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Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Tomato's Autohaus - Detached Garage Build

Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.

flying_tomatoes

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Dec 1, 2017
Messages
72
Location
Eastern PA
Hello all!

This is my first post here (thought I have been a LONG time lurker) so starting this build thread might be a bit premature but I promise you this will get done and hopefully you can all help me make some tough decisions along the way. The plan is to build a 40'x50' or 40'x60' detached garage with enough head room (13-14' ceiling?) for lifts with 200 amp service, heated concrete floor, running water for a slop sink. I was originally planing to stick build but the more contractors I talk to it looks like the only way to stay on budget (~75K$) is to go the 'pole barn' route. The tough part is we are trying to match the front face to the house which is a brick dutch colonial. We will see how that part ends up... :dunno:

Site info: We are on a 1 acre lot in a residential neighborhood. There are two other houses in our neighborhood with very nice 3 car detached garages in addition to their standard 2 car attached but nothing on the scale of what we are looking to do. I have already talked to the township zoning officer and the sq/ft isn't an issue but there is a restriction on roof height (18' at peak). I explained to him that we are looking to match the house and the existing garage is quite a bit taller then their restriction so we would be applying for a variance. He said the logic was perfectly reasonable and we should only encounter an issue if one of the neighbors were to complain and contest the variance at the township meeting. We haven't been in this neighborhood long enough to piss anyone off (we moved in May '17) so hopefully that wont be an issue. Hoping to break ground spring '18. On to the photos...

End view of existing attached garage:

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Other large garage in the neighborhood for reference:

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Future Contents:

My Show Car - 2007 Audi RS4

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My First Car - 1993 Pontiac Trans Am

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Family Heirloom, Great Grandpa's Car - 1940 Buick Special

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In the Other Garage:

Wife's Daily: 2018 Audi SQ5

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SOLD: 2003 Audi RS6

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SOLD: 2008 R32

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SOLD: 2015 Audi S3

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SOLD: 2014 Sierra 1500 SLT A/T 6.2L

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shortykorte

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Welcome. Nice start. The attached garage doesn’t have brick and I’m sure most Dutch Colonial outbuildings were clapboard sided. To tie the brick into the garage, do a wainscoting. Check out Zmotorsports new shop.


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flying_tomatoes

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Eastern PA
Welcome. Nice start. The attached garage doesn’t have brick and I’m sure most Dutch Colonial outbuildings were clapboard sided. To tie the brick into the garage, do a wainscoting. Check out Zmotorsports new shop.


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You're right. The more I think about it the more I think maybe skip the brick all together.

I also looked up zmotorsports shop. Its going to take me days to get through all of it but lots of good stuff in there :eyecrazy:
 

Radix2

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May 28, 2014
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the thumb!, MI
I would be quite skeptical of big savings by doing a pole building and finishing it to the level you are proposing. Pole buildings are cheap when you are talking a basic metal skinned box with a slab poured inside.

For a residential outside finish you need proper wall framing to attach your siding and brick, for radiant floors you need insulation at the edges preferably down to the frost line. For a finished interior with insulation you again should have fully framed walls for simple finishing.

In that type of neighborhood situation, I would caution against saving all your money by eliminating your building foundation.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Eastern PA
I would be quite skeptical of big savings by doing a pole building and finishing it to the level you are proposing. Pole buildings are cheap when you are talking a basic metal skinned box with a slab poured inside.

For a residential outside finish you need proper wall framing to attach your siding and brick, for radiant floors you need insulation at the edges preferably down to the frost line. For a finished interior with insulation you again should have fully framed walls for simple finishing.

In that type of neighborhood situation, I would caution against saving all your money by eliminating your building foundation.

I am skeptical for sure. The first contractor I talked to that told me to go the pole building route said off the top of his head he would estimate 75$ per square ft for the type of building I want to build. That’s almost double my budget. I put a few more calls out on Friday. Two general contractors and three companies that do “high end” pole buildings. We will see what I get back. At this point I just want to have the tubing run for the heated floors and I don’t plan on insulating the building right off the bat to try and save on up front coats but in my mind stick built is still the way to go. Time will tell.
 

ambenz

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I thought we were bad with 4 cars for 2 people, you have 3 vehicles per person!
LOL!
Welcome to the GJ...will be interesting to see what you can build with your budget.
Looks like you have enough land.
When I built my garage, I was landlocked and though I wanted it bigger, I was stuck with 30X22.
Always the case, not enough money and a lot of land or visa versa!
 

