Finally happening: 44'x26' with a 14'x14' connection to the house in CT

Zaxxn · Apr 19, 2018

I think with a total of 12 cars (not all here) and other toys to work on, it was time to graduate from the unusable 1 car garage the house came with to something bigger. It took many years to get the resources together to do this, but I always rather do things when I can do so without putting a strain on finances. Hence I am a very budget conscious guy when it comes to projects, but also don't save on the wrong things.

A few weeks ago we broke ground for the project, a 44' x 26' x 16' shop/garage attached to the house with a 14' x 14' area with a storage mezzanine that has access directly to the geek-cave in the basement. It is a long dreamed dream and finally it inches towards reality!

Right now we're prepping to pour the slab - footings, frost walls, etc are done. I attached a couple pics of the progress so far and will upload some renderings/images later and keep this thread going with updates throughout the build. I am sure that I will have TONS of questions as I go along. I've built a few houses, but none of them here in the US, stick built with wood and such, so aside from lots of remodeling and interior framing and so on, no other experience with stick. Been reading A LOT about framing, the engineering of it, including code books and so on, and feel fairly comfortable to get this going with a few good, experienced friends.

Talk soon,
Zax

Zaxxn · Apr 19, 2018

Hi again!

As I had mentioned, here are a few images of what it's going to be. Definitely open for suggestions for construction or interior layout and so on - changed a few things already, like 10' x 12' garage doors instead of the 9' x 10' in the plans...

Thanks,
Zax

1/2 Cup · Apr 20, 2018

Zaxxn looking forward to following your progress :thumbup:

Paul_VR6 · Apr 20, 2018

Pretty good looking design. I like how the house will hide most of the size.

Zaxxn · Apr 21, 2018

Paul_VR6 said:
Pretty good looking design. I like how the house will hide most of the size.

Yea, that was one of the goals. Actually, in the first rendition with a total height of about 18', it was pretty much all hidden from the street view, but I wanted the extra headroom especially for the mezzanine above the 14x14 area for storage with enough headroom. it's still pretty "stealth" considering it is in a purely residential neighbourhood in this town. I mean, it worked, and I got a permit in pretty short order, kudo's to the architect!

--Zax

Zaxxn · May 1, 2018

Some progress today after a long time of bad weather - slab is poured! Tomorrow and the following days will probably just be some site work around the building to make it a bit better accessible and improve drainage as well as continuing the temporary stone driveway...

jblnut · May 1, 2018

Looks like another Sweet Home 3D user :thumbup:

I've modeled everything from my dream shop plan to our new house to a few cattle sheds with that program. Pretty neat deal for being free !!

I love seeing big sheds/garages attached to houses .... mostly because my wife won't let me so I live my dreams out through others :beer:

What do you plan to do in the garage ?? Storage mostly or working on stuff ???

Do you live both here and Germany ??

Zaxxn · May 1, 2018

Hahaha, yes, I stumbled across Sweet Home 3D pretty much by "accident" and gave it a shot, and it really did everything that I needed. I'd have access to AutoCAD and whatever else, but sometimes simple is a good thing - I did the first rough sketches up to the interior with it.

I always really disliked the basement stairs and bilco door on the outside of my house, so when the shop/garage came up it just made sense to connect it right there, get rid of the bilco doors and be able to go from the garage right into the "Geek-Cave" (calling it a Man-Cave would exclude some lovely people

), and the zoning regs where I am pretty much demanded to have an attached garage because the limitations in size for a free-standing utility building are ridiculous.

It's use will be mostly working on my cars and storing them, hence a bunch of lifts, but also a bit of other shenanigans like space for laser cutter, 3D printer, welders, sowing machine and some other things. Drive through bay big enough to fit the boat if it needs work inside (therefore the one extra wide lift). This has been decades in planning and fantasy and we finally decided to do it, even if it means doing most of it ourselves to not stress out about a huge mortgage after refinancing.

I am living about 90% here, 10% back home in Germany at this point, but hopefully some time in the future our jobs will support a 60/40 or even 50/50 split - that's at least the plan.

Zaxxn · May 14, 2018

Had a VERY pleasant meeting with the building official at town hall today - I was very surprised just how accommodating and helpful he was. Great guy - with lots of awesome input.

Also saved me some money on a few things, e.g. the shear wall hold downs the architect spec'd - he said there is no need for them with the amount and location of the embedded anchors in the foundation, and as long as I stick to the correct nailing pattern and blocking for the sheathing.

He also said it's no problem that I widened the garage doors and increased their height compared to what was on the plans. As long as the headers are spec'd and installed correctly it's all good, nothing else to be done. Same for my slight reduction in overall height of the building.
He went as far as copying me some pages with the code I needed for some of the things they will pay attention to during the framing inspection.

So, off to a few lumberyards to get some competitive bids and then ordering the lumber as soon as the rest of the trees are cut and the site work is complete right after that! Yay! Framing, here we come!

