24x24 Backyard Garage

[ymerej]

Things are finally starting on my new garage. Back in March my wife and I bought our first house, and in that process I had one firm requirement. The house had to have a garage, or space to build the garage. I got space to build. The plan is for a two car 24'x24' garage, reverse gable roof, 16'x8' door, 10' ceiling height, and for me to slowly finish the inside with insulation and drywall next year.

Phase 0: Relocation of Utilities and Tree Removal
The best location for the garage is the back corner of the yard. However, a tree was at the back corner of the garage location. Also, the utility pole is also at that corner of the yard, and the power line to the house comes overhead from there. My first projects were therefore to remove the tree, and upgrade the 100A service to 200A, replace the 40+ year old panel, and move the service underground all at the same time. I worked with BGE (local utility) so that my electrician would replace the panel, I would dig the trench and lay the 4" conduit, and they would only remove the old wires/ pull the new wires and put a new meter on the back of the house to minimize the cost to me.

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Phase 1.1: Foundation
The foundation is the only part I plan on having a contractor do. I thought about doing it myself, but it would take a month or more, and I don't have the skill or time to do a professional job. Therefore I got a few quotes, and hired a contractor to do the foundation. Getting the building permit was a bit of a pain and took a month due to a "stream" behind my yard and my proximity to a flood plain. On Sept 1st I had the permit in hand, and the contractor was out on Sept 2nd.

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The contractor should be back to pour the slab tomorrow, pending the possibility of rain. The lumber should be here later in the week, and then I'll get started framing.

 

[custom50]

Looks like you have gotten off to a good start. I started planning a pole type garage in Dec. 08. The Contractor ran off with 75% of the money for the job, 24'x32' 10' eaves, three over head doors, 6 windows, extra concrete for a patio between the old garage, and the new. August 09 I had 84 Lumber supply the material, and with their recommendation used their contractor, and concrete guys. The building is up now 40'x80'x14' 2-16'x8' roll up doors, two 4'x4' sliding windows one-3'x3' window, and one service door. I called for stone this past Friday to have it delivered mid morning to give the guy time to get the final grade in front. They sent no. 2 lime stone it looks like rip rap, I called for driveway stone, and I was discussed to say the least. Now I'm having the concrete guy push it out and put a 16-foot pad to go with the 4' apron. It has only taken 9 months plus many nights preparing for the court appearance to try to recover the money the other contractor stole form us.

 

[ymerej]

Custom50 - Sorry to hear about your troubles. After three quotes for the foundation all within a couple hundred dollars of each other, I went with the guy that had great references. He gave me a six page handout with names, numbers and quick job descriptions of his work. I called all the ones with garage related projects, and every one of them could not speak any higher of him. Seven years ago we did a similar project at my parents house - hire a contractor to do the foundation and then used a kit from 84 Lumber.

Yesterday it rained, and they're calling for rain today, tomorrow, and maybe into Thursday. The contractor didn't want to tear up my yard trying to get a cement truck back to the garage, and as much as I want to get started on my part, I want to take my time and do it right the first time. I told them to hold off a few days until the weather cleared up, so hopefully at the end of the week they'll pour the slab.

 

[jkrswld]

Looks to be moving along well. Can't wait to see how it progresses - I believe mine is 24x24 too so maybe I can snag some of your ideas for the inside

 

[custom50]

You did good checking on their work. If you need rain build a garage, every time I have had one built it has rained. In my case I guess I found out the hard way you just cannot take a persons word anymore. There was a day when a handshake was as good as any contract but not anymore. Anyway the building is up and I think it looks pretty good; at least I will have more room. I hope your garage turns out better then you are expecting.

 

[travisd]

Nice to see someone local putting something nice up

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Very nice! I still wish to have those cool butterflies of it being put up. You hate it sometimes during, but you wish to have that time back; or at least I do!

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.1: Foundation (Continued)

Last week the forecast was a 70% chance of rain for Tuesday to Thursday, so we didn't pour the concrete, but it also never rained. We then thought about pouring on Friday, so of course it rained over an inch that day.

After letting the ground dry out some, the contractor came back and poured the slab this morning. Tomorrow the wood is being delivered, and then I'll start framing!

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[dipper]

Looks great so far. I did the exact process you did, contract the foundation and then do all the rest.
I ended up waiting to pour the floor until my shell was up and dried in. It wasn't really what I wanted to do, but it actually worked out good. I remember the first day he planned to do it and it was raining like a mother, It wasn't fully dried in yet and still had a few drips coming down inside. We ended up waiting another week or two which gave me more time to finish the roof shingles. The floor was poured on halloween, 2007 and it was about 70 degrees and sunny.

Framing is fun and be sure to keep up with the pictures.

 

[McDowell]

looking nice. keep up the good work.

 

[mrstang69]

keep the pics coming

 

[TRC51]

ymerej,

Can you tell me what pitch your contractor used on the floor from back to front?

Thanks,

Travis

 

[ymerej]

Can you tell me what pitch your contractor used on the floor from back to front?