Radix2

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the thumb!, MI
I am skeptical for sure. The first contractor I talked to that told me to go the pole building route said off the top of his head he would estimate 75$ per square ft for the type of building I want to build. That’s almost double my budget. I put a few more calls out on Friday. Two general contractors and three companies that do “high end” pole buildings. We will see what I get back. At this point I just want to have the tubing run for the heated floors and I don’t plan on insulating the building right off the bat to try and save on up front coats but in my mind stick built is still the way to go. Time will tell.

Yeah, your budget at <$40/sq ft seems a fair bit optimistic.. but your plan would really complement your beautiful area, so it is a tough spot.

Can you post the plan view ? It is not clear how your two roof lines are supposed to go - is it half and half?

Plenty here will be interested in what the "high end pole building" guys have to say. How they would handle clapboard siding and making it finish out the way you want. To me the weakest part of pole building construction is the way the walls tie (or don't) into the floor, often the slab is just poured inside the ratwall, which is itself just a thin stick running from pole to pole. No footing to keep the slab from heaving, substandard treated lumber buried all around. I worked with one of my buddies to try to avoid these problems on his place, what we came up with was at least some depth to the slab perimeter so that the outside grade could be well below the wood like a normal wall plate. Between that and good insulation around the perimeter, framed and sheathed walls....I don't know if he really saved anything..

But you know how it goes, you start with a basic box near budget and then...

My builder used icf blocks to build the foundation - it seems like a cost effective way to build an insulated foundation, pour the footer, set the blocks, fill them and you have r-15+ down where the ground ***** the heat away.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Eastern PA
I thought we were bad with 4 cars for 2 people, you have 3 vehicles per person!
LOL!
Welcome to the GJ...will be interesting to see what you can build with your budget.
Looks like you have enough land.
When I built my garage, I was landlocked and though I wanted it bigger, I was stuck with 30X22.
Always the case, not enough money and a lot of land or visa versa!

Yea, the car situation is bad, haha. The worst part is I'm hankering for something new :D. The garage project is keeping me occupied at least. At the moment I have the Pontiac stored at my moms and we have three cars outside in the driveway. Far from ideal. I've actually never had all 6 cars in the same place, haha. Well.. its only been 6 for about a year but I never had all 5 in the same place either :lol_hitti

Yeah, your budget at <$40/sq ft seems a fair bit optimistic.. but your plan would really complement your beautiful area, so it is a tough spot.

It is optimistic for sure. I am willing to cut some corners on things that I can upgrade later with out double spending but the front fascia pretty much needs to be spot on from the start. For example I don't intend in putting all the windows I want in with the original construction but I want the framing to be built for them so I can easily cut them in when the time comes. I also don't plan on hooking up the heater floor right away but I want to get the tubing in for it so its ready when I do. Being said, its still a stretch and I know that but I want to at least get a contractor to say they can get close to what I'm looking at. The first contractor said "at least double" the budget. That's not going to work.

Can you post the plan view ? It is not clear how your two roof lines are supposed to go - is it half and half?

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I know this isnt a plan view but does this help? I think this view shows what I'm trying to accomplish. Just going with the steeper roof in the front to try and hide the size of the building a bit and also match the slope of the existing attached garage. I'm not sure how this is going to work with roll up garage doors though? Hoping a contractor can provide me with some creative options there.

Plenty here will be interested in what the "high end pole building" guys have to say. How they would handle clapboard siding and making it finish out the way you want. To me the weakest part of pole building construction is the way the walls tie (or don't) into the floor, often the slab is just poured inside the ratwall, which is itself just a thin stick running from pole to pole. No footing to keep the slab from heaving, substandard treated lumber buried all around. I worked with one of my buddies to try to avoid these problems on his place, what we came up with was at least some depth to the slab perimeter so that the outside grade could be well below the wood like a normal wall plate. Between that and good insulation around the perimeter, framed and sheathed walls....I don't know if he really saved anything..

