Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Tomato's Autohaus - Detached Garage Build
- Thread starter flying_tomatoes
- Start date
Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
We applied for permits last week.
There was a bit of a hold up as I was presented with a job offer 1,200 miles away from home at the end of January. My wife and I decided to sit on this for a few months to see if that panned out as we were ready to move it everything aligned. It didn't, so now construction is back on the schedule. I was honestly hoping to have this wrapped up by now but life's doesn't answer go as planned. At this point we should be breaking ground in the next 6-8 weeks assuming we have no issues between now and then.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Another unexciting update as we needed to apply for a variance due to height restriction. My township allows max height of 16' at the peak of any "accessory structure" and we are coming in at 21' 6". The code officer wasn't to worried about it does means my neighbors will be notified that I am applying for a variance and the variance needs to be heard at the township meeting which is June 26th. I am preparing a small architectural style drawings and a letter to get out ahead of this by sending it to my neighbors making them aware I am attempting to get the variance so that the garage will better match the house architecturally and generally be more pleasing to the entire neighborhood.
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Code Variance for roof peak height was approved! Moving forward!
Vette60
Well-known member
Have been enjoying looking at your plans and the photos that you have shared. I'm pretty familiar with the Eastern PA area as I am an alum of one the local universities. Some of those pics look to be of places that I recognize, especially the bridge photo.
Glad to hear your variance was approved. That can really be nerve-wracking. Good Luck.
R.
Glad to hear your variance was approved. That can really be nerve-wracking. Good Luck.
R.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Another slow and stead update. After going through the building material list many many times the budget just isn't where I want it to be and I am unwilling to compromise on things like garage door style and siding quality. So the decision has been made to push this project back till spring and save up another 10k or so (hopefully) to really get this right the first time. Means some of the cars will be sitting out again this winter but I think its the right choice so that I don't end up re-doing some of these things just to get what I want. Bummed... but I think its the right choice.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Back at it again with a hopeful March/April date for breaking ground. Had to make some sacrifices in the name of budget so the building is down from 30x40 to 27x38 still using 10ft walls and 10ft wide garage doors. Dormers were cut and a few windows were also cut. Still running lines for a heated floor and still going to frame a few window openings to add windows later. Here is what the final elevations look like.
Deezler
Well-known member
Sensible project modifications. Good call on still running PEX in the floor slab. That'll still be a handsome building. Good luck!
So, still stick built 2x6 walls?
So, still stick built 2x6 walls?
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Yes, 2x6 stick built.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Site work started this week. Should be pouring concrete on Tuesday.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Also switched the fleet up a bit. Sold the GMC and the S3. Picked up a new Audi SQ5 for my wife and a 08 R32 to keep me entertained for a bit.
RSr
Well-known member
Good to see you've broke ground. Hopefully it won't be long before you got the herd in the new stable.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Footers went in today. Foundation walls should be Thursday or Friday, weather depending.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Forms delivered yesterday. Set the forms and poured the walls today.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Forms pulled and removed from site. There's a bit of clean up work around the one door opening to do yet but otherwise the foundation is complete. Meeting with the contractor this week to finalize and order the exterior finishing materials. Struggling with garage door choices. They will be such a large part of the street facing facade that I'm having a hard time going cheap but the nice architectural stuff is CRAZY expensive. Any input would help.
RSr
Well-known member
I feel you pain, I also need to purchase 3 10x8 garage doors. In the 10 foot width I wasn't all that impressed with the proportions of the doors since a lot of the layouts are designed for 8 and 9 foot wide doors with the 10 ft versions just having extra side margins with no patterns. I decided to go with the clopay Modern Steel collection for a reasonably priced contemporary look. Gotta pick your battles, and a fancy garage door didn't add much benefit for me. Then again, my house can't be seen from the street and my garage is side entry from the front house facade. Sadly I didn't really get to save any money since I dropped 2g's on 3 giant Anderson windows on the side of the garage that IS the front facade.
Good luck on the decision.
I got a chuckle over how many forms the contractor dropped off versus used. I get the logistics but he probably only used 20% of them at most.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Yea... the form quantity was interesting to say the least haha.
Picked some doors. Going with CHI carrage house overlay doors in fiberglass. Ended up at about 5k a piece for 10x8. Ouch. After putting my hands on a few options and looking at the samples up close I just couldn't bring myself to go with anything of lower quality. Going to up the overall budget by close to 10k over the original estimate but I think its worth it. Here's the link for those interested
https://www.chiohd.com/homeowners/garage-doors/overlay-carriage-house
Also got the inside of the garage back-filled and trusses delivered!
Yes we got that last truss stacked back on top. That's the way it slid off the truck and the guy couldn't move it himself. I was at work but enjoyed watching via security cam while sitting in a meeting haha
Picked some doors. Going with CHI carrage house overlay doors in fiberglass. Ended up at about 5k a piece for 10x8. Ouch. After putting my hands on a few options and looking at the samples up close I just couldn't bring myself to go with anything of lower quality. Going to up the overall budget by close to 10k over the original estimate but I think its worth it. Here's the link for those interested
https://www.chiohd.com/homeowners/garage-doors/overlay-carriage-house
Also got the inside of the garage back-filled and trusses delivered!
