Wash Bay

**keperkey** · 01-10-2005, 07:32 AM

Who here actually has a wash bay in their attached or detached garage? Can you post pictures? What are the must haves for this type of set up?

Thanks,

Kevin

**dternst** · 01-10-2005, 09:21 AM

Enough room to have 30-36 inches between the car and the walls.

Use the type of drywall used to surround standup showers and bathtubs. This particular type of drywall is a little more tolerable to steam and water.

A drain

A 4-5 ft cinder (sp) block retaining wall

Water connections in the garage

Adequate lighting

Just a few things I would do if I wanted a wash bay in my garage or was building a garage to include a wash bay.

I`m probably forgetting some of the small stuff.

**jimmybuffit** · 01-10-2005, 09:24 AM

Sloped floor.

GFI electrical circuits

Jim

**Torqd500** · 01-10-2005, 10:26 AM

I ran plastic coated cable the width and length of the garage between the cabinets and the bay area and hung shower curtains on the cable. Now when I want to wash a car I simply pull the curtains closed so that the wash area is surrounded by the curtains. Nothing outside of the curtained perimeter gets wet. When I am not washing a car I simply open the curtains. It works great.

**keperkey** · 01-10-2005, 11:08 AM

I had thought about using shower curtains, but was concerned about appearance. Do you have any pictures?

**Accumulator** · 01-10-2005, 12:29 PM

keperkey- If you`re purpose-building from scratch, don`t forget a good floor drain. I always go with the "trench drain" style, running a good long way. Removable grates make it easy to clean out and a catch basin/tank between it and the sewer line is a good idea too. I also put in an oil separator like I had in my commercial shop.

Hose hookups on both side walls let you have redundant systems; this avoids the whole "dragging the hose around/catching it on tires" thing.

Fluorescent lights mounted on the walls are a good idea too.

**keperkey** · 01-10-2005, 12:58 PM

This is part planning, part dreaming. Not sure when the new house will come to fruition, but am trying to make notes and plan along the way. Right now, I am thinking 3-4 attached garage solely for daily drivers, no mowers, no storage, nothing. I would then have a 3-4 car detached for the toys and tools. Ideally the ceiling would be high enough for a lift and the second floor would be for our seasonal storage.

With respect to the detached, I would like to use one bay as a wash bay (not dedicated solely for washing). Trying to decide if this bay should be separate by a wall from other three (plan on 4 doors), or if the shower curtain idea would be enough.

Drainage will definately be used, code permitting.

With respect to the using greenboard or similar vs. sheetrock, would I only need to do wash area?

Other concerns are climate control and how, if at all, do I connect to house. Rather than the way Dean did (which I think looks fine), I think I would like to have the detached garage opposite the attached garage and maybe connect with a breezeway. Oh the possibilities.

**Accumulator** · 01-10-2005, 01:45 PM

I did a separate structure for the detailing garage, connected with a breezeway. Dedicated climate control systems, water heater, etc. You`ll have to have the drains, so just do whatever code requires.

**Torqd500** · 01-10-2005, 10:20 PM

"I had thought about using shower curtains, but was concerned about appearance. Do you have any pictures?"

I was worried about that too, so I made sure that the cable could be easily removed from the hooks at either end, allowing me to simply slide the curtains off the cable or remove the cable completely. I used a turnbuckle at one end of each cable to make it easy to tighten or loosen as required. As it turned out, it looks fine with the curtains simply drawn to one end of the cable. No pictures yet. I will try to take some and post them as soon as I can clean up the garage a little.

**Setec Astronomy** · 01-10-2005, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by Accumulator

I did a separate structure for the detailing garage, connected with a breezeway. Dedicated climate control systems, water heater, etc. You`ll have to have the drains, so just do whatever code requires.

Accumulator--you are my new hero!

**Prometheus** · 01-13-2005, 06:29 PM

Jeez, I know my garage is bad, but you guys make it sound like its a dirty dark dungeon with all your lofty plans...

**fertzguy** · 01-13-2005, 08:22 PM

for sure a water heater

**OI812** · 01-13-2005, 08:57 PM

Accumulator is 100% correct on the trench drain and catch basin. You want to run the drain in the same direction as you drive the car. Another words the drain is alway centered on the car running from front to back. Make sure the tops on the catch basin and the trench drain is traffic rated. Hot and cold running water for washing would be a must. At a minimum I would have 2 hose bibbs one on each side of the car. It would even be better if you could have one at all 4 corners of the vehicle. I would also have quick disconnects on all the hose bibbs. Make sure you set the drain LOW I would go at least a 1/4" to the foot from each side. 16` bay 2" low.

Walls

I would go cyinder block with an epoxy paint. If you do go with drywall, I would run durock at least 4` up and then finish off with green board. I would then run glass board over the top of that. Glass board is about 1/8" thick and has a rough surface(dots all over) and will not sock up water. It is commonly used in areas of high moisture just for that reason. Remember green board is moisture RESISTANT not moisture proof.

Towards your heating cooling and ventilation, I would put in a furnace and heat it that way. Make sure you get a good exhaust system that can remove the room air rapidly so that moisture doesn`t build up in the stucture.

**Accumulator** · 01-14-2005, 12:03 PM

Originally posted by OI812

Walls

I would go cyinder block with an epoxy paint...

Towards your heating cooling and ventilation, I would put in a furnace and heat it that way. Make sure you get a good exhaust system that can remove the room air rapidly so that moisture doesn`t build up in the stucture.

I have the epoxy-painted cinderblock and it seems fine. I have FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) from the floor to a point maybe 3-4` high. You can do better than FRP but it`s worked out OK for me so far (no discoloration, not exposed to UV).

For the heat, remember that heat travels *up* and that low mounted heat registers aren`t too practical for a wash bay. I like radiant heat for such applications. I have a furnace/AC unit, but I added the radiant heaters after finding that the ceiling mounted registers just didn`t get enough heat down into the shop (but then I do have a pretty high ceiling). Make sure your contractor knows what he`s doing (which was my big lesson from the whole building-a-garage experience) and don`t hesitate to tell them how you want it done.

Oh, and the quick-disconnects are something that *everybody* should get. They`re not very expensive and the brass ones last almost forever. I can`t imagine unscrewing hoses/nozzles....