But you know how it goes, you start with a basic box near budget and then...

My builder used icf blocks to build the foundation - it seems like a cost effective way to build an insulated foundation, pour the footer, set the blocks, fill them and you have r-15+ down where the ground ***** the heat away.

I am interested to see what they say as well. I was 100% set on standard construction till a highly regarded (and expensive) contractor from this area recommended it. I'm still skeptical.
 
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Deezler

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Southeast MI
After the various building projects I have been through (ok maybe not all that many, lol), I would be inclined to agree that you could save some money using pole construction.

But! To really enact the potential savings, you have to be willing to do some of the prep and finish work yourself, and possibly accept some less professional finishes inside.

To start, getting the building shell erected as a pole barn will definitely save you many many thousands of dollars, and be erected much faster. You can still use most any siding type on the exterior of a pole barn.

But to really save money on the total building cost, consider doing all this stuff yourself (and sub contract where needed) :
- slab prep. A ratwall around the perimeter gives some peace of mind about critters undermining the slab and can provide some partial frost heave resistance. Put insulation on the outside of the ratwall. grade the sub-grade flat with whatever tools you have at your disposal (hopefully a real tractor or skid steer, lol), and then rent or buy a used plate compactor (can resell for what you paid). Lay the insulation boards and vapor barrier down yourself, super easy.
- Hydronic heating and rebar layout - this is also easy, it just takes a little time. Don't pay a contractor huge markup, you can get the tubing kit, with tools/ties/manifolds for $400-500 hundred dollars from blue ridge
- building interior wall insulation - several options here, again all are pretty easy to do. I cringe when I see guys frame out entire walls between their poles, because at that point why didnt you just stick build it? But you can just lay up foam board insulation sheets, and cover with plywood or drywall in between poles to finish. Ceiling insulation is straightforward too, shop craigslist for your local discount deal houses on the 2' wide batts and foam sheets.
- electrical can also be done yourself as time allows. On a separate permit after the building permit is closed.

Agree with the one suggestion above to simply brick on a wainscott, it'll look good with the house. Then lap siding above that. Again, any siding type or exterior treatment is easy with pole barns, for anything "fancier" you just put a layer of cheap sheathing on first and then side over that.

For my garage build (recent 30x36 pole barn, hope to do my thread soon), the decision was easy, it simply HAD to be a pole barn due to my budget. The price difference to get the shell up, that I could finish afterwards, was less than half what a stick build would have cost. And it was up and usable for vehicle storage in 2 weeks, instead of 2-3 months.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Eastern PA
First pole building quote came back. This was just based on one of those online forms. Height, width, number or doors. This isn't completely relevant due to it being so far off from what I am really looking at but I thought it might be nice to see a line item quote like this and I thought you guys might be interested.

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Deezler

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Looks pretty good to me (who is that quote from?). I would do the 2' truss spacing regardless of what style you choose. But why not go scissor; so nice to have the headroom. Why are you going with such tall sidewalls (14'4") ? With scissor trusses you would have plenty of room for a lift with even just 10' sidewalls (unless you need the lift right next to the wall for some reason). Would help keep the building from looking like such an industrial monster.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Looks pretty good to me (who is that quote from?). I would do the 2' truss spacing regardless of what style you choose. But why not go scissor; so nice to have the headroom. Why are you going with such tall sidewalls (14'4") ? With scissor trusses you would have plenty of room for a lift with even just 10' sidewalls (unless you need the lift right next to the wall for some reason). Would help keep the building from looking like such an industrial monster.

I think I put 14ft interior head room on the quote form. They probably came up with that number from there. I would absolutely do the scissor trusses to try and bring the ceiling height down a bit and still get the room I need. The other thing that stood out was the 4" slab. Am I crazy or is that way too thin? I was thinking 8" 3,000psi concrete.

