16x24 in the 1st State

[Gone0654]

Hello Garage Journal!

I will be using this thread to document my detached garage build. I have enjoyed this forum to get motivation for my build, so maybe this will help the next person who stumbles upon this forum in search of inspiration.

Backstory:
I am 25 and graduated college in 2017, and bought my first house in 2018. The house was a bit of a fixer, and I have since re done the kitchen, flooring, and numerous cosmetic updates. The house is in a suburban development and has a 19x18 attached garage (and a 8x10 shed). It is definitely a cookie cutter house, the attached garage has no windows, 8ft ceiling, and a 16x7 garage door. I grew up in a rural area, with a large 40x40 detached garage, so I am a bit spoiled with having space for vehicle storage/projects, and decided I need a bit more space. I moved to the suburbs after college in order to follow my career path (IT work) - so I am limited in sizing of a detached garage (more on that later)

So with that said, in late 2019 I decided it was time to get rid of the leaky 8x10 shed and replace it with a detached garage. My dad is a builder, but lives about 2 hours away, but he agreed to help me build it, and offer advice when needed. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am located in Delaware, the first state in the United States.



More to come.....wanted to post some pictures but I need to get my post count up to 5 first - working on that now....

 

[Gone0654]

Off to the races:
First things first, figuring out how big I can go. After studying the local zoning and development codes, my limitations were the following; 1. must be under 450 square feet (calculated off of lot size), 2. must be under 20ft tall, 3. must be 6ft from side lot line, and 3ft from rear lot line. I was considering everything from 14x18 up to a 18x24. I looked online for plans and landed on Behm Design. They had a lot of size options, reasonably priced, and others on the forum had positive remarks. After numerous hours of staking out the yard to figure out what size I was comfortable with, I landed on 16x24, which would turn out to be a bonus when it came to the foundation.

https://behmdesign.com/

https://behmdesign.com/product/384-5-16-x-24-traditional-garage-plan/

Now that I had the plans picked out, next was prepping the area for the detached garage - which involved removing the old shed. (who says 5 1/2 ft truck beds are useless?)

 

[captain14]

I am interested in this build.

 

[Gone0654]

With the plans picked out, I turned them over to my dad to modify. Per the plans and the IRC 2018, since it's an accessory use structure under 400 sq feet (pro of a 16x24) and an eave height under 10ft, a frost protected foundation is not required which saves $$$ on foundation costs. I received several quotes for foundations, both mono pours and footer+block+slab foundations. Since a concrete pump truck is needed, the mono pour foundation ended up being the best option. The plans call for 9ft walls, which we bumped up to 10ft, and a 8/12 pitch, which we bumped up to 12/12 so I could stand up in the attic area. An 18 inch eave overhang gave us enough drop to meet the 10ft maximum grade to eave height requirement. The foundation is 12 inches below grade and 6 inches above on the thickened edges, and 4 inches thick in the mid section.

 

[Gone0654]

With the foundation poured, the next steps were ordering the lumber and starting the build. Went back and forth on 2x4 vs 2x6 studs, landed on 2x6 since it wasn't too much more for 10ft pieces and future insulation was a concern. 1 9x8ft insulated garage door, 3068 9 lite door, and a 36x38 window. Double bottom and top plates. Bolted down the bottom plate with 2x2 inch 3/16 bearing plate washers. The anchor bolts were placed every 4 foot, and doubled up around the garage and entry doors. The garage door is a Clopay with an 18.4 R-value - which will be nice for future insulation/heating, and the entry door a basic Therma-Tru fiberglass model.

 

[J-man67]

Awesome! I went from a shed to a detached! Had to move to Smyrna to find one already built! Anyway, your neighborhood looks familiar. I own a home remodeling company and I've seen most neighborhoods in the Tri state area at this point. Def a Bear/Rt 40 area home.

Good luck with the building and enjoy your new space!

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