.
1 wall allocated to immaculate cupboard space. kitchen style, so lowers, then worktop then upper cabinets too. Plus 2 full height, 1 at each end.

Everything from Park Tools possible.

GP bought my abba superbike lift, no two wheeled transport owned or planned at the moment

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Tea room with kettle, fridge and cooker
Toilet
Bathroom
Laundry Area for washing / drying overalls
Proper 4 post car lift
Bike Ramp
Parking for 10 motorcycles
Somewhere to sleep

I think I need an industrial unit

[KungFooBob]

Proper 4 post car lift

No.

You can't take the wheels off using a traditional four post lift, that's why it needs to be a two post.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Proper 4 post car lift

No.

You can't take the wheels off using a traditional four post lift, that's why it needs to be a two post.

Depends where the posts are, I can't remember it ever being a problem, but it was over 30 years ago that I used one.
There was a bar each side you could lock at different heights, the car rested on these bars when you dropped the ramps away.

[Count Steer]

Only really only needs one thing - and the budget is unlimited so:

A full time mechanic.

[KungFooBob]

A four post lift usually just lifts up some ramps that a vehicle has driven on to. You then have a sliding jack in the middle which you can use to jack up the vehicle to get the wheels off.




A two post have fours arms that locate under the jacking points, much better

[Screwdriver]

Partitioned off area for dry dusty work. Sawdust, grinding wheels, angle grinder, belt sander etc.
Local extractor (ideally cyclonic separator) in the same space.

Care needed if mixing sawdust and metal grinding. I need to build my own partitioned off area for such purposes. Can't have sawdust all over everything or grinding dust all over the lathe etc.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

A four post lift usually just lifts up some ramps that a vehicle has driven on to. You then have a sliding jack in the middle which you can use to jack up the vehicle to get the wheels off.




A two post have fours arms that locate under the jacking points, much better

See my edit
But it's whatever you like, there's benefits to each type, where my Dad used to work they had both and I've used both types, and as it's a fantasy garage you could have one of each.

[MrLongbeard]

I've seen too many videos of cars falling off 2 posts lifts, so for a cack handed hobbyist mechanic like myself I'd go for a 4 post jobbie.
Not as much access granted but a hell of a lot less likely to wake up with an upside down car on top of you.