Garage in the Woods

[ag_streak]

Hey gang, I joined this forum back in 2012 or so when I was planning on building a garage attached to my house in St. Pete, FL. Since then, a lot has changed.

I got happily divorced, met the new love of my life, and bought a peaceful little cabin in the foothills of the Appalachians in North Georgia. After driving 8+ hours each way to visit every month or so, we decided to quit our jobs and move up to paradise full-time!



We moved from the city to this!





The little cabin is a modest 1,000 sq. feet and the lot is only 2/3 of an acre, but we’re surrounded by national forest service land, so no one can ever build near us. There was just one problem… no garage, and no flat surface to put one on! The entire lot is wooded and steeply sloped.

The solution was to hire a local earthmover to clear the necessary trees and build us a new driveway branching off from the existing one, and wide enough for a garage.





















I thought that we were done, but mother nature had other ideas. A crapload of rain last fall made some of the fill dirt settle, which changed the runoff pattern, which created some good size canyons. My earth mover had to come back and spend another day and another $800 bucks in materials making it right. We installed 2 active drains and the main building site now sat on about 12” of #57 gravel, providing excellent drainage.







Finally, the site was ready to start building!

 

[ag_streak]

Originally, the plan was to build a finished second-story on top of a 22’ x 22’ footprint. The cabin only has one bathroom, so we envisioned a guest cottage above the garage. But the price was going to approach $60,000, so we decided on a more modest garage now, and maybe sink some money into the cabin next year.

So the design morphed into a single-story garage on a 22’ x 24’ slab with an 8’ “extension” framed out over the slope of the site resting on 6”x6” PT posts on footers, and along one of the 24’ sides. I laid it out in drawings and my builder asked all the right questions to get the details (no blueprints!). This is what I provided him.



That drawing shows the 22’ front of the monolithic footer/slab, and 8’ of framed extension on the left, “overhanging” the slope. The wall on the left side of the slab is load-bearing, and built with headers over wide, 6’ openings. So I’ll have some posts in the “middle” of my garage space.

Finally, the day came to break ground and get the slab started. Here are the guys laying out the forms.



It looks square, but it’s actually 22’ x 24’.



The near side in the picture is on rock-hard Georgia clay, but the far side is on fill, so they dug vertically in several places around the perimeter, and added steel in half the slab. Both of those were done as “overkill” as a precaution, and not required by code.



The ground was sprayed for termite control and a vapor barrier added.









Ready to pour.













Outlining the garage door opening.



Getting a nice finish.





Cutting the expansion joints.





Mia supervising.



Here, the 4’ apron is excavated and framed out, and the French drain is being installed.





The French drain is attached to a 4” flex pipe which drains down the slope.







Done!

 

[ag_streak]

The slab set up for a few days, and the delivery of the framing materials gave me time for a quick coat of concrete sealant.









The framing begins.







The walls are 10’.



I was very impressed with the precision of my framer, Adam. He compensated for the foundation being off a quarter inch over 24 feet!





Three walls up by lunch.



The side of the slab is exposed here because we have to lag a PT cleat to attach the 8’ floor joists under the extension. I shoveled it out while the crew worked.



This weight-bearing wall is on the edge of the slab. The columns will be in the “middle” of the garage space. The headers span 6’ openings. The main roof rests on this wall, as well as the shed roof over the extension.







This was how it looked after the first day.



The next day work continued with the sheathing. This is an OSB product called Zip that has a waterproof coating on one side. With it, you don’t need house wrap (Tyvek) or tar paper on the roof.







To prepare for the stick-built roof, the side walls were heavily braced.



The laminated ridge beam was set in place on temporary supports.







Everything is looking very straight and true.





The prep for the framed extension begins by laying out where the footers go.





This is the PT cleat/plate lagged to the slab. We threw some tar paper behind and below it to limit the ground moisture.



And here’s the extension, 8’ x 24’, which will be tiled.





And that’s how it stands today. I’ll post more pictures as progress dictates.

 

[anth]

I love the idea of moving out to the woods, and with a new garage you'll never want/need to leave. Nice whippets, too, I have one myself, best dogs!

 

[theoldwizard1]

The little cabin is a modest 1,000 sq. feet and the lot is only 2/3 of an acre, but we’re surrounded by national forest service land, so no one can ever build near us.

How did you wind up with a lot wirg 3 side being federal land ?

 

[theoldwizard1]

So the design morphed into a single-story garage on a 22’ x 24’ slab with an 8’ “extension” framed out over the slope of the site resting on 6”x6” PT posts on footers, and along one of the 24’ sides.
The ground was sprayed for termite control and a vapor barrio added.

How deep are those footings ?

 

[Bib Overalls]

Very, very cool. Did you consider building a retaining wall and using it as part of the "back" wall?

 

[ag_streak]

I love the idea of moving out to the woods, and with a new garage you'll never want/need to leave. Nice whippets, too, I have one myself, best dogs!

OMG, someone who knows the diff between a whippet and a greyhound! Thanks!

