32x30 attached new build

[Rp19]

Hi, my name is Rob, ive been lurking around the forum for the last few years gathering ideas for my garage build. Im finally getting around to building it this year. Id love to share the plans and get any feedback or suggestions from you guys


The house was built in 1975 and is a pretty basic bi level with a large driveway and no existing garage. Due to the shape of the lot and the limited space ive decided to build an attached garage\shop. I want to make the best use of my space without losing too much yard.


The plan so far is roughly 32 wide and 30 deep, due to setbacks and access to the basement door it wont be 960 sq feet but just under 900. It will be a two bay garage with pretty of room to use as a shop and a 2 post hoist in the larger bay. The walls are 10', using scissor trusses with an interior pitch of 2/12 should get me around 12'6 at the highest point.


I will be adding gas for heat and probably a utility sink. Il be upgrading my service to 200amp which will be in the garage with a 100amp sub inside the house.


Let me know what you guys think of the plans so far, i appreciate any feed back whether its good or bad. thanks

 

[Retlaw 66]

I'll suggest increasing the roof overhang on the far left side to make it even across the front. Or is that a problem with your set back requirements?
Actually, I'd increase the overhang on both sides of the garage. It visually lowers the profile of the whole building.
Additional overhang over the garage doors is nice as it keeps wet weather out of open doors, and provides more shade on sunny days.
Nice job on the drawings!

 

[CombatNinja]

I would ditch that man door on the front and relocate it to the side of the garage if you must have one. Then you can increase the size of that right side garage door out to a 12' or so. It is a shame to have that huge detached garage and be constrained by the small doors. I always hate it when a house has what appears to be two 'front' doors. I also agree on increasing the roof overhang if you can. Dumb question, is there a door into the house from the garage because it is not shown on the drawings? No way I would drop that kind of time/effort/money on a nice garage like that and then have to walk outside every time I wanted to go from the house to garage or vice versa.

 

[Rp19]

I'll suggest increasing the roof overhang on the far left side to make it even across the front. Or is that a problem with your set back requirements?
Actually, I'd increase the overhang on both sides of the garage. It visually lowers the profile of the whole building

Increasing the overhang on the left side was my first thought when I saw the drawings. Il have to talk to him about that. I've done some reading and I think the roof overhang does not count for the set backs until it extends a certain distance. If I can how far would you extend them both? Until they line up with the house overhang or the front wall of the house? What do you think of the overhang at the back over the man door? I'm not liking that area either. Over all the appearance of the front has started to grow on me but when I first saw the drawings it didn't really stand out as that visually appealing. I'm trying to get away from the dated look the house has but I don't know how. Thanks for the feed back

I would ditch that man door on the front and relocate it to the side of the garage if you must have one. Then you can increase the size of that right side garage door out to a 12' or so. It is a shame to have that huge detached garage and be constrained by the small doors. I always hate it when a house has what appears to be two 'front' doors. I also agree on increasing the roof overhang if you can. Dumb question, is there a door into the house from the garage because it is not shown on the drawings? No way I would drop that kind of time/effort/money on a nice garage like that and then have to walk outside every time I wanted to go from the house to garage or vice versa.

I do like the idea of moving the front man door and widening the right over head door. I'd like to stick to common sizes that I can find locally so I'd have to pick a width that isn't too difficult to find. One point of the front man door was to make up for the lack of door leading into the house. There are a few reasons I never planned on doing this. 1) I didn't want to rob space from the garage or basement for the stairs. 2) cost 3) the planned use of the rooms on that end of the house doesn't work well with having a door to the garage. I am going to think about it and see if the benifits out way the cost and hassle. I would need to have chunk cut out of the house foundation for the door, would that be a problem? Thanks for the feedback

 

[Retlaw 66]

I like the idea of losing the front man door.... It limits use of that space for garage use since you have to keep that front-rear aisleway clear. Would improve the front elevation appearance as well.
Not knowing your present house layout, I'm thinking focusing on the rear portion and integrating it into the house better may work. What is priority for garage access.... lower level, or upper level?
What is at the back of the house on the lower level? Can you run the lower level steps up into the rear of the garage? Maybe even shift the garage rearward 6+ feet. Would give you more driveway space and might improve access into the rear of the house by enclosing the steps.
Consider traffic patterns... if garage is used for daily drivers, you would want to be able to park car in garage and carry groceries into kitchen. If it's just a shop, easy access isn't a big concern.

