Garage Majals

[Jlaa]

I’m about to build my own little mini GarageMajal - a 43’ wide by 23’ deep space with enough room for one 2 post lift and 4 cars max. I cannot go any bigger than this —- but it has been a lifelong dream for me! No more tandem parking and no more pulling one car out of the garage to get enough space to work on the other car IN the garage!

What neat things have you outfitted your own modest garage with? (And please don’t tell me about building some 100’x60’ monster Majal - I ain’t got room for that so stop flexing)

Here is a fascinating piece - https://archive.md/20250302105656/h...mahal-man-cave-car-barn-storage-shed-45681baa

 

[daantjie]

I'll likely never get to Garage Mahal status so I'll have to live vicariously personally I'm obsessed with good lighting when I work on my car so I would pay attention to placement and hookups of lighting and such. Even better if you can have some natural light come in of course. Also a good floor coating I think is often overlooked. It can make clean up and just overall aesthetics of the space a lot better.

 

[gsxr]

JLAA, totally understand that a monster Majal isn't possible at your location - just upgrading to the 4-car-holes plus a lift will be amazeballs compared to your previous setup. Interesting WSJ article about the complaints, but it didn't mention the lot size and had few photos.

Given your modest footprint, you'll need to use vertical wall space carefully for storage / toolboxes. Hanging racks (like this) may help maximize storage space with flat ceilings, plus you might be able to use the attic space above holes 1+2. A folding attic stair enables easy access.

Looking forward to seeing photos of the project!

 

[Jlaa]

LOL! My definition of MM (MonsterMajal) as opposed to GM (GargeMajal) is that a MM has a two story loft like setup where one has a living room / kitchen / sleeping / lounging set up on the loft 2nd story. Wow!

I'm fascinated that people seem, these days, to be real into hexagon lighting. To me it seems like it provides good even light, but blocks EVERYTHING on the ceiling and so you can't hang anything from the ceiling --- like electric drops, hose drops, air hose drops, etc.... ridiculous n'est-ce pas?

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[gsxr]

I wasn't aware of the hexa-craze. As you said, it doesn't make any sense if you need your ceiling for anything else. Also not sure I like the look.

 

[JwashE]

It can be squiggly things too...not just hexagon. JLAA, come over the bridge to Marin and check out Club Wheelhouse! Regardless, good luck with the Majal and please post pics once construction ensues!

 

[nocfn]

Wondering aloud here but I do not see a bed or a crapper in there. Two are needed if I had that because I would be out of my wife's bedroom two sweet! LMAO

 

[Harv]

Start here: Obsessed Garage | Home Of The Obsessed

Literally everything you need and they don't sell any cheap junk.

 

[RicardoD]

I thought the Hexa light was good for detailing bays. I converted my pain in the ass Fluorescent lights to cheap ceramic light bulb sockets and put in the flower pedel LED lights that put out 8000 lumens. Work great for my my older eyes.

How does one get lighting in the floor? Car lighting from under the lift is always the issue. Having a light colored Epoxy floor helps with light bounce and that would be my preferred flooring. Love natural light as well. Skylights would be nice.

It's the built-in stuff that needs to be carefully considered: Anchor points for the lift, plumbing for a utility sink, proper power outlet coverage. I actually don't think you need "shop-air" unless you put in an expensive high flow air compressor that could support a vapor blaster.

Super fun project and looking forward to the results.

 

[nocfn]

Hey Ricardo!!

 

[gsxr]

How does one get lighting in the floor? Car lighting from under the lift is always the issue. Having a light colored Epoxy floor helps with light bounce and that would be my preferred flooring.

I have the same issue. I use an old-school halogen worklight on a tripod along with the HF LED bar light, but more light under the car would be nifty. Rolling up the garage door helps a lot, if possible.

It's the built-in stuff that needs to be carefully considered: Anchor points for the lift, plumbing for a utility sink, proper power outlet coverage.

Yeah - hopefully there's more than 1 circuit available for outlets in the garage, AND you need to pull a 240V, 20A dedicated line for the lift. If the main panel is located in the garage this will be much easier. You can add outlets along the walls as desired.

I actually don't think you need "shop-air" unless you put in an expensive high flow air compressor that could support a vapor blaster.

Battery powered impact wenches and inflators have nearly eliminated the need for a big compressor, and definitely reduced the need for plumbing "shop air" copper pipes all over. A mid-size (20-27 gallon) ultra-quiet compressor should be plenty. With limited space a small (5-10 gallon) will work for most DIY projects.

 

[svhamelly]

My modest Garage Mahal is only 26x26. I had flush LED flood lights installed. 9 - 6 inch lights gives me pretty good light. Any tasks I do, I supplement with handheld, magnetic, headlight, etc. I can't stand clutter, so I put in lots of cabinets (Husky from Home Depot, wait for a good sale) and put a lot of stuff in cabinets. I built a storage shelf above the cabinets suspended from ceiling... my ceiling is low at 8 ft.

I love music 24/7 so I installed Bose 901's suspended from the ceiling and drive them with a Carver integrated amp from the 1990s and I added a bluetooth receiver to connect my phone and Pandora. My Wifi from house covers the garage nicely.

I had an epoxy floor done by a professional and had medium-heavy flake coverage and 2 coats of clear... 2 coats really is nice and it includes sharkbite anti-slip additive... even wet the floor has never been slippery. Dropping screws etc on the floor tends to make them disappear, but my solution is I just don't drop anything

No compressor, last garage I had a 25 gallon compressor taking up too much space and all I ever used it for was pumping up tires.
All impact tools are battery powered, so I just have a small dedicated battery powered tire inflator!

I also have a dedicated circuit for recharging a golf cart.

My favorite MUST-HAVE item is the Bosch mini-split!!! No matter the outside temp (30-100) it will make my garage a comfy 70 degrees in about 15 minutes!!!

Here is a site that I belong to and enjoy browsing the forum... Garage Journal....https://www.garagejournal.com/
so much garage info, but also info on just about everything else too.

 

[bclifton]

Congrats @Jlaa! (and awesome hearing input from others)

It's a dream of mine to have enough indoor space for 3 cars including a lift and enough room for tools (work bench w/ a vise, proper toolbox w/ good quality tools, sink, parts washer, etc). Something where you can work comfortably like a gentleman - maybe even a bookshelf for physical manuals and spare parts storage. I couldn't even imagine having a space with 20 cars like that article

Something I try hard to do with our house is make every square inch usable - so the challenge associated with a fixed size space sounds pretty fun to me! Excited to watch and cheer you on - I'm also in that living vicariously club Until we either move to a new house or seriously consider making an addition to our house, I'm just building my toolbox. Starting to put together a decent sized collection of both Hazet and Knipex! (and specialized MB tools)

 

[BRN9121]

 

[Jlaa]

View attachment 210030

I said garage, not man-toy-museum replete with designer furniture, legs for miles, biplanes on the ceiling, etc. LOLOL. Needs more grease / oil / stain on the floor.

 

[BRN9121]

Wanna know something? It's 43' x 23'

 

[gsxr]

Wanna know something? It's 43' x 23'

Did you mean 43x53...? In the photo, neither dimension can be less than 30'.