Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT jbrentd's - Detached 2 + 1 Tandem w/ Patio

[jbrentd]

Hello all. I recently found this awesome site while searching the interwebs for ideas on a new shop that I hope to be breaking ground on in the near future. Below is a little about me and my plans. I would really like any and all input/feedback from you all.

My name is Brent and I live in NE Oklahoma with my wife of 17 years and two boys (ages 13 & 15). We've lived in our home for 11 years now. Our house is on a 1 acre lot with lots of trees and has an attached 3-car garage already. We have managed to pack it pretty full with two cars, riding lawnmower, bikes, golf cart and tons of stuff.

Like many of you, I’m a car enthusiast. I was raised around Chevy’s (specifically corvettes) and still love them, but I have developed an affinity for Audis of the past 10+ years. My current daily driver is an ’07 A6 with the 4.2L V8. We’ve also had a couple of Jeeps and the wife drives an ’11 Wrangler Unlimited. Over the past handful of years, I've had a couple of project cars. The last one I had, I regrettably sold because I couldn't stand to see it sitting out in the elements, especially after paying for a respray. So, that's when I decided that I really want to have a space of my own to work on and store future projects. Here's a shot of them jockeying for position in the driveway and one of what I'm currently dealing with.





We've been thinking about this project for years, but it has always taken a back seat to other house projects, but I think my wife finally got on board when we started talking about buying two cars (in the near future) for our boys. My oldest isn’t too picky on the type of car…he just wants something “normal”. My youngest, on the other hand, would like something that he and I can build together. I really look forward to that opportunity. My wife’s only stipulation was that she wanted a patio incorporated that would be in close proximity to our pool in the back yard…something the kids and their friends could use as a hangout away from the adults. So, I said no problem.

Here are some of the dimensions I'm considering:

• Front two bays – 24’W x 22’L
• Tandem bay – 12’W x 18’L
• Patio – 18’W x 18’L
• 10’ celings

And here are some sketches I did, on Sketchup (I downloaded it yesterday, so be nice). Like I mentioned before, please provide feedback if you have any. I'd like to learn from and take advantage of any experiences you've had.

 

[Morio]

Welcome!!! And I love that Audi Coupe!! The A6 is nice too

Can't wait to see you get started!

 

[Todd.Brock]

Oh man oh man. Oh man... Favorite.audi.ever. Can you upload some photos or PM your email address and I will send you my address so you can just ship me the car?

 

[jbrentd]

Welcome!!! And I love that Audi Coupe!! The A6 is nice too

Can't wait to see you get started!

Thanks. The Coupe Quattro is the project I regrettably sold a little over a year ago.

Oh man oh man. Oh man... Favorite.audi.ever. Can you upload some photos or PM your email address and I will send you my address so you can just ship me the car?

Mine too. Here you go...

How it looked when I bought it.



How it looked when I sold it.



Here's a build thread documenting all that was done to it while I owned it.
http://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?t=32835

And a couple other Audis I've owned in the past.

 

[jbrentd]

I have a couple of questions...

I know I don't want full size windows taking up valuable wall space, but what about smaller windows located higher up on the walls? Something like this? Do they let in enough natural light? Or not worth it?

 

[dubber]

Welcome! Sweet car collection you have owned; great taste. Long time fan of the b5 avant. I had the same Santorin Blue b5 A4. Wish mine had been sitting on some BBS'.

 

[jbrentd]

Welcome! Sweet car collection you have owned; great taste. Long time fan of the b5 avant. I had the same Santorin Blue b5 A4. Wish mine had been sitting on some BBS'.

Thanks. I love running into other Audi/VW fans on here. I just checked out your threads. Nice job!

 

[jbrentd]

I should have a few bids in late this week or early next week. In the meantime, I only get to play around with the drawings. Here are a couple that show the shop's relative position to my house overlaid onto a Google Earth screenshot.

 

[Morio]

Looks good!!! Fingers crossed on a good price!

 

[Andersen]

Looks really nice... Looking forward to another "build thread" here on GJ.

Frank

 

[Bib Overalls]

I know I don't want full size windows taking up valuable wall space, but what about smaller windows located higher up on the walls? Something like this? Do they let in enough natural light? Or not worth it?

For security purposes I elected to build my shop without windows. One of my friends did the same but included sky lights. I have to admit his shop "feels better" than mine. Less confining. If I felt comfortable about the security issue I would retrofit some high windows on the south wall.

 

[jbrentd]

Looks really nice... Looking forward to another "build thread" here on GJ.

Frank

Thanks. Hopefully, I can keep up with so many of the great builds out there.

For security purposes I elected to build my shop without windows. One of my friends did the same but included sky lights. I have to admit his shop "feels better" than mine. Less confining. If I felt comfortable about the security issue I would retrofit some high windows on the south wall.

That sounds like an option as well. I'm not sure how either will help though since it'll be in amongst the trees anyway.

