26x38 vs. 28x36 HELP!!!

[ansehnlich1]

24 x 42 Garage Build

We want to stay in budget, and doing so means avoiding a build greater than 1000 sq. ft. If we go over that, township code kicks in and we would have to do a site development plan, stormwater management plan, yada yada yada.

My wife wants a shop in this garage. (WOMAN CAVE)

Truth be told, 26x38 is below the 1000 sq. ft. threshold, the 28x36 would be actually built to 28x35.5 to stay under the 1000 sq. ft.

We're figuring it this way. In the 26x38 scenario, figuring one interior wall separating the shop and garage, the interior dimensions of the shop would be about 11x25.3 and the garage 26x25.3

In the 28x35.5 setup with an interior wall separting the shop from the garage the shop would be about 10.5x27.3 and the garage 24x27.3

Which of these would you think would be the best, having the extra length, or the extra width?

This is going to be stickbuilt on footer/block foundation.

We plan attic trusses.

We're planning (2) 9wide x 8high doors, an entry door and window all on one side, an upstairs window on each gable end, and two lower windows on one gable end.

This garage side will be for my Mazda B3000, Harley, snowblower, lawn tractor, wheelbarrow, workbenches, tools, ladders, etc. etc.

We are running electric from our house, plan a 50 amp service, and water to an outside hydrant.

Again, the main dilemma is what size, deeper, or wider?

I might add that y'all got some serious garages on here!

 

[Zengineer]

The width will be more of a problem in practical terms, so I'd maximize that.

 

[Falcon67]

I set up my 24x40 with a 12' work area (well, 11' 8") and a 28x24 shop area. I would pick up two feet if I moved the wall over a bit to make it as wide as a kinda normal kitchen but I want to have a motor parked in the middle and 10' was just too narrow. I wish the 28' could be 30' - width helps in my layout more than depth. I can't make it 2' wider at this point, alread $2K over spreadsheet budget thanks to price increases in materials.

I spent a LOT of time in MS Visio spinning cars around in various floor plans. The wider the better is what I kept coming back to.

 

[Steevo]

A tunnel is a tunnel. Half a foot isn't much, but it would be better to have a 11' width than a 10.5' width.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Hey thanks for you replies, and Falcon, you got me thinkin' about 24x40......hmmmmm

 

[BillK]

ans,
If I had it to do all over, I would have built my 24 x 24 with the type of trusses that would have given me at least a 12 ft wide room in the attic. My Wife would also love to have a work room for all her crafts, sewing etc and that would have been perfect. Not sure if that would work for you, but its worth a thought.

 

[Lkdelta]

Hey thanks for you replies, and Falcon, you got me thinkin' about 24x40......hmmmmm

I have 24' X 24'.....so...
24 deep X 40 wide would be awesome for me, but the trusses would be dripping off the 40' wall where the garage doors would be? rain and (snow?) running down "into the driveway" instead of "off into the yard around it"

24' is plenty deep enough to get a vehicle in and leave a walk way around it though

My In laws have 24' X 30' with one big 16' garage door off-set to one side on the 30' wall

The shop your 40 footer would have...10' bigger than this other one...well...

 

[sawatch]

If you built with 4ft modular sizes, you'll cut waste/cost on materials both inside and especially outside, 16" or 2ft layout.

 

[Beaumont67]

I would go 24 x 41.5 ft. = 996 sf. (just under 1000 sf. max.)

- women cave 12 x 24 ft. = 288 sf. (wider is more practical, and comfortable to work in)
- garage 29.5 x 24 ft. = 708 sf. (layout like a normal 24x30')

 

[NUTTSGT]

1000 sq ft total or foot print ? If it's only for a foot print, could you go 2 story ? Put the wifey upstairs.

 

[ansehnlich1]

1000 sq ft total or foot print ? If it's only for a foot print, could you go 2 story ? Put the wifey upstairs.

It's a 1000 sq. ft. footprint. Anything over that and all sorts of costly govt. regs and red tape kick in. We do plan on attic trusses, that will give us a big room upstairs, possibly as much as 12 ft. wide from what I am reading on here. 12 x 40 upstairs would be awesome.

 

[Square2.0]

sounds like the 24x41.5 would be as big as you could go and still be under the limit.

A rule on this board is build as big as you can. So when you breaking ground?

 

[ansehnlich1]

We plan on starting this build in September if all goes well. We built our home several years ago, my wife was the contractor. We plan on hiring to do this garage build though, we both work and simply don't have the time to do this one ourselves.

I see many garages with garage doors on the gable end. Our setup doesn't allow for that, we have to have garage doors on the side. So, we're looking at 10 ft. walls with (2) 8hx9w doors. Do ya think that'd be good?

Based on my lurkin' experience here I imagine I'll be havin' to get the camera out eh?

 

[ddawg16]

1000 sq ft total or foot print ? If it's only for a foot print, could you go 2 story ? Put the wifey upstairs.

I didn't want to eat up all my yard...so mine is 2-story.....upstairs is storage, space for my wifes art and a play area for the kids 1.3576 million pieces of Lego...

Refer to the link in my signature for details...