Yes we got that last truss stacked back on top. That's the way it slid off the truck and the guy couldn't move it himself. I was at work but enjoyed watching via security cam while sitting in a meeting haha
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Sorry for the delay on updates. Started a new job 3 weeks ago and have been traveling quite a bit but the project has made some good progress and some interesting hurdles!
The walls all went up in one single day and I was at work so I couldn't supervise. When I got home this is what was in place. Sorry I didn't take more pictures.
I was super excited to see all the progress but as I looked at it more something seemed off. I broke out my tape measure and sure enough they built 12ft walls instead of 11ft walls. The thing that really stood out to me was the height above the garage door was throwing off the proportions of everything. I called the contractor and he stopped back out. Sure enough there was a mistake and he vowed to resolve it. We speculated a few different ways to deal with it but the crane was on the schedule the next day to set the roof trusses. He called me in the morning while the whole crew was there and proposed a plan...
They ended up picking the whole building up and cutting the foot out of the bottom so they didn't have to mess with the headers
I couldn't believe what I saw so I ran home at lunch and the thing was already back on the ground and the trusses were set. They were adjusting the door heights back up as I ate lunch. Also notice we spaced the trusses over the doors so dormers can be added later. I really didn't want to give up the dormers but had to sacrifice to meet budget restraints.
End of day two with the framing crew we were all wrapped up.
Some size reference with he house in the picture.
and the car in the garage
In this last photo you can see the header beam across the back for phase two when we blow that wall out and add another 30ft to the back
Roof went on the following day
This week we started doing the work for the heated floor. You can see the insulation, tracking and the tubes in place. We should have concrete by the end of the week.
So that pretty much wraps up the current progress. Did some digging to get the underground electrical line in place and we will hopefully see the slab this week as well so the electrical crew can get in there and start running wires.
The walls all went up in one single day and I was at work so I couldn't supervise. When I got home this is what was in place. Sorry I didn't take more pictures.
I was super excited to see all the progress but as I looked at it more something seemed off. I broke out my tape measure and sure enough they built 12ft walls instead of 11ft walls. The thing that really stood out to me was the height above the garage door was throwing off the proportions of everything. I called the contractor and he stopped back out. Sure enough there was a mistake and he vowed to resolve it. We speculated a few different ways to deal with it but the crane was on the schedule the next day to set the roof trusses. He called me in the morning while the whole crew was there and proposed a plan...
They ended up picking the whole building up and cutting the foot out of the bottom so they didn't have to mess with the headers
I couldn't believe what I saw so I ran home at lunch and the thing was already back on the ground and the trusses were set. They were adjusting the door heights back up as I ate lunch. Also notice we spaced the trusses over the doors so dormers can be added later. I really didn't want to give up the dormers but had to sacrifice to meet budget restraints.
End of day two with the framing crew we were all wrapped up.
Some size reference with he house in the picture.
and the car in the garage
In this last photo you can see the header beam across the back for phase two when we blow that wall out and add another 30ft to the back
Roof went on the following day
This week we started doing the work for the heated floor. You can see the insulation, tracking and the tubes in place. We should have concrete by the end of the week.
So that pretty much wraps up the current progress. Did some digging to get the underground electrical line in place and we will hopefully see the slab this week as well so the electrical crew can get in there and start running wires.
Deezler
Well-known member
Nice progress!
So, uh, they cut apart the walls.... thats kinda crazy. Did they put a new base plate onto the bottom of the cut studs before lowering the building back down?
So, uh, they cut apart the walls.... thats kinda crazy. Did they put a new base plate onto the bottom of the cut studs before lowering the building back down?
CombatNinja
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2013
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Awesome build you have going there! Keep up the good supervision and updates.
Couple of things: A huge building like that and no bathroom? I understand your budget constraint but I hope you at least roughed in the plumbing. Second, I would have moved ahead with the dormers since they enhance the look of the building so much and saved a bit on the garage doors. $5,000 EACH!? Garage doors are easily swapped in an afternoon once budget allows. Dormers require permits, ripping off the roof, etc. I think you made the wrong call on that one. Besides, even though you will have super **** garage doors now, they don't match the existing attached garage so that will look weird.
Couple of things: A huge building like that and no bathroom? I understand your budget constraint but I hope you at least roughed in the plumbing. Second, I would have moved ahead with the dormers since they enhance the look of the building so much and saved a bit on the garage doors. $5,000 EACH!? Garage doors are easily swapped in an afternoon once budget allows. Dormers require permits, ripping off the roof, etc. I think you made the wrong call on that one. Besides, even though you will have super **** garage doors now, they don't match the existing attached garage so that will look weird.
