How to build a garage

Recommendation points

• Internal layout
• Inspection ditch
• Garage fixtures

The internal dimensions of the garage should be approximately 5.5×3 m. Any passenger car can fit in such a garage, but if possible, it is better that the width is slightly larger. A garage with a width of 3.7 … 3.8 m is quite spacious and convenient, there is no need to make it wider than 4 m.
The floor level should be 20 … 50 cm higher than the main soil, otherwise rain and melt water will periodically penetrate into the garage. For the floor, you can use boards, bricks, cement concrete.

There must be good ventilation in the garage. Adequate attention should be paid to the design of the gate. Gate leaves are usually made in the form of a welded frame made of angle iron approximately 50×50 mm, sheathed with sheet metal. Gate width <in the light> usually taken equal to at least 2.5 m, but a width of 2.3 m is quite acceptable.Height 1.8 … 2.0 m.

Locks for locking the garage should be easy to use and, of course, sufficiently reliable. There are many special high security garage locks on sale now..

Internal layout

At the entrance there is a washbasin 1 or an ordinary washstand with a basin. There should always be soap, some effective detergent and a towel. Next to the washbasin is a narrow cabinet 2 with drawers for all sorts of little things, above it is a board 3 with the most popular fitting and assembly tool.

At the end of the garage is a workbench 4 made of thick planks or welded angle iron. It is advisable to cover the working surface of the workbench with a sheet of aluminum or plastic.

To the left of the workbench is a cabinet 5 with shelves for storing cans of oils and greases, brake fluid, spare parts, etc., and above the workbench there is a mezzanine shelf 9 for storing tourist equipment and bulky items (folding furniture, tents, fishing tackle etc.). In the lower part of it, it is nice to build in lamps 8 to illuminate the workplace..

Under the mezzanine there is a stationary rectifier 10, on the wall – a board 11 for a tool, next to it – a place for an electric drill 12. A sufficiently powerful vise is required 14. The winch 7, although not an immediate need, will provide invaluable help in cases where, for example, will need an engine.

On the right side is a rather narrow wardrobe 15 for clothes. It has two compartments – for clean and work clothes.
And finally, fire fighting equipment – 13 fire extinguisher and 17 sand box and shovel – round out the list.

Of course, the proposed layout of the internal equipment of the garage is not the only possible one, but it can serve as a starting point for the creativity of a motorist.

Inspection ditch

If you have the opportunity to use a public overpass, then it is hardly reasonable to acquire your own ditch, especially since it is often a source of dampness..

The walls and bottom of the ditch should preferably be bricked or concreted (Fig. 3), the edges should be reinforced with a 50×50 mm metal corner profile. In this case, convenient platforms of the edge 1 are obtained, on which boards 2 are laid from boards with a thickness of 35 … 40 mm. closing the ditch after hours. Holes with a diameter of about 50 mm can be drilled in the boards. It is convenient for them to raise shields.

Garage fixtures

Car support. To perform some maintenance and repair work or when storing it for the winter, the vehicle needs to be hung up above the ground. For this purpose, motorists sometimes use bricks, wooden blocks and other improvised means. This is inconvenient and even dangerous, since such a structure can become unstable, and the car will collapse at the most inopportune moment. We advise you to purchase special stands available on the market.

A sharpener is a basic necessity in the garage. Compressor. A source of compressed air for inflation of tires, for painting works in the garage will not be superfluous. Portable diaphragm compressor SO-45 (available in retail sale) is very convenient, it creates pressure up to 0.3 MPa (3 kgf / cm2). The compressor has a mass of about 15 kg and is designed to be connected to a lighting network with a voltage of 220 V. The kit includes a painting spray gun.
Drilling attachments. In the garage, you need to have a better electric drill. If the Drill is fixed in a bracket capable of moving along a thick vertical rod, which, in turn, is fixed to an unstable stand, you will get the simplest drilling machine.

Exhaust gas outlet. More often the car is parked in front of the garage. This makes it easier to drive in, and the air in the garage is less polluted by exhaust gases, especially in cold weather, when the engine has to warm up for a long time after starting. However, the garage is still filled with smoke and gas, especially if the wind blows from the side of the gate..

We advise you to find a piece of plastic sewer pipe with a diameter of 50 mm and a length of 1.5 … 2 m and put it on the exhaust pipe of a car before starting the engine. Almost all the exhaust gases from the garage will be discharged.

Garage entry devices. It’s not a bad thing, even for experienced drivers, to have a device in your garage that prevents you from driving further than you should. There are many such devices. Let’s consider some of them.

Hang the old tire 20 … 30 cm from the rear wall of the garage at the level of the bumper. As soon as the car touches it, apply the brake. Hang a small soft object like a tennis ball or, say, a child’s toy from the ceiling with a thin cord. Select a suspension location in such a way that when the car is properly positioned, the object slightly touches the windshield. Now drive into the garage, the stop signal will be the touch of an object to the glass.