24x50 GA Garage Build

[M1N1ON]

24x50' Garage Build - The "Stress Relief Shack"

Hi all-

I started here a couple years ago when I bought my first home in Illinois. The detached garage was an old addition that had a number of problems and provided a great learning tool for a future garage of what not to do.

After moving to Georgia in the spring, we purchased a new build sitting on about 2 acres of land. I knew when we were looking that I wanted to build a garage so it was already in the plans. The house we have is on a unique plot that has a rectangle with a "kickout" triangle that comes off the front of the lot. It also has the driveway of the original house that was torn down before our house was built.

I originally planned on a 30'x50' but I learned after 24' you had to go to a vertical roof so it increased the cost of the building substantially. After seeing a 24' building in person I decided it was enough for what I wanted. It ended up shaving about $3k off the cost of the building.

So now we are building a 24'x50', it will have a 25' long and 9' wide front lean to that will serve as a front porch of the garage with a dedicated walk in door. It will also have 2, 10' roll up doors on either 24' end for a total of 4 doors and will allow me to drive through the garage. This will work great for the Miata that I race and make easy on/off loading inside. It'll also have 12' walls and a spot in the slab poured for a two post lift (anyone selling a two post in GA?!).

Here is the triangle side lot.

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Better idea of where the garage will go.

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[M1N1ON]

so the building is in work. I upgraded from 14g to 12g. I am just waiting for them to mail me the color samples which is proving to be more difficult than it should.

The concrete has been a PITA. Seems like most companies aren't really interested in the work. They either refuse to quote or price themselves out of the job... Anyways I had two companies out in the last two days that seem to be very professional and have their stuff together. Its coming down to one company providing the permit while the other want to charge ~$1500 to draw up the land disturbance permit and pull it.

I have the option for about $1k to add a 2'x2' metal drain in the center of the garage. Is this worth it? I originally wanted a drain but that seems a little excessive.

Additionally, is there anything special I should do to have the electrical roughed in for the slab?

 

[Want2race]

On the drain- unless you plan to wash cars inside or are concerned about bringing wet cars in..then save the money

I wash cars inside so I would do it..although the price is high

 

[Rusty Bumper]

I have a 26' wide x 48' deep with 9x7 door and 10x12 door and the 26' end. In hindsight I would have made it wider. There is very, very little room for stuff along side my F350 and Mustang that park there.
Keep in mind, 24' is probably your exterior width. Side walls take up 12 to 16" after sheets. Leaving you with 22 1/2' interior width. Now if you put two 10 foot wide doors on the end.... keep in mind the doors will open right up close to the side walls as there will be only room enough for the cripples to hold the door headers up.
I'll post a pic of the front of my 26' wide garage, take note of the 2' space between the doors and the exterior walls. And the 2' space between the two doors.
Are you working with a building company to draw up plans and material list?
Electrical can be run later after siding is up.

 

[Rusty Bumper]

INot sure if image will show up as I am not imgur savvy.
Note the tall garage on right was added to short garage on left. Both are 26' exterior width for a total of 52' small doors are 9' wide, large door is 10' wide.
Just showing what kind of room you may have on each side of your doors.

This image stuff is not working for me...

 

[Rusty Bumper]

Maybe this pic is better...

 

[Rusty Bumper]

from the inside...

 

[M1N1ON]

I have a 26' wide x 48' deep with 9x7 door and 10x12 door and the 26' end. In hindsight I would have made it wider. There is very, very little room for stuff along side my F350 and Mustang that park there.
Keep in mind, 24' is probably your exterior width. Side walls take up 12 to 16" after sheets. Leaving you with 22 1/2' interior width. Now if you put two 10 foot wide doors on the end.... keep in mind the doors will open right up close to the side walls as there will be only room enough for the cripples to hold the door headers up.
I'll post a pic of the front of my 26' wide garage, take note of the 2' space between the doors and the exterior walls. And the 2' space between the two doors.
Are you working with a building company to draw up plans and material list?
Electrical can be run later after siding is up.

I had a slight concern that it would be tight, however its a steel building with no insulation/studs/drywall. I think its tight but the cost differential once I went about 24' was substantial.

 

[Rusty Bumper]

All is good then, you will be happy when donit's done. I love mine.

 

[M1N1ON]

So minor update. Concrete company went and pulled all their permits to start working tomorrow. The city won't allow them to pour util footers are inspected. However the garage builder wasn't wanting to pull the permit. After going in circles I had to crack some eggs and make some omelets. They are pulling the building permit next week and we can start pouring. Equipment should start showing up tomorrow.

