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Tips for Workshops

If you're going to spend a lot of time in your garage, insulate the walls and ceiling to the minimum standards for your area, whether you're running ductwork from your home's HVAC system to the garage or installing a supplementary heater. The simplest way to cool a garage is to cut a hole in the garage and install an air conditioner sized for a large room.

Two windows are standard in most garages, but you may want more, and even a skylight or two, to provide natural work light. Bill West, the Colorado-based author of a garage-organizer guide, suggests installing inexpensive track lighting to brighten work areas. Four-foot-long fluorescent shop lights are another low-cost option.

If your work area is used for stripping and refinishing furniture, painting, or handling other chemicals, be sure there are windows on both sides of the garage for cross-ventilation, or install a wall-mounted exhaust fan.

West recommends an industrial floor coating (instead of the gray epoxy typically applied to garage floors, which is likely to chip and flake under hot tires). Such a coating will make it easier to rinse off oil stains. Put a drain in the center of the floor to get rid of melted ice and snow.