 

[Rp19]

I like the idea of losing the front man door.... It limits use of that space for garage use since you have to keep that front-rear aisleway clear. Would improve the front elevation appearance as well.
Not knowing your present house layout, I'm thinking focusing on the rear portion and integrating it into the house better may work. What is priority for garage access.... lower level, or upper level?
What is at the back of the house on the lower level? Can you run the lower level steps up into the rear of the garage? Maybe even shift the garage rearward 6+ feet. Would give you more driveway space and might improve access into the rear of the house by enclosing the steps.
Consider traffic patterns... if garage is used for daily drivers, you would want to be able to park car in garage and carry groceries into kitchen. If it's just a shop, easy access isn't a big concern.

It will be a shop and parking for one of our cars, ideally access to the main floor would be better but we have two bedrooms at that end of the house. We will likely have a tenant in the basement so access to the basement doesn't help much. Thinking long term it would be nice to have a door into at least the basement but it's really not much better as you'd have to carry everything through the basement and up the stairs.


I really do like the idea of moving the door around to the side for appearance and better use of the space. My only issue is it's an even farther walk into the house. I'm going to think about that for sure

 

[CombatNinja]

Show us a blueprint for the house so we can best work out how to get access to the garage from inside the house. Remember that the stairs can take up room in the garage, they don't have to intrude into the existing living space. You could even do a spiral staircase from the main level so long as you have the space to put in a door. Unless you plan on living there forever, you will be turning off a lot of potential buyers if that garage has no access to the house.

 

[Rp19]

Show us a blueprint for the house so we can best work out how to get access to the garage from inside the house. Remember that the stairs can take up room in the garage, they don't have to intrude into the existing living space. You could even do a spiral staircase from the main level so long as you have the space to put in a door. Unless you plan on living there forever, you will be turning off a lot of potential buyers if that garage has no access to the house.

I'm at work right now but when I get done il post up so blueprints that will help show what's going on. The short of it is, the only room of the house I can bring the door into would be the basement mud room, which sounds perfect. But I want to turn the mudroom into a small kitchenette with a sitting area. The other thing is to me the interior door into the mudroom seems pointless as it's only like 6 extra steps to go out the back door of the garage and into the basement door of the house. The whole walk is under the cover of the roof.


Ideally I'd bring the interior door upstairs, as it would be more useful. There are two bedrooms up there and the only option would be to come through the bedroom and hall closet. That would mean making a tiny bedroom even smaller. And deal with the noise from the garage


This all makes more sense with pictures, Il edit this post tonight to include them. I really appreciate the feedback, you've been getting me thinking of different options

 

[Wooden Skye]

Due to the setbacks, is that why the front wall is offset. I would prefer to have both of the doors in line with each other. This I believe would allow you bigger doors, that you could shift a little if you need to keep the man door in the front. The existing plan of the house would help.

 

[Rp19]

Due to the setbacks, is that why the front wall is offset. I would prefer to have both of the doors in line with each other. This I believe would allow you bigger doors, that you could shift a little if you need to keep the man door in the front. The existing plan of the house would help.

Yes they are offset due to setbacks. It was also done to break up the front of the house. I'm going to see if he can adjust things and get me 10' door for the lift bay. Il be using an asimetrical hoist so I can push it farther into the bay to not impede parking behind it

 

[Rp19]

Here are some floor plan drawings of the house. The way I see it is the only room I can bring a door into is the basement mud room. If your going to walk through the mud room you might as well take the extra few steps out the back door. I can't imagine it would be cheap to cut an opening in the existing foundation and framing a door into the house. The garage floor is three feet higher than the basement floor so I would nee steps in the garage

 

[CombatNinja]

Nothing is labeled in your floorplan but I assume that second pic shows the upper level and that bedroom closet is your best point of entry to the main floor. Use the closet as the door to the garage and rebuild the closet inside the existing room, cutting the square footage slightly. That is my best suggestion based on what you have given us so far. I would honestly not even build the garage if I could not connect it to the house unless it a) didn't bother me AND b) it was a forever home with no consideration to resale.

 

[Rp19]

I know I didn't have the dimensions listed on the drawing but the second bedroom upstairs is quite small and I can't afford to lose any more space. I would also prefer to have no opening up there to avoid the noise coming from the garage waking up people in the house.


