I agree. It’s not like the OP’s question is “My jack stands failed and I’m pinned under the axle of my car. What should I do...?”
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Who lives in their garage...literally?
- Thread starter Mootz
- Start date
I agree. It’s not like the OP’s question is “My jack stands failed and I’m pinned under the axle of my car. What should I do...?”
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Bodj Built
Well-known member
I don't care much about this thread being old, but it popped up at a perfect time for me. I bought a quarter of an acre in my hometown and plan to build on it, as there are no homes for sale under $500k. I hate California. Anyways, I got the lot for $90k, and I would like to drop a prefab on it, and stick build a large, attached, garage/shop. Doing so is out of my budget right now, and I've been toying with the idea of building the large 3 car shop first. The one car side will have a vaulted ceiling so I can put a lift in it, and the 2 car will have the second floor apartment. Then build the home a couple years later.
I still need to go to the city and see what's allowed, what would be involved with the addition of the full house, if I should build the shop as a mezzanine, then close it in after inspection, or go all out and do proper permits, etc. I don't have natural gas hookups on the lot, so it'll be propane, but I'm fine with using an electric stove and small electric heater (won't need to use it much), so I don't have to worry about pulling gas to the apartment section...
Thoughts?
Edit: I am 27 and single.
I still need to go to the city and see what's allowed, what would be involved with the addition of the full house, if I should build the shop as a mezzanine, then close it in after inspection, or go all out and do proper permits, etc. I don't have natural gas hookups on the lot, so it'll be propane, but I'm fine with using an electric stove and small electric heater (won't need to use it much), so I don't have to worry about pulling gas to the apartment section...
Thoughts?
Edit: I am 27 and single.
PassnThru
Well-known member
I'm not seeing how you can build a 'large' detached garage on a quarter acre in any state and then add a house later. It isn't just California - that's a challenge in other states also.
BajaScout
Well-known member
My 18 year old daughter lives in the suite above my garage. 1200 square feet, 2 bedroom , 4 piece bath, laundry room, open concept, vaulted ceilings.
That is an awesome garage!
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Very nice upstairs suite, I'm in the process of buying 4 acres with a 40'x80' shop and I'll probably live there for a bit until I get things settled.
PassnThru
Well-known member
My 18 year old daughter lives in the suite above my garage. 1200 square feet, 2 bedroom , 4 piece bath, laundry room, open concept, vaulted ceilings.
In California - on a quarter acre right?
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colt zantop
Well-known member
My 18 year old daughter lives in the suite above my garage. 1200 square feet, 2 bedroom , 4 piece bath, laundry room, open concept, vaulted ceilings.
We need interior pics of the garage. Looks awesome!
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Chaz
Well-known member
Bodj Built
Well-known member
Not "large" as in huge garage. "Large" as in oversized 3 car. This is all new to me, and I have little guidance, so forgive me if I'm ignorant on the subject.
ChevyEFI
Well-known member
I would too. You don't mind if I use the air, and section off a paint booth downstairs do you ? Oh and put in a work bench for transmission work.
Keep reading, and keep asking questions of your city. Nothing wrong with questions.
dkmc
Well-known member
5 acres here, with walking trail, stream out back, NO neighbors, and yet 3 miles from 2 malls, grocery stores, Harbor Freight, etc. We feel lucky!
Not nearly as 'homey' as what's shown here, but I've been doing it for 12 years, and with GF for the last 4 of those years. We are both happy with this unconventional life style. And I've met a few guys that are down right jealous when the see the whole picture. Others don't get it, and probably think we're weird. Who cares! It works very well for us. I actually don't have any desire to go back to living in a separate house at this point. Did I mention NO neighbors??
It's zoned industrial and there's nothing to stop me from running any engine, diesel compressor, or machine tool at any hour of the night. The highway is fairly close, and any noise I make compares to the traffic. But the trees act as a buffer so it's not the least annoying to us.