In other news I had a good conversation today with another contractor about doing a traditional construction building. He seemed confident that they could do what I wanted and stay on budget. I explained to him what I wanted and this was the photo (see below) he sent me of the closest thing they've done to that. This one is obviously two bays across instead of three but its a similar look with the roof lines and varying finishing materials. He's coming to the house Thursday to see the site and discuss further.

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Deezler

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4" slab is pretty standard. Lift manufacturers seem to generally agree that 4" of good 3500psi concrete is sufficient, but lots of us on this site go thicker anyway just for the peace of mind. I did more like 6" in my future lift area and 5" in the rest of my shop (4000psi). 8" is way overkill, and concrete is pretty expensive!

I'm wondering if your preferred roof design is actually even compatible with trusses, though? You might be stuck in the stick build w/ rafters style to get the high sidewalls like that.

Good luck with the contractor. Gotta say, I'll be stunned if they can build and complete what you want for $40/sq ft. Ok I'll shut up now and let others provide actual wisdom, haha.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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4" slab is pretty standard. Lift manufacturers seem to generally agree that 4" of good 3500psi concrete is sufficient, but lots of us on this site go thicker anyway just for the peace of mind. I did more like 6" in my future lift area and 5" in the rest of my shop (4000psi). 8" is way overkill, and concrete is pretty expensive!

6" 4000psi might be the way to go. I was looking at lift requirements and even the HD lifts that hold 20k lbs only require 6" 3500psi.

I'm wondering if your preferred roof design is actually even compatible with trusses, though? You might be stuck in the stick build w/ rafters style to get the high sidewalls like that.

Good luck with the contractor. Gotta say, I'll be stunned if they can build and complete what you want for $40/sq ft. Ok I'll shut up now and let others provide actual wisdom, haha.

No need to shut up, I'm looking for input from where ever I can get it!

You can do trusses for any slope you want. For the roof design you would just need two different truss designs and the wall height would be different at the ends and the middle. I don't foresee that being an issue.
 

sean Buick 76

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Edmonton Alberta
I would do the 4 inch concrete with just a section 6 of 8 inches deep where you plan to put the lift... Lots of rebar will help. The biggest thing though for the success of the concrete is the prep.

1. Ensure enough material is removed, anything mushy needs to go
2. Add crushed gravel and compact properly

Of course there is a lot more to it than that but just a few things to think about.

Very cool cars by the way!!
 

RSr

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Pittsburgh, PA
Thank you!

I love all things with wheels. I desperately want a motorcycle but the wife's just not having it :sad:

I second (or third or fourth?) liking the car collection. I've got a 2000 Imola Yellow S4 that I just can't part with and am basically saving for a future restore to its heyday.

I feel like motorcycles are one of those things that are 'grandfathered' into a relationship. When my wife and I were engaged, I clearly specified that motorcycles were a part of my life and I wouldn't be giving them up and that when we had kids I would be buying them dirt bikes and teaching them to ride. I wasn't leaving any of that open to interpretation after we were legally bound.

I have known people who have successfully convinced their wife to let them buy a bike and start riding later in life but its a lot easier to make a convincing argument before marriage, and definitely before kids.

Good luck with the variance request and build. I'm not a big fan of pole buildings but you cant argue with the price and time savings when you're looking at the square footage you want.
 
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Deezler

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I feel like motorcycles are one of those things that are 'grandfathered' into a relationship.

Yep! I tell all the younger guys around me at work to hold off on proposing until they get all their dream hobbies started. I was at least already an auto-enthusiast and musician when I started my relationship... but I hadn't gotten into motorcycles yet. Now it's just flat off the table - simply can't leave mom and kids hanging if you get in a wreck, or killed by some texting idiot.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Got some concept renders from the first contractor. Traditional built, not a pole building. So far working with these guys has been awesome so as long as we can make this work on budget, the pole building will be out the window. These are both 40x60 layouts and the side with the doors would be opening up to the back yard. Side garage door would be all glass looking into the back yard and hopefully one day a pool :D

Option 1 - Close to my original sketch

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Option 2 - More unique and I think my preferred design at this point.

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Interior render just for size reference. He is showing 12ft ceilings with flat bottom trusses but I think we are going to do scissor trusses. I'd like to be at 13'-6" inside.

