Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The Mary Kay Garage

[pickles]

Hey guys.

Long time lerker and very infrequent poster here. I've been using this forum for years to mentally design my dream garage and I am finally able to start that project. I am calling this the Mary Kay Garage for reasons that I will make clear in a subsequent post.

Mine will not be a huge garage however as I live in the City of Chicago and my project has to fit on a standard size Chicago lot of 25 feet in width and 125 feet in length. The new garage will be a brick garage roughly 23 feet wide and 20 feet deep with a bump out making half the garage 4 feet deeper. The garage will also have a roof deck on top. Space is such a premium in the city that we want to get all the outdoor space that we can. The garage will replace a smaller wooden structure that is probably structurally sound but that definitely has some cosmetic issues. The drawing below will show the layout of the garage on our lot and its relation to our 125 year old two story graystone house.

I'll explain some of our parameters which lead to the design above.

Garage needs to fit on our city sized 25 by 125 lot. This should be pretty obvious. While I very definitely enjoy city living (we live in the Lakeview neighborhood near Wrigley Field in Chicago) being a car guy in the city involves compromises - the biggest of which is that space is very expensive. Basically I am building the biggest garage I can while still leaving space in our lot for the house and a small yard.

Garage needs to accommodate at least one project car and the tools to work on it. Its going to be tight but I am planning on putting a workbench, some storage, the typical mechanical tools, some sort of welding table and a two post lift in the space.

Garage also needs to be able to park one daily driver. My wife and I have two dailies and I really wish we could fit both of them but a three car garage is just not going to fit. That said we need to still park one of our cars on a nightly basis. Our neighborhood gets pretty crowded especially when there are Cubs games or on Friday or Saturday nights when people come in to the city to have dinner or go to bars. Most of the time its easy enough to park on the street in front of our house but we want to have at least one space in the garage so that if we are out for dinner on a Friday night that we have a place to park without the hassle of looking for a spot when the streets are crowded. Plus I want to keep my car in a garage out of the elements and safe from any passers by.

We want to maximize the outside space we have. We have designed a garage with a large wooden roof top deck. There will also be a small yard between the back of the house and the garage but the roof deck will dramatically increase the amount of outdoor space we have in the back of our house.

I'm a somewhat serious woodworker. However the garage does not need to accommodate any of my woodworking hobby. I have a small but fairly well equipped 13 by 16 foot space in our basement for wood working. That will continue to be my woodworking space. One benefit of the new garage however will be that I can move some stuff out of the basement workshop into the garage and free up some much needed space there.

Design of the garage needs to match that of our house. Our house is a two story Chicago Graystone. This was a style fairly common in the area when it was originally developed after the Chicago fire 130 years ago. Originally it was a two flat with a family living on each floor. We purchased the house more than 10 years ago and did a major remodel - converting it into a single family home and making a fairly modern addition to the back while leaving the front of the house pretty much as it was originally built. The garage needs to match that semi- modern but also old vibe of the house.

I'll post a couple of more architectural drawings in a moment. I'll also take some photos of the workshop and post them up too (but only after I clean it up a bit).

Construction of the garage is going to start in 2 or 3 weeks hopefully. I already have my building permit. It took me 9 months to get that building permit but that's another story. My builder says he can get the garage done in 2 or 3 months. I'm doubtful but we will see. I will try to keep posting some construction pictures once the old garage is torn down and construction starts.

Thanks. Pic

 

[pickles]

As promised here are some more detailed garage architectural plans.

The drawing above shows the basic foot print of the garage. Basically its 23 feet wide and 20 feet deep minimum with one bay having a three foot deep bump out. The garage has a roof top deck and the wall facing the house will have a iron staircase so that we can access the garage from the back yard. The bump out will be located under a portion of the stairs to the deck.



The drawing above shows that bump out under the stairs a little clearer. The garage will be brick on all four sides (the drawings says that one wall is concrete block but that has been since changed). The bump out will be hardiboard to match the addition that we put on the back of our house a few years ago. I also wanted a window in the bump out for both light and ventilation. The garage will be accessed from the alley at the back of our lot.