The total fall is about 4" over the inside length of 22' 9", so approximately 3/16" per foot. I would have preferred it to fall only about 2" over the whole length, but they notched the walls so the slab would lock into it with that slope. You can see just see the notch in the pictures of the foundation without the slab. I didn't notice that it was that much of a fall until after the walls were poured and the forms were off. That's a detail I didn't call out for in the contract, so I'll see how it works out.

My parents garage was poured with zero slope, a very shallow lip at the apron, and their driveway slopes straight down into the garage. There is a drain tile across the whole front edge, but it isn't enough. Every time it rains, some water comes under the door, and hard rains will get water to puddle over the front 1/3 of the garage, as well as find a way to puddle in the back as well due to a very slight variation in the slab elevation. I knew I wanted some slope, but I also don't want my sockets to roll out the front door.

 

[TRC51]

I knew I wanted some slope, but I also don't want my sockets to roll out the front door.

Thanks. That is what I needed. My guy is telling me that he will probably put a 4" drop over the 29'-4" run in my new garage. I was wondering how agressive that would be. I am looking for a nice compromise between flat and sloped. While I have a longer distance, maybe the 4" would be good for me too. Hmmmm.

 

[insane1]

Damn that is alot of concrete!!!!

I see this done a lot up north. Not how its done in Texas.

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.2: Framing

The wood was delivered on Wednesday, and I was able to piece together about a wall panel and a half in the evenings after work before it got dark during the week. On Saturday I worked the whole day, and had help on and off from family and friends: Beverly (my wife), Whit (brother), Madison, Jared, Billy, and my mom. I'd say there were about three people helping at any given time, and when we had a few extra hands we'd lift a wall panel section into place. On Saturday we assembled and raised five ~12' wall sections.

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On Sunday (today) the crew was a little smaller, and we only needed to call in reinforcements to lift the one large 12' wall panel section into place, and get the header boards up. At the end of the day all four walls are standing, and I only have some sheathing and cripple studs left to do on the front wall. I plan to work on small things throughout the week, and then next weekend I'll find some help to get the rafters up and start on the roof.

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[Thomarann]

Looks great so far - keep us posted.

Marc

 

[Motown 454]

Thats going to be a nice work space.

 

[ymerej]

Here's a question for those reading this thread. I'm planning to put up the roof trusses this weekend, and I have a pile of Simpson H1 hurricane ties. I know how to do all of the middle trusses, but since the truss will sit on the flat 2x4 tie plate, there isn't a space to nail that type of hurricane tie in place. How do I put hurricane ties on the first and last roof truss? What type of tie should I use?

 

[twostory]

Here's a question for those reading this thread. I'm planning to put up the roof trusses this weekend, and I have a pile of Simpson H1 hurricane ties. I know how to do all of the middle trusses, but since the truss will sit on the flat 2x4 tie plate, there isn't a space to nail that type of hurricane tie in place. How do I put hurricane ties on the first and last roof truss? What type of tie should I use?

Use a Simpson Strong Tie H2.5 G90 Hurricane Tie, or similar tie.

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.2: Framing (Continued)

Over the week I finished up the cripple studs above the garage door header beams and finished sheathing the front wall. I also framed out the first and last roof trusses so they'd be ready to lift onto the roof. On Saturday my brother and I lifted all 13 of the roof trusses onto the roof and raised one vertically before the rain started around 4pm. We got over 2" of rain, so it was a bit muddy on Sunday.

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On Sunday my wife and Father in Law helped me raise all of the remaining trusses into place. (myself and my Father in Law nailing the end truss in place)

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This afternoon a heavy rainstorm came through, dropping another 1/2" or so of rain. I planted some grass seed last week hoping the rain would help it grow, but I'm pretty sure it all washed away. I didn't expect such a large volume of water. Despite the mud, I was able to get 2x6 facia boards on the ends of the rafters tonight, and then moved all of my remaining plywood off of the wet ground and onto some boards inside the garage (still no roof though).

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[PistolWhip]

Looks great so far man! How high will your ceiling be when its all done?

 

[ymerej]

The ceilings will be right around 10' in the front, and due to the slope of the concrete, about 9' 8" in the back. I don't plan on putting a full size lift in, but it should allow me to easily use a mid-rise of some sort (if I ever go that route), or at least have plenty of headroom when working on stuff.

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.2: Framing (Continued)

During the week I got a few rows of the roof sheathing in place and the sub facia boards on. On Saturday we were able to finish the roof sheathing as well as the wall sheathing.

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On Sunday I didn't get any action shots, but my brother and I quickly got the bulk of the Tyvek wrap around the garage. We then finished off the roof gable ends with Tyvek, and then put the 1x6 facia boards in place. Just before dinner we also nailed the window in place.

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[Stuntmonkey]

Looking good! Can I ask why you didn't go for a bigger garage? No need?

 

[ymerej]

Looking good! Can I ask why you didn't go for a bigger garage? No need?

