16'-18' wide garage?

[Grayguy]

Hopefully this is an acceptable place for this question, if not please relocate it mods, thanks!

Ok, I recently bought my first house, and I am already planning the garage build for this spring/summer. My house sits on a 50x140ft city lot, and the back yard is approximately 50x85ft. Between the big hardwood trees in the back of the lot, the 5ft set back laws, and not wanting to take up the whole back yard with a garage, I am thinking I'm only going to get 16' to 18' of garage width.
I am planning on going either 36' or 40' deep with 12-14' walls.

So who here has a garage anywhere close to those dimensions? I have been looking around here for quite a while, and have found a few similar builds, but I'm looking for more pictures, and feedback of similar sized garages. So if anyone can point me in the right direction, or wants to give me some opinions, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[icecactus]

Mines 39.5 x 19.6. with 16' ceilings. Its an attached garage though. Go as wide as you can. I wish mine was 24 foot wide.

 

[p_mori7]

Mine is 16' wide by 30' deep with 10' walls. It also has a pop-out section on the south side which is 14' deep by 4' wide.

It's not complete yet, but enclosed enough for this winter.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63078

 

[Grayguy]

^ that's by far the closest to what I want I've found yet, thanks

 

[wintermute]

my carport conversion is 16' x 20'

 

[Grayguy]

How's the space work out for you?

 

[Jack Olsen]

16 is a generous single-car parking space. It's a little tight for two cars. But you can do it if they're small.

If you can do 18' inside, you'll be happier. To illustrate, this is a small BMW in a 20' wide garage. Each tile is 1'.

As you can see, there is barely enough space to get out on the passenger side, and enough room to get in and out (but not enough space to open the door all the way) on the driver's side.

 

[Zeke]

Well, what is the building to be used for? 16 x 40 will get you 2 cars of most sizes (including SUV's) tandem with plenty of room all around for work, doors, and work benches. Stay light on the benches/shelves at the end for tandem parking.

If not 2 cars, then how will it be used? The first thing to do is layout your lot and garage options on paper or the computer. Move things around in a virtual plan until satisfied. You might discover a lot.

Then I like to chalk it out on the ground. Park a car and such. Walk in and out of a "door." Sleep on it. Pass it by us.

 

[wintermute]

How's the space work out for you?

I have a ton of space side to side (see my avatar for reference). I'd like a bit more depth, but wasn't an option with the carport I started with. It's tight, but I can still do most work on my Ranger with the door closed though.

 

[Gary S]

Years ago I had a 18x24 garage. I parked 2 cars in it, but it was very tight. To work on a car, both needed to be moved out and the car that needed work had to be parked in the center of the building.

 

[Jagmandave]

How big is your car?

If you're working on a Mini, it's not a problem. If you're working on a full size truck, it's going to be tough.....but it also depends on how much stuff you have against the walls, how big the benches are etc.

 

[rickb801]

I have a 18x22 (outside dimensions),I am also on a city lot and no room to make larger. I don't use it as a garage, more as a shop. When I'm working on a vehicle there is ample room on both sides as long as there is only 1 vehicle in there. With yours being longer I would think it would be fine as they would be nose to tail. Or if you only have 1 vehicle then it would work out great to have ample room to park and the rest of the depth of the building could be used as shop space. Ideally, if it was drive thru that would be even better.

 

[cheap bastard]

My shop is 18X45. The walls ar 9 foot with one overhead door that is 12X7.5 feet. Mine has floor to ceiling storage along the back wall with the air compressor in one corner. Wall hanging storage is on both sides with a large steel work bench and my Smithy all toward the back. That leaves a very generous bay to work on cars, motorcycles or whatever else. It does require that projects stay mobile or additional work, of any significant size, is done outside. there is room to store a couple engine stands, a cherry picker, torches, a 60 inch wide welding table, a pair of bench grinders on stands plus a 50 inch wood top work bench for light projects. With insulated walls and ceiling, even cold northern Il. winters seldom bring it below freezing and if the doors are kept closed, I can get away with turning the heat on for only about 6 hours all weekend.
I do wish with regularity that the space were four feet wider.

