[spartakus]

1st post here for me but, anyway Im pretty much a certified, mentally deranged, garage freak so I couldn't help myself. So if your looking for suggestions, I might be able to help.

First of all, sounds like everyone has given some great pointers but, this is just like our trucks, and personal preference comes into play & unfortunately money is always the biggest factor. Here are some thoughts from my point of view...

Floor: if you can paint it w/ good product, then do it. Even good product isn't bulletproof from hot stuff or sometimes twisting psi of metal casters but, it sure is nice for clean up. Even if you dont paint it, vulkum the saw joints if you have them. Them saw joints are a pain if the butt for trapping water, debris and whatever. If you can, go w/ a floor drain. Especially great for winter/snow type conditions.

Walls: I would go w/ oriented strand board instead of drywall. Way more durable than drywall and can take the beating of a working garage and makes it easy to change things or move shelving, cabinets or hanging items w/o so much damage. Should cost less to have done this way too. Use semi-gloss/gloss paint in a bright white or light color. This makes a huge difference in perceived lighting inside. If you want another color, at least do the top half in a brighter white to reflect lighting.

Lighting: This is important - especially if your like me and your eyes are getting worse... Dont mess incandescent lighting. Go straight to fluorescent fixtures and more is better. A higher color temperature bulb will be best for working under, so as to see bodywork/paint work better. Makes a big difference. T-8 fixtures will cost more but they cost less to run and use less draw on the breaker.

Heating: This one is based on preference too. I went w/ forced air and now wish I had radiated heat from either the floor or the ceiling now. I get tired of the forced air unit turning on (noisy) and it blows dust around.

Its great to have your hard air lines "inside" the wall and coming out at designated locations for your air tools.

Dont forget to run cable, phone or whatever before closing up.

Go bigger now, if you can. -or have a viable alternative to expand later.

Probably a million other things too, that I cant think of right now.

Lots of other good ideas already mentioned too!