Time to build a garage need advice.

[ITSWILL]

I bought my house over a year ago and it is time to build a proper garage.

I am on 2.5 acres in Ortonville, MI.

The town will allow me to build a 1500 sq ft garage, but I feel confident that I can get a variance to build a 40x60 (2400sq ft).

Zoning aside, I am trying to find the most economical way to build this.

First of what are some pros and cons of stick vs steel? From what I have read steel is generally cheaper than stick construction. As of now I am swaying towards steel but could just as easily go with wood. I am planning on having the foundation and slab done by a contractor and am hoping to build/assemble the structure myself in. The time it takes me to erect the building is a consideration as well.

Can anyone recommend a supplier of garage kits that would sell and ship to my area? Also do I save on taxes if I buy a kit from another state?

The garage will be used to house and repair my cars. How thick does my slab need to be? Also does the slab need to be thicker to install a lift?

I am hoping to get this done on a budget of $40,000. Reasonable?
I'm thinking $10,000 for the foundation and slab with heat tubes.
$20,000 for the building with insulation, garage door(s), windows, access doors.

Another $10,00 for electrical ( I will do myself), rental equipment, permits, and other extras. If I have any money left over I would like to get a good used 2 post lift and a new compressor.

Any wisdom is appreciated.

One more thing, It has to be "pretty" that was the only way I could get the variance from my wife. Any nice pictures of similar sized garages with finished landscaping would be appreciated to further appease the "accountant".

 

[ITSWILL]

Ok, so the variance may turn out to be tougher than I thought. It looks like the town is going to want me to provide a hardship as to why I need to build larger than 1500 sq ft.
The hardship cannot be self induced.

Any ideas?

 

[redrunner]

You will not make it at that price. I put up a 34 x 60 stick built by me with 12' walls for about 32,000 without a floor done yet and just some basic electrical. I did put on a steel roof which cost about 2,000 more than shingles. The floor cost is about $7500 for 6" finished. I need to tie into the city water and drain system and don't have a cost on that yet.

 

[ddawg16]

First off.....welcome to GJ....and thank you for putting your location in your profile....helps a lot....

I think your somewhat realistic on your initial costs....but I think you will spend less on electrical but more on construction....if you do all the electrical yourself....$2000 maybe....unless you have to run a main feed to the garage....that can get expensive.

Variance....that is a tough one....and I think tends to not fall in your favor....especially if the area is built up at all....

Have you considered 2-story? Just don't tell them....layout the bottom the way you want...say 30x50...make the walls 15'....then later on, you have room in the front for a lift and you can build a mezanine in the back for office and other uses....you can actually have more than 2400 sq ft....talk to planning and see if storage space counts for total sq footage.....

As for type....I would be inclined to say go with wood....I think you will be able to finish out the inside easier...make it warmer...and look better overall for the long haul....I personally find steel buildings to be ugly....I wouldn't want a neighbor to have one....

Your in a cold climate.....you want it warm.....with stick it will be easier to cover the walls with insulation and drywall (or plywood)....that does wonders for temp control.

 

[redrunner]

You will not make it at that price. I put up a 34 x 60 stick built by me with 12' walls for about 32,000 without a floor done yet and just some basic electrical. I did put on a steel roof which cost about 2,000 more than shingles. The floor cost is about $7500 for 6" finished. I need to tie into the city water and drain system and don't have a cost on that yet. I have not put in any insulation at all as well.

 

[jlckmj]

Welcome, and good luck with the build.
One thing you may want to consider is having the shell built for you and then finish the rest yourself. Putting up the shell on a large building is a big task. Ask around and see if you can find a framing sub contractor. The average guy would use up a whole ton of time and friend hours doing that project, and it would take twice as long if you are not used to doing work like that.

A framing sub specializes in putting up the shells only, then they move on to the next project. They normally go from builder to builder doing the structural part and for the most part they do not like to do the finish type work.

Two to three guys on an experienced crew can make short work of a garage shell so the cost should be worth it. On a 1500 square foot garage shop, I would think 3 guys could button it up in three days.

3 days, x 3 guys, x $50-60 per hour (rates around here)= $3600-$4200, = money well spent.
Jim

 

[bczygan]

Ok, so the variance may turn out to be tougher than I thought. It looks like the town is going to want me to provide a hardship as to why I need to build larger than 1500 sq ft.
The hardship cannot be self induced.

Any ideas?

Do your homework on what your zoning rules are. Check your zoning. Read the height and volume and setback and lot coverage requirements for the main structure and accessory buildings. It may be that you can attach to the main structure with an enclosed breezeway and not be restricted as you would with a detached garage or accessory building. No variance required. Do the research yourself. Don't ask them. Post it here for us to review and make suggestions.
Zoning map and code are on line for many jurisdictions. Are you in the town of Ortonville.