 

[55cadillacking]

From one Audi lover to another, welcome! Love the layout you have. Are you restricted budget wise, or are you authorized to go whole hog? If I were able, I'd really look at adding a floor drain, recessed lift, and lots and lots of lights.

 

[jbrentd]

From one Audi lover to another, welcome! Love the layout you have. Are you restricted budget wise, or are you authorized to go whole hog? If I were able, I'd really look at adding a floor drain, recessed lift, and lots and lots of lights.

Thanks. I do want to keep things within in some semblance of a budget. I'm probably going to do most of the electrical, insulation and drywall in order to keep the initial costs down. I'd like to do a racedeck free flow like you have and I've been looking at recessed scissor lifts today.

 

[55cadillacking]

Cool. When I hit the lottery, I'm redoing my slab with a recessed lift and a drain. Mark my words! The RD FreeFlow is pretty cool. You'll like it.

 

[Maximum57]

Welcome! Nice work you did on that coupe! My friend had the 4.2 A6 which got me into Audis. Unfortunately, he got rear ended two weeks ago and the ins co totaled it out. At least he still has his RS6.

Anyway good luck with the build! I can't wait to see how it comes along!!

 

[jbrentd]

Welcome! Nice work you did on that coupe! My friend had the 4.2 A6 which got me into Audis. Unfortunately, he got rear ended two weeks ago and the ins co totaled it out. At least he still has his RS6.

Anyway good luck with the build! I can't wait to see how it comes along!!

Thanks. I wish I still had the coupe. I don't want the lack of garage space to be the reason to sell a project again.

 

[sd171]

I know I don't want full size windows taking up valuable wall space, but what about smaller windows located higher up on the walls?

I am a huge fan of full sized windows after living with mine for a few months now. The natural light is great, and working in the garage all day is much nicer when you can see out at eye level. Obviously full sized windows do take up wall space, but depending on your wall height you may be able to locate useful cabinets above the windows. All of my built-in cabinets are up high and everything else is on wheels or can be easily moved around depending on my project/car storage needs. Even if you decide against full sized windows, I think you'll be happier with at least some natural light - high, smaller windows or skylights.

 

[jbrentd]

I am a huge fan of full sized windows after living with mine for a few months now. The natural light is great, and working in the garage all day is much nicer when you can see out at eye level. Obviously full sized windows do take up wall space, but depending on your wall height you may be able to locate useful cabinets above the windows. All of my built-in cabinets are up high and everything else is on wheels or can be easily moved around depending on my project/car storage needs. Even if you decide against full sized windows, I think you'll be happier with at least some natural light - high, smaller windows or skylights.

Thanks for the feedback sd171. Great job on the new garage and attic space! Those windows do bring in quite a bit of natural light. I'll be giving that quite a bit of thought for my project.

I'm glad I gave your thread a re-read as I think I'll be putting in a staircase similar to yours as well.

 

[Andersen]

Cool. When I hit the lottery, I'm redoing my slab with a recessed lift and a drain. Mark my words! The RD FreeFlow is pretty cool. You'll like it.

Rick, how do you thing the RD FreeFlow will perform with a recessed lift? I'm planning to go for that combo I'm my build...

Frank


_____________________________________
BMW 120d M-SPORT (2015) Estoril Blue

 

[jbrentd]

Rick, how do you thing the RD FreeFlow will perform with a recessed lift? I'm planning to go for that combo I'm my build...

I wonder if the bottom stops can be adjusted on these to compensate for such a thing?

 

[jbrentd]

I've been playing around with the idea of some stairs on the back wall. Not sure it'll work with the current roof line being a hip roof on the back end of the garage.

 

[sd171]

Re: stairs

If you don't mind taking up a little room with stairs in the patio area, you could start the staircase on the right hand wall if you're standing at the pool looking at the patio, then turn them 90 degrees left at about the middle of the garage. You'd have plenty of headroom where the staircase enters the attic. I think you have to find a way for the stairs to follow the roofline up in order to have enough headroom.

 

[sd171]

Or you could start them in the back left corner of the garage, then turn them 90 degrees to the right in the middle of the garage. That would keep them out of the patio area.

 

[jbrentd]

Or you could start them in the back left corner of the garage, then turn them 90 degrees to the right in the middle of the garage. That would keep them out of the patio area.

Yeah, I'll play around with that arrangement and see what the dimensions look like. Thanks.

 

[jbrentd]

Or you could start them in the back left corner of the garage, then turn them 90 degrees to the right in the middle of the garage. That would keep them out of the patio area.

I think this will be the preferred arrangement. Thanks again for the feedback. I'm tired of drawing these dang stairs, anyway.

 

[jbrentd]

So, I've received a couple of bids over the past couple of days...still waiting on the last one. If you include the footage for the patio (which makes sense since it's got concrete and a roof over it), they are both around $50/ft2 (plus or minus a couple $). This is for a full turn-key job including full brick, insulation, drywall, interior painting, driveway extension and removal of 4 mature trees. It looks like I could save about $5/ft2 if I have them exclude drywall, insulation, interior painting and only do partial brick around the sides.