 

[Lou's Garage]

Very thorough, but living in a major city I'd guess you would have to be. I'm surprised they will allow new construction so close to the lot line even though your lot is only 25' wide.

Lou Manglass

 

[captain14]

I’m interested in this garage build. Looking to see how the roof deck works out and being leak free. Sounds like space will be pretty tight with two cars inside and being able to work on them.

Any plans for heat during the winter?

 

[rmckee]

Looks like it'll shape up to be a great build. I lived in Boston for years and spent forever looking for a place with a garage. Finally found a house on a hill with a lower level garage that was 18x18... you take what you can get with city restrictions and a 120 year old house!

 

[ToolPolisher]

Checking in and following from Jefferson Park. I moved out of Wrigleyville years ago and although I miss being able to walk to absolutely evertyhing, I had outgrown that small subculture of the city.

I am in the dreaming stages of a garage addition so I will be interested in your experiences with the permitting. Was it all through the alderman or city planning council? I've heard that Aldermanic Privilege might be on the decline but I know Chicago politics.

Good luck on the construction! I will be following this closely.

 

[pickles]

Thanks for the comments and questions guys. I'm really excited about this and its nice to have some of the guys on this forum along for the ride - as well as for the input. Regarding the setbacks and permitting process. In Chicago its the code allows you to have garages that are basically right on the lot line if they are made out of non combustible materials (basically brick or concrete block). If you can read the first drawing I posted you can actually see that parts of my house (my brick house) are also basically at a zero lot line. That is not allowed for houses anymore but for brick garages that's fine. It was my original intention to have the garage bee almost 18 inches wider than the one I am building. That is why on the drawing above the north wall of the garage was going to be concrete block. Concrete block doesn't look as nice as brick but its cheaper to build than brick and originally that wall was going to be only 4 inches from my neighbors garage. That close we figured you would not be able to see it so I wanted to save the money vs having a brick wall.

We ended up having to narrow the garage not because of setbacks but rather because I was only allowed to build 519 square foot of garage. Given the square foot limitation and the garage depth I wanted we ended up making a slightly narrower garage.

Regarding the permitting process. I think two things lead to the delays. The first was COVID. I think everything was less efficient when it had to be done remotely. Also to be honest I don't think my architect knew what he was doing. My builder recommended him and I'm happy with the end product but he just didn't seem like he had done this before. Originally we designed a garage bigger than 519 square feet. That was silly if we would not be able to build that bigger garage. Also I guess there is a requirement that houses have a 12 by 12 foot open area in the backyard. This wasn't something that he seemed to be aware of during the design process. We ended up having to ask for a variance because we have a backyard that is significantly wider than 12 feet its not 12 foot deep. I think that caused some additional delays. Anyway, we have a permit now so full steam ahead.

Regarding heat - that's a very good question. If anyone doesn't know Chicago gets both very hot and very cold over the course of the year. Also the fact that this is an urban environment makes me less willing to leave the garage door wide open for ventilation during the summer as who knows what people could see and plan to come back later to steal. I would love to do something like a Mr Cool Minisplit although I haven't researched that type of system enough to see if it would be appropriate for our Chicago climate. I do have portable air conditioner I can set up for the summer. We bought this a few years ago when we did the main remodeling to our house and temporarily lived in a nearby non air conditioned apartment. I could set that up for the summer I suppose and figure out something for the winter as well. Either way I am guessing its going to be a year or two before I spend a lot of money as this project as it is will be tough enough on my wallet.

 

[ToolPolisher]

Thanks for the response!

At this stage in the process it might be worthwhile to look into radiant floor heating. I can attest that forced hear is great in the winter but legs and knees still suffer from the cold concrete.

 

[pickles]

As promised I'm going to post up some pictures of my basement workshop. I know the forum very much likes pictures. Not much will be happening to this space. It will continue to serve as my woodshop. Eventually I will move some of the equipment that is down there to the garage (welder, chop saw, mechanics tools). Nothing else will change - except perhaps that I can buy some more woodworking tools. Nature abhors a vacuum they say.