I went and parked a couple of my toys out in the yard where it is staked off. I think ill have plenty of room between vehicles.

 

[850xpeps]

So minor update. Concrete company went and pulled all their permits to start working tomorrow. The city won't allow them to pour util footers are inspected. However the garage builder wasn't wanting to pull the permit. After going in circles I had to crack some eggs and make some omelets. They are pulling the building permit next week and we can start pouring. Equipment should start showing up tomorrow.

I went and parked a couple of my toys out in the yard where it is staked off. I think ill have plenty of room between vehicles.

You could get yourself a poly sump for $80 and dig it in the middle and form a small square the size of the lid and screw it down. If you have access to a wlelder you can get some small angle iron and weld a square for a grate to sit on and have it poured into cement. Simple an quick. Or pay them the $1k but that seems pricey.

 

[M1N1ON]

You could get yourself a poly sump for $80 and dig it in the middle and form a small square the size of the lid and screw it down. If you have access to a wlelder you can get some small angle iron and weld a square for a grate to sit on and have it poured into cement. Simple an quick. Or pay them the $1k but that seems pricey.

yea I wonder if the grate is the big cost. They want to use a 2'x2' cast iron unit. I just want two 8-10" circular units. I don't think the PVC is that expensive.

 

[850xpeps]

yea I wonder if the grate is the big cost. They want to use a 2'x2' cast iron unit. I just want two 8-10" circular units. I don't think the PVC is that expensive.

Grates are cheap.


You could also have a metal shop cut and bend flat diamond plate like my attached image. Say your grate size needs to be 16” x 16” and your angle iron depth is 1.5”. Fold on the dotted lines. And the semi circles on the sides are where the water drains. You can also make the 16” sides into 15.5” so it’s not tight fitting and allows water passed easier. But you get the point. Heavy diamond plate would take lots to bend and up here Hutterites with CNBC laser and brake would make that air dirt cheap. Cut a hole in center for lifting out. You could put 2 sumps one for each half your shop. Would take forever for them to fill up.




Are you asking them for a sump or sump and an extra floor drain?


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[M1N1ON]

Here is a plot that shows where the garage will go.

 

[M1N1ON]

Here is current plan for the garage. Sorry for the crude drawing but I am on my laptop with limited tools..

Anyways I am having difficulty figuring where the two post lift should go. This is my current plan. Note that its 180 from what you are looking at above.. the top is the side that has a gravel drive to the street. The bottom is closest to the house.

My thoughts where that I wanted the two post to go on a side that allowed me to open the drivers door into the middle of the garage and not into one of the walls. Although I should have enough room. I also wanted to be able to pull my Miata in on the trailer and drive straight through the garage. Whats everyones thoughts with current layout?

 

[M1N1ON]

Grates are cheap.


You could also have a metal shop cut and bend flat diamond plate like my attached image. Say your grate size needs to be 16” x 16” and your angle iron depth is 1.5”. Fold on the dotted lines. And the semi circles on the sides are where the water drains. You can also make the 16” sides into 15.5” so it’s not tight fitting and allows water passed easier. But you get the point. Heavy diamond plate would take lots to bend and up here Hutterites with CNBC laser and brake would make that air dirt cheap. Cut a hole in center for lifting out. You could put 2 sumps one for each half your shop. Would take forever for them to fill up.




Are you asking them for a sump or sump and an extra floor drain?


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I just want a drain that would empty out the backside of the garage. I don't plan on putting anything nasty down there. Just want to be able to hose stuff off or if I have a biodegradable spill to be able to push it down the drain. Last garage had a problem getting water in it on a heavy rain. I was able to just push it into the drain and problem solved. I wanted to wash cars in there during the winter but the garage already had cracked floors and I didn't want to make it worse.

 

[850xpeps]

I just want a drain that would empty out the backside of the garage. I don't plan on putting anything nasty down there. Just want to be able to hose stuff off or if I have a biodegradable spill to be able to push it down the drain. Last garage had a problem getting water in it on a heavy rain. I was able to just push it into the drain and problem solved. I wanted to wash cars in there during the winter but the garage already had cracked floors and I didn't want to make it worse.

If it were me I would just do the sump and get a small garden pump when needed. A pipe running outside causing some issues. Garage must be high enough first off for it to drain and if your in a cold climate it can freeze shut. You’d prob barely have enough water to fill a sump twice a year


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[M1N1ON]

bump... any input on the lift location?