 

[ag_streak]

How did you wind up with a lot wirg 3 side being federal land ?

Well, we looked for places for months. I made 4 trips from Florida to GA to look at cabins for sale, and my girlfriend made 2. We really liked one place, beautiful but 45 minutes from the town of Blue Ridge. Then, we put in an offer on another place nearby, but the sellers took another offer.

Then we saw this place and fell in love with the view from the screened porch. Nothing but woods, and there's no visible property line, so it's like the national forest land is "yours". We're about a 1/2 mile hike to the (undeveloped) shore of Blue Ridge Lake. We're only 10 minutes from town, but you feel like you're far away, if you know what I mean...

 

[ag_streak]

How deep are those footings ?

They vary. The dirt that was excavated out of the hill and the 6 trucks (18 tons each) of fill dirt brought in were used to widen the flat area. It settled pretty well over a year, but was still softer than the original hill.

The depth to the original slope under the site varies the further out from the hill. So the footings were dug down until they hit the original, hard earth. The deepest are on the far edge, and are about 4-5 feet, and on the front and back of the slab, the shallowest are about 18 inches.

 

[ag_streak]

Very, very cool. Did you consider building a retaining wall and using it as part of the "back" wall?

Yes, we considered it, and also running a couple tiers of blocks the whole perimeter under the framed walls. The concrete slab guy recommended it, but the framer and the earth moving guy recommended against it. The Georgia clay is hard as rock and there's very, very little erosion on a wall of dirt like that. I threw some grass seed around, but only a little took. I'm going to tack up some landscaping cloth and plaster the wall with some plants to minimize erosion.

 

[jwhcars]

Nice cabin & it looks like your garage is coming along now nicely.

 

[LXCam]

What a great place you're building. This will be fun to watch and the best of luck to you and the new squeeze. What are your plans for stairs down to the garage?.

 

[sublime68charger]

Nice build you have going and place in the woods you have!

 

[GDPossehl]

Great build. Who were your contractors? My dad lives up in Talking Rock just south of you and is wanting to build a garage sometime in the near future.

. I threw some grass seed around, but only a little took. I'm going to tack up some landscaping cloth and plaster the wall with some plants to minimize erosion.

How much sun does that get? It looks fairly shaded considering the tree cover. Are you thinking ostrich ferns? They fill in slowly and should be good green cover peaking out from the leaves that'll eventually cover the dirt. You could probably pick a bunch out from the woods surrounding your property too.

 

[ag_streak]

What a great place you're building. This will be fun to watch and the best of luck to you and the new squeeze. What are your plans for stairs down to the garage?.

In this picture of the back of the garage, you can see it's framed for a 6-0 double door. On the flat area, I plan to build a shed-roofed deck the whole width of the slab, and probably 8 feet out. Coming off that will be a wood stairs and pathway leading to the porch door of the cabin.



Thanks very much LXCam, jwhcars, and sublime68charger for the kind words! I lived in Florida for 25 years, and coming up here to the mountains to ride motorcycles for almost as long. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to move up here, and the stars finally aligned! We couldn't be happier.

 

[Mike.ASC]

That looks awesome especially the location.

 

[ag_streak]

Great build. Who were your contractors? My dad lives up in Talking Rock just south of you and is wanting to build a garage sometime in the near future.

How much sun does that get? It looks fairly shaded considering the tree cover. Are you thinking ostrich ferns? They fill in slowly and should be good green cover peaking out from the leaves that'll eventually cover the dirt. You could probably pick a bunch out from the woods surrounding your property too.

The builder is a guy who lives and works as a fireman in Suches. He used to be a full-time GC with several crews, but now only works with a couple of assistants, all of which are firemen, too! If you want his name and number, send me a PM.

He was referred to me by a neighbor who moved from Suches to my neighborhood. He built TWO garages for my neighbor. One in Suches and the one here. The one here is beautiful. My neighbor says the one in Suches was 30' x 40'.

That's a great tip about the ostrich ferns! Thank you! Yes, that slope is very shady...

 

[west_perf]

Very nice, we have the same long term plans.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I threw some grass seed around, but only a little took. I'm going to tack up some landscaping cloth and plaster the wall with some plants to minimize erosion.

Make sure the plants like shade.

 

[ponder85]

Looks like you're doing well:
Two good lookin' dogs, nice cabin in the woods, pretty wife, and a new garage.
Congrats!

 

[HSpencer]

Paradise is what you have well enough!! The home, woods, new garage is sure enough full paradise. Love the entire set up!!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[ag_streak]

Thanks for all the kind words! I truly appreciate it!

 

[ag_streak]

The last few days were a deluge of rain, but it stopped last night and this morning dawned dry and chilly (34 degrees). The guys got back to work framing the wood “extension”.





This is how it was framed.



First they framed the far wall, which will have 4 windows facing the forest.



Then the side walls, with one window each, and the rafters.







And most of the roof sheathing went on today.



Looking good so far. One more day of framing and sheathing, and it’ll be ready for the windows and metal roofing.