Not nearly as 'homey' as what's shown here, but I've been doing it for 12 years, and with GF for the last 4 of those years. We are both happy with this unconventional life style. And I've met a few guys that are down right jealous when the see the whole picture. Others don't get it, and probably think we're weird. Who cares! It works very well for us. I actually don't have any desire to go back to living in a separate house at this point. Did I mention NO neighbors??
It's zoned industrial and there's nothing to stop me from running any engine, diesel compressor, or machine tool at any hour of the night. The highway is fairly close, and any noise I make compares to the traffic. But the trees act as a buffer so it's not the least annoying to us.
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Falcon67
Well-known member
These threads pop up once in a while LOL. "barndominium" style housing. Not unusual here. Only downside I've seen is that they are a hard sell. Buyers with the right need and attitude not near as numerous as the "I like the carpet and the two sinks in the master bath" crowd. If it works for you and you can afford it, just do it - then talk about it.
Lucky13driver
Well-known member
Sounds like a great idea to me. Heck if you live in it for say 6-8 years you could possibly save enough to pay cash to have the house built and NO mortgage. Having no mortgage has opened up so many doors for my wife and I we plan on retiring early now.
jjtrou2072
Well-known member
Wife and I built then moved into a 40X50 garage about a year ago with an 800sqft apartment built into one end. Goal being to do a pool then house on the property over the next several years.
Thought process was pay cash as you go then get a mortgage on the house (Final Phase) so that once the house is done we have everything we wanted in a home i.e. shop/pool/in-law suite etc. I knew that getting a mortgage first would make it very hard to get the other things we wanted.
Only problem is that like others mentioned, the longer we live in the building the more I don't want to go into debt for a house. It makes you realize what you really need in life is usually a lot less than 4000+sq ft of living space...….. YMMV
Thought process was pay cash as you go then get a mortgage on the house (Final Phase) so that once the house is done we have everything we wanted in a home i.e. shop/pool/in-law suite etc. I knew that getting a mortgage first would make it very hard to get the other things we wanted.
Only problem is that like others mentioned, the longer we live in the building the more I don't want to go into debt for a house. It makes you realize what you really need in life is usually a lot less than 4000+sq ft of living space...….. YMMV
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sberry
Banned
Its so convenient. Before cell phones it made it easty to check messages, all the stuff in one spot, could come in and make a pass to get anything important.
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
I've had this same thought many times. You know, I've even heard of one well known celebrity that bought an old firehouse to live in....and it was basically a garage with living quarters over the top.
Not sure what he was using the pole for....but that's likely a story for a different type of forum.
Anyway....personally, when I built my garage addition to our old house, it did include significant living space in the second floor.
Using engineered trusses, we were able to get a living space of roughly half the square footage of the garage itself inside the trusses PLUS additional space where we used 3 dormers. The truss design allowed for the dormers to be 4-wide. We put dormers on the front only, but they could go front and back.
The hardest part of our addition was figuring out a way to get the stairs into the bonus room to start in the connected house. My first potential builder insisted access to the bonus room would have to be from the garage itself. My second builder pushed back for a while and only figured out how to do what I wanted when I wouldn't budge. So, if you want to continue to use this space as part of your house when it is built, you'd actually have to think seriously about how the house will be designed before you start on the garage to make the stairs work down the road.
In my case...stairs to the bonus room start in a breezeway in the house go through the "wall" of the garage where there is a landing, turn 90-degrees and go on up into the bonus room. If you did the same thing with a standalone garage, your bonus room entry would likely end up being from a temporary porch 90-degrees away from your overhead doors.
Anyway...you can make that bonus room as nice as you want. We use ours as our main family room/gathering room. It also has a full bath (shower only) and a wet bar with fridge. It's a nice space. With the dormers on the front, windows on either end, and skylights in the sloped portion of the ceiling off the back...it's kind of like a tree house. The garage ceiling is 13-feet...so by the time you climb through the trusses...you're 14 feet off the ground up there.
Good luck with your project/dream. It can be done.
Phil
Not sure what he was using the pole for....but that's likely a story for a different type of forum.
Anyway....personally, when I built my garage addition to our old house, it did include significant living space in the second floor.