I'm building the garage for me not the people who are going to own it ten years from now. I don't appreciate the the "I wouldn't even build it comment" by that logic detached garages shouldn't even be considered either

 

[RSr]

You've got a lot of constraints to work around (lot setbacks, floor height difference, first floor layout, basement egress and potential tenants) and given all of them I think you've done a nice job. I agree that the man door on the front of the garage would look better if it weren't there and then making the two parts equal size with perhaps two 10' wide garage doors. The extended roofline would be nice if you wanted to keep the door open when working to keep back sun or rain. I'd probably keep a garage remote hanging on the inside of the front door to cut down on walking to the side garage man door. You could plan at some point to raise and extend the roof over the basement egress to also cover the rear man door. It could be enclosed in the future if the tenants are no longer in the equation.

Good luck with the build.

 

[Rp19]

You've got a lot of constraints to work around (lot setbacks, floor height difference, first floor layout, basement egress and potential tenants) and given all of them I think you've done a nice job. I agree that the man door on the front of the garage would look better if it weren't there and then making the two parts equal size with perhaps two 10' wide garage doors. The extended roofline would be nice if you wanted to keep the door open when working to keep back sun or rain. I'd probably keep a garage remote hanging on the inside of the front door to cut down on walking to the side garage man door. You could plan at some point to raise and extend the roof over the basement egress to also cover the rear man door. It could be enclosed in the future if the tenants are no longer in the equation.

Good luck with the build.

Thanks, I appreciate constructive criticism. I had no problem considering all the advice until I got the don't bother building it comment.

I have come up with a few items I'm going to bring up with the designer when I meet with him next week. 1) try to extend the roof line across the front 2)extend the roof over the back door. 3) widen one of the front doors to 10' and keep the man door 4) widen the front doors and move the man door

 

[sleek98]

What about moving the entire garage back 3 foot, making the front wall even. This allows you to get bigger doors and keep the man door up front. Then flip the stairs and door 90* to run along the back wall to exit in front of the down stairs exit? I would run the stairs inside and would put the stairs in front of a window which would be better than a storage rack. Running the stairs inside would help make the roof look more uniform.

Con is it takes a couple more feet away from the back yard. Pro it gives you a couple more feet in the drive way. Would that allow 2 deep parking in the driveway?

 

[RSr]

Attached garages are really tough because you need them fit in well with the existing look and site conditions. Also couple that with the fact that many GJ members want garages that are much larger than what comes with standard houses. Looking at the renderings I think you have a really solid design. Your existing house is very symmetric from the front and uses a lot of windows that are wider than they are tall. Going to a slightly wider 10' door to get a larger width to height ratio may be something that you like... or not.

Also, on the "closet entrance" idea that was floated. That can always be added later if needed and a replacement closet could be constructed in the garages space so the room stayed the same size. If you think that's a possibility, the rear man door should probably move to the adjacent wall.

I've lived in a house with an attached garage with only an exterior entrance and it didn't bother me a bit. Your lot and layout are really forcing your hand here but its still way better than no garage or a small garage. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

you've probably seen this thread if you've been lurking for a few years. somewhat similar build to your design and turned out very nice, even with a front man door. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309274

 

[CombatNinja]

Don't get your ******* in a wad. I said that I wouldn't build a garage like that. You can do whatever the heck you want. Why come on a forum and solicit opinions if you are going to get **** hurt? As to your detached garage logic, I disagree completely. In fact, if I were in your situation with your set of constraints I would build exactly that, a detached garage. At least it makes sense and will look better in the end. An attached garage with no entrance to the house just defies logic.

 

[arizonajack]

It'd be nice if you could straighten out the front of the garage. But, if you can't I go along with moving the man door to the side of the addition and you'd have room for a 16' garage door on the right which will give you a lot of flexibility if you wanted to put two cars in on that side.

As for the lift bay I also used scissors trusses over my lift but had to use a roll up door instead of an overhead door to avoid interference with a vehicle on the lift.

I can't tell if your lift bay door is 8' wide or 9' wide. I suggest making that opening 9' wide. I made the mistake of using an 8' wide opening and had to fold back the mirrors when I drove my truck in and still have to be careful driving cars in and out.

Other than that, seems to be good use of limited space.