Anyway the woodshop is an approximately 13 by 16 foot space in the basement of our house. Like most of the basements in Chicago ours is half under ground in the back of the original footprint of the house. A guess room (that is now totally full of stuff from the garage) a bathroom and a kids playroom occupy the rest of the space down there. Now that my kids are older (17 and 14) I plan to eventually convert the playroom into a small home movie theater. The kids seldom use it anymore.

Anyway the picture below shows the view as you enter the workshop from the basement hall way.

You can see my Rikon band saw to the left and the wood on the floor is a pile of hard maple that will eventually become a Roubo style workbench inspired by the one that the Wood Whisperer built a few years ago.


The picture above shows that same wall including the houses main electrical panel, a Bosch miter saw and a 3 horsepower saw stop. I recently purchased the router table extension but have not yet bought the lift. Will be doing that at some point soon.

The picture above shows that same Saw Stop table saw and also the welder and chop saw that will eventually find a home in the new garage.

Finally below shows the east wall of the workshop including the dust collector and my 10 inch Grizzly jointer planer. If you look carefully you can see a door to the far right. This leads directly outside to a gangway that goes along the side of our house and allows access both to the backyard/ garage and also to a ramp that leads to the street.

Some of you may notice my flooring. It's mostly horse stall mats from Tractor Supply. This room was originally a laundry room (I believe) that was shared between the upstairs and downstairs units when the house was originally built. The floor has a drain in the middle and is heavily slopped to that drain. As I have slowly started converting this room from a general home storage and workshop area to a more serious wood working space I ended up having to pour a couple of concrete pads under the workbench and table saw area so that I could have a flat and level place for that equipment. For the rest of the flooring I have used the horse mats. They work well on the severly sloped floor and also provide a little cushion if I am standing on it for long periods of time.

Again thanks guys. Any and all input is wanted.

Pic

 

[Toothaker]

I will be following along with great interest. You sure seem to make the most of the available space, so I'm interested in how you use the new space in your 519 square foot garage.

Your standard lots are 25' wide? and the city allows zero setbacks? I imagine the two would have to go hand in hand. And 519 square feet seems to be oddly specific. Doing the back of the envelope calculations, that's roughly 24' x 24' outside dimensions if you used CMU (concrete blocks), so I guess that makes sense.

I think you will appreciate the separation of the woodworking and the garage space. Mine is intermingled, and I've come to dislike sawdust on my cars and grease anywhere near my woodworking. Not sure how I'm going to resolve this myself, so I'm envious of your two spaces.

Remember, you still have to explain the name.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I like it. I live in the inner city so I can appreciate the space limitations, although I'm fortunate to have an extra wide lot (75ft) with a 24x40 garage. I can't quite read the height dimensions on your plan, but will the garage be tall enough to accommodate a 4 post lift? That way you could keep the project car on the lift and get both of your daily drivers inside.

 

[pickles]

The clearance below the joists is ten foot three inches.

 

[quickfarms]

Very thorough, but living in a major city I'd guess you would have to be. I'm surprised they will allow new construction so close to the lot line even though your lot is only 25' wide.

Lou Manglass

Even here in California you can build to the lot line if there are no openings in the walls and there are a few other restrictions

 

[Stuart in MN]

The clearance below the joists is ten foot three inches.

Depending on what cars you have that could work with a lift, although it may be tight. Something to think about, anyway.

