North Pole, Alaska Member

[tonw07]

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new to the site and found it since I am looking to build a garage at a house I'm hoping to soon close on in the next couple of weeks. My plan is to build a detached 36'X30' garage with two 10'X10' overhead doors in the front and a walk through door on the side. I would like to pour the footing and slab by the middle of September and try to get the thing enclosed before the snow starts flying in October but that is pretty optimistic with my current work schedule so we will see.

Once enclosed, I don't think it should take me too long to run electrical and get insulation in, then I can take my time after that throughout the winter.

I plan on doing all of the work myself or with the help of friends. Where the house is located isn't really under any jurisdiction of any code to worry about so that is nice. The only thing I think I will have done by someone else is building the trusses, it's just something I don't want to deal with and I don't think the cost savings doing them myself would be worth it.

The question now is how much fancy truss can I afford... My girlfriend wants to match the style of the house as much as possible and to have a potential guest room above the garage and match the houses 12/12 pitch. I am all for this and agree it would look better and makes sense for resale purposes but from the research I have done, there is potential for being a significant cost increase so again, we will see..

Here's the house. The open area to the left is where I plan on putting the garage, about 10' or so from the house.


Here is my sketch of the ideal garage that would match the house. Still up in the air if this is the way it will end up being though.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Welcome to the group, I look forwards to seeing your build. Please post pictures of your build.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Firstly, hello and welcome to the GJ tonw07

I have to agree, building your garage in the same style makes a lot of sense both aesthetically and for resale value down the track.

All the best with your build, looking forward to following your progress.

 

[bczygan]

Are you within the jurisdiction of North Pole?

Look here:

http://www.northpolealaska.com/building

Check if the county you are in has zoning requirements or building requirements. Sometimes other jurisdictions handle one or the other.

Bill

 

[akbrewman]

Hello, and welcome. Another Alaskan here, from down south in Palmer. I build my own shop two years ago and loved all the great advice and info here on GJ. I am sure you will too.Enjoy.

akbeerman

 

[tonw07]

Are you within the jurisdiction of North Pole?

Look here:

http://www.northpolealaska.com/building

Check if the county you are in has zoning requirements or building requirements. Sometimes other jurisdictions handle one or the other.

Bill

Like I said I'm not under the North Pole Jurisdiction, I'm outside of any city boundary. Also, when it comes to the borough, they do not really have any zoning or building requirements, hence the reason you can drive around and find "houses" with no sort of siding or finishing and blue tarps for roofs. Kind of the wild west when it comes to restrictions on this sort of stuff.

 

[drivesitfar]

Ton: are you building the garage for personal use or is that where you'll be making your living from fixing cars, atv's and snowmobiles and such? if it's just for you build it to match the house because your GF or soon to be wife will like it. if you need it to make a living i'd build it as big as i could afford. with winter months as cold and probably a few feet of snow covered space will be a valued thing. also maybe have it in sections so you don't need to heat the entire shop unless you have a good heater and oil is cheap.

more details and if you have questions just ask.

just know that this is an introduction thread area of GJ's forum and doesn't get the full membership stopping in here. just putting up a thread in Garage gallery might get lost in the thousands of threads too so if you post lots of pictures with questions to keep it moving the more viewers sometimes means quicker answers.

good luck

PS. part of me would love living there, but i couldn't get my wife there even if i told her we could live for free. good luck

 

[tonw07]

Ton: are you building the garage for personal use or is that where you'll be making your living from fixing cars, atv's and snowmobiles and such? if it's just for you build it to match the house because your GF or soon to be wife will like it. if you need it to make a living i'd build it as big as i could afford. with winter months as cold and probably a few feet of snow covered space will be a valued thing. also maybe have it in sections so you don't need to heat the entire shop unless you have a good heater and oil is cheap.

more details and if you have questions just ask.

just know that this is an introduction thread area of GJ's forum and doesn't get the full membership stopping in here. just putting up a thread in Garage gallery might get lost in the thousands of threads too so if you post lots of pictures with questions to keep it moving the more viewers sometimes means quicker answers.

good luck

PS. part of me would love living there, but i couldn't get my wife there even if i told her we could live for free. good luck

I'm just building it for personal use.

So here's the story, my GF and I moved up here for work last year and this will be our second winter in Alaska. We are currently in the process of closing on a house with no garage and the rental we are getting ready to move out of had a decent attached garage that the GF parked in all last winter. So to keep her around I think I need to have somewhere for her to keep her Jeep warm and her happy at our new place this winter lol. I have a sweet old '77 Dodge camper and a snowmobile that I like/have to work on frequently so I would like a place to do that when needed as well. Also, the way our house is set up there's not a living room so we are thinking about dedicating a corner of the garage to a bar/sitting area to spend our time when friends are over.

I plan on doing in floor heat and getting the same unit as the house has since it is very efficient plus I like having the openness of the garage so I don't plan on sectioning it off any.

I'm pretty familiar with forums as I am a member in several so I definitely know how important it is to have pictures so no worries there. Thanks for the input!

 

[drivesitfar]

Ton: is there anyway you can think of to attach the new garage to the house? GF would be happier to drive in garage and once out of the car dry and warm into the house. you would be too especially as cold as it gets up there.

good luck

 

[tonw07]

Ton: is there anyway you can think of to attach the new garage to the house? GF would be happier to drive in garage and once out of the car dry and warm into the house. you would be too especially as cold as it gets up there.

good luck

I thought about it but really just don't want to go through the hassle of attaching them. I plan on the garage being 10' from the house and connected with a small deck so if she can't deal with that she can go find her own place, ha! I feel much more comfortable building an entirely separate garage than I do attaching on to the existing house so that is the plan.

Also, I figured worse case I build some sort of roof or enclosed porch deal that connects the house and garage in the future.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[drivesitfar]

Tony: i was thinking of maybe attaching the garage to the back of the house since i think it's wider and using your back door for access. then you can access the garage with your cars from the sides or the rear.

your call obviously, but you asked so just throwing out ideas. i was a full time Realtor for 30 years working for builders and developers the last 20 before retiring 8 years ago. I've seen a lot of good ideas and some awful ones and i still would pay a designer to draw up a plan when i move and build my last home.

cheers and good luck

 

[drivesitfar]

Tony: if your drainfield and septic tank is out the back of the house then scratch my previous idea, but maybe it might give you some more ideas.


good luck

 

[tonw07]

Tony: if your drainfield and septic tank is out the back of the house then scratch my previous idea, but maybe it might give you some more ideas.


good luck

I never thought about putting it behind the house, but also, there's no rear door and the layout of the house wouldn't let that happen. I planned on having the side door of the house line up with the side door of the garage door so its a straight shot on the deck.

Also, the septic tank and new leach field is behind the house just to the side so I have about a 4 foot mound back there due to the required distance between the drainage field and the water table.

I do appreciate the input though but I think the plan is still set for detached to the side. Thanks!

 

[drivesitfar]

Tony: you are very welcome and good luck. congrats on finding a good place to hang your hat at.

hope you enjoy your time here and maybe learn a few things too.