New garage plans - any advice?

[Nam11b]

So, looking to build a 26x40 garage with a full apartment above. The plan is to have the parents live above during the winter months when they play the snowbird game. I have been working with a friend who is an architect and we have come up with the following plans. These are my second or 3rd rev and planned on making some other changes. Namely raising the ceiling on the first floor to 10 foot, changing the kitchen layout, adding a closet next to the stairs, enclosing the area below the stairs, and some other minor changes.

With all that said, do you guys see any obvious faults with the plans? Anything I need to incorporate now that you neglected or love about your build?

Thanks!

 

[boiler7904]

At first glance, here's what I see:

I would move the kneewall, cabinets, and sink back so the wall is in line with the bathroom wall of the hallway - will make moving furniture to the bedroom much easier. You might also want to look at the upper cabinets shown in this area - they extend into the area between the columns.

I don't see a refrigerator in the kitchen layout unless it is an undercounter unit.

You'll have a conflict between the sill of the window in the stairwell and the 4' tall kneewall around the stairwell.

The bathroom layout is very inefficient for what is in it with one exception - wheelchair or walker access. If it has everything that you / they need, maybe take some of the space and add to the bedroom closet to make it a walk-in.

Linen closet will be difficult to get into without a door.

Are you planning any universal design / aging in place features to let your parents use this as they age? Include blocking in the stairwell for a possible future chairlift and in the bathroom for grabbars. Use 36" doors that accommodate wheelchairs and walkers along with comfort height toilets that are easier for older people to sit on and stand up from.

How are you heating / cooling the apartment? Do you need a closet for an air handler or will it be a mini-split type of system?

I would go with 8' tall overhead doors at a minimum.

Window headers typically align within a room or building except in certain instances. The way your dormers are drawn on the front of the building, the windows will be 3 ft higher than the window on the end of the building - maybe that's your preference.

 

[Nam11b]

Thanks for the input Boiler! The kitchen layout has bothered me and that is going to be reworked. I also caught the linen closet missing the door, it had a door the last rev, not sure what happened.

The primary reason for going interior stairs was to support a future chair lift on the stairs. I had not considered larger doors and I am going to explore that one.

HVAC: My intent was to put the air handler in the attic space above the second floor. I do not have provisions to heat/cool the first floor.

I considered 8 foot doors and had leaned that way, but the house has 7 and was talked out of it. Good call and I am going to revisit.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Seems like a lot of wasted space in the middle of the bathroom and it could be smaller, but if you're planning on potential future wheelchair access I suppose that's probably necessary. You may want to consider a double bath sink. One thing I would do is swing the door into the bathroom the other way.

 

[VOH]

There does not appear to be space for the water heater & furnace. Even if they are located downstairs, you will want most likely need a chase up stairs. Secondly, remember that with that sloped front roof, the living room will actually be quite a bit smaller, do to the roof line. Maybe think about a large dormer to help add useable space. this is one I designed for my dad. The upstairs is pretty roomy.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=271729&d=1375152186

 

[rburke65]

Closet at the bottom of the steps should have the door swinging out not in. Also the bathroom door should swing to the 'dead' wall.

 

[Rosco]

I also have an apartment above my garage, here are my two cents;

Pocket doors where you can, saves me a lot of space

Shower should be a double shower with a seat or bench

Two sinks in the bathroom

I installed a small wall heater in the bathroom. Helps when I want to shower there, but do not want to heat the entire apartment

Install the taller toilet, it was same price for me

Spend the money on spray foam insulation, from the eaves to the peak. It will make a world of difference in the summer

As long as you are at it, put a 1/2 bath under the stairs for you.

 

[ChargedUp!]

Just keep in mind the whole stair aspect. It was a big deal for my dad and wife to buy a house with all the living on 1 floor without stairs. Even with an option for a chair lift, many don't want the hassle of having to ride up and down constantly.
Can you have a larger footprint with a smaller apartment on ground level?

 

[grommit]

I always told myself that if I were to do something on the second floor, the first thing I do is install a large window (or something) with an elevator outside to hoist bags and smaller items like grocery. Nothing complicated, maybe an old barn block and tackle with a shelf outside. May sound like something over the top, but think about the usefulness and could be made to look as outrageous as you like if your into steampunk or Jules Vern stuff.

 

[Rosco]

Have you received any absolutes from your zoning department?
Overhead apartment and lower garage is almost impossible in many states.
If the state says yes...your insurance company may not allow heating.

Maybe a regional thing, but in the south almost 1/5 of houses have a bonus room over the garage. My garage (and apartment) have been inspected by the county inspectors for building/plumbing/electric etc. you have a good point on checking to make sure, Especially in the planning stages.

FWIW to the OP, my outlaws are snowbirds also, and they prefer to stay IN MY HOUSE when visiting due to the stairs to the apartment. They are 70

 

[dhubbard422]

FWIW to the OP, my outlaws are snowbirds also, and they prefer to stay IN MY HOUSE when visiting due to the stairs to the apartment. They are 70

^^^^THIS^^^^

At some point in our lives many of us can't, or would prefer not to do stairs. It's an unfortunate turn of events for many of us as we get older. My Mom visits only occasionally, but when she does she prefers to stay in our spare bedroom in the house instead of the detached, ground floor guest cottage... She is in her 80's and she can't do stairs and she hasn't been able to do stairs for quite a few years.

Home elevators are expensive, but something you may want to consider if you have to go up with the guest apartment and plan to host your parents for years to come.

 

[MacTexas]

No one has mentioned the garage. I had a 24' deep garage and when I built my new garage I made the depth 32'. The 24' depth does not give enough room to move around the front of the car or truck.

