Just bought a small acreage - new garage

[jsbowen]

Guys,

I have hopes and dreams for this little 5.3 acre acreage I bought which is litterally right across the street from my home. It has a small 31 X 48 outbuilding on it now that is in need of some significant repair, and I have decided to tear it down and replace it with a 40 X 48 foot outbuilding, or I might be able to stretch this to be 40 X 60 foot with a lot more concrete added.

I’d like to make something nice of this and I have a few exotic cars to store. What I don’t know is how much can you really fit in a space that size? Is it enough space for 4 or 5 cars plus a “man cave” of sorts? I.e. couches, TV, poker table, wet bar, etc? Or am I lucky to get 6 cars in there even without a hangout area?

Has anyone done a pretty good job around here with incorporating man cave stuff and car storage in just a 40 X 60 foot space or even 40 X 48? I’m clicking through a lot of pictures, but not finding the best way to search for examples on this site for it.

Quick pick of one of my cars in the current space, still in the planning phases of the project, but I love the look of a nice car in a barn.

Thank you very much,

JB

 

[jsbowen]

Looks like I need to make a few posts before I can post a picture for you.

 

[Bighead38]

Looks like I need to make a few posts before I can post a picture for you.

Pm me a pic I’ll post it for you

 

[jsbowen]

Here we go! Shoot, doesn’t seem to want to display a Flickr link.

 

[MileHighRover]

Run a tape measurer around each of your cars to determine the square footage of each of them (allow for room to walk around them if needed). Then you'll know how much room you need for your cars. Then decide how big you want your man cave.

 

[jsbowen]

Run a tape measurer around each of your cars to determine the square footage of each of them (allow for room to walk around them if needed). Then you'll know how much room you need for your cars. Then decide how big you want your man cave.

Thank you, I do get that part of it. I’m more searching for examples of what others have done with relatively small space while still trying to create a unique man-cave sort of experience.

 

[Bighead38]

Not sure what pic you wanted but cool car.

 

[jsbowen]

Thanks. That’s one of the ones I’m building a home for. I’m going to try and keep a rustic theme, I think it’s a nice contrast to cars.

 

[sberry]

The cost of the building compared to the cars can be moot. 40 wide is good for 2 if you want to use any space along the walls whish is some of the most valuable real estate in the building. My neighbor just did 56x60, it's pretty respectable. Could park 4 wide without banging doors easy. When you get close to 50 it really gets the usable space factor up. 60 long is good, can get stuff in one end and get 2 end to end when needed but wide is so good as it let's them get moved in and out etc.

 

[dcg9381]

I have a 60x40. It has two large doors on one end and one large door at the other. These are 14' doors designed so I can drive an RV through there if I want to.
I have a bunch of $@$$ in there, but suffice to say, 60' is long enough for 3 cars with space end to end. So 60x40 will take 6 average sized cars in terms of length, with space in between.

If you mount the doors on the long side, you can probably get more cars in / out.

You need to think about how you are going to use it. If you stack them end to end, with doors on the 40' side, you've got a car stuck in the middle.


There are some pretty good "house builder" programs for floor plans online that include basic "block" like "car" or "couch" so that you can visually see how things fit.

I'd recommend non-roll up doors, plan on some insulation, and we've HVAC'd our "man cave" area - but really the whole thing is heated/cooled. It's not that much more expensive to build a high-ceiling one - our eve height is 16". You need 12' doors for most "normal" RVs and 14' doors for larger.
Put conduit in the slab to accommodate water (kitchen) and electrical runs that might need to otherwise cross the shop.


I've got neighbors building these setups too - many of us (including myself) prefer these to our homes.

 

[rjacobs]

If you go at least 12' walls you can use 4 post stackers. If flat storing cars I plan on 10x20 each personally. That doesnt account for anything longer obviously.

In a 40' wide space, that was going to be dedicated to storing cars, I would put a Bendpak PL 6KT triple cable hoist in and be good for 6 cars. Bendpak says the lift itself is 25' wide and 20 feet deep(10'4" tall roughly). I would give it 30 wide personally(2.5' on each side). That would leave you 10 feet on the side for whatever you wanted. I would probably do a 10x48 conditioned space. That then leaves you 30x28 for more car storage, maintenance, etc...

You can always add another cable lift in that 30x28. That would give you 12 cars worth of storage.

 

[Falcon67]

You should be able to find plenty in the Garage Gallery section. Use the INDEX sticky. 4~5 cars, I'm in the dual 4 post storage and maybe a single 2 post for work in progress. Most "intermediates" are in the 16' long range while pickups are in the 20'. So some of it depends on the car types. You can get two cars in a 21~22' wide space and still get in one and move it.

 

[Stuart in MN]

As an example, my garage is 24 feet deep by 40 feet wide and it comfortably holds four cars side by side. I've actually squeezed five cars in there in a pinch, but they were pushed together with only inches to spare so that's not recommended.


Measure your cars, then sit down with a piece of paper and do some sketching. You can even cut out little paper outlines of each car, and then shuffle them around on the page to see how they fit inside different building dimensions.


Personally, I think if you're able to build a 40 x 60 building it will have plenty of room for your cars along with the hangout area.

 

[rieferman]

(side note... "small acreage" = 5.3 acres??? My tiny property is feeling quite inadequate now!)

 

[GTO]

Nice car.
Make sure you hide that car when a contractor comes to quote your job...lol
Good luck