Zaxxn · Aug 26, 2018

Finally some news from this build - we actually started framing this weekend. Many delays caused by all kinds of things and life in general, but wife and Myself have been busy this weekend and hopefully will continue at that pace for a while now!

LXCam · Aug 26, 2018

Looks like that'll be a very nice addition when it's wrapped up. Good luck and keep the pics coming.

Zaxxn · Sep 2, 2018

And another step further - first wall segment standing, one more ready to stand up and another for around the corner ready to have sheathing nailed down tomorrow. And no threats of divorce yet, even though we've been doing construction work together and I am very German when it comes to how I want things done. Even though I knew it already 20 years ago, but she's definitely a keeper ;-)

--Zax

e-tek · Sep 3, 2018

Nice work!! Congratulations. Gonna watch this one!

Bighead38 · Sep 3, 2018

What kind of cars?

Zaxxn · Sep 3, 2018

Thanks for the good luck wishes! I've done a lot of smaller remodeling projects around the house, finished my basement, do some plumbing, electrical, carpentry and so on, but this is definitely the biggest thing I've stick built so far. Built a couple houses in Germany, but the way of building structures there is quite different, beginning with the materials. So, lots to learn, but it's fun!

Cars are mostly German, Mercedes and Porsche, 70s to 90s, but there is also the wife's Alfa in the fleet and one more on the list to get, a Datsun Z as soon as I find something that's not crazy money yet worth to bring back.

Thanks again,
--Zax

NUTTSGT · Sep 3, 2018

She helps raise the walls and swings a hammer, keeper for sure.

Keep taking pictures, when you think you have taken enough, take one more. You only have one chance to record the build of your garage.

Zaxxn · Sep 9, 2018

Here is a late night update from the weekend warriors - build a couple more walls and stood them up today. Sorry for the terrible quality, but that is what the phone does in the dark. First time building triple 11 7/8 LVL headers. Those things are massive. One down, three more to go on the other side. Definitely learned a lot during this build so far.

--Zax

RogueFab · Sep 9, 2018

Great start! I like all the detail you put into the planning. That is huge for being attached to the house. Cool!

mfg0772 · Sep 10, 2018

Zax - I look forward to following along on this. I'm also in CT and don't see too many posts from this area. Good luck.

Mike

Zaxxn · Sep 22, 2018

Here's another quick update from the weekend warriors - by the end of the day tomorrow we should have just two more first story walls to go for which we'll have to cut into the roof of the house, and then build the small walls for the second story! Happy about the progress lately, which is a good thing with days getting shorter and not too much light after work anymore. Trusses come in another week, so the chances of getting everything closed in and work inside when the weather gets really crappy should be pretty good!

--Zax

buildingup · Sep 24, 2018

Coming along nicely. This year just finished closing up our 50x80 ourselves and know how it goes. Looking forward to seeing this get completed! hopefully you can get it weather tight before the winter rolls in.

Zaxxn · Sep 29, 2018

I hope you're not getting too bored of our updates yet! A few more walls, including the first wall of the addition that connects to the house. This weekend we should get to the point of framing the second story of the addition, which means cutting off the eaves of the house. Oh joy. And then somehow making everything watertight including a temporary way of getting rainwater off the roof and not into the construction site. I am thinking I just start building the cricket roof we need later on anyways and just putting some temporary water barrier on it before everything is getting shingled. Trusses are scheduled to arrive 10/10...

Oh, and the walls are straight. Mostly. Hahahha. It's the wide angle lens that warps stuff.

1/2 Cup · Sep 29, 2018

Zaxxn getting there.. :thumbup:

SJK2 · Sep 30, 2018

Nice looking build........

Zaxxn · Dec 5, 2018

I know, I know...this update was long overdue...but with the seasons turning to Winter rapidly, we really just busted our behinds to get the place closed in for the cold season so we can concentrate on working on the inside. Here are a bunch of pictures of the last 8 or 10 weeks.

Had my dad over from Germany for a while, so that was a big help, and otherwise the wife and myself and some awesome help here and there like at the "truss setting party", "roofing snow day" and so on from really great friends and family.

Without the help of so many people that were just there when we needed an extra hand with something, we would have never made it in time, especially when you only have time in the evenings, and the daylight after work now pretty much non-existing.

Tonight we got a little more than halfway done putting the wrap on the building, and we're waiting for the window glass to come in. Once that's all set and the soffits are covered we're turning to work inside.

Structural inspection was passed with flying colors on Monday, now roughing in electrical and plumbing as the next project! Also could have never done it without reading gobs and gobs of posts on Garage Journal. We learned a lot through this project so far!

--Zax

Zaxxn · Dec 5, 2018

Here are a few more...

(Yes, they are unfortunately not in order, so it's some back and forth...)

