4 car garage build- Opinions welcome!

[RoyBell]

This has been a dream of mine for quite some time, and we are close to fruition. I welcome opinions as we tweak the design and get ready for permit submission.

Quick specs:

• 62'x35'
• 4 car garage with living above
• (1) 12x12 door, (3) 9'(W) x 8'(T) doors in front, with (1) the same size in the rear.
• 9'6" ceiling low garage
• 16' ceiling tall garage
• 9' ceiling living quarters
• Possible living quarters for elderly parents above
  • Elevator designed into plans
• Forced air heat in garage, no AC
• Bathroom wall on 2nd floor is moved to the west 1.5', slightly shrinking bathroom and making office/pantry larger. Pantry will be extend to pick up column.

Opinions on the following:

• 16' tall garage on the tall side- is that too tall?
  • If 14-15', then access to attic from upstairs closet is significantly easier. We put the furnace in the attic to save space in the garage and easier to run ducts.
  • Current access would be a 24" opening. Lowering ceiling would allow 3-4' access opening.
  • Alternate option would be to build a platform in the tall garage above the lower garage door for 1 or both mechanical units. Access to attic would not be required then.
• Use of split system(s) vs forced air for garage and/or 2nd floor. Chicago weather so there are days it's 100F degrees and humid, other days are -14F.
• 

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Typically, if your intention is run a 16ft sidewall it's to house something tall like a 5th wheel camper, A or C class motorhome or for a car lift. To park a motorcoach or 5th wheel, you'll want a 14ft tall door, not 12 ft. And considering your 35ft main building depth, maybe flush out tall side to also make it the full 35ft depth for those reasons. For the three, smaller main garage doors, I highly recommend 10ft over a 9ft, especially for full size trucks and suvs with wide mirrors. Or if its just for sports cars, I'd still rather have the extra room to not take out an expensive mirror off my...(insert favorite car here).

If you could go 40ft deep you should be able to park 2 vehicles length wise? Unless budget doesn't allow for larger building increases.

If you're going to make a living space upstairs with A/C anyway and already have mechanical room why not add a trunk line in the lower garage area to condition it with a/c and remedy the humidity? Mechanical damper or "zone" it to have less A/C in the garage, just enough to offset really warm/humid days?

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Sidenote: Your plan depicts a man door on the north elevation leading to a deck from the living space, however, the stairwell leading up to the living space where you would exit the door has stairs leading up, as if there is no sufficient landing area to actually maintain such a door. I would triple check your stair well rise/run, and what you deem a comfortable one, to find out where you can put doors.

I would bet at your 16ft ceiling height and somewhat narrow depth of seemingly less that the overall 35ft, you wouldn't have enough space. May even have to ditch the coat closet to make the landing/exterior deck door happen. Especially if you consider 'breathing room' from entering the deck space to be immediately greeted by a stairwell going down for elderly parents. Will the door open to the interior or exterior? I suggest a 36" wide door for all your doors to accommodate walkers/chairs if you're going as far as having an elevator.

Also, your front east upstairs elevation dormer windows seem misplaced? The bedroom window isn't evenly spaced within that portion of the room and the middle window seems to close what would be the tv wall. If you have built ins or cabinets to hold electronics, etc. seems awkward. Have you considered 3 windows, maybe wider/larder to maintain the same amount of light, and worked with spacing differently if you wanted it symmetrical? Same goes for your office space, spacing the window evenly. My two cents.

 

[dcg9381]

I love the build.

• 16' tall garage on the tall side- is that too tall?

It's a two story. That's total eve height? Gotta get high to get those pass-through doors up. 14' door is a 16' eve. High ceilings open things up.

• Use of split system(s) vs forced air for garage and/or 2nd floor. Chicago weather so there are days it's 100F degrees and humid, other days are -14F.

You'll need multi-head upstairs for sure. But mini's are great IMHO, as long as you get one that can perform in -14F.
I would swing a porch off the front of it on the 3-car garage side, does a lot to keep stuff out of the garage and provides a lot of additional "covered" parking at a fairly low price point.