Bighead38
Well-known member
They built it bigger and you complained? That’s a first.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
They did. It sounds crazy but its apparently a relatively common solution to that error. I was really impressed with the (amish) framing crew and wasn't too concerned.
Thanks!
There is a bathroom in the house behind the door that hidden by the lattice to the right of the attached garage door. Its a mud room with bathroom. Since its so close I didn't see value in the added cost and reduction in usable floorspace. There will also be a covered walkway out to the garage future state. I plan on adding running water to the back half of the garage when phase two is in progress but don't plan on running any type of sewage. Again, just don't see the value of having a toilet out there.
I ran through many budget versions and a ton of cost analysis with the contractor before going this route. Doing the dormers later resulted in the least amount of "wasted" money and made a more significant impact on the bottom line for this phase of the project. We plan on replacing the windows on the second floor of the home next year (we did the first floor last year) as they are the original 1970 windows which will allow us to bundle dormer windows and two windows facing the house side of the back yard at that point. We also plan on replacing the garage door on the attached garage with a taller door in the same style as the detached garage next summer. That 5k$ a door includes openers and installation and all. Still pricy, I know. I'm not kidding you when I tell you I have a ten year budget plan for renovations on this house with the costs spread in what I deemed to be the most efficient way. The roof will also be replaced with phase two as we would like to replace the cedar roof on the existing house also. The shingles that are on there now were the best compromise of cost and appearance. We will be doing a composite cedar style roof option on both the house and the garage at some point. There are a few parts of roof on the house that are wearing and I'd rather just replace it with a safer and more efficient option. I also don't particularly like the stain color the previous owner used on the cedar and there is no good way to get it back to the natural look my wife and I prefer. I think that covers all your questions/concerns?
They built it taller and that created a few issues. One being that I had to get a variance for peak height to begin with and that was based on the 11ft walls. Didn't want to deal with that headache. I was also more concerned about the scale and proportions from the front view. I am pretty happy with the height as is the that additional foot really didn't buy me anything.
Boosted1
Well-known member
Nice garage.
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Enjoying your build, like the dormer plan.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Well this thread surely went off track.
So let’s get back into it.
Had three kids. Changed jobs. Swapped a bunch of cars around. FINALLY back to getting this garage in order though it’s generally just been a junk pile for the last few years.
So let’s get back into it.
Had three kids. Changed jobs. Swapped a bunch of cars around. FINALLY back to getting this garage in order though it’s generally just been a junk pile for the last few years.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Fall of 2019:
Floor being poured.
First cars in! (note the high lift doors)
Exterior complete!
Floor being poured.
First cars in! (note the high lift doors)
Exterior complete!
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Spring 2020:
Before
After
Before
After
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OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
2021: Traded my GMC for a Raptor. Which then promptly blew up.
TX4runner
Well-known member
Oh no. Was it tuned and blew up or stock. I hear you on not updating your thread. Mine is also out of date, but will resurface soon for 2.0 as we are moving to a bigger home/garage, but I still will eventually want to build a separate garage that matches the façade of house.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
2022: Traded the Raptor for a new TRD Pro Tundra and picked up a 911 Carrera T.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
It had a Cobb off the shelf Stage 1 with their Cold Air Intake kit. Dropped a rod and blew the turbos at 24k miles which was about 12k miles after tuning it. Luckily the Ford dealer covered a brand new motor and turbos under warranty but they had the truck for almost three months. I was just over it all once I got it back (see above replacement)
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
2023: Got kicked out of my home office with the birth of our third and moved out to the garage. A few friends and I did all the work. Space heater worked great for the winter but still need to sort out and AC solution.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
2024: Put a four post lift in. Working on organization and wall coverings next. The extra floor space has been awesome!
TX4runner
Well-known member
Not a bad space if you are getting kicked out of the house. And the garage was deep enough that you didn't lose the use of that stall for parking. Everyone raves about the T.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
Thanks! Happy with the T and the office.
The RS4 is about the same length as the 911 so that will fit there as well. There is enough room to walk in front and behind so its not too bad. Looking at storage solutions for a working area on the back wall of the middle bay after I get some interior insulation and walls up.
Ford52PU
Well-known member
very nice garage, good to see the updates. I'm out in West Brandywine outside of Coatesville.
OP
flying_tomatoes
Well-known member
I don’t know if there’s anyone out there thinking about insect control but these guys have been working great for me. They glow at night and have been catching all the flyers in my garage. I have one on each side of all three garage doors. A bit expensive but well worth it IMO. They also have replaceable cartages.
No affiliation or anything of that nature but here's the link. You can get them at the box stores too.
I use the regular old glue glue boards on the ground at each door too. Knock on wood - I don't have any rodent issues so not doing anything on that front at this point.
No affiliation or anything of that nature but here's the link. You can get them at the box stores too.
I use the regular old glue glue boards on the ground at each door too. Knock on wood - I don't have any rodent issues so not doing anything on that front at this point.
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