Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Granny's house grows a garage

[K5/TBSS]

Hey all,

My wife & recently moved to Northern Indiana and have just agreed to buy a fixer upper from a family member. It is fantastic shape, just very dated. The bad/good part for me is there is a detached 2 car garage that isn't easily accessible (out the side of the walk out basement) so my wife has graciously agreed our first move will be to add a laundry room, half bath, and attached garage. Let the games begin!

We will move in in a couple of months and I hope that construction will begin shortly after. I'm looking into contractors now but figured I'd show my thoughts & get people's opinions until then. I am a mechanical engineer by trade so design is up my alley. I've thrown together the house with the garage add on and I hope for it to look something like this.

Then I found the 3D designer on Swisstrax website and it is AWESOME!

My plans is for a clean usable space for fairly in-depth mechanic jobs & lots of car washing, but also a TV & beer drinking corner. Heated floor with Racedeck or Swisstrax, lots of lighting, and a plumbed in power washer with floor drains to keep salt off the cars. My plan is to use free-flow decking under the two cars with floor drains below them. Probably solid decking everywhere else but that's not really decided yet.

The Mustang in the picture will actually be an old Jeep, and only kept there during the summer when we actually use it. I'm not totally sold on the placement of the 2 post lift - since if it's being used, you can't fit a car behind it.

There will be a fridge, counter, sink, extra oven/stovetop along the "house" side. My toolbox & workbench will be along the back wall - and there is a walk out door to the back patio. There will be an electric wall mounted pressure washer between the two garage doors & walk out door - as that will be my "car wash" station.

Anyway - throw some rocks at this.. Am I trying to squeeze too much into too small of a space? Does the lift need to move? The house is on 1 full acre so is a completely blank canvas for what I can do - which can be harder than something you have to work around!

 

[u2slow]

If you can build bigger, I recommend it.

I was restricted to a 753sqft enclosed on my half acre. I went to high ceiling and car-port type lean-to's for more room... but it's not the same as having one unified space on one level.

I would have done about 30x40'ish otherwise. Maybe added a container or lean-to later.

 

[K5/TBSS]

I agree bigger is always better. What I'm not sure about is the cost per sq ft right now. I've read between $40-45/sq ft for stick building, concrete, lighting, insulation, is this still doable?

 

[jbrentd]

I assume that your dimensions at 30x30, currently? How big is the house that it'll be attached to? Personally, I'm not a fan of garages that are way out of proportion with the house, unless it's detached and set back a ways.

Not sure how costs for a freestanding build would compare to an add-on that is attached to the house. Also not sure how prices compare based on location. But my detached that is still in progress was just under $50/sf for the slab and basic stick built structure (24x36x10 with 12/12 roof). All of the other items like plumbing, electrical, insulation, drywall, trim, etc. add up real fast. There is GC profit in those numbers too.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Just a bit of an update here guys:

We've decided to do a side entrance garage for a slightly better look, and a less complicated driveway (A turnaround is a must for us).

We've had a couple of contractors our to review the property and hired one to do the design work. We will work back and forth with his designer so to have all the prints we need that he will need to quote the job. They will also be our prints to take to other builders to get a true apples to apples comparison.

He did sort of ball parked the whole project at $150k. That includes the following:

10x15 home addition (Laundry room, half bath, storage, kitchen pantry, coat closet)
30x30 garage that is plumbed, wired, lit, insulated, drywalled, painted & trimmed out.
Concrete as shown that is 16' wide and extends 75' to the road.

 

[K5/TBSS]

I assume that your dimensions at 30x30, currently? How big is the house that it'll be attached to? Personally, I'm not a fan of garages that are way out of proportion with the house, unless it's detached and set back a ways.

Not sure how costs for a freestanding build would compare to an add-on that is attached to the house. Also not sure how prices compare based on location. But my detached that is still in progress was just under $50/sf for the slab and basic stick built structure (24x36x10 with 12/12 roof). All of the other items like plumbing, electrical, insulation, drywall, trim, etc. add up real fast. There is GC profit in those numbers too.

Yes, shown as 30x30. My wife would not allow the garage to dwarf the garage, so no worries there.

We would prefer it to be attached as shown in the screenshot above, which I think is doable.

$50/sf + the cost of extras as you have mentioned seems to be around the numbers I'm being quoted.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Well it's been a while since I posted - but we did finally break ground on our garage.

We had a local design firm / general contractor complete the design and then they quoted it. Quote with a BARE garage and no electrical... Was $177k. That is outside our budget by a mile. However, since we paid for their design work, we agreed to part ways and use their proposed design and do this "ourselves". I am a project manager for my day job (different industry, obviously) so we are giving this a go. I believe I have all of our trades hired, with one or two outliers (finish trim work & siding).