 

[Rusty Bumper]

Get the exact outside dimensions and the exact dimensions it needs to be from the wall. You will find it will run into the other stalls. Probably by 2' or more. Many ppl in this situation put them in at an angle to accommodate the tight spots. If I were you I would eliminate the two doors at one end and put the lift right in the middle then tools/compressor and work bench on either side. Or off set it with a small 7x9 garage door and nice windows.
Take your measurements.

 

[CombatNinja]

Where is the front door of the house? It looks like the garage placement is going to block the sightline from the front door to the street. It looks like the garage is placed really weird on that lot, maybe I am not picturing it correctly.

 

[M1N1ON]

Get the exact outside dimensions and the exact dimensions it needs to be from the wall. You will find it will run into the other stalls. Probably by 2' or more. Many ppl in this situation put them in at an angle to accommodate the tight spots. If I were you I would eliminate the two doors at one end and put the lift right in the middle then tools/compressor and work bench on either side. Or off set it with a small 7x9 garage door and nice windows.
Take your measurements.

hmmm. didn't think about that. Although im not super keen on giving up another parking spot. Do you think that ill be kicking myself if I put the lift all the way against the wall?

Where is the front door of the house? It looks like the garage placement is going to block the sightline from the front door to the street. It looks like the garage is placed really weird on that lot, maybe I am not picturing it correctly.

No, the right side of the diagram is the front of the house, you can kind of see in the bottom right corner there is a road that runs parallel with the front of the home. The garage is going on the side of the house and does not disrupt the line of sight.

 

[Rusty Bumper]

hmmm. didn't think about that. Although im not super keen on giving up another parking spot. Do you think that ill be kicking myself if I put the lift all the way against the wall?

I don't know what lift you have/are getting, but either the motor on one side or possible hydronic pump or maybe resivoure will require at least 8" of clearance. The exterior post to post width is probably 120" minimum. Download the install manual and see. Do you want to be doing break or wheel bearing work cramped against the wall? Stop at a couple of auto repair shop and get some ideas about lift placement. They have experienced it and would be happy to give advice.

 

[M1N1ON]

Crew got onsite on Tuesday and started framing out the garage pad.

We ran into a problem pretty quick. When looking at it originally the lot looked fairly flat and easily graded with a few truckloads of dirt. There was a significant drop over the span of 50', we realized that there will be a 3' exposed concrete corner. I am now going back and forth with the concrete company because I was in the understanding that it would be graded appropriately so I can utilize that side of the garage. As of now id need a monster truck to get it in the garage.

 

[M1N1ON]

Wednesday they came and framed out the sidewalk to the front door. I wanted to put in some curves since it was such a large sidewalk. I also added in some brick bands that match the house so help break up all the concrete.

 

[M1N1ON]

Thursday they were supposed to have the inspection done and start pouring. I am still hung up with the garage company pulling the building permit (really frustrated with them at this point) but they ended up filing for a foundation only permit. We should be able to pour on Tuesday following Monday's inspection...

They did keep their end of the deal and pour the sidewalk. I have a holiday party for my group this weekend and didn't want them walking through the dirt. True story: I totally bought this house without realizing there was no front walkway until AFTER we closed.

I think this is one of my favorite things we've done to the house so far. These guys did an awesome job. It rained all day today (Friday) and there wasn't a single place where water pooled.

 

[M1N1ON]

Garage foundation also got some work.

They roughed in the electric

We also were able to settle on a price for the drain. They originally wanted to do this massive 2x2' cast iron drain with a cast iron box and heavy gauge piping. I told them I really only wanted it as a drain and it was way over kill for what I wanted. I got a 1x1' cast iron drain with a formed base and standard PVC pipe.

This is my problem corner. There is a garage door going there...

 

[M1N1ON]

Yesterday was a big day. We had the concrete poured for the garage.

The inspector had come out Monday and wanted all the footers to be a minimum of 12" below grade. So they had to go and dig out around the foundation and put in additional rebar.

This corner has about 3' of concrete which is insane.

I had originally planned for a 6" pad for a lift. However after they did their measurements the whole area on the rear two bays has a minimum thickness of 6", some spots even got close to 8" so I should be good.

The guys ended up getting the concrete trucks in late so they stayed until almost midnight smoothing it out. I checked it out today when I got home and its perfect. It rained today and there wasn't any standing water with it sloped correctly for the drain.

 

[Want2race]

Any updates?