 

[jblnut]

Building right up to the lot line is a totally new concept to me !! What with the restrictions on what we can do because I have an active feedlot permit I need a variance if I want to go closer than 100'

Time for a brand new C8 Corvette as a daily and a mid 70's Stingray for a project car to fit on that 4 post lift

 

[bcoke]

Chicago ......think about armored walls and bullet proof glass.............We here in vermont probably have more guns per population ratio but we don't shoot them at people ...........bobbycoke

 

[pickles]

No 70s Stingray - but that would be nice. Project car is a 1967 Pink Cadillac convertible. And yes, we call her Mary Kay. And yes that explains the name of the garage. I took the photo below this weekend after a quick wash. The car needs some work. I'm planning on getting a new top and redoing the seats after the garage is completed. I won't do the top but would like to think I could recover the seats. Paint has issues too but I don't plan on repainting it anytime soon. Maybe someday. Otherwise its in fairly solid driver condition.

The photo also shows some of the current garage. Its in poor shape - with some rotten wood here and there. But the pad is in good shape and it could brought back to shape with not too much work. But it will always be too small, too narrow and ugly. The good thing about having a crappy garage is that its not as hard to get the wife to agree to spend money on a new one.

As for the lift I already own a 2 post lift. Bought one nearly unused but ten years old from a friend. Its been sitting in storage waiting for this. A four post would be nice but a paid for lift is the best kind in my mind.

Thanks again. Pic

 

[Toothaker]

I was thinking that a pink Cadillac was involved somehow. That is an awesome car, Pickles.

 

[xtremek]

I'm not much into new builds, but your circumstances have me thoroughly intrigued. I can't imagine a 25' wide lot, or a house and garage that practically sit on the lot line. I'm in for the ride along.

 

[Geoff289]

No 70s Stingray - but that would be nice. Project car is a 1967 Pink Cadillac convertible. And yes, we call her Mary Kay. And yes that explains the name of the garage. I took the photo below this weekend after a quick wash. The car needs some work. I'm planning on getting a new top and redoing the seats after the garage is completed. I won't do the top but would like to think I could recover the seats. Paint has issues too but I don't plan on repainting it anytime soon. Maybe someday. Otherwise its in fairly solid driver condition.

Just the thing for oozing down the street, waving to the girls and then peeling out of sight.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Great project car. Good luck with the new shop.

 

[rjn2649]

Grew up at Belmont & Ashland, I do miss the restaurants. Don't miss the stress of crowds. I'll be watching this for sure...

 

[APEowner]

I'm digging the Caddy. Do you know if that's an actually Mary Kay car?

 

[HPRifleman]

This is a great example of building a workable garage within the limitations of the surroundings. These urban garage spaces are fascinating as they can really bring out the owner's creativity.

 

[Andx0r]

In to see this one take shape!

 

[pickles]

Thanks for all the comments. I assumed that people would quickly figure out that something called the Mary Kay garage had something to do with a pink Cadillac. We usually don't name our cars but this one was to good (and obvious) to pass up. To answer the question above it is not a Mary Kay car. In one of the earlier posts I said it was a 1967 - its actually a 1968. I must have been typing with fat fingers. I looked online a number of years ago and from what I was able to find out the first Mary Kay car, owned by Mary Kay herself, was not until 1969 so its definitely not a real one.

What it is however is just a fun car. I've had a few nice/ fun cars but this one gets more positive reactions by far when I drive it around than any of the others I've had combined. Who couldn't laugh at a big pink car. Below is my favorite photo of her.
That is my high school friend Ben (I am driving but out of the frame) and my daughter with his five girls. The photo is old now - the oldest two girls are going to be sophomores in college in the fall - but I think it shows the true best side of the Cadillac as a drive around town fun cruiser that doesn't take life too seriously. Thanks again. Pic

 

[ChefRex]

Best of luck brother, watching!

 

[don long]

The thread name brought me in. I bought a 1993 caddy Alliante it had a white paint job on it and not a very good one.
When my bodyshop got a little free time I put the car in for a color change to a candy red . While working on the car we found that it had originally been a pink car and a little more digging found out it was a Mary Kay car from florida.
I like a well organized garage and will be watching to see how you put 10 lbs of stuff in your 5 lb bag

 

[pickles]

Thanks Don. I’ve admired your space for years.

 

[pickles]

So this happened today. Now you see a garage.

and now you don't.
It took them all of about 15 minutes. Not surprising considering how cheaply made the old garage was.