Using engineered trusses, we were able to get a living space of roughly half the square footage of the garage itself inside the trusses PLUS additional space where we used 3 dormers. The truss design allowed for the dormers to be 4-wide. We put dormers on the front only, but they could go front and back.
The hardest part of our addition was figuring out a way to get the stairs into the bonus room to start in the connected house. My first potential builder insisted access to the bonus room would have to be from the garage itself. My second builder pushed back for a while and only figured out how to do what I wanted when I wouldn't budge. So, if you want to continue to use this space as part of your house when it is built, you'd actually have to think seriously about how the house will be designed before you start on the garage to make the stairs work down the road.
In my case...stairs to the bonus room start in a breezeway in the house go through the "wall" of the garage where there is a landing, turn 90-degrees and go on up into the bonus room. If you did the same thing with a standalone garage, your bonus room entry would likely end up being from a temporary porch 90-degrees away from your overhead doors.
Anyway...you can make that bonus room as nice as you want. We use ours as our main family room/gathering room. It also has a full bath (shower only) and a wet bar with fridge. It's a nice space. With the dormers on the front, windows on either end, and skylights in the sloped portion of the ceiling off the back...it's kind of like a tree house. The garage ceiling is 13-feet...so by the time you climb through the trusses...you're 14 feet off the ground up there.
Good luck with your project/dream. It can be done.
Phil
danfromsyr
Well-known member
as I consider adding a garage on to my barn/shop, I was wondering what to do with all that space when I'm old/retired and maybe poorer..
pondering the conversion possibilities..
I do already have a 3rd floor storage loft that my brother lived in for a while.. but thinking down the road 3 flights of stairs won't be as attractive.
I could build in a elevator.. it was a hay loft at one time..
/thread bump.
pondering the conversion possibilities..
I do already have a 3rd floor storage loft that my brother lived in for a while.. but thinking down the road 3 flights of stairs won't be as attractive.
I could build in a elevator.. it was a hay loft at one time..
/thread bump.
66Caprice
Well-known member
That or a stairway lift chair. There are some very reasonably priced ones out there.
Slednut
Well-known member
Very, Very Nice. What do you do with it? Impressive!!!!!
Slednut
Well-known member
dcg9381
Well-known member
I'll be living in ours (40x60) early next year. We've essentially built a "living room" with a kitchen and washer dryer. Instant hot water, HVAC. Going "*********" in that we've a chemical toilet for a while and we're using the gray water from the kitchen for irrigation. It's only about 500 sqft of living space.
Actual sleeping will be in an RV in or next to the building.
Had to do it this way to avoid having to pay for living in a residence while building a house...
Not fancy, but functional.
Actual sleeping will be in an RV in or next to the building.
Had to do it this way to avoid having to pay for living in a residence while building a house...
Not fancy, but functional.
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Wife and I built a pole barn house, big garage and 1000 sqft living area. With 10 ft ceilings it feels very spacious. We like it so much we decided to not build the house we had planned for the future, and instead we will add a bedroom and a second bath when the kid is older.
Pictures ?
dkmc
Well-known member
What you have there looks real nice.
dcg9381
Well-known member
Thanks.. First kitchen. There are some really spectacular spaces on this forum and great ideas. If I had my way, I'd live in this building full time and not have a house..
dkmc
Well-known member
Been living upstairs at the shop for 13 years. Like it, no interest in living in a house at this point. Our commute to work is 15 steps total. We chuckle about it on icy-snowy mornings.
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dcg9381
Well-known member
I'll post this up too - this is our solution for a water source. It's purified by a first flush system, traditional media filters, then UV and reverse osmosis for drinking. But in terms of water, it's totally off grid:
I'll try and get some this weekend, working midnight's is killing my free time
scooterbum46
Well-known member
I wonder what the OP and wife decided on... How 'bout it Mootz, didja build it?
HotrodHR
Well-known member
Need pics of these shops/living quarters you all describing...
Shiftless
Well-known member
kj_mustang
Well-known member
Click on my build thread signature