 

[MacTexas]

Looks like you are off to a good start. What happens if you don't get a permit to build the rest of the garage?

 

[M1N1ON]

Hey guys so lots of updates. I've been traveling with both my job and the military so its been difficult to keep up with the thread. So here is the drama for the last 45 days:

-I sent pictures of the slab to the garage builder for proof that it was complete. I guess they have an issue with showing up to build and the slab isn't done. Once they received it they put my building into the "permitting phase". My county is weird because they only allow the builder to pull the permit. Since I was not building or insuring then the builder (from NC) had to come down and meet with the permitting office. Getting the person to come pull the permit took over 30 days of BS and getting the run around.

-Finally on Jan 22 I got the permit in hand. The building went into "scheduling phase". Once it went to scheduling and they looked at the pictures they realized that there weren't footers poured for the lean-to. I told them when we were planning that it would be done once I got the dimensions and I would pour them with an 18" quick tube. They didn't like that so it kicked the building back into "foundation phase" without telling me. A week later I found out and raised hell.

-Feb 2 I said screw it and told them to anchor the lean-to into the ground. im going to put a wood deck over it anyways. We went back and fourth because the selling company didn't properly communicate with the builder. The lean-to was on the wrong side, doors and windows were wrong, color was wrong, etc. We were literally making design changes the day the building was getting loaded on the truck down to GA.

-Feb 7th the crew arrived and started building. I was shocked that everything was correct. The builders ended up leaving middle of day one for some BS reason. They showed up again on the 8th and ended up blowing a circuit breaker in the house running equipment from a receptacle. Following that they cut the cable line to the house which runs all my cameras and thermostats. Worst part is I'm out for the weekend on drill so I have no clue whats going on at the house. I just hope the heat pump isn't stuck on (I've come home to 99 degrees inside before).

So the builders should wrap up today (the 9th) and I won't be home until after they leave so fingers crossed!

 

[M1N1ON]

Here are pictures from day one. I really didn't understand the height of a 10' door and 12' sidewall! It's big.....




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[M1N1ON]

And here are some not so good picture from the builder today. I am happy with the color choice relative to the home.






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[M1N1ON]

Plans are to change out the door, add some additional windows, and then a wood front porch with wood wrapped supports on the lean-to. I also have to coordinate getting more dirt on the far side of the garage to build up the drive.

 

[M1N1ON]

Finally got home before complete dark to take some crappy pictures. I got all four vehicles inside plus my zero turn with room to spare. My only complaint is the doors are a PITA to slide the lock into the locked position. Otherwise the building seems to be of good quality and I’m glad how it came out.

I used my bmw golf cart to give a size comparison.


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[M1N1ON]

I was looking at starting to run the electrical and then have someone come out and run the service from the house. If I don’t plan on enclosing the walls, is it possible to secure romex to the framing or is it better practice to utilize conduit?

I plan on running outlets down both sides of the garage and then running a line from the back wall with 4 runs up to the ceiling and daisy chaining 2 LED lights for each vertical run. Thoughts?


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[Rusty Bumper]

Insulate, skin the inside, then run electrical conduit. I'd run lights down the center and 1 to 2 feet from each wall. Think of where you need the lighting when you have the car hood open.

 

[M1N1ON]

Insulate, skin the inside, then run electrical conduit. I'd run lights down the center and 1 to 2 feet from each wall. Think of where you need the lighting when you have the car hood open.

I wasn’t planning on insulating since down south it stays pretty warm (currently in the 50/60s). On top of it, it seems expensive. Is there another reason to do it other than hearing and air?


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[CombatNinja]

I would look into it to see if it fits the budget if for no other reasons than

a) will lessen the condensation you are going to get all over the walls and all over your tools

and

b) gives you the option down the road of HVAC for the shop

You may be quite unpleasantly surprised by how hot that building gets in the summer

 

[M1N1ON]

Finally got to get some better pictures
Above is the rough in for the electric from the house


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[54chevyls1]

I'm following along. This is the same kinda building that I am likely to go with. I will say that you are going to want some kind of insulation. I have looked at a lot of these in the past year and one morning I stopped and looked at one and I could hear water dripping yet it hadn't rained the night before. It had the bubble insulation under the roof panels and the condensation was dripping off the metal onto that and then running down to the side and dripping down the walls. A few places where the gaps weren't tight in the bubble insulation had drips. I have read plenty of warnings about that on this forum and then that day certainly confirmed it. Can't wait to see where you go next with this.