Hopefully they will be able to get the pad torn out today too.

 

[captain14]

How old was the garage shown in a pile? I bet you can’t wait for the new one!

 

[pickles]

I’m not really sure but I would guess about thirty maybe forty years old. I only say that because it was already somewhat run down when we bought the house 14 years ago. It’s definitely not nearly as old as the house however.

 

[Toothaker]

edit because I don't always read everything: Sometimes, progress looks like you are going backwards. This is real progress, even if you don't have a garage at the moment. Congratulations.

 

[ed_v]

Chicago ......think about armored walls and bullet proof glass.............We here in vermont probably have more guns per population ratio but we don't shoot them at people ...........bobbycoke

You obviously don't know Chicago very well. I lived there most of my life. There are good parts and bad parts in every large city. The Lakeview neighborhood is a very nice area (expensive too). He has nothing to worry about. Most people in that neighborhood don't even have cars or driveways. I can't imagine having a garage there.

Ed

 

[ambenz]

I know the area, did a lot of HVAC automation for the high rises just east of you and at the High School.
I lived in Hegewisch for 25 years and I know those garages, slab cracking base and cheap materials, typical of Chicago garages.
Good to see you dozed it. It will be interesting to see what the finished product looks like.
I suppose I am more curious why you're even bothering...you really should get out of a city doomed to be the next Detroit or Gary.
I do not envy you...get a insurance umbrella and cross your fingers the gang bangers don't burn it down or tag it.
They're taking the train into the area and scoping out targets of opportunity.
I hear a lot of Gold Coasters pulled out and the city is hemorrhaging money.
It's only a matter of time you realize your tax dollars won't be going to your neighborhood.
Maybe I am wrong and I wish you all the best...will be watching.
I am sure it will be nice. Like the idea of a hi deck for lounging.
At least you will be protected up higher than ground level.

 

[TahitianGreen]

Rather than fearmongering about the state of one of America's great cities, the garage plans are exciting and the Cadillac is cool!

 

[xtremek]

That's some real progress. When are you supposed to start the actual build?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looks like you are used to working with a small space. I think this garage is going to be cool with the . . . Upper decker.

Going to be tight with the big old pink Picklellac taking up real estate but the lift will help.

As far as the welding table goes, I built one using a 2 wheel dolly with a flip up table
Pull a pin and it can be used as a dolly again. I have pics somewhere in my garage refurb thread. Or I can snap a few new ones, if you're interested.

Are you an Eastwood fan ? Clint Eastwood that is ? I think a certain movie poster would be a prime candidate to hang on the wall.

 

[rjn2649]

Upper decks are not that uncommon in new builds in Chicago. I think they can be cool.

Not a fear monger, but I would be getting an extra underground conduit for phone/data and security camera...YEAH, YEAH I know, WIFI..BUT nothing like hardwire when you can. you will be going through lots of layers of brick to use WIFI, just saying.

Just an observation, The Kubota arm seems to be touching and lifting some cables. One of the things I found in the past was that the phone and cable people seems to ignore the rules of trespass, you might want to get on them to get that **** moved.
It takes FOREVER for AT&T and Comcast to respond.
I've found phone lines running from demarcations in one building to different buildings. Like in rogers park, It was a nightmare.

So how many dollars to the mile in that Caddy today....

 

[pickles]

Hey guys. I was only at home for a short while yesterday. We had plans to go to a friends house in Michigan for the night. I took at couple of additional pictures before I left. At that time they had cleared up the debris from the garage and were just starting to tear up the slab.
This photo shows the view from the alley just before we left for Michigan. It also shows that back of our house. Like I said in a previous post the Hardiboard part of what you see was a modern addition we put on to the house a few years ago. We are going to try echo that design with the garage somewhat in that the bump out I have talked about will be in a similar style with the same Hardiboard in the same color. The photo below shows the backyard from the opposite view from inside our house. They had just started on the slab. We left the house a couple of minutes later