I am contemplating building a garage at the house as I cannot find one (that I like, anyway)that already has the extra shop included. I am building them "online" to get an idea of what it would cost, a metal building, and trying to keep costs down. I'll have to add concrete, dirt, and electric so I am looking at an $800 savings by going with an 11' high side wall vs. 12'. Below is some pics of what I designed, the roof line gets higher the farther to the center you go. I am not sure what the roof pitch is and it doesn't say anywhere. I am guessing about 3:1? Will the 11' high sidewalls be enough to get a car on the lift without it hitting the roof support structure, which I think rises with the roof line (I will ask this along with roof pitch)?

Second question is insulation. For them to have 2" fiberglass insulation (roof and sides), there is an extra charge of $5,000. 2" of fiberglass doesn't even sound like a lot and I was thinking spray foam would be way better but at what cost? The building is 30'w X 35'd X 11' high. The garage doors are 10'h X 8'w roll up. Even if the spray foam costs the same, I believe it would be much better than 2" of fiberglass?

Ok, found out roof pitch is 3 /12. Roof structure does rise with the roof and the metal frame is 2 3/4" sq. tubing

I built my shop myself and a buddy when needed... 36x 40 with 12' walls.. if I put my truck on the
hoist it clears by about 6"... I put in 6" insulation on the roof and 4" on the walls.. I did everything
on the place.. it has heated concrete floors ans LOTS of electrical for my mill,lathe,welders and
more.. I bought most everything for the building company(you get a better price).. I saved
every receipt the whole place was 26K

13 ' inside wall height with 14 '' insulation above that .12x12 door ,9' door and 7' door.12,000 lb 4 post lift behind 9' door MH behind 12'.

Thanks P, is your lift directly in the center or off to the side? Do you put it higher to work on or can it be a little lower, enough room to park one car under the one on the lift? How hard was it to put together yourself? Here in GA, I don't think I would need heat in the concrete but would put something (foam board?) underneath plus some plastic for a moisture barrier.

I had one shop built (24x40 Ft )with 12 foot high sides and one 10 ft. high by 16 foot wide swing up door. I'm a drag racer and hobby car builder so I wanted to be able to drive my one ton car hauler truck into the shop at night with the car on it after getting back from the races and close the door instead of having to unload and start the race car up after midnight to drive it into the shop. I didn't want to leave it out overnight in my yard, especially in the winter.
Looking back now I should have had the walls built to at least 13.0 ft. high so the big door could have been 12.6 inch high so any standard commercial height truck and trailer could drive into it for resale value later to any buyer
My current house had a pole barn on it when we bought it, the shop had been added on several times before we bought the house with the shop, it is 15 Ft. wide in the center part x 40 t. deep with a around a 14 Ft. high center ceiling, the center shop door is a roll up that is 10.0 ft. wide with 12.0 ft. tall, with 9Ftx7 inches wide I.D. I have a Direct lift 7000 Lb. rated drive on car lift in it also with no issues with my 1940 Ford Tudor sedan hitting the ceiling
The sides that where added on later are 7.0 Ftx40 ft. on one side and 9ft. wide x 34 ft. long on the other side which I now use as a engine assembly room
I would like to add onto it with the another addition being bigger than the current shop which would be adding on 35 ft. onto the end of my current shop towards the east property line and make it at least 40 ft. deep with 14, ft. high walls due to this area having a lot of commercial truckers and hot rodders like myself who like large shops also I would have to add another driveway to the addition to make it usable also and have two: two 13.0 high x 16.0- ft. wide doors also
On the insulation issues how cold and hot doe sit get where you live? I have seen -25f here in Bend, OR in the winter since we moved up here from the SO CA Mojave high desert where it would get up to be 105 F in the summer days in July and August and get down to 18 F at night in the winter. My shop in the desert had R12 or R14 in the walls and R34, I think, in the ceilings.
My current shop was all open walls on the inside except the 9x34ft part, it was enclosed with particle board. the other part had no insulation so when I enclosed it with drywall added R34 in the walls and ceilings
The first winter we lived here I didn't not heat the shop I ended up with a bunch of rusty car parts
I now used a Wal Mart Deloughi brand small 110 V electric oil heater( I don't see a Watt rating on it, sorry) now in the engine room all winter long which keeps it at or above 50F in the engine room and at least above freezing in the rest of the shop. I also have a airtight wood burning stove to use to warm the engine room up in the winter when I'm working in it
I have to be careful on using it as it will over heat that room up to 85 F when it is below freezing outside, I'll open one of the doors into the center part of the shop to help let some of that heat into the rest of the shop to control the heat.
IHTHs

The hoist is centered and I raise it up all the way.. I am getting a new hoist that will go up 6"
higher so I can walk under it without hitting my head on the tires... I also park my jeep under it
with no issues

Thanks for the inputs, Cab, Six, and P. I'll go for the 12' sides with 10' high roll up doors if I go this route.