 

[Nam11b]

All, thanks for all the input, I submitted changes and will have updates this week. A couple of notes:

We live in coastal South Carolina, steps are a fact of life here. Even the main house has a full flight of steps going to the front door or coming from the garage. I had already planned on a possible chair lift if needed.

I am pretty happy with the depth at 26 feet and was the deepest i could go based on POA and lot restrictions. I have two live oak trees I am trying to work around and cutting them down is not an option. I considered a bump out for one bay, but it turned into a nightmare for the modifications.

 

[CNGsaves]

Few quick observations, some already mentioned by other GJer's:

a) Pocket door to bathroom
b) Re-design bathroom so no water lines on exterior walls. Same design concept overall to NOT have any water lines in exterior walls (prevent freezing and makes maintenance easier).
c) Windows not centered on either side (looks bad, but may be necessary). Maybe consider 2 windows. See last item as ought to make one a sliding door with deck (likely on left side of drawing near top of stairs).
Don't make windows too small as the cross ventilation up there will be optimal.
d) +1 that you'll want deeper garage than just 24 ft (as much as you can !!)
e) I'd slide the man door on left side over a bit to right so there is space for light switches and walking room on the left side
f) 8 ft tall garage doors
g) Garage door just to right of man door might be small one as you'll use it most (maybe 9' x 8') and prevent loss of heat/cool each time garage door is opened. Big garage door at far right of 18' x 8' if room, or 16' x 8' at minimum.
h) Design space to optimize ductwork for heat/cool - - don't skimp on ductwork as it's lifeblood of keeping space comfortable. With tall enough ceiling in garage, you could go exposed ductwork for "industrial look" but I'd still recommend good insulation in garage ceiling for sound deadening to keep living space quiet. You'll need 2 systems so fumes from garage aren't shared with upstairs living space (one upstairs central heat/air system, and seperate lesser system for garage which might be hanging heater and mini split A/C).
i) Where utilities attach to exterior wall (ie electric meter / natural gas line), make that permanent material like brick, as nothing worse than residing 15 yrs later when cheap masonite siding falls apart. Thus, I'd recommend maybe full brick on front, and several feet brick on exterior sides.
j) Nice feature to assist in building (ie get stuff upstairs), is build a deck with sliding door on one end of the upstairs living space. Design REMOVABLE RAIL so that big furniture, 12 ft sheetrock, etc. can have straight shot into the upstairs. Deck could just be big enough for couple chairs to drink coffee in morning and enjoy the view.

 

[Gerald O]

I question the headroom at the top of the stairwell. It looks like the top of the stairwell conflicts with the roofline due to the inset of the dormer. I'd like to see an inside section view at that location.

The closet door at the upstairs landing also appears to conflict with the roof. Is this modeled on 3D by any chance? I find a 3D model walkthrough quickly makes these kind of problems obvious.

 

[Nam11b]

All, we made some changes to this and I wanted to get some more feedback. I took the dormer off the back of the building and gave myself a straight wall up the back. I think it will be cheaper and easier to build, but not sure if my HOA will allow it. Time will tell on that one.

Added 8 foot tall doors.

Moved the man door back over to the opposite side with the intent of not disturbing anybody upstairs.

Moved the bedroom window over to give a true closet and moved the window for aesthetic reasons.

Pushed the island in the kitchen back for hallway access.

Rearranged the bathroom.

Rearranged the kitchen a bit.

I am open to any and all comments. Thanks for the help!

 

[whitedogone]

Remember fire separation between the 2. Also, We all love high garage ceilings, but 11' between floors is a lot of stairs. Especially for older folks. WDO

 

[Nam11b]

Remember fire separation between the 2. Also, We all love high garage ceilings, but 11' between floors is a lot of stairs. Especially for older folks. WDO

I agree and that has been a big debate for myself. High ceilings vs overall building height, vs upstairs ceiling height, etc. Just one of my many trade offs.

 

[larry_g]

I would hinge the pantry and shower doors opposite of what they show. I also question the access to the linen closet blocked by the toilet. It also looks like there is no access to the stairs except through the shop? ( on edit, I see there was a door outside in the first set of drawings.) I would want to have an outside access to the apt so that the shop could be isolated if necessary, like if you have people in that you do not want in the garage area. It would also seem that some consideration should be given to exiting in case of fire. Have you considered a dumb waiter to help in moving groceries and stuff upstairs?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Nam11b]

I would hinge the pantry and shower doors opposite of what they show. I also question the access to the linen closet blocked by the toilet. It also looks like there is no access to the stairs except through the shop? ( on edit, I see there was a door outside in the first set of drawings.) I would want to have an outside access to the apt so that the shop could be isolated if necessary, like if you have people in that you do not want in the garage area. It would also seem that some consideration should be given to exiting in case of fire. Have you considered a dumb waiter to help in moving groceries and stuff upstairs?

lg
no neat sig line

Thanks Larry! I agree on the pantry doors and will make the change. I am still torn on the entire bathroom, I really dont like how it has turned out. I was also tempted to put the washer and dryer off the bath instead of the kitchen, but got talked out of it.

A dumb waiter is a great idea, not sure how to incorporate though. I am guessing I could frame something up that is about 36" square but that really complicates my plans for engineered trusses all the way across. I will think on it. If anybody knows anything, let me know.

I might also add a connecting man door to access directly from the outside to the stairwell. I kind of hate having 3 man doors, but it might be the best solution. Short term is parents upstairs, but if we decide to rent out the space later, I would want to control access.