(Building the ultimate small garage)

Everybody,

Okay, okay: Christa and I just bought our first house.  (*ulp!*)  So I've
got seriously conflicting emotions (elation / horror), but let's talk about
the most serious problem with the place.

It doesn't have a garage.

What!?  I *bought* a house without a *garage!?*  (smack!)  Clearly, I gotta
build one.  Gotta build one quick.  Like this summer.

So, here are my beginning specs:
--------------------------------
1) I've signed my life away, mortgaged up the wazoo,
   so it's gotta be fairly low-priced.

2) I only want a small one.  Big enough to park the bus
   and do a bit of work on it.  Need a bit of workbench
   space, some shelf space, room to store a push lawnmower,
   not much else.

3) Gotta have at least 6' 8" clearance at the door,
   preferably 6' 10" or better.

4) Gotta be able to have both driver & pasenger doors
   open at the same time while bus is inside.

5) Want it to look nice from the outside, too.

6) Concrete floor

7) Gonna install a woodstove in it so I can be toasty
   in winter.  (The main house is heated with wood, too).

8) To keep costs down, I'm going to do most (all?) the
   work myself, and I'm hardly a master carpenter.

Okay, so what I'm looking for here are tips from folks who have, have
built, or want to build a small garage.  OBLIGATORY VW BUS CONTENT: Because
of the extra height of a bus, building a bus garage may need special design
features (for the entrance, the inside height, other aspects?).  Also, many
of us are (budding?) mechanical enthusiasts, so we may need different
features than a typical suburban garage would provide.

So: ideas / tips for general design?  Layout?  Minimum floor space and
dimensions?  Garage door type?  Neat space-saving ideas?  Lighting?  Source
for plans, books on garage design, etc, etc?  Digital plans taking up space
on your hard drive?  ;-)

It might be interesting to get a thread going on this.  Thanks for the
bandwidth!

Oh, I'm on type2, not vanagon, so if vanagon folks want to reply, please
cc: me on your emails.  Thanks!

Tobin
(Looking forward to not fixing things lying in mud in the rain anymore!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tobin Copley                                          tobin.copley@ubc.ca
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
'76 Westy Deluxe (still unnamed!)                    =============
'97 son Russell                                     /_| |__| |__|:| putta
1995: 'Round US, Mexico, Canada 15,000 mi          O|.           .| putta!
1996: Vancouver to Inuvik, NWT   7,400 km           ~-()-==----()-~