 

[Rp19]

Then flip the stairs and door 90* to run along the back wall to exit in front of the down stairs exit? I would run the stairs inside and would put the stairs in front of a window which would be better than a storage rack. Running the stairs inside would help make the roof look more uniform.
Con is it takes a couple more feet away from the back yard. Pro it gives you a couple more feet in the drive way. Would that allow 2 deep parking in the driveway?

I get what you mean flipping the door to the other wall, I'm not sure what that would change as far as the roof being more uniform can you explain? That little cut out at the rear is only to accommodate the basement stairs, I didn't want to change them so I left room for them there and figured it was a good spot for a rear man door. I'm trying to keep the garage as far forward as possible to use up my huge amount of driveway space instead of my yard. The drawing only shows to the front property line, the driveway is still quite a bit longer. I should be able to fit two or three cars in the driveway and a trailer next to it. I also have a pad in the back yard

I've lived in a house with an attached garage with only an exterior entrance and it didn't bother me a bit. Your lot and layout are really forcing your hand here but its still way better than no garage or a small garage. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

you've probably seen this thread if you've been lurking for a few years. somewhat similar build to your design and turned out very nice, even with a front man door. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309274

I'm not too concerneded about the lack of door into the house. I like the idea of the separation to keep the noise down. I don't know how it became such a big deal, another fellow here took to much interest in the topic. And thanks, il check that thread out later

Don't get your ******* in a wad. I said that I wouldn't build a garage like that. You can do whatever the heck you want. Why come on a forum and solicit opinions if you are going to get **** hurt? As to your detached garage logic, I disagree completely. In fact, if I were in your situation with your set of constraints I would build exactly that, a detached garage. At least it makes sense and will look better in the end. An attached garage with no entrance to the house just defies logic.

I'm not **** hurt at all, I'm just not sure why your so concerned about a part of my project that doesn't bother me at all. I was just trying to be polite but I dropped the idea a long before you brought it up. I might add a door might not

It'd be nice if you could straighten out the front of the garage. But, if you can't I go along with moving the man door to the side of the addition and you'd have room for a 16' garage door on the right which will give you a lot of flexibility if you wanted to put two cars in on that side.

As for the lift bay I also used scissors trusses over my lift but had to use a roll up door instead of an overhead door to avoid interference with a vehicle on the lift.

I can't tell if your lift bay door is 8' wide or 9' wide. I suggest making that opening 9' wide. I made the mistake of using an 8' wide opening and had to fold back the mirrors when I drove my truck in and still have to be careful driving cars in and out.

Other than that, seems to be good use of limited space.

My plan was for the deeper bay to be the lift bay, I'm planning an asymmetrical lift so I can push it further into the garage so it's less in the way when parking behind it. Right now both doors are 9' wide and I'd like the one next to the man door to be changed to 10', i wasn't sure on width originally so I just told him to make them whatever is standard. I asked him today if he could make one wider.

 

[sleek98]

I get what you mean flipping the door to the other wall, I'm not sure what that would change as far as the roof being more uniform can you explain? That little cut out at the rear is only to accommodate the basement stairs, I didn't want to change them so I left room for them there and figured it was a good spot for a rear man door. I'm trying to keep the garage as far forward as possible to use up my huge amount of driveway space instead of my yard. The drawing only shows to the front property line, the driveway is still quite a bit longer. I should be able to fit two or three cars in the driveway and a trailer next to it. I also have a pad in the back yard

Ok Then my suggestions wont work. I thought the stairs were the only there to get out of the garage and not for the basement.

 

[Retlaw 66]

Would the future tenant access the basement from the rear entry or the front?

That rear basement entry entry is in an awkward spot, being in-between the garage and door on the upper level deck. Would be nice to integrate them better. I don't have a solution yet.

My earlier comment on extending and lowering the roofline on the garage was based on the house having the roofline just above the windows. I was thinking the garage roofline would look better just above the doors as well.

I suppose adding a second floor to the garage for a tenant is out of the budget!
I'm also considering an attached garage...similar layout to yours with 2 BR at that end. I would be sacrificing a small bedroom for stairs and garage access but a 2nd floor would make up for it.

