| A lift or two, of course. With your high-ceiling area, you are no doubt already thinking of this. You want to be able to heat the garage on a separate thermostat, like 50*F during the winter. Warm enough to keep things from freezing or even close, yet saves energy. You might consider an accordion wall to divide the high bay area from the 10' tall area. Then keep your most-used cars in the low area that you heat, projects in the high area that you don't heat unless you plan to work there. If you own motorcycles, consider sinking some anchors so you can lock up the bikes. I wear a lot of moto gear when I ride, so I'd love to have a locker and dressing room in my garage. Put in skylights for natural light if possible. If you do wood work, put in a curtain to contain sawdust; if you do welding, have an area that is spark-proof. More than one garage has burned down, with the resulting lost Z, as documented on this site. No matter what, you want to plan where your tools and workbenches and lockers go. You will want outlets everywhere! Maybe two different circuits or more. My big garage has a separate breaker box. If you have air tools, you might consider an air system that pipes compressed air to various parts of the garage, and a closet with a sound-blocking door to house the compressor. If you want to get really fancy, consider a central vacuum system too. I like tile floors rather than epoxy, but to each their own. Consider putting in a drain or two to keep things tidy even if you drive a wet car into the garage. A "wet area" would be cool if you want to wash and wax your cars indoors. If you run water to the garage, make sure you have a way to lock it out and drain the line for winter. How about a garage door going out the back in case you want to run a car out there? How about a long carport, or inexpensive shelter-only garage with less insulation along the side? You can park trailers or an RV in there, along with lawnmower and wheelbarrow and other yard stuff your wife wants to put in "your garage". As long as I'm going nuts, I'll mention a fallout shelter/survival room hidden under the garage with supplies and ammo. Heh. That would be expensive to put in after-the-fact, if you were so inclined.
- John
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