Bill
Architectural designer in SE MI

 

[ITSWILL]

You will not make it at that price. I put up a 34 x 60 stick built by me with 12' walls for about 32,000 without a floor done yet and just some basic electrical. I did put on a steel roof which cost about 2,000 more than shingles. The floor cost is about $7500 for 6" finished. I need to tie into the city water and drain system and don't have a cost on that yet.

I'm not sure I won't make it but I admit it will be close if not a couple thousand over.

First off.....welcome to GJ....and thank you for putting your location in your profile....helps a lot....

I think your somewhat realistic on your initial costs....but I think you will spend less on electrical but more on construction....if you do all the electrical yourself....$2000 maybe....unless you have to run a main feed to the garage....that can get expensive.

Unfortunately I will need a main line to the garage and may need to hold off on some of the electrical until next year.

Variance....that is a tough one....and I think tends to not fall in your favor....especially if the area is built up at all....

The area is pretty rural, and there are a lot of significantly sized accessory buildings around.

Have you considered 2-story? Just don't tell them....layout the bottom the way you want...say 30x50...make the walls 15'....then later on, you have room in the front for a lift and you can build a mezanine in the back for office and other uses....you can actually have more than 2400 sq ft....talk to planning and see if storage space counts for total sq footage.....

I have been considering a second story for storage either way and as far as I can tell there is no code restricting that. Secondly I wouldn't bother to let the town know about it either way.

Also I have found that if I could build a 40x40 that would be more useful without having to request much more space.

As for type....I would be inclined to say go with wood....I think you will be able to finish out the inside easier...make it warmer...and look better overall for the long haul....I personally find steel buildings to be ugly....I wouldn't want a neighbor to have one....

I personally don't mind the interior steel structure, but agree there is definitely more potential for prettiness with a wood building inside and out. It's ultimately cost and function in my eyes. My wife may have a different opinion...

Your in a cold climate.....you want it warm.....with stick it will be easier to cover the walls with insulation and drywall (or plywood)....that does wonders for temp control.

Noted.

Welcome, and good luck with the build.
One thing you may want to consider is having the shell built for you and then finish the rest yourself. Putting up the shell on a large building is a big task. Ask around and see if you can find a framing sub contractor. The average guy would use up a whole ton of time and friend hours doing that project, and it would take twice as long if you are not used to doing work like that.

A framing sub specializes in putting up the shells only, then they move on to the next project. They normally go from builder to builder doing the structural part and for the most part they do not like to do the finish type work.

Two to three guys on an experienced crew can make short work of a garage shell so the cost should be worth it. On a 1500 square foot garage shop, I would think 3 guys could button it up in three days.

3 days, x 3 guys, x $50-60 per hour (rates around here)= $3600-$4200, = money well spent.
Jim

Agreed, time is very valuable and I plan on getting a few quotes to erect the structure.

Do your homework on what your zoning rules are. Check your zoning. Read the height and volume and setback and lot coverage requirements for the main structure and accessory buildings. It may be that you can attach to the main structure with an enclosed breezeway and not be restricted as you would with a detached garage or accessory building. No variance required. Do the research yourself. Don't ask them. Post it here for us to review and make suggestions.
Zoning map and code are on line for many jurisdictions. Are you in the town of Ortonville.

Bill
Architectural designer in SE MI

I am not in town. Unfortunately the building code section of township codes seems to be missing online. I do know that attaching it to the house in any way will not help my situation. The code allows for you to build accessory buildings up to the square footage of your house on a 2.5 acre lot. My house is 2100 sq ft and I currently have almost 600 sq ft of accessory buildings leaving me with about 1500 sq ft left. My lot is 2.5 acres.

Also there is no volume requirement that I have seen but the max height is 20ft from the ground to the midpoint of the roof.

Also the building must be 25 ft from the property line and not forward of the house. Neither of those requirements will be a problem for me .

As of now I have spoken with all of my neighbors and they all agreed to sign a letter stating that they have no issue with what I am planning.

I have found 3 other nearby properties that have garages with more extra square footage than I am asking for.

I have also sketched out my storage plans for the proposed garage versus the allowed. I will do these in CAD shortly.

I intend to supply the board with an abundance of information on my proposed project.

I will also try to get a couple neighbors to attend the meeting.

The one area I think I am lacking is the hardship area. So far The best I can figure is that I have 6 (fun) cars which I figure I could cram into a 40x40, but I would need to park my truck and trailer outside. A 40x60 would allow me to store it indoors.

Also I have limited motion in one of my hands due to an injury. More room would make it easier to maneuver my cars into their parking spaces.



Thanks for the replies, any more ideas on the hardship would be helpful.