Zaxxn · Jan 6, 2019

Just a few more updates:

Got the windows all in, so aside from the soffits (no insulation yet) the place is pretty much closed in and my kerosene torpedo is making it workable even in freezing temps. Electrical wiring is 95% complete as of tonight and should be done tomorrow. Plumbing and LPG line to follow this week and hopefully getting the rough in inspection done by the end of the week.

The more time I spend working up in the mezzanine, the more I dislike the fact that it really will be just a storage pad. It's such a comfy space. I have a feeling a couch or something will end up there to chill

1/2 Cup · Jan 6, 2019

Zaxxn thanks for the update. :thumbup:

You are right your mezzanine does look like a great chill out space. :thumbup:

mbryson · Jan 6, 2019

Good size. Subscribing for updates. This is likely the largest I think I can make my upcoming build. How'd you come to the conclusion on the dimensions? As big as you can go per code or did you have specific plans for the interior in place?

mike02vr601 · Jan 6, 2019

Looking awesome! Definitely not Milford CT, they break balls on everything.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Zaxxn · Jan 6, 2019

mbryson: The main space was pretty much what I envisioned for a shop space for all the things I like to do and to put some cars in. The addition that connects to the house with the mezzanine on top resulted from where we could place the building without the need for any variances and while staying within all the zoning regs.

mike02vr601: Thanks! It's not Milford, but not far either! The one thing I learned is to really get your building officials involved early on. At least for me that was a big help and everyone up to the top of the department was great and gave lots of helpful advice so far.

--Zax

WyGuy1 · Jan 6, 2019

Looking good! Can’t wait to see it finished up.

trialrun · Jan 7, 2019

looking great, i'm also in CT and would love to expand my car collection but CT destroys me on taxes as it is. Can't wait to see the finished product!

buildingup · Jan 7, 2019

For the mezzanine you could get creative and build a couch (2x4s with some plywood) with home made memory foam cushions, coffee table as storage containers then under the window a nice TV with storage containers around it and more shelving to the right of the windows along the entire wall. Would be a spot I would never leave that's for sure!

Farmall450 · Jan 7, 2019

Nice looking build, especially for a DIYer. Get 'er done!

Zaxxn · Jan 7, 2019

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated. We're pretty happy with the outcome so far, especially considering that 90% of this was done by my wife and myself, and neither of us are in a building trade.

buildingup: That's a great idea...maybe incorporate all the tire/wheel storage in the bottom of the couch or so. Check out the attached pics - no stranger to building a couch. LOL. We did one already a few years ago and it didn't come out half bad!

wasfast · Jan 7, 2019

The dog certainly seems to approve of the sofa!

buildingup · Jan 8, 2019

You already have the experience I would for sure be giving it a shot and could come out really good looking, comfortable, and functional on top of it all

Zaxxn · Jan 8, 2019

buildingup said:
You already have the experience I would for sure be giving it a shot and could come out really good looking, comfortable, and functional on top of it all

I really might...I can just see myself hanging out up there with a drink or an espresso looking down into the shop over a good day's work or so. I originally wanted to have a window into the shop from the house, but that would have been a major nightmare to accomplish because of fire code and such. So this might be a nice alternative!

Zaxxn · Jul 2, 2020

Hahaha, sure, the moment I decide to start posting the rest of the build progress, there is a bug on the forum and my posts go ****** LOL!

Well, here it is again...obviously it's been over a year that I posted last, and no, I didn't give up or anything like that, quite the opposite, the shop is 99.9% done and under heavy use! However, things got so busy that posting the progress while trying to get it all done after work and on weekends with 90% of the time just my wife and myself was a bit challenging. BUT...good news...I did take tons of pics, so I will just post them with some comments over the coming days!

More good news - after it is all set and done now, I really can say that aside from the always-there-no-matter-what complaint that it sure could be bigger, there really isn't anything that doesn't work out in the way I hoped. Also, considering that this was the first time I stick-build anything of this size, everything worked out amazing and all inspections were passed without anything major!

Right now all that's left are a few pieces of trim to finish, the compressor shed outside, a "coffee corner" upstairs and the stairs/bar downstairs. Well, ok, a couple more lifts need to be installed, but I am still waiting for them.

Anyways, fast backward to where I stopped posting...

A few comments to those pics:

Since this was *somewhat* of a budget build, spray foam was out of the question, but we definitely insulated as much as we could and as careful and well as we could, and I can definitely confirm by now that it was worth every itch and every swear word during install. It's amazing how cool/warm this place stays all year round even without A/C or heat going.

Again for budget reasons, I didn't go for the real expensive plywood but rather spent a few days filling knots and priming. The result is awesome and almost as smooth as drywall would be. I am very happy with the outcome and that I can just mount to the wall whatever, wherever.

Next post coming right up...

--Zax

Finally happening: 44'x26' with a 14'x14' connection to the house in CT

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