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Let me know what you think!
 
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RSr

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I think the second one looks better but the roof design would seem to necessitate a supporting wall or beam running across the middle of the garage. That plus the bump out and stone work might move the cost needle too far.
 
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flying_tomatoes

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I think the second one looks better but the roof design would seem to necessitate a supporting wall or beam running across the middle of the garage. That plus the bump out and stone work might move the cost needle too far.

I agree.

The stone/brick work would just be the front. I wouldn't bother wrapping that around as there will be a fence coming off that side so you wouldn't see it from the street any way.

The change in roof design is my biggest concern. I expressed that concern to him right away but we are meeting Tuesday to go over it. I am trying to avoid any sort of center post of wall at all costs.
 

graffix000

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Looking good so far. Mind sharing when in Eastern PA you are located? I am outside of Philly, but am always looking for decent local builders for when I am able to do my build.
 

Robey5

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North of Detroit, Mi
Tomatos:

Your car collection is tight! My next car will be an Audi S4, I would like to get into a 13(ish) model year (6 speed, preferred!)

My suggestion to stay 'on budget' is to get your hands dirty wherever possible. Doing concrete prep and getting PEX down for heating your floor is pretty brainless work. Based on the car collection, I believe that you have the talent in your hands to be able to knock out basics like this. I too suggest that doing this as a 'stick-built' garage will be a little more costly in terms of foundation and such, but the finished product will look more like what you're going for. Regarding variances and such: good luck. I've seen HOAs totally strict, likewise local building authorities totally strict, and I've seen totally lax authorities as well; with no real reasons for their attitude(s).
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Tomatos:

Your car collection is tight! My next car will be an Audi S4, I would like to get into a 13(ish) model year (6 speed, preferred!)

Thank you! I was actually shopping for a 07-08 S4 Avant with a manual when I bought the RS4 in 2011. Couldn't find what I wanted and ended up spending more but getting a car better car. Daily driving the RS4 for about 3 years were some of the most fun automotive times of my life. I often wish it didn't become such a show queen and I could justify driving it more. Picking up the RS6 last year has cured that a bit though. As afraid of the RS6 as many people are it has been quite a great vehicle.


My suggestion to stay 'on budget' is to get your hands dirty wherever possible. Doing concrete prep and getting PEX down for heating your floor is pretty brainless work. Based on the car collection, I believe that you have the talent in your hands to be able to knock out basics like this. I too suggest that doing this as a 'stick-built' garage will be a little more costly in terms of foundation and such, but the finished product will look more like what you're going for. Regarding variances and such: good luck. I've seen HOAs totally strict, likewise local building authorities totally strict, and I've seen totally lax authorities as well; with no real reasons for their attitude(s).

I do hope to get my hands dirty a bit but free time isn't always on my side. Besides regular work hours I also manager our rental property and go to school part time. I have an associates degree but have been working on my engineering degree part time for the last few years. Nights and weeks are often even more busy then my regular working hours, haha.

The preliminary conversation with the township went really well so I hope the variance goes well also but I did have a terrible experience at my last home applying for a variance. That was a different municipality though. We shall see.
 

Robey5

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I am not sure how old you are, but I have to say that the amount of effort that has to be put up to study part time for a BS in engineering in addition to "everything else" - I can see that your "free time" is likely at a premium.

When I went to grad school, I was working as a program manager at the time. It was also when I proposed to my wife - with one of the stipulations being that I finish my masters before we wed. She had some patience; during the 14 month "engagement" I knocked out many credit hours to finish my masters. When I reflect back on that period, I smile and think about how I wasn't taking on any big car or house projects so that I could focus my efforts on finishing that masters.

What I am getting at is - I can see that your time will be at a premium while you work on this garage. One thing that you cannot purchase more of is: time, even though I wish there was another hour in the day so that I could accomplish more.

Before I go: can we get more pics of the RS4?
 
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flying_tomatoes

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I am not sure how old you are, but I have to say that the amount of effort that has to be put up to study part time for a BS in engineering in addition to "everything else" - I can see that your "free time" is likely at a premium.

