the "about time" garage 36x56 clear span

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

Here is my build. I'm in Kansas
It is a 36 x 56 with 12' walls, sitting on 3' stem walls, and a 2:12 pitch.

I've been saving up for this for a long time (approx 20 years) and wanted to build as big as allowed by the city & as big as I could afford, which meant this would be a mostly DIY project.

Now,,,having said that,,, I must let you know that I am a mechanic by trade and had zero experience with construction before this.

Got the permit and ordered my materials in Nov of 2015.

I got my building materials kit from Perka buildings in Mo. They were great to deal with.

Thanks to reading this forum for hours on end and the help of a few of my buddies, it is really coming together.

OK, enough typing,,,,,onto the "pics" :thumbup:

I'll try to post pics from the same angle. with my neighbor's shed in the background.

BEFORE very sloped yard and a tree need to be dealt with.

STEP 1 time to move some dirt.

footings dug

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

pouring footings

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

wall forms putting together the wall forms.

poured

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

Farmall450 · Feb 26, 2017

Looking good!

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

coated the wall and started with the drain tile

had to trench from the transformer to the house as original line was not buried deep enough. Goin to put a double lug meter on the house to feed the garage.

got a 300 amp double lug meter/box mounted on the house. house is all elec and has 200amp, the garage will get 100amp service

OutlawDrifter · Feb 26, 2017

Great size for a building!

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

with the elec relocated, I had to trench for a 20' long footing for a rataining wall to keep the yard from washing into the front of the garage.

also trenched for footing at garage doors.

aaaaand poured,

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

Net came a whole bunch of gravel and rock to make a pathway around the outer perimeter of the building. Initially I thought I could get away with just "spilling" the rock along the wall, but ended up having to lay it all out by hand!

Talk about a work out!

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

finished the 20' long retaining wall and poured the pier between the garage doors.

next came running conduit from my basement for pex water supply and plumbing for a sink & stool. Will end up with a small 4'x6' bathroom.

had to dig 2 more trenches, on for the water line and one for the elec conduit to the house.

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

before anyone asks,,,,NO, I am not going with a heated slab.
A couple of reasons.
in Kansas the temps can fluctuate a bunch from day to day, and I won't be in the shop every day,,,,,mostly a few hours at night on week days and all day on week ends.
flatwork up next,

BAM! poured.

almost time to start playing with this stuff!

Bryan_Lund · Feb 26, 2017

First off...subscribed and can't wait to see this monster come alive. Second, you win "Best Avatar" 2017.

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

first of the trusses going up,

time to rent some equipment, and get some help from a couple of buds.

my neighbor cooked us some lunch and his son helped get thee trusses up :thumbup:

neighbor's son in the blue shirt.

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

Great neighbor to my north, watched from the shade and smoked us some wings & ribs.

the center three trusses are up!

rented a scissor lift for a week end to speed up the process,

framed the man door opening, you can see the conduit for the electric just to the left.

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

framing the north end,

....and onto the south end,

and the garage door headers,

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

sometimes, your fork lift just isn't tall enough.........
even with the forks flipped...
and your budget is getting tight enough that you don't feel like renting more equipment,,,,,
so you improvise

South side framing nearly done.
Left side (west) garage door is 18' wide x 9' tall,
Right (east) door is 12' tall x 9' wide

siding/roofing arrives,

1" thick foil faced insulation and siding begins,

Bigdukaaa · Feb 26, 2017

nice build, can't wait to see it finished

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

roofing begins, at this point I was wishing I could hire this part out!
Who needs to go to a gym with workouts like this?

got "smarter" and made a roof sheeting slide-tool to help get them up there.

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

more sheeting,

on the garage door side, I also used osb sheeting,

doors installed, just need to finish trim

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

north side pic,

rpenner54 · Feb 26, 2017

Very cool! Where in Kansas are you?

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

I'm in Topeka.

Well, that's as far as I am as of today. On the outside, I still need to trim up the garage door openings, button up some trim pieces, install rain gutters, and get started grading the driveway.

Inside,I need to do everything! There's a lot left to do, but that's fine with me.
I already got lot's of stuff to fill it with when the time comes.

ctimrun · Feb 26, 2017

Looks great, nice work! I know you said you got the permits in November 2015, but how long from the time you started digging up till where your at in the pics?

Alain V. · Feb 26, 2017

Got the Permit the first week of December 2015 and it took me just over a year to get to the last pic.

We had some delays, with weather and I basically did all the work on week ends.
I called the city a couple of weeks before my permit expired and they gave me an extension on the phone at no cost.

I passed the final inspection the first week of Feb this year.

53PontiacSD · Feb 26, 2017

Nice shop!! So i'm guessing the retaining wall was an unexpected cost because of grade? So if you've had rain, has it helped a lot to deflect the water to the front of the garage?
Thanks, Billy

jp828108 · Feb 26, 2017

That's an awesome looking build. The size is great, and really love the clear span trusses. Did you mention what your ceiling height is with those? Any plans for a lift?

sublime68charger · Feb 26, 2017

Very nice work so far!
I like the color combo you picked out!

maddog1949 · Feb 27, 2017

Great looking shop.