Anyway! Excavation for the foundation was this past Monday, & the footings & foundation walls were today. Very exciting to finally get this started, my hope is to be sealed, insulated & heated before winter.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Continued... Forms come off tomorrow. Then curing, then back fill & floor slab will be poured in a week or so.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Little update.

Last Wednesday our excavator came back and backfilled, and yesterday our flat work guys came back and laid insulation, pex & rebar & poured the roughly 10 cubic yards of garage floor. They were supposed to provide a floor drain, but I found one at Lowe's I really liked the night before. I bought it just in case. The concrete guy actually forgot to grab their floor drain so we used mine, so I'm glad I did that!



A quick pic of me dropping off the PVC & drain, I did resist the urge to pull into the garage - as I didn't want to rut out the sand. I'm not terribly happy with the finish on the foundation walls, but the outside will be covered with brick and the inside will be ground down & epoxied... So oh well.



Trusses were also delivered.


Rolling out the pex. I will have 4 loops for 900 sq ft.





For some reason my wife really liked watching these guys work. I don't understand.






The rest of the lumber will be delivered Friday. The structure starts next Monday. Exciting times!

 

[Boostingaz]

What part of Indiana. Was born and raised there. I will be out there next week for a family wedding.

 

[K5/TBSS]

We are just west of the Goshen city limits.

 

[captain14]

Once the framing crew starts working, progress will look much faster.

Will all the materials be delivered at once? Lumber, plywood, shingles etc.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Yes, basically. I have never used this builder but several friends have. They say they work FAST.

I imagine that they'll have the main structure up with sheathing & a roof in a week. Tying into the existing house may take another few days.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

You will be surprised how quick a framing crew moves and gets it done.
We (Father in law & I) framed our project in a week. Less trusses as they were late.

Looks like a great start.

 

[65Goat]

Is your permit for a detached garage or attached? Or did you forgo the permit?

I did a similar project and that was always a debate with the inspectors.

 

[K5/TBSS]

It is an attached garage & the permit notates that.

 

[plain2car]

nice start... will be following along to see how you trim it out & finish it. by chance is there a reason for the screen name? (K5 blazer with a tbss swap?)....

 

[K5/TBSS]

Haha! Good question. I have owned both and out of all the cars I've had they are the two I regret selling..

I have decided to do epoxy/chip/polyaspartic instead of Swiss trax. That is what I had in our old garage and I loved it :



I had a guy stop by last night & quote the job. $6/sq ft seems to be the going rate & that's what I expected. He left this brochure. Here are my choices for color chips. I think I will go with "Domino" again. My buddy is trying to talk me into a blue accent, but I don't plan to carry a blue theme anywhere else.

 

[NYrr496]

Are you able to find small stuff when you drop it on that floor? For that exact reason I was thinking of solid grey.

 

[K5/TBSS]

It depends on what you drop. I do remember dropping a new zinc plated washer and insisting I didn't see it. Put your head against the floor and it's obvious.

Anything black or rust colored are easy to find. Obviously a lot depends on the color of flakes that you chose.

 

[Augus7us]

I went with a color like cabin fever but with a light olive drab instead of tan. Its definitely not as easy as if you had a solid white floor, but stuff does stand out and dust gets on teh floor also which helps with finding stuff.

That said, I really like that nightfall pattern.

Old place looks nice btw.

 

[K5/TBSS]

I went with a color like cabin fever but with a light olive drab instead of tan. Its definitely not as easy as if you had a solid white floor, but stuff does stand out and dust gets on teh floor also which helps with finding stuff.

That said, I really like that nightfall pattern.

Old place looks nice btw.

Thanks. The yellow is atrocious. The gables of the garage will be sided & we'll reside the gables of the house at the same time. Then the whole place is turning grey with white trim.

 

[captain14]

Are you able to find small stuff when you drop it on that floor? For that exact reason I was thinking of solid grey.

Exactly my thought. A couple months ago I had my riveter jam and I had to disassemble it to remove the “pin”. Of course I had one piece get launched by the spring. Luckily I found it on the basement floor under where I was standing.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Well lumber was delivered today. For those wondering, prices do seem to becoming back down.



I couldn't resist the urge to finally pull the family hauler in and see how it fit. There will be roughly 10' in front of our Tahoe which will be great.



I spoke to the builder and while we agreed he would start construction this coming Monday, he said he has to delay until Wednesday to finish another project. Now I’m antsy!

 

[K5/TBSS]

Well we've had major progress the last couple days. The framing crew arrived yesterday & got the garage walls up & secured.

