Garage recovery setup guide (2026)

A recovery garage is a wet utility room that you also park in. Design for water and electricity first, Instagram second. If you rent, read the lease twice.

Floor load and water

• Plunge All-In-class public fill weight is on the order of 1,150 lb. Spread it. Slabs are happier than mystery residential floors.
• Barrels are easier on the slab and meaner on your back (upright entry).
• You will splash. A floor drain or a wet-vac plan is part of the SKU.
• Do not site a tub where a leak reaches living-room subfloor.

Electrons

• Dedicated GFCI circuit for the chiller. 15A is the All-In story; cabins wander to 20–30A or 240V.
• No daisy-chained extension cords. Outdoor-rated connections if the garage is a weather object.
• If the EV charger already owns the panel, you are in an electrician conversation before a brand conversation.

Winter and freeze exclusions

Many warranties (Plunge’s published sheet is explicit) exclude freeze damage. If ambient can sit below freezing and flow stops, plumbing can crack. Heaters, winterization, or drain-down are operations, not accessories. Unheated garages in Minnesota are a Morozko/Renu/site-built conversation as much as a Plunge conversation.

Adding a sauna

Indoor IR cabins in raw garages eat moisture and temperature swings. Use a cabin rated for the space, or build a conditioned nook. Contrast IR vs traditional. Wood stoves need clearances you cannot fake with a poster.

A sane layout

1. Car still fits, or you admit it does not.
2. Tub near a drain and a hose, not behind the mower graveyard.
3. Panel on a wall that is not behind the garage door travel.
4. Towel hook. The amateur hour is dripping to the kitchen.

Then read contrast therapy before you put the cabin dripping-distance from the tub with no floor plan.