Just wondering if that sounds reasonable. I'm sure costs vary quite a bit based on the location.

I'm anxious to see where the third one comes in at.

 

[55cadillacking]

Rick, how do you thing the RD FreeFlow will perform with a recessed lift? I'm planning to go for that combo I'm my build...

Frank


_____________________________________
BMW 120d M-SPORT (2015) Estoril Blue

Not too sure. I guess you'd just lay and cut the tiles to fit around the lift recesses. I won't ever be doing it, but I'm sure it could be done with a little patience, determination and finesse.

 

[55cadillacking]

I think this will be the preferred arrangement. Thanks again for the feedback. I'm tired of drawing these dang stairs, anyway.

I like that arrangement. It creates some interesting and useable wall space.

 

[jbrentd]

I like that arrangement. It creates some interesting and useable wall space.

Yeah, I agree. Thanks for the feedback

I'm kind of getting impatient waiting on my last bid, but I'm hopeful that it'll be the best option for us since we're friends with the guy that owns the construction company. His estimator was out on vacation for a couple of weeks.

 

[TexZ]

Good layout, and it's going to be nice with the second level! Subscribed, looking forward to the build.

 

[55cadillacking]

Yeah, I agree. Thanks for the feedback

I'm kind of getting impatient waiting on my last bid, but I'm hopeful that it'll be the best option for us since we're friends with the guy that owns the construction company. His estimator was out on vacation for a couple of weeks.

I have no time for being patient...

Best of luck when the quote comes through.

 

[Burnt C6]

I love the 2 story approach. I have a full attic above mine that I'm sure with a lot of $$$$ could be set up into a room of some kind, but like most garages the span of the beams are too long to do anything major too with out having to either put support post in (no fricking way) or completely but in new ones.

it's going to look great when finished

 

[shade]

Looks like a good size unit you're going to do...
Whats the plan if any for A/C?

 

[jbrentd]

Good layout, and it's going to be nice with the second level! Subscribed, looking forward to the build.

Thanks. The wife and I want stairs so we (and when I say we, I mean ME) don't have to climb up and down a flimsy attic ladder.

I have no time for being patient...

Best of luck when the quote comes through.

Me neither. The estimator is coming back out on Friday with some subs. Hopefully, he'll turn it around quickly since it's been 3 weeks.

I love the 2 story approach. I have a full attic above mine that I'm sure with a lot of $$$$ could be set up into a room of some kind, but like most garages the span of the beams are too long to do anything major too with out having to either put support post in (no fricking way) or completely but in new ones.

it's going to look great when finished

Thanks, mine will be storage at first, but could be something more in the future. I'll have them stub in water and sewer lines for later, if needed.

Looks like a good size unit you're going to do...
Whats the plan if any for A/C?

Thanks. I sometimes think it might be overkill, but I'd rather be too big than too small. No A/C for the time being...trying to keep the costs down initially.

 

[dubber]

Yeah, I agree. Thanks for the feedback

I'm kind of getting impatient waiting on my last bid, but I'm hopeful that it'll be the best option for us since we're friends with the guy that owns the construction company. His estimator was out on vacation for a couple of weeks.

I also would unfortunately be horrible with waiting.....

 

[NedNorton]

50+/- is about right (depending on the labor market). It's the changes mid stream that will kill ya. The cost triples normally (build it, tear it down, build it again) It is time well spent playing around in sketch up now.

I would highly recommend high windows. You get to keep the wall space for benches and machines but still get the natural light.

I'll be following along. Good luck!

Cheers, Chris

 

[jbrentd]

50+/- is about right (depending on the labor market). It's the changes mid stream that will kill ya. The cost triples normally (build it, tear it down, build it again) It is time well spent playing around in sketch up now.

I would highly recommend high windows. You get to keep the wall space for benches and machines but still get the natural light.

I'll be following along. Good luck!

Cheers, Chris

Thanks for the feedback. I hear you on the change orders. Will try to get it right the first time.

I took a trip out to my mom's house to take a look at my stepdad's new barn. He recommended windows that open, not only for the natural lighting, but all to get some cross-flow (south to north in my case) ventilation. Taking it all in as we move into the stage of drawing up detailed plans and hard bids.

And with the stock market doing what it's doing , I may need to scale back a bit to a more unfinished interior.

 

[jbmatth]

What about pushing the stairs into the patio area so only the last few are in the garage then when you turn you are over the patio? I know area under stairs is usually wasted depending on what you can hide under them. Air compressor, tool boxes, and storage closets are about the best use for that space from what I've seen. Also I'm not too far away from you and have a brother that lives in Skiatook. Hopefully you are still able to move forward with this project.
JB

 

[christopher7390]

I wouldnt mind taking your audi =D