Shingles arrived

LVL over the overhead doors



The door on the house will move to the left in this picture to line up with the walk out door to the garage. There will be a bench & cubbies and a kitchen pantry between the door & the wall.

 

[captain14]

Looking good. What’s the temperature there now for the framing crews?

Are they doing everything- walls, trusses and shingles? Or subbing some of those tasks out?

 

[jarhead]

progress is good!

 

[K5/TBSS]

Today they had a bigger crew. They got the garage trusses up, fascia boards on, roof sheathing and side sheathing on the garage, cut and demo'd out the brick, and got the breezeway floor in.

They are off tomorrow, but return Monday to put up the breezeway walls & set those trusses. A little more sheathing then the shingles can go down.

First truss! I had to run into work for a few hours so I missed the rest being put up. I did have a timelapse going, which turned out well. However I'm not sure how to upload that here.



Floor to the breezeway. This will have a bathroom, laundry & many cabinets. The crawl space will house the manifold for the heated floor - then 1" pex will run into the basement to the boiler in the utility room.



The door I'm standing in here will be moving to the right to align with the garage walk-out door.



Our 3 year old asked me... "Dad, why do we need TWO garages?" Lots to learn kid, lots to learn..



The lower part of the be bricked like the house, and the gabled will have LP smart siding. We will replace the siding on the house at the same time. Then everything will be painted grey with white trim.







Obligatory way-too-soon-to-be-parking-in picture. The Jeep won't normally be kept here, but I had it out so figured I'd give it a test fit.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Looking good. What’s the temperature there now for the framing crews?

Are they doing everything- walls, trusses and shingles? Or subbing some of those tasks out?

Weather is beautiful. It's been below 80° both days they were here. They are doing all the tasks you mentioned. Siding & brick are different contractors, though.

 

[captain14]

Great progress yesterday.

You will have to set up a little workspace in the garage for your son to work in with his own tools.

 

[Boostingaz]

We are just west of the Goshen city limits.

Ok nice. I was a little north of Lafayette yesterday taking the kids to see great grandma and great grandpa. Had a blast.

 

[Andx0r]

I bet the inside of that house is awesome, if it's all original. I love a 50s-70s ranch.

 

[jeepster1407]

another Jeeper. My first wrangler was a 1995 YJ so I've still got a soft spot for those square headlights. Your going to have a very nice garage soon! Looking forward to following along.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Well you all called it, 3 days and the framing crew is DONE.

I am framing in the window of the existing house wall this weekend, then they will come back next week & put up the 3 interior walls. Next weekend my dad and I are taking a few days off and will start (and hopefully finish) plumbing & electrical.

The shingle color isn't a perfect match, but about as close as you can hope for.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

In for updates!

Very cool build and cool to watch it all come together.

 

[Cdubu52]

This project looks great. I can wait to see more.

 

[fouckhest]

Great looking project, looking forward to following along!

 

[K5/TBSS]

This past weekend my brother-in-law & I removed the exterior window that will become an interior wall & sealed it in. The drywaller for the garage will finish this but the window needed gone to create the new stud wall.





The framers came back yesterday and finished the interior walls. We are now ready for electrical & plumbing! My dad is coming into town this Thursday, so we hope to run all electrical & also the new gas line this weekend. I just hired the HVAC guy who will be installing a water heater / boiler combi unit - in roughly 2 weeks.

The plumber comes next week to plumb in the half bath, washing machine, garage hot/cold spigot & garage sink.

From the existing kitchen. This current exterior door & wall will be completely removed. You can see where the new (pocket) door will be.



Standing in the garage looking toward the kitchen



Laundry room & closets & half bath (This is how I convinced the wife this entire project was necessary)



Half bath on a pocket door

 

[K5/TBSS]

My dirt work guy came yesterday as well install the flo well for the garage drain & french drain behind the house. He also tore out the rest of the front sidewalk & prepped it & the driveway for concrete, which will all be poured on Thursday. This kid has been awesome. I've never thought to "tip" an excavator before, but he will absolutely be getting one!

Flo well being installed



French drain



Ripping out the old sidewalk. This was way too narrow and too close to the house. The sidewalk to the right of the front door will be landscaped with stepping stones. (You can see steps on the very right. That leads to the lower level driveway which will no longer be used. The driveway there will remain as it leads to a detached garage, but the new driveway will be the "official" entrance to the home & property.) To the left will be 4' wide that is 5' off the house with a nice entrance to the porch.

 

[K5/TBSS]

Excavator is back this morning. He tore out the front bushes which my wife desperately wanted gone (Keep your wives happy during these sort of projects, guys). He also brought in sand to start prepping for concrete.

Concrete guy stopped by to offer his advice. He will do a final grade on Thursday morning before they set forms.