32x22 garage

[fourmotioneer]

We are moving a few miles away to a double lot with an existing 32x22 garage. Moving out of my old 24x24 that we built in 2015: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289567

It seems that the previous owner took an existing 20x22 garage and poured a new pad next to it to build a 12x22 addition. The existing pad has a 16x16 section that is at ground level, while the rest of the existing pad, as well as the new pad, are raised 3" from the ground.

In addition, the two sections are separated by the former side wall on the existing 20x22 garage section.

The 12x22 addition has high clearance ceilings, and doing some math, would be fine for a 4-post lift to lift my cars 74.5". With a garage door on tracks it would take some creativity. I don't know if the rest of the garage has the high ceilings or not until I go through with the inspector tomorrow

So, I'm weighing options here:

1. Level the pad, remove dividing wall, add swinging doors to allow entry of vehicles, and enjoy
2. Tear down current structure, level pad (possibly remove and replace) and rebuild taller garage

Attached is the current pad.

What is the best way to get the pads level? Will I need to tear the old pad out and pour new? Or can I pour on the existing pad to bring that area up? I know that I will need to correct the driveway after doing that.

 

[fourmotioneer]

Here is my current best-case arrangement if I don't knock down the interior wall. Goal is to park two cars on the right and have shop space accessed by swinging doors on the left.

 

[fourmotioneer]

And here is what I'd do if I took it all down and rebuilt:

 

[Bessy]

Coming from a 11'6 x 19' garage, I can tell you with complete certainty that even before you get a lift in there, it's too small to actually work effectively on anything car related. With the average passenger car being right around 6' wide that gives you less than 2' to either side to work around a vehicle.

I really like spending other people's money, so I'd opt to open it right up and make the floor flat. I don't know a ton about concrete, so I really can't weigh in on the cost or whether you can pour overtop of the existing and dowel in or not.

My suggestion, again, not my wallet, is to break out the entire floor and pour the pad at the lower of the two elevations (mitigating the driveway issue) to give you a nice even, flat surface. This also ensures that you've got sufficient thickness to carry a lift ideally at any point in the floor.

It also opens you up for the opportunity to bury conduit to run wiring and other goodies for the lift so they are out of sight and not liable to be tripped on or wrecked. I've also seen some cool posts on here where members have actually installed lighting in the floor under their lifts, which would be pretty awesome I think, if your plan is to do any work to a vehicle on the lift.

Now, if you're going to go through the trouble to rebuild the entire structure, then I'd say add an additional 4 to 10 feet to the depth and scissor truss the whole thing.


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[CombatNinja]

Coming from a 11'6 x 19' garage, I can tell you with complete certainty that even before you get a lift in there, it's too small to actually work effectively on anything car related.
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This x1000. Don't know jack about your rooflines or which walls are load-bearing but if you want a lift and you want to actually be able to do anything to a car on it, you need to get rid of that wall and get the lift in the center of that space. If the lift is just for parking, that is a different story.

 

[fourmotioneer]

Coming from a 11'6 x 19' garage, I can tell you with complete certainty that even before you get a lift in there, it's too small to actually work effectively on anything car related. With the average passenger car being right around 6' wide that gives you less than 2' to either side to work around a vehicle.

I really like spending other people's money, so I'd opt to open it right up and make the floor flat. I don't know a ton about concrete, so I really can't weigh in on the cost or whether you can pour overtop of the existing and dowel in or not.

My suggestion, again, not my wallet, is to break out the entire floor and pour the pad at the lower of the two elevations (mitigating the driveway issue) to give you a nice even, flat surface. This also ensures that you've got sufficient thickness to carry a lift ideally at any point in the floor.

It also opens you up for the opportunity to bury conduit to run wiring and other goodies for the lift so they are out of sight and not liable to be tripped on or wrecked. I've also seen some cool posts on here where members have actually installed lighting in the floor under their lifts, which would be pretty awesome I think, if your plan is to do any work to a vehicle on the lift.

Now, if you're going to go through the trouble to rebuild the entire structure, then I'd say add an additional 4 to 10 feet to the depth and scissor truss the whole thing.


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Yeah, it's 3 feet the way I have it and that's just not a lot of space. Rebuild is appealing at this point

This x1000. Don't know jack about your rooflines or which walls are load-bearing but if you want a lift and you want to actually be able to do anything to a car on it, you need to get rid of that wall and get the lift in the center of that space. If the lift is just for parking, that is a different story.

The wall in the center is the old gable end so I would imagine that it doesn't take too much load. Eave ends are what the trusses sit on.

I think that I could open it up and have the concrete leveled and be pretty happy with it

 

[Brick_Smart]

It has been a while since we last tore down a garage....

Bessy had some very good points about running real electrical & gas connections. I know the gas furnace in my prior garage made winter workdays so much better. Plus having a 220v subpanel to run lift, air compressor, and welding equipment is so nice.

Tearing out and pour an entirely new pad is the $$$ way to do this. Hopefully someone on the forum can comment on leveling the existing pad. Side note, can you tear out ~2x2' sections and pour thicker sections for a lift?

While you are at it...configure an area that can be temporarily converted to a paint booth/clean room with plastic dividers & such?

 

[fourmotioneer]

It has been a while since we last tore down a garage....

Bessy had some very good points about running real electrical & gas connections. I know the gas furnace in my prior garage made winter workdays so much better. Plus having a 220v subpanel to run lift, air compressor, and welding equipment is so nice.

Tearing out and pour an entirely new pad is the $$$ way to do this. Hopefully someone on the forum can comment on leveling the existing pad. Side note, can you tear out ~2x2' sections and pour thicker sections for a lift?

While you are at it...configure an area that can be temporarily converted to a paint booth/clean room with plastic dividers & such?

Hey!

It does currently have a 220V subpanel and an electric heater run underneath the new driveway, so should be good there. Checked this on the home inspection. As for gas, would take a new trench I think.

Leveling the pad is probably not going to work because the city measures roof height from grade, so those 3" on the taller section of the pad end up going to waste.

 

[fourmotioneer]

Here's the first concept:

- 3 single garage doors 8x7'
- 8' walls
- 8/12 attic trusses over the ends
- 8/12 scissor trusses over the center bay to allow for the lift

I need to get spec sheets on the trusses. Have a feeling that 8' wall plus 8/12 truss will end up at over the 16' height limit. The hand calc puts it at 15.3' and the city doesn't actually measure the OSB and shingles, so there's wiggle room. On paper, it needs to be 16'

I thought about the size of the bays and I would rather have the width of a 32' with only 22' depth over a 30' wide garage with 24' depth. I don't really use the depth of my 24x24' garage currently (I don't own any large vehicles).

Here are the views giving a rough idea of how the cars would fit

 

[fourmotioneer]

And here is the competing idea: 16x7' garage door on the left, and a single 8x7' garage door for my wife's VW on the right.

Advantages:
-48" of space to the left of the door in the 'work area' on left side of shop vs. 30" with single doors
-Can slide the lift 3" closer to the right (so that the right pole aligns with right side of garage door opening), which nets me 3" more space in 'work area'

Disadvantages:
- single garage door means that I need scissor trusses on the left 2/3 of the garage and that I can only do attic/storage truss on the right 1/3. Otherwise garage door has nowhere to go