I would have loved to go bigger, but reality has to come in somewhere. This is my first house that I bought back in March. My biggest requirement in buying a house was for it to either have a garage already, or space to build one. I only have 1/3 of an acre, and if you look up and down the row of back yards the largest shed is my neighbors - a 10x20 with a garage door on it. My VW could fit into his shed, but barely. (It can also be seen in a couple of my pictures - it's white, and to the left side when facing the front of my garage) If I went much larger, the garage would simply overpower everything else around it completely.

In my county, the largest building I can build with a simple walk-thru permit is 600sf and 15' high. 24x24 is 576sf, and the roof peak is 14.** ft high. To go larger I would need to hire an architect/ engineer and have them design a building, which of course would add costs to both the design, as well as more materials to buy, and more labor to pay for, so cost was also a factor.

As for my needs, it would have been nice to have all three of our vehicles inside. But I can always keep daily drivers outside, have one finished car inside, and one project car to work on when the time comes. I'll do oil changes and normal maintenance and slowly build one car at a time as a hobby, and of course bigger would always be better, but I had to decide on what I needed first. I can do anything I need to in this garage, and most of the things I'd want to.

 

[Old61]

Looking good. The bricks you have securing that tarp will only cause more damage should the wind turn it into a kite. Best to nail boards on the edge of the tarp covering most of the perimeter.

 

[ymerej]

Looking good. The bricks you have securing that tarp will only cause more damage should the wind turn it into a kite. Best to nail boards on the edge of the tarp covering most of the perimeter.

Thanks for the idea. I'll be finishing putting on the tar paper and drip edge this evening, and then it's supposed to rain and get a bit windy. I noticed on Sunday that some wind was lifting the tarp and gently setting it down, so I used roofing nails in all the grommet holes that evening. Hopefully in a week I won't need the tarp anymore! (and hopefully my body isn't broken from carrying all the shingles up the ladder!)

 

[dipper]

Great progress ymerej. Sometimes we can't always go as big as we want to (or as
big as garage journal wants us to ) but most of us have budgets and building codes (all of which are different for each of us). You definitely saved time and money by building within the town specs and not having to get a variance. I was originally going to build 24x24 but was going to have to get a variance; but when I staked it out; it was just too big on my tiny city size lot. I ended up going down to 20x22, but added an attic for storage. I started by build 2 months earlier not having to mess around with a variance.

Keep up the good work, and the shingles aren't too bad to get up there, just one bundle at a time. You have a walkable pitch so that should make things easier.

 

[klutz]

Dang.... REAL plywood. two thumbs!!

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Dang.... REAL plywood. two thumbs!!

You beat me to it. Way to go Jeremy.

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.3: Roofing

Last week I started the roofing by getting the tar paper up, which went quickly. Since then I've been putting shingles up, one evening at a time. It's been slow going simply due to a lack of time - I only have an hour and a half of daylight after work, and this past weekend was my car club's annual show, so I didn't have any time then either. The front side is finished, and I've got the back started, but today rain moved in and looks like it's setting up camp for a few days.

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In the last picture I outlined where I'm planning on putting the driveway. As much as I'd like to have a large parking/ turnaround area, I'd rather keep as much of the yard as green grass and trees, so there will only be a single 10' wide extension of the driveway, tapering out to a parking pad the full 24' width of the garage and 20' deep. Just enough to park two cars in the garage and one outside, with any one of them accessible without moving anything else.

 

[dipper]

progress is good. The driveway addition looks just fine. It sounds like you should have had the car club meet at your garage to finish up the roofing!!

 

[GearBeer]

Looks pretty good to me. I like the offset garage door. I wish I'd done that with my storage garage.

 

[RobSmith]

In the future...Think about a carport extension out the front of the garage. A nice shady spot to leave the car whilst you're making a mess in side. Or to wash the car under. Or just to sit on a hot sunny afternoon and have a beer.

 

[PhantomEB]

Very nice garage so far, nice to see reality does set in for some people. LMAO

 

[Motown 454]

Nice work, it looks good.

 

[ymerej]

Thanks for the compliments guys. This past week has been a bit of a bust - It's been raining ever since Wednesday afternoon. So far we've had about 2.5" of rain steadily drizzling down. Maybe if the weather clears out soon I'll be able to finish putting up the shingles.

 

[ymerej]

Phase 1.3: Roofing (Continued)

This week I've taken off work to try and finish up the building, and it looks like I'll make it despite everything. On Friday night I came down with the flu, and it rained on Saturday (1"), Tuesday (1"), and Wednesday (0.8"). On Saturday I did nothing, but by Sunday I was slowly working on some trim pieces while my wife finished the roof cap shingles. This weekend was also the peek of the fall colors right before another rain and wind storm pulled most of the leaves down.

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Phase 1.4: Siding and Door

On Tuesday I worked out in the rain to get the aluminum fascia trim up around the roof edge, and then on Wednesday my wife and I put nearly all of the vinyl siding J-channel and other edge pieces up. Today we put up the soffit in the back, completely sided the back wall, and sided about half of one side wall. We also hired out the garage door installation at the insistence of my mother. The guy did a great job and had it done in two hours, which was wonderful to not have to worry about, and to simply have it done.

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[Nostraquedeo]

Awesome job. What are your plans for the inside?