 

[Rp19]

Retlaw. Tenant access would be at the back of the house with a path running around the back of the garage. Suite above the garage would be too much money and I have to watch the height so I'm not blocking views. I'm trying to avoid changing to much on the existing house

 

[Rp19]

A little bit of progress last weekend. Cut down two walnut trees and one pine

 

[Rp19]

Made some changes to the drawings. Original drawings use parallel chord trusses giving the appearance of 11'6 walls and brought the garage roof plane over the house roof. New drawings use scissor trusses with 10'6 walls giving me a touch over 13' at the peak of the ceiling. I have the option of tying in the garage roof plane to the house roof or keeping it lower. Ideally id like to lower it some more but my driveway is all ready very steep. Opinions?

The original person I talked to about the garage a few years ago told me I could get the extra 6" of wall height by pouring the slab 6" lower in the footing, does this sound right to anyone?

 

[Styx]

Great looking plans it is so exciting when you finally get going...
I would go with the scissor trusses they make it feel so big inside.
And if you can drop the floor 6" go for it... all height is good height...lol...



Cheers Randy

 

[RSr]

Your footings need to be below frost level which is determined by grade. If you drop your slab height 6" then the footers probably need to go 6" lower unless they are already 6"+ past frost line. If you can't save any money that way then why go lower and make your driveway steeper?

Tying in the roof lines seems risky with trusses, what if your house roof has sagged over the years and the angles mismatch?

 

[Rp19]

Great looking plans it is so exciting when you finally get going...
I would go with the scissor trusses they make it feel so big inside.
And if you can drop the floor 6" go for it... all height is good height Cheers Randy

The scissor trusses are a for sure thing I just need to gain a little more height. I did some math and with the 2/12 ceiling pitch I want a minimum 13' in the center. Means I need 10'6" walls

Your footings need to be below frost level which is determined by grade. If you drop your slab height 6" then the footers probably need to go 6" lower unless they are already 6"+ past frost line. If you can't save any money that way then why go lower and make your driveway steeper?

Tying in the roof lines seems risky with trusses, what if your house roof has sagged over the years and the angles mismatch?

He never mentioned having to go deeper with the footings. The grade slopes another foot into the backyard so I think the footings will all ready be deeper than the driveway grade requires.

I agree with your thoughts on the risk of tying in the roof, I'm hoping since only about 8' of the roof plane will line up, any difference won't be noticeable. The house is older but does have trusses, so they should be a true 4/12 pitch. I don't imagine an engineered truss would change its pitch over the years. Maybe the whole thing could tilt though I guess

The contractor I've been talking with prefers them to be lined up. He thinks one is only 6-8" lower it will cause leakage and rot with snow build up. We both also prefer the look as the whole side of the house is visible from the street

 

[Keith_MN]

I am also not too concerned about the lack of access directly to the house from the garage. It can be difficult to keep fumes out of the house when using the door anyway.

Did you price out the difference between your attached plan versus detached? I am curious to what the cost difference would be?

 

[Rp19]

I am also not too concerned about the lack of access directly to the house from the garage. It can be difficult to keep fumes out of the house when using the door anyway.

Did you price out the difference between your attached plan versus detached? I am curious to what the cost difference would be?

I didn't price out the difference. Detached would most likely be much cheaper. With the size and shape of my lot, and size of my current driveway I think attached is the best use of space. Due set backs if I wanted detached and reasonable distance between the garage and house I would lose most of my back yard

 

[RSr]

I agree with your thoughts on the risk of tying in the roof, I'm hoping since only about 8' of the roof plane will line up, any difference won't be noticeable. The house is older but does have trusses, so they should be a true 4/12 pitch. I don't imagine an engineered truss would change its pitch over the years. Maybe the whole thing could tilt though I guess

The contractor I've been talking with prefers them to be lined up. He thinks one is only 6-8" lower it will cause leakage and rot with snow build up. We both also prefer the look as the whole side of the house is visible from the street

I do think the shared roof ties it all in better so if your contractor prefers this method and your existing trusses look true then go for it.

Its funny how many more decisions and headaches go into building an attached garage vs detached, and all you save is 1 wall and siding.

 

[Rp19]

I do think the shared roof ties it all in better so if your contractor prefers this method and your existing trusses look true then go for it.

Its funny how many more decisions and headaches go into building an attached garage vs detached, and all you save is 1 wall and siding.

Any way the measure the house trusses? I would just go into the attic and measure but I'm not sure I would be able to get an accurate measurement


To be honest I think it is going to cost more to do attached, the only thing il be saving is space.