14x20 Mini-Man Cave

[SShink]

I posted on here a few weeks ago I was going to build a 26'W X 16'D garage, then got some life changing news when a couple of weeks ago our daughter's boyfriend asked me for her hand in marriage. Nice that respect and honor still exist! He's a good guy, and they're good together, so it was an easy decision.

Anyway, that discussion means I'll have to scale down the garage scope to take some cost out, so I've come up with a plan for a 14' W X 20' D with 12' interior walls. That's also the deepest I can go on my lot size with the back and main structure setbacks.

I'm putting a '71 Chevelle into the garage which is 6' wide and 16' long, so should have some room on the front and sides to work on it. As mentioned, I went with a 12' interior ceiling, so I can add a lift later even though it might be a little tight on the sides around it.

I also went with an 8/12 pitch roof, and the quote from Tuff Shed includes decking and a pull down ladder installed, so that will give us storage as well (part of the justification to the better half lol).

I've attached pics of the approach to the back yard where it will be located, and yes that beautiful pin oak tree is going to have to come down. I love trees, but this one is smack in the way.

The plans go into engineering today, then will have to wait 4-5 weeks before they go to the city for another 3-4 weeks, so hoping for a July build if everything falls in place.

Oh, someone suggested on the other thread to look into metal buildings for half the cost, but the city won't allow it within the city limits.

Anyway, I searched the forum for single car garages and found a few good examples, but would love to see some interior pics of others to gauge how much room I'll have to work with. I did see someone used the IKEA web tool to sketch it out and that looked pretty cool, so will give that a try when I have some time.

I'm also welcome to input on window placement, as the location where I have them on the drawing may be an issue if I add a lean too roof over them as I'd like to finish off part of the lean to for more storage. The garage door faces south for orientation.

Thanks, and your suggestions are welcome!

 

[jtotheizzo]

Glad to hear you have found a plan that allows you to move forward. Since I am doing this exact thing I will offer my thoughts on this if you care to have them. Most of my thoughts are around having a lift in that garage.

If at all possible you want that garage to be longer than 20' I think as we discussed your situation doesn't allow it so you may be able to make due. What I will say is that unless you are installing a high lift garage door (and even then) that door is going to be in the way of using a lift with it open. Also with the average width of a 2 post lift in a 14' wide building with 2x6 construction (guessing because of the height) it will only be 13' wide so it will be wall to wall lift in there.You wont be able to walk around the car while its on the ground. Not the end of the world but just something to think about.

The drawing they gave you is no where near to scale so I think it would benefit you to draw it out in one of the many online tools available. A garage those dimensions is going to be kind of goofy looking ( just being honest as I am about to own one too). If the stem walls are 12' high then with an 8/12 pitch the building should be around 17' 8" tall. If you would like I would be happy to draw it out for you in a home design tool that I have. That is how I came up with the designs for my setup. As an example it looks like this:

 

[borgdog]

Sounds like a nice little project, look forward to seeing it develop.

@jtotheizzo, I think you have the door a little tall on your drawing there, his plans say a 9x7 garage door. Heck with 12 foot walls and 8/12 pitch the door could open damn near just straight up, negating the issue with the lift and open door.

 

[jtotheizzo]

@jtotheizzo, I think you have the door a little tall on your drawing there, his plans say a 9x7 garage door. Heck with 12 foot walls and 8/12 pitch the door could open damn near just straight up, negating the issue with the lift and open door.

ha ha, yes you are correct that drawing is of the garage that I'm building which is close in dimensions but has a 10'x10' rollup on the front. I know when I was looking for examples I didn't see many people with 14x20x12 setups. I will probably draw his up when i get home just for fun and post it.

As far as the door I think he will find as I did with this setup a rollup is about the only viable option if he really wants a lift and to open the door. All the space he is gaining with his pitch it sounds like will be storage. So that means he only as 5' with which to raise the door and make the turn. With the high lift setups they tend to come out from the wall a bit while they are rising and will eat into that 20' he is allotting. I am not saying it can't be done just saying he should be very cognizant of it. I also know from experience dealing with Tuff Shed that you need to have all of these discussions with them. They are likely planning on throwing a regular garage door on that bad boy which will be 100% in the way.

All of that said I am a huge fan of this build. I am glad someone other than me is willing to do crazy things to have a lift and\or some extra room to work on cars.

 

[jtotheizzo]

Here are some quick renderings I threw together for fun based on the Tuff shed drawings. The windows I wasnt sure about because it says 3x2 but they look square in the drawing so I drew them 3' wide.

 

[SShink]

Thanks for the feedback.

Here are my priorities at this point with the build:

1. Have a space to park the Chevelle and work on it occasionally and be able to have it torn apart, then walk away and leave it like that without having to move it around to get the wife's car in the garage. lol

2. Have storage for tubs and Chevelle parts above the garage as our home is finished in the basement with zero storage.

3. Have interior ceiling height available if I want to buy a portable Max Jacktwo post lift to raise the car up to work underneath. If that isn't possible, at least have enough height to use a Quick Jack lift.

4. Have a place to hang out with some good tunes and just hang out.

I had a 20wx24d with 11' inside ceiling height built in MN a few years ago, and really miss it. It also had 8/12 pitch roof with storage rafters, so the pic I attached gives you some idea of the shape, although the 14' wide version may be a little more boxy looking with the high pitch. If I remember right, it was about 18' to the peak on the one in MN.

Keep the feedback coming!

 

[SShink]

Here are some quick renderings I threw together for fun based on the Tuff shed drawings. The windows I wasnt sure about because it says 3x2 but they look square in the drawing so I drew them 3' wide.

That's awesome! Thanks for putting that together.

It does look a little funky with the 12 interior ceiling height, but it will make it feel more open inside, that's for sure.

One of my concerns is that I won't have much room on the sides when the car is in it (as you pointed out). The Chevelle is approximately 6' wide x 16' long, so that would leave me ~4' on either side, and either 2' in front and back, or 3' in front and 1' in back depending on how deep I park it.

I plan on building a 2' deep work bench on the side with the windows/service door, so may need to skooch the car over a little.

The other thing the 12' ceiling does for me is give me an option to build a mezzanine on the end opposite the garage door about 8' off the ground and maybe 4' in that I could finish off for interior storage as well.

Finally, in the future I could build a lean-to shed off the back wall of the garage in the yard to put the compressor out there for noise abatement, and outdoor stuff storage.

I guess I am crazy with this idea...