48x36 Merc Garage

[octanefam]

It's been a hell of a time getting the garage in the works. I wasted my time with 2 separate builders and thankfully no contracts were signed or no money lost. Not sure what it's like in other parts of the country but here in the PNW (WA State) you gotta be careful. I'm sure it's like this everywhere.

We are in plan stage and hopefully will be able to put this in front of the county by the end of the year. Unfortunately it will likely be 3 or so months before we are given the green light.

Right side of the garage will be the lift bay where the 10x10 door is

Middle of garage will be roughly 22'x38' used for car storage and man cave area.

Left side of garage will be a finished hobby room, Bathroom, on the other side of the bathroom towards the back wall will be the start of the man cave and it will roll into the middle of the garage when needed.

Finish attic room above.

Front Elevation was designed to match the house garage to make it look like more of an extension of the 3 car attached garage.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Ak Jim]

Just a couple of questions. The middle part is 22x38 and you say it’s for car storage and man cave area. How do you plan on actually using the space? How many cars and how will they be parked in there? In other words if you put 4 cars in there there won’t be much hang out space. Or would you put two along the left wall? If just two cars it will work out well. If four cars there won’t be much room for much else than the cars.
Looking at the area between the bathroom and outside wall. It looks like it is 8 feet which isn’t a very big area especially since you have a door in the upper left hand corner. Do you have a specific plan on how you will use that space? If not you might try marking off an area in a basement or other garage that is that size to see how it will work.

 

[octanefam]

Good questions AK. Only storing 2 cars in that area so it should work out ok. If I collect more cars there are options in the Lift Bay Area as well. Being that I’m 38 feet on that side of the garage even if I were to park side by side near the garage door I would have an area that is 20x22 that could be useable for entertainment area if need be.

Now as far as the arrangement in that 8x8 area we are still working on that as there isn’t a lot of room. We were thinking a bar of some sort on the bathroom wall since we would have plumbing in that area. We were thinking of hanging the TV on the bathroom wall that would be facing the car area.

Thanks again.

 

[Ak Jim]

If you only put 2 cars in there it will have lots of room. I really like the design and the way you have the different areas separated.

 

[octanefam]

Thank you Jim.

We live in a nice neighborhood with HOA's there are 19 homes all on an acre and probably half the homes have detached shops so getting an approval will be easy. Our home is a rambler so with the loft upstairs the garage will sit higher so we really tried to have the front of the garage look like the front of the home.

Now if I did have more then 3 cars I could get another one over in the lift bay but having more than 3 older Mercury's probably not happening at least if you ask the wife.

Thank you.

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Octane, I would ensure that your stairwell is at least 48" inches in width to bring larger and longer items such as furniture to your storage loft. 60" inches would be best with a larger landing area so you can 'round' the 90 degree corner before you get to the loft door. If its 48" stairwell, acquire a 42" wide door. If you go 60" stairwell, they make double doors to accommodate and make full use of the 60" width.

Also, your door at the landing will have to be an outswing to the landing, not going up the last 4-5 stair treads. Depending how you use the space I'd recommend placing your loft door at the top, level with the subfloor, opening into the loft space and "box in" the stairwell area to meet your fire, insulation or rail code (if you have any) all at once.
Also, look into Advantech 1 1/8in. thick plywood as your subfloor. Just my two cents.

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Another quick mention, if you choose to make that 8ft area adjacent to the bathroom into a bar, add a row of windows directly across it, just left of the rear garage door (when looking at the inside garage plan). I'm assuming the porch area faces a back yard and rear door is possibly meant to be open for entertaining as well. The windows will add additional natural light and be able to see more of the porch/backyard area when entertaining; garage door open or closed.

 

[octanefam]

Thanks Puttinon.

All your ideas are good ideas thanks I will discuss with the designer and builder.

Thanks.

 

[74Ken]

Once this is built are you going to have access issues getting to the back yard? Is that a roll up door on the back?

If you are and you are planing on using that door as access to the back yard instead of going around the building, the doors should line up with the front one.

Just thinking of storing a boat "out back" of the garage.

Ken

 

[octanefam]

Once this is built are you going to have access issues getting to the back yard? Is that a roll up door on the back?

If you are and you are planing on using that door as access to the back yard instead of going around the building, the doors should line up with the front one.

Just thinking of storing a boat "out back" of the garage.

Ken

The 8x8 roll up door was wanted by the wife vs french doors basically the main purpose is for entertaining etc. I have plenty of ways to access the backyard when done but thank you for the heads up.

Octane

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Octane, another suggestion is to ensure a high lift garage door track for your rear 8x8 door so it follows the wall and then to your full 12ft ceiling height. It would look cleaner without low hanging tracks at the height of the door. Also, a jackshaft style opener would eliminate another trolley track and opener if you prefer, and provide more options for lighting or ceiling fans. Also, a full glass/aluminum garage door would compliment the entertaining area well in lieu of the previously suggested windows adjacent to it (as far as balancing costs). Or do both. The more natural light the better!

 

[octanefam]

Octane, another suggestion is to ensure a high lift garage door track for your rear 8x8 door so it follows the wall and then to your full 12ft ceiling height. It would look cleaner without low hanging tracks at the height of the door. Also, a jackshaft style opener would eliminate another trolley track and opener if you prefer, and provide more options for lighting or ceiling fans. Also, a full glass/aluminum garage door would compliment the