 

[GDPossehl]

Do you plan to insulate under the extension? I know you plan to tile which is less porous, but it'll still get cold.

Tigerfoam comes to mind.

 

[ag_streak]

Do you plan to insulate under the extension? I know you plan to tile which is less porous, but it'll still get cold.

Tigerfoam comes to mind.

Great point! I hadn't thought of it. Thank you!

 

[OCD]

Nice garage build!! Looks solid!!

 

[dynahoe]

very cool, congrats on the new life

 

[saabman]

Very nice build. I like the idea of the overhanging portion.

 

[ag_streak]

Today we hoped to finish the sheathing but there’s some left to do. This is how it looked last night.



Today the gable ends got framed in and sheathed.





And the windows of the extension were framed in. After looking at the height, though, I’m thinking of going from 5’ high windows to 3’ windows, to allow space below for a workbench and floor cabinets. It's going to provide a great view!



On a sad note…

As I mentioned, the GC is a fireman, and so is his main framing helper. They're partners, on the same shifts/crew. The night before last, they retrieved a 9 year old boy from a burning residence who died at the scene.

Makes most daily struggles seem a little pathetic…

 

[Sunbimmer]

I think you're living and building the dream soooo jealous

 

[Nighttrain]

Really nice shop. Sorry to hear of the news with your GC. I fly EMS helicopters and every once in a while we have a pretty sad day with kids. It is never is easy and just tears the heck out of your heart.

Your GC is doing outstanding work and maintains a clean site. I Hope him the best.

 

[theoldwizard1]

First they framed the far wall, which will have 4 windows facing the forest.

I understand that it can get pretty chilly up there on northern GA, but I would have wanted more of a 3 season, screen porch with half walls. Maybe removeable windows.

We rented an old cottage on a lake a couple of times and the screen porch was the best feature. Had all our meals out there. Porch swing, rustic furniture and a great view.


To each his own. How are you going to heat that area, or not ? A tiny wood stove wood be cool.

 

[ag_streak]

I understand that it can get pretty chilly up there on northern GA, but I would have wanted more of a 3 season, screen porch with half walls. Maybe removeable windows.

We rented an old cottage on a lake a couple of times and the screen porch was the best feature. Had all our meals out there. Porch swing, rustic furniture and a great view.


To each his own. How are you going to heat that area, or not ? A tiny wood stove wood be cool.

26 degrees this morning, and only mid-December!

Well, we have a screened porch with a great view on the cabin, so the "extension" in the garage was definitely intended for more interior space.

I am debating how to heat it and would love any suggestions. (it will be insulated and probably sheet-rocked)

What kinds of systems will allow a fast response? In other words, what are the options for leaving it cold most of the time, and heating it quickly when I want to hang out there?

For example, a pellet stove, wood stove, or kerosene heater might warm it up eventually, but would take an hour or two before you'd even feel the difference. A propane worksite heater would probably blast the temps up in minutes, but is a fuel hog.

By the way, I'll have 60 amps of AC, but no fuel source, unless I spring for a propane tank, which I haven't looked into yet. There's no NG in the neighborhood.

Again, and suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

 

[theoldwizard1]

By the way, I'll have 60 amps of AC, but no fuel source, unless I spring for a propane tank, which I haven't looked into yet.

Electric resistance heat (baseboard) is cheap and easy to install, but expensive to operate.

Check into a mini-split heat pump. Make sure it can run at near 100% efficiency down to 5-10F. Small one don't draw that much current and you will have air conditioning for free, not that you will need it often.

 

[ag_streak]

Monday saw the sheathing finished.





And I decided to go with 3’x’3 windows instead of 3’x5’ so the openings were re-framed smaller.



And the nailers for the metal roofing were installed.



Yesterday, I got to work on pre-staining some of the siding that was just delivered.





And that’s where it stands today. Tomorrow begins the siding, roof, and/or windows.

I had a guy out from the gas company (propane) yesterday. He suggested two 30,000 BTU wall-mounted ventless units. About $750 for the units. I’m waiting on the proposal to be e-mailed to get the total install cost of the units, copper lines, and a small, 125 gallon tank.

 

[ag_streak]

The metal roof went on today.

 

[ag_streak]

A good amount of progress has been made over the last few days. The two man-doors and a few of the windows are in. The soffits and fascia are 90% done. I’m really happy with the quality.



And finally the siding is getting started. I decided to go with board-on-board instead of board and batten. I got the first coat of stain on most of the siding before it went up. After it’s finished, I’ll caulk all the seams and lay the second coat of stain.



The siding is very tedious and takes a lot of measuring and cutting. Again, the quality Adam works to is incredible.

The vents in the gables are wood and didn’t get any stain yet.

 

[General Lee]

Very very nice. Thanks for sharing.

How exactly is board on board siding done?

 

[ag_streak]

The 1x12 boards that are flush to the sheathing are 10" apart, and another 1x12 is placed between them, with 1" overlap on each side, so there's a hollow space behind every other board. The space at the bottom is sealed with a strip to prevent critters from crawling up.

I hope that helps! Kind of hard to explain!