You will be happy... one thing... its NEVER big enough.. I wanted to go bigger but I was already
larger than was allowed at the time and I had to get permission at the time.. I can go bigger now
but I dont think its worth the hassle... good luck

If you have doubts about the dimensions, it is best to contact professional architects who calculate all the parameters competently. It is better to do it right away than redo it later. My father always told me either you do quality work or do not do it. Therefore, I am constantly improving my skills in each area where I work. I recently did forklift training in the UK; I can honestly tell you it's invaluable information. I have improved my forklift skills several times over

For a lift you'll want a 12 ft wall, especially if you have a flat ceiling inside. You'll want as much insulation as possible and if you can connect water to the shop then you should use heated floors. I love the heated floors in my shop and it turns out that women like heated floors too.

Do yourself a favor and spend some time researching on the Garage Journal forum. I found out about that forum after I built the garage at my old house and made a bunch of mistakes.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

What where you mistakes we can learn from?

One BIG mistake many make with the concrete - put down a vapor barrier before pouring the slab to guarantee that it will not sweat.

Thick mil plastic sheathing is cheap compared to the problems that moisture coming up from under the slab can cause later.

(concrete is porous, so any ground moisture can wick up into it from below if not blocked)

The architect convinced me that 1/8” per foot slope of the slab was code. When I asked the building department, they agreed. Turns out it was BS. There is no code saying anything about the slope of a slab, at least not here (Northern CA). I ended up with a garage with a very sloped floor, which made jacking up cars precarious at the worst, a pain in the butt at least. I found out after it was done that the slope thing was BS. I did insist on 14’ of flat area at the back, so at least I had a space for benches, my toolbox and an area where I could build an engine.

I also had mine built as extra wide and deep 2 car (26’ x 36’). It sounded good and looked good on paper, but in reality, it wasn’t ideal. I should have built it 36’ wide and 26’ deep with three bays, with one dedicated to a lift.

We sold that house 7 1/2 years ago. My garage now is much smaller and even though my garage at the old house wasn’t ideal, I miss the space (approx 900 sq ft)

The moral of the story is do a lot of research and don’t jump into the project like I did.

Previous house I lived in had no moisture barrier under the garage floor and would sweat during major temp changes. When we built our new home, I put down plastic in the attached garage and the detached garage.

I wouldn’t dare show a pic of mine at the moment as it’s a mess, but I did 32x48 with 12ft flat ceiling and don’t have a lift yet the spot where it will go has 8in thick concrete and the lift cross bar will just fit under the ceiling. I had some industrial heavy back insulation given to me so it’s double rolled in the overhead so it’s cool in the summer and takes very little to heat when it gets cold. One thing on the drive in doors go at least 10x10 or if you are going to use one on a regular basis do one 10 wide and the other 12 especially if you need to back an open trailer in, enclosed with roof A/C will need 12 x 12. Doug

A slope on an interior floor is weird. Not sure that that guy was thinking who told you to do that. The shape of the shop can be very subjective and sometimes the preference changes over time. I've been super happy with my shop over the past 20 years. I have wished at times that I would've done 12 ft eves rather than 10 ft but that is the only regret I've had.

1) Put 4" (R20) of rigid insulation under the slab with the 6mil poly over top of it and rebar of course
2) Put one wider garage door (insulated) instead of two, you will save money there
3) Don't cheap out on any insulation as it is great for keeping the cold out and heat in during winter and the heat out in the summer
4) Limit the amount of windows to keep expense down
5) run a gas line in for a small unit heater. (won't need much if you insulate really well)

I am liking this idea... to make it wider than deeper. 32' W X 28' to 32' D. A third bay with the lift in it is a great idea.

How much work space is enough for behind? Maybe it should be 36' D. Yes, I am thinking 32' W by 36'D with 3 garage doors in the front and one walk through door on the side.

I get away with 10' ceilings in my garage but it is mainly for storage. Obviously, 12' would be better. It is tight with several inches to spare with each car but it works. Mine is heated and air conditioned with insulated walls and ceiling. It's the best I could do with an average residential 2 car garage (now 3).

That does seem really tight. However, 10' walls with vaulted trusses seems like it would work just fine. Some places have max ridge line height restrictions that might make 12' walls a "no go".