Freshly driven cars will "heat sink" that lower garage, probably not a big deal in Chicago unless it's 100, I'd probably come up with a system where I could force air out of the lower garage (on a timer) if you're in those conditions. Maybe just a louvered fan... But I'm down south where heat is an issue.

24" stairs are tight. It may really limit what you can get up those stairs. Can you get a refrigerator or couch in the elevator? Because I'm not sure you can get one up those stairs in that configuration.

 

[JuncleJohn]

Nine foot wide doors are tight for a full size pickup. I would rethink that.

i would go at least 36’ on your depth.

John

 

[carlaisle]

What is your use case for the 16' tall garage bay? That's RV/semi storage height, but your door is to low for this use. It's just a waste of space for passenger vehicle use no matter what lift you choose. The smaller doors I would make 1' taller/wider if possible.

I would not bother heating a garage in Chicago without also installing AC.

There is no door shown on the second floor plan to access the deck...and no room to add one with everything else as drawn. A deck across the "front" where the garage doors is would be more practical, as it would provide cover for below. Access is easy via the living room.

The approximately 6' or even 7.5' wide office seems like wasted space. Put a 30" deep desk against the wall and if you lean back in the chair you'll hit the wall.

I would move the laundry out of the closet and put the toilet where the laundry is. Pantry goes where the office is now. Laundry is accessible via some convenient means from the main living space. Adjust sf of affected spaces as needed. If an "office" area is desired, put a desk in wherever convenient so you're not claustrophobic while using it. Total bathroom sf can possibly be reduced. I would prefer to share a single sink with lots of countertop vs. having his/her sinks but be cramped for counterspace, but design around the anticipated occupants, not me. Be sure the bathroom is designed with ADA accessibility in mind, which it looks like you generally have done.

 

[Dig Doug]

Looks Great ! That has to be really exciting! Please document the build w/ some pics

rv port needs to 14ft tall door and at least 40 ft deep preferably 42-45ft for walk around space you may not be into RV or boating but the next owner might be = limited buyer pool IF you ever sell

my garage is 35 ft 8 inch deep w/ a 12 tall door and my boat (23 ft Tri toon ) was 1.5 inch to tall w/ the bimini up ( yes new custom lowered Bimini ) and I have about 20 inches behind the boat to walk around to access the far side
a tight squeeze for a big boy !

I would also run electric & prep for AC in the lower garage a 2 ton mini split or 2 for future use

 

[RoyBell]

Appreciate the feed back everyone so far. I did not get alerts there were replies. Couple quick comments before I head out for the weekend.

• The entrance to the 2nd floor deck is shown on the A drawings. Doesn't look picked up on the E drawings correctly.
• I agree, wider door is better. I will look into that.
• The bedroom and bathroom wall has shifted to the left approx 1.5'- Enlarging office and pantry.
• 16' ceilings were drawn by Architect. I wanted a high ceiling to be able to put car lift in. I think 14' clear is enough
• I don't plan to put an RV in here. I can't get my current camper down the private road due to tree cover. I would have to convince all the neighbors to trim 1/4 mile of trees over the road. I also don't think I can turn the camper around due to my driveway configuration. Maybe a small motor home. Worst case I keep it at my office (inside) like I currently do. Tallest RV I could realistically keep in the garage is 12' tall due to the tree cover.
  • Worst worst case, I build a tall standalone building for an RV in the future. I have 5 acres to build on.
• I do have a compact tractor which is almost 8' tall. I may increase rear door height to 9'.
• Depth- I am limited by side setback line and driveway. I could go for a variance, but this garage is already pretty big.
• Depth- 36' interior still wouldn't allow me 2 cars end on end. Most of my current vehicles are 16-17' long. That leaves virtually no room to walk around them. My smallest car is a Z4, and I can put it perpendicular in front of the dog wash station.
• Stairs are all 48" not 24". 24" is center of cans
• Original design had a larger overhang on garage door side, but required posts. I did not want to deal with obstructions since people would be driving right in front of them due to driveway design. I could see them being hit.