When I went to grad school, I was working as a program manager at the time. It was also when I proposed to my wife - with one of the stipulations being that I finish my masters before we wed. She had some patience; during the 14 month "engagement" I knocked out many credit hours to finish my masters. When I reflect back on that period, I smile and think about how I wasn't taking on any big car or house projects so that I could focus my efforts on finishing that masters.

What I am getting at is - I can see that your time will be at a premium while you work on this garage. One thing that you cannot purchase more of is: time, even though I wish there was another hour in the day so that I could accomplish more.

I am 31 and I am 50 credits or so into my bachelors. The bummer is my associates degree was an accredited degree but it had no transferable credits so I had to start completely from scratch and I'm just starting to get into the real engineering courses now. I was doubling and tripping up on the gen ed courses but I don't think that's going to happen any longer.


Before I go: can we get more pics of the RS4?

Indeed.

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The old wheel color:
(having some re-sizing issues here for some reason)

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shortykorte

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If those are the two choices, definitely the second, post or no post. Hope contractor can figure out a solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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flying_tomatoes

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Update:

Had a meeting with the contractor to discuss the design and the materials so he can prepare the estimate. We decided to flatten out the front wall and expand the dormer up top a bit. We will extend the roof out/down further to hide some of the height in the front with corbels/gussets or whatever you want to call them. We will be using 8x10 garage doors and standing seam metal roof. Aluminum board and batten siding on the lower section facing the road, standard vinyl siding on the sides and back. This is the photo we used as reference for the front face modifications. They are also confident that we can do a fully open floor plan with this roof design with out needing any columns. :rocker:

27742017929_5810a9a79e_z.jpg

Now we wait for the numbers...
 

RSr

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I like the idea of the extended roof in the front to scale the height down. Is the dormer decorative or functional with attic trusses and storage space?
 

Deezler

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Location
Southeast MI
Nice aesthetic plan! So, is your builder planning not to use trusses, and just stick build with rafters? With trusses, if the roofline really changes direction like that, there would need to be something to carry the load of the trusses.. meaning a big beam going across the whole span and most likely with a post or two, or else the beam would just be ridiculously huge.

Hate to sound pessimistic but maybe a dash of realism would help - this really smells like a $100k+ garage now, just sayin. Builders are always confident, it's how they sell themselves. Good luck!
 

Super Sport

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
4,081
Location
West Michigan
Excited to see this come along! My wife and I are in the market for a house and I'd like to find a lot similar to yours, and a garage close to this size is on my wish list.

Keep us updated!
 
OP
F

flying_tomatoes

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2017
Messages
72
Location
Eastern PA
I like the idea of the extended roof in the front to scale the height down. Is the dormer decorative or functional with attic trusses and storage space?

The dormer is decorative but there will be non opening windows. I just want to be able to access the back to put some lights in the windows at Christmas time. Otherwise I will not use them.

Nice aesthetic plan! So, is your builder planning not to use trusses, and just stick build with rafters? With trusses, if the roofline really changes direction like that, there would need to be something to carry the load of the trusses.. meaning a big beam going across the whole span and most likely with a post or two, or else the beam would just be ridiculously huge.

Hate to sound pessimistic but maybe a dash of realism would help - this really smells like a $100k+ garage now, just sayin. Builders are always confident, it's how they sell themselves. Good luck!

They will be trusses. They told me as long as I had 2'-6" between the garage doors they could break up the header beam enough for it not to be an issue across the front but the back/middle of the garage may still be an issue. The contractor (engineer) is telling me no, but we shall see!

As for budget.. I unfortunately agree. We'll find out soon I guess.

I like the reference facade. Hope it works out.

Excited to see this come along! My wife and I are in the market for a house and I'd like to find a lot similar to yours, and a garage close to this size is on my wish list.

Keep us updated!

Thanks guys. Hoping to have the estimate in the next week or so. Ill keep everyone posted.
 

Model A Fan

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
1,210
Location
NW Washington
I would eventually like to find a place where I can have an "Autohaus" as well. I am curious what the numbers would be like, so please let us know. It looks like it will be great, and an especially nice home for Great-Grandpa's car! :D
 
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