Alain V. · Feb 27, 2017

53PontiacSD said:
Nice shop!! So i'm guessing the retaining wall was an unexpected cost because of grade? So if you've had rain, has it helped a lot to deflect the water to the front of the garage?
Thanks, Billy

You are exactly right. Initially, I thought I''d only need a wall half that size, but it became quickly obvious that it had to be larger and more $$$$$$, we've had lots of rain & it seems to be working out fine.

The bad news is that I "blew" my concrete garage apron money on the wall, so progress has slowed recently as I try to gather up some more funds.

Alain V. · Feb 27, 2017

jp828108 said:
That's an awesome looking build. The size is great, and really love the clear span trusses. Did you mention what your ceiling height is with those? Any plans for a lift?

The peak of the ceiling is right at 18' and the side walls are 14.5.
I already have a two post Atlas (chinesium-Iknow) lift, still in the wrapper that my wife got me for Christmas. :thumbup:

Alain V. · Feb 27, 2017

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. There's no way I would have been able to do this without all the info I have picked up here.

M-technik-3 · Feb 27, 2017

Wow that's quite the structure. That would not be allowed in my area as it would make a residential neighborhood look too industrial. People would start screaming about business and such even if it was personal.

Looking forward to more updates down the road.

zmotorsports · Feb 27, 2017

Nice size garage/shop. Looks good.

Mike.

slik560 · Feb 27, 2017

Very nice. I figured that you were not in Overland Park. The city here would never let anyone build something that big on that lot. If I ever want to do something like this, I will have to move out of OP. Too restrictive. Well done - looking forward to the inside work.

Deezler · Feb 27, 2017

Wow. Thats amazing that local zoning permitted such a monstrous structure in a pure residential area and small lot.

Congrats on getting your dream building, but man. I'd prepare for some push back from the neighborhood, as you legitimately substantially decreased everyone else property values. Interesting stuff tho, thanks for sharing.

Farmall450 · Feb 27, 2017

Deezler said:
Wow. Thats amazing that local zoning permitted such a monstrous structure in a pure residential area and small lot.

Congrats on getting your dream building, but man. I'd prepare for some push back from the neighborhood, as you legitimately substantially decreased everyone else property values. Interesting stuff tho, thanks for sharing.

I think that's overblown. More like his value to his neighbors increased because he might let them share his shop :bounce:

Nor'Easter · Feb 27, 2017

Deezler said:
Wow. Thats amazing that local zoning permitted such a monstrous structure in a pure residential area and small lot.

Congrats on getting your dream building, but man. I'd prepare for some push back from the neighborhood, as you legitimately substantially decreased everyone else property values. Interesting stuff tho, thanks for sharing.

I thought the same. Loss of sunlight, air flow, etc. Atleast for immediate neighbors.

jp828108 · Feb 27, 2017

Alain V. said:
The peak of the ceiling is right at 18' and the side walls are 14.5.
I already have a two post Atlas (chinesium-Iknow) lift, still in the wrapper that my wife got me for Christmas.

That is awesome. Plenty of head height even if you put it near the sidewall. I have seen those lifts advertised, and the price looks pretty decent. Wondered about quality. Hopefully after you get your building done, and get it up and running you will post your opinion on it.

Alain V. · Feb 27, 2017

Nor'Easter said:
I thought the same. Loss of sunlight, air flow, etc. Atleast for immediate neighbors.

"AIRFLOW"?????????? :lol:

Have you ever been to Kansas?????
We are famous for our airflow.
Winds come primarily from the south,,,,,,,,but every once in a while,,,
mother nature has PMS and decides our "airflow" should come spinning at us in a funnel shape.... while it picks up motor homes-cows-semi trucks,etc, and flings the stuff across the state.

I doubt my building will cause issues with any air flow. :bounce:

My neighborhood actually has a number of homes with outbuildings.

It is an older area, and from my back yard view, you don't get a feel for the mix of it.
Just one street over there's a guy with a slightly larger lot , a bigger garage mine and an in ground pool!

Remember guys, this is Kansas (a very rural state), I'm less than a mile away from a few homes with horses, cows, goats, and chickens, hanging out outside.

This area is laid back, and the cost of living & housing is very reasonable.

This ain't foo-foo latte' & granola country, like so much of the USA has become. We have some of those types in Kansas, but they mostly live in Lawrence-by the university.

Heck I bet out of every ten houses in this neighborhood, you will see at least 8 American flags wavin'!

OutlawDrifter · Feb 28, 2017

Alain V., I'm also from KS. About an hour to the northeast of you, more north than east.

I understand the area you're in and am sure none of the neighbors care, as stated above, you'll probably see more 12-packs and "can I use your lift", than anything. I find it comical when someone from 1500+ miles away tells you about property values in YOUR neighborhood.

For those concerned with property values and policing the neighbors, do yourself a favor and stay in the neighborhoods with the HOA's. In my opinion that is where dreams go to die, haha!

the "about time" garage 36x56 clear span

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