 

[ForceFed70]

To get enough headroom on a 24' long truss, you are going to need a VERY steep roof pitch and/or a large "heel" on the truss.

To get enough headroom in my 32' long truss I had to go up to a 5/12 pitch roof (around here 4/12 is normal) and still needed a 3' heel on the truss to get 7'6" headroom in the center of the room. Tho I could have went to a 14' wide room if I was willing to go with 19.2" OC spacing on the trusses, it still wouldn't have helped with the headroom.

I would talk to your truss designer before making too many assumptions about the size of a room you can have.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Our current attached garage is a 12/12 pitch. We are planning either a 10/12 or a 12/12 to match the current attached garage as close as possible. Do you think that would give a better opportunity for a decent room upstairs using an attic truss? We've been told it's not a problem at the steep roof we pitch we are planning.

 

[ansehnlich1]

My wife and I, we're a pair for sure. We agonize over all sort and manner of stuff. We've settled on 24x41 for size. This will include a 12x24 shop for her. That leaves about 24x29 for garage space. I'll try and post some pics when things get started, but that won't be for a couple months yet.

We plan an interior wall separating the garage and shop but want a decent size door there. I'm thinking a 6 or 8 foot sliding barn style door would be good but I'm concerned about space for it to slide along the wall. Plus, there is no plan to heat/cool the garage, but the shop might be in the future. You all have any ideas for an insulated or airtight door between these two areas?

 

[ForceFed70]

Our current attached garage is a 12/12 pitch. We are planning either a 10/12 or a 12/12 to match the current attached garage as close as possible. Do you think that would give a better opportunity for a decent room upstairs using an attic truss? We've been told it's not a problem at the steep roof we pitch we are planning.

If going with that sort of a pitch, It'll be possible to get the height you want. Not sure on the width.

12/12 on a 24' span is easy to figure out. The truss would be 12' tall at the center and 6' tall 1/2 way through. You loose space due to the bottom cord and top webbing, so at the walls you'd probably have about 5' of headroom and 9' in the center. Just a rough estimate.

 

[MScott]

I see many garages with garage doors on the gable end. Our setup doesn't allow for that, we have to have garage doors on the side. So, we're looking at 10 ft. walls with (2) 8hx9w doors. Do ya think that'd be good?

Your profile doesn't say where you are, but if you live where there are appreciable amounts of snow, gable doors are really best. My brother had a garage with doors on the side, and it was a real battle to keep the doorways clear. A heavy, wet snowfall followed by a quick freeze and he would have a 2 - 3 ft. heap of ice directly in front of the door, making them completely useless without a lot of chopping. If you live in the south, no problem.

 

[ansehnlich1]

MScott, thanks for your insight. We live in South Pennsylvania, near the Maryland Border, outside Gettysburg. We get some snow, sometimes some deep snow, though it hasn't been a problem on the attached garage we currently have. Here in PA we use gutters, not sure you do so in Ontario. We also will be having a shingle roof, if that makes a difference I don't know.

 

[LWW]

Sounds great! Now we need copies of your plans posted so we can all be appropriately jealous!

Here in NorCal the typical 3 car garage is 20'x28' so you've got a pretty decent space for yourself and you still have good room for your wife and storage upstairs!

I'm planning to put a 46' extension on the back of my 20'x28' garage and am also contemplating a second story for a "Man Cave"... Depends on the finances...

 

[MScott]

MScott, thanks for your insight. We live in South Pennsylvania, near the Maryland Border, outside Gettysburg. We get some snow, sometimes some deep snow, though it hasn't been a problem on the attached garage we currently have. Here in PA we use gutters, not sure you do so in Ontario. We also will be having a shingle roof, if that makes a difference I don't know.

Yes, we do use gutters here, and they help if the snow is melting as they will channel water away from the doorway before it can freeze. Also, the shingle roof will slow down the snow from sliding off compared to steel. If you have no choice as to door placement you will have to live with it. I just wanted you to be aware that, if there is a heavy snowfall you should get your doorway cleared as soon as you can. I prefer the gable doors and have designed my about to be built garage (28x36 incidentally) in that style.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It's a 1000 sq. ft. footprint. Anything over that and all sorts of costly govt. regs and red tape kick in. We do plan on attic trusses, that will give us a big room upstairs, possibly as much as 12 ft. wide from what I am reading on here. 12 x 40 upstairs would be awesome.

If it's a footprint, make the 12x24 room upstairs for her. Go with a 24x40 (960 sqft), then on the end, make a small 5x8 (40sqft)lean-to shed. Only put access to that from the outside, lawn/garden stuff along with your compressor. This takes up the entire 1000 sqft rule, gives the wife plenty of room upstairs and you a full garage/shop. If the wife needs more, you could frame out a couple of dormers over the garage doors.

maybe have something like this.

http://justgarageplans.com/3614/plan-detail/12-010.php


or just search the site, you might something similar that fits the bills.

 

[ansehnlich1]

....started new thread

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1724718#post1724718

 

[Stuart in MN]

My garage is 24' x 40', with a 10/12 pitch roof and storage trusses. The upstairs area is 12' wide at the floor level, about 7 1/2 feet high in the center and a little more than 4 feet high at the knee walls. The photo below is during construction, before the floor was put down.