 

[Leyenda30]

You could tell the township that you are a member of
Garage Journal and their guidelines are BIGGER IS BETTER...so their limitations
could cause you unnecessary hardship from the membership.

 

[64dragnwagon]

You may want to look into a pole building. I had a 30x60x13 built on my lot with 3 OH door openings, 2 walk thru door openings and 2 window openings fully insulated with radiant barrier (not great r value for holding heat in, more for keeping heat out and minimizing the building sweating) with metal siding and roof and a 4x16 drop shed/porch for $16,000. I contracted National Barn Co. They had it built in 4 days, now I have to pour a slab and install doors and windows and frame out an office plus elect. and plumbing. I am expecting to come in around 25K all said and done. You can find pics in my build thread in the garage gallery. I think it is a good looking building and not an eyesore.

 

[ITSWILL]

You could tell the township that you are a member of
Garage Journal and their guidelines are BIGGER IS BETTER...so their limitations
could cause you unnecessary hardship from the membership.

Solid advice !!! They can't say no to that.

You may want to look into a pole building. I had a 30x60x13 built on my lot with 3 OH door openings, 2 walk thru door openings and 2 window openings fully insulated with radiant barrier (not great r value for holding heat in, more for keeping heat out and minimizing the building sweating) with metal siding and roof and a 4x16 drop shed/porch for $16,000. I contracted National Barn Co. They had it built in 4 days, now I have to pour a slab and install doors and windows and frame out an office plus elect. and plumbing. I am expecting to come in around 25K all said and done. You can find pics in my build thread in the garage gallery. I think it is a good looking building and not an eyesore.

I will definitely look into it. I posted a question on your build thread. Also does the building cost you have posted there include labor? I assume it does.

Also, nice building can't wait to see what it looks like with the slab.

 

[64dragnwagon]

Solid advice !!! They can't say no to that.



I will definitely look into it. I posted a question on your build thread. Also does the building cost you have posted there include labor? I assume it does.

Also, nice building can't wait to see what it looks like with the slab.

Yes, constructed on my lot.

 

[nehog]

Give Rockford Buildings a call, and say I referred you. Their buildings are first class. As to your building estimates, if you are doing all the labor they may be close to accurate. If someone else is doing the work, then they are too low.

Good luck on your permissions! I'm guessing the square footage is footprint, so how about two stories for part of the building (storage and shop?)

 

[ITSWILL]

Give Rockford Buildings a call, and say I referred you. Their buildings are first class. As to your building estimates, if you are doing all the labor they may be close to accurate. If someone else is doing the work, then they are too low.

Good luck on your permissions! I'm guessing the square footage is footprint, so how about two stories for part of the building (storage and shop?)

I'll check into that.

It's actually square footage. I was considering telling them I am going to build 1500 sq ft with a big courtyard in the middle of it if I am limited.

Probably best to stay on their good side instead.

 

[SPDMETL]

In a township near Us, htere is a limit of 1,500 s.f. if less than 3 acres. And now the screwy part-if it's attached to the house-no limit!

 

[admranger]

See what the definition of "hardship" means -- it should be in the code. You might have something with your limited hand movement issue.

Also, if you match the outbuilding architecturally to the house, they might be more inclined to approve it as it will be aesthetically pleasing. Maybe that's not an issue.

I'd flat out ask them what they need. Sometimes they'll tell you, sometimes they won't.

See what your neighbors had to do to get their buildings approved.

Whatever you do, don't *****, whine, or moan or you're instantly toast. Err on the side of graciousness, even if you want to rip their throats out. I've tried the other method and it doesn't work.

Good luck with your project. Sounds like a nice problem to have!

 

[ITSWILL]

In a township near Us, htere is a limit of 1,500 s.f. if less than 3 acres. And now the screwy part-if it's attached to the house-no limit!

Town codes can be very odd sometimes, like you can't spit on the sidewalk on a Sunday in the presence of a virgin.

Honestly I was hoping to find some holes in their code but have not been successful so far.

See what the definition of "hardship" means -- it should be in the code. You might have something with your limited hand movement issue.

Also, if you match the outbuilding architecturally to the house, they might be more inclined to approve it as it will be aesthetically pleasing. Maybe that's not an issue.

I'd flat out ask them what they need. Sometimes they'll tell you, sometimes they won't.

See what your neighbors had to do to get their buildings approved.

Whatever you do, don't *****, whine, or moan or you're instantly toast. Err on the side of graciousness, even if you want to rip their throats out. I've tried the other method and it doesn't work.

Good luck with your project. Sounds like a nice problem to have!

Good point on matching the house.
I plan to talk to the board members like they were police officers that just pulled me over.

Also good point on it being a good problem to have, I am very blessed, I have more than I feel I deserve and have come to terms that I will still be happy if the variance is not granted.