I went with a 14' ceiling - as most two post lifts need 12' 4" and my four post lift is the extra tall version allows for an SUV under it - other things to consider is using high-lift garage door tracks. My shop is built like a house 2"x6" framing and heavily insulated - I also used 5/8 drywall

I also have very rigid design code where I live and I worked with an architect to make it blend into the neighborhood and we hid the roof line by making it look like a barn

Mine has 10' walls, 4-12 roof pitch with scissor truss, eave entry, high lift door.
30' long + 2 foot overhangs.

Doing it that way left the somewhat unlikely future possibility open for either two hoists or a loft/mezzanine across the side that isn't
occupied by the hoist.

I have forgotten my interior height at the peak but believe
it's around 14'6" to 15". Most vehicles (except for vans) will be taller in the "greenhouse"
area than elsewhere which the scissor truss accommodates.

If I was doing a flat ceiling I would want at least 14' in the hoist area, wherever that is chosen to be.
12 is workable but it depends on what you're working on. For cars (only), you can probably get by with 12.

I'm not sure on the insulation, a spec of 2" without an R value given sounds inadequate to me (but I am from Michigan, we have to be picky about
that stuff or we will freeze). The first couple feet of my eaves are R14 to leave ventilation space for rafter baffles, the rest is R38 + I blew about 18 bags of cellulose on top of it all a little at a time as I closed up the ceiling. The walls are dense packed cellulose. hydronic radiant floor heat.

Consider insulating the slab/vapor barrier no matter your location.

By the way, you don't need to connect water to heat the slab with hydronic radiant.
You can do a self-contained system, fill it and forget it. Mine is set up that way.
I actually run a special anti freeze/water mix in it in case the power goes out and I'm not around, don't want it to freeze.

highly recommend www.garagejournal.com for ideas and to share your build if you're so inclined.

Good luck

here's my combination
40X50 stick Built
radiant floor heat ( worth every penny)
Walls - 9"4" (floor to ceiling),
EXTERIOR 7/16th osb covered with Tyvek,
INTERIOR 6" fiberglass insulation, 4mil plastic vapor barrier, 7/16 OSB, Steel siding
Floor 2"blue board insulation, PEX tube, concrete.
Celling 4mil plastic, 1/2" Drywall 12" cellulose insulation above
Two steel man doors Two 8X10 overheads R9 insulated.
Using a 24kW OnDemand water heater I keep the floor between 64-68 degrees which in turn keeps the room at 60degrees. If we have a cold (below zero) period (5-7 days) I keep the shop light s on which raises the room temp 3 degrees but the shop area has never been below 60 since the completion of the building.

Size of building not dependent (ceiling height, foot print) the most important (to Me) things to include would be radiant floor heat, vapor barrier which also acts as an air migration barrier and as much insulation as you can fit in the spaces. Keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
If you go with High ceilings traditional heat will eat you out of house and home, the space above your head (and un occupied) will be warmer than the space you will be occupying. Radiant floor heats from the bottom up and gets consumed as it rises therefore you stay warmer at less cost, traditional heats from the top down. Additionaly with radiant Floor there are no cold spots/Zones the room will be the same temp all around.
Anyway thats my

To get the door as high as possible for clearance, there's an option called "High Lift Tracks" that have longer vertical tracks that will get your doors closer to the ceiling. I think the radius portion of the tracks may be slightly different too, but not sure. I have 2 doors 16' x 8' & a ceiling height of around 12' or so. I did this for the same reason, more room so the doors clear the car on the lifts.

Will your ceiling be flat & parallel to the floor? If it is, no special items will be needed, but if the ceiling follows the angle of a truss, you'll need a different radius track to keep the upper tracks parallel to the ceiling & out of your way. I installed my own doors alone & it was fairly simple. You will probably still need the steel 90 degree angles, lag screws, bolts. nuts, & some misc hardware to hang the tracks & harware that comes with the door.

One thing to consider after you're done installing the doors & before you install a lift, is clearance. My garage doors clear the cars when the doors are open, & the car raised to the highest point on the lift. The door is parallel to the car's hood or trunk, & about 12" to 18" above it. My pick up truck has a cap, & my wife's SUV would be a different story, as the door would not clear the rooflines.

Before I ordered & installed my 4 post lift, I knew I had plenty of headroom to the ceiling. I used the max lift height, added the tallest car height I had, then measured the distance from the floor to the backside of the door when it was up. I'm not using door openers so that wasn't an issue, but if you have them, don't forget to see where the opener is in relation to where the car will be. Same goes for lighting.

I had room to spare, & the high lift track also keeps the top edge of the door from going further back into the garage. The distance above the door allows one panel of the door to remain verticle on the wall, thereby shortening the door's travel distance in the horizontal position. That shouldn't be an issue if you keep it close to the ceiling with the truss angle.