I should have some updated plans with civil to share in the next couple of weeks.

 

[cpakalolo]

This has been a dream of mine for quite some time, and we are close to fruition. I welcome opinions as we tweak the design and get ready for permit submission.

Quick specs:

• 62'x35'
• 4 car garage with living above
• (1) 12x12 door, (3) 9'(W) x 8'(T) doors in front, with (1) the same size in the rear.
• 9'6" ceiling low garage
• 16' ceiling tall garage
• 9' ceiling living quarters
• Possible living quarters for elderly parents above
  • Elevator designed into plans
• Forced air heat in garage, no AC
• Bathroom wall on 2nd floor is moved to the west 1.5', slightly shrinking bathroom and making office/pantry larger. Pantry will be extend to pick up column.

Opinions on the following:

• 16' tall garage on the tall side- is that too tall?
  • If 14-15', then access to attic from upstairs closet is significantly easier. We put the furnace in the attic to save space in the garage and easier to run ducts.
  • Current access would be a 24" opening. Lowering ceiling would allow 3-4' access opening.
  • Alternate option would be to build a platform in the tall garage above the lower garage door for 1 or both mechanical units. Access to attic would not be required then.
• Use of split system(s) vs forced air for garage and/or 2nd floor. Chicago weather so there are days it's 100F degrees and humid, other days are -14F.
• 

I ran service calls for several HVAC companies. If you can get your furnace inside conditioned space, you will have less problems. For instance, a 90% furnace always has water in its drain because it makes water during combustion. Sometimes they freeze. Not having good access often means little to no attention to detail. And if you have people in your attic every year, someone might eventually step through.

 

[thammel]

Couple of thoughts.....gonna be great!

1) Make your garage doors 10' wide. You won't regret that.
2) Don't need 16" high in the left bay unless you are putting very tall vehicles in there. 14' would be plenty high.
3) Don't put furnace in the attic. Just go with 2 mini splits. One for each floor. If you want to go for quick heat, add something like a Reznor UDAS in the garage ceiling.
4) Be sure to have the second floor and first floor separated thermally. Best would be a door at the bottom of the stairs.
5) Add a shower to the garage bath. If you are all dirty, sweaty or greasy you won't want to track all that upstairs.
6) I don't see outside motion sensor floodlights. You'll probably want them.
7) Is the mechanical room also for a compressor? You'll be happier if that is in a closet of some sort.

Looks great!
Tom

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Don't forget strategic exterior outlets (even on the upstairs deck area) and water hose bibs.

Maybe a window in the lower garage area bathroom would be nice? Higher placement for privacy or transom style?

Also, highly recommended two layers of 3/4" Advantech subfloor running apposing direction for less floor bounce and flex.

 

[cpakalolo]

Typically, if your intention is run a 16ft sidewall it's to house something tall like a 5th wheel camper, A or C class motorhome or for a car lift. To park a motorcoach or 5th wheel, you'll want a 14ft tall door, not 12 ft. And considering your 35ft main building depth, maybe flush out tall side to also make it the full 35ft depth for those reasons. For the three, smaller main garage doors, I highly recommend 10ft over a 9ft, especially for full size trucks and suvs with wide mirrors. Or if its just for sports cars, I'd still rather have the extra room to not take out an expensive mirror off my...(insert favorite car here).

If you could go 40ft deep you should be able to park 2 vehicles length wise? Unless budget doesn't allow for larger building increases.

If you're going to make a living space upstairs with A/C anyway and already have mechanical room why not add a trunk line in the lower garage area to condition it with a/c and remedy the humidity? Mechanical damper or "zone" it to have less A/C in the garage, just enough to offset really warm/humid days?

When we do the ventilation in a house, it is illegal to sling a supply run into a garage. It causes negative pressure in the house and positive pressure in the garage for fumes. Systems have to be separate.