 

[Grayguy]

^ do you have any pics of your shop? Sounds really interesting

This will be more of a shop than a garage. Usually there will be either one of our subarus in there, or my Cherokee. Basically it's a Long term project (more than a day or 2 of down time) space, any maintenance type stuff gets done where I work and we have a 2-post lift.

I figured if I have the vehicle parked a few feet in from the door then once the hoods open I'll have quite a bit of room in front of the vehicle.

I'm also going to look into making the back 16' of the shop bump out to 20'. I'll try to draw something up.

Keel the input coming!!!

 

[mrobins297aaa]

just curious have you checked with the city on size restrictions or height?

 

[Grayguy]

I can go to 20' to the peak on a regular garage permit, and 5' offsets to the foundation (although apparently 3ft offset variances are easy to come by since I prepped a slab last week that was 3' off the line).

As far as the size thing, I think it's a certain percentage of the sq/ft of the lot size...still haven't nailed that down.

I know I could build a 24x24 for sure, but I dont want to take up that much of the backward for a few reasons.
A: resale, I don't want to eat up the back yard and have that make it harder to sell

B: I have 2 90lbs dogs that grew up on the 20acres I just moved off of and they need all the fetch playing room thy can get haha

 

[ddawg16]

just curious have you checked with the city on size restrictions or height?

That is my thinking.

My lot is almost the same as yours.....my garage is detached in the back...and is 6" from the property line.....the key point was that it is ONLY a garage.

My garage is 20x25....

Click on the link in my sig for pics and details.

 

[bobemmerich]

Well, while not as deep, I have a16x20 and my lot is about the size of yours-By my town's calcs, it's .16/acre. I have enough room to park my 66 Mustang in the middle and open both doors to work. I can also close the overhead door and I have enough room around the front and back (although the back is a little tight). If I stick the trunk out of the door, I can pull an engine with enough room to maneuver the hoist backwards to remove it. I would have liked to go 20x20, but I thought it would eat up too much yard.

 

[Grayguy]

Well, this is dragging up an old thread, but it's mine so I'll go for it. After talking to the realtor, apparently a garage is a better selling point in this neighborhood than the 8x20' addition I was going to put on my house. So the garage planning has started up again. I have a feeling it's gonna end up closer to 16'-18'x24'...

 

[winnipegtibook]

I wish that I could have built something that deep. My width is somewhat similar,
Length is only 22ish ( outside). My "jut-out" may give
You some ideas...

 

[blackz26]

Yard? Who cares about yard? Lol, if I could have a garage over my entire property, Id be very happy. Bigger garage, less mowing, bigger garage..lol heard it said, no one contains their garage is too big. A few feet extra on the garage really shouldn't be a problem for resale
Might actually be good if someone is looking at your house, and another, but the other has the ****** garage. With that in mind, if you're thinking resale value, do you have and of moving soon? If not, why are you thinking resale value?

 

[rvr6000]

just curious have you checked with the city on size restrictions or height?

Was gonna say the same thing. In my city not only are there setback rules but there is also a limit to the percentage of the lot that can be covered, ie. have a roof over it. Depending on the size of your house and any sheds, etc. is going to determine how many square feet your garage can be.

Also - and this is just personal opinion - but a garage 16'wide and 14' high is gonna look like a giant chicken coop.

 

[Grayguy]

if you're thinking resale value, do you have and of moving soon? If not, why are you thinking resale value?

The plan when I bought it was fixed and out in 5 years and this is my 2nd year of ownership. This year will be basement remodel, Entryway addition, and start garage. As it's planned now, When I sell I should easily double my money if not better according to my Realtor.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Well, this is dragging up an old thread, but it's mine so I'll go for it. After talking to the realtor, apparently a garage is a better selling point in this neighborhood than the 8x20' addition I was going to put on my house. So the garage planning has started up again. I have a feeling it's gonna end up closer to 16'-18'x24'...

Since, you're not making it as long as you originally mentioned, I'd suggest going 24x24. Run your numbers, a 24' 4/12 truss is going to be a stock item at most yards. Custom building a 16-18' truss might set you back more than the larger garage.

Since you're considering resale value, I would think if you have a garage of either size, a standard size might make for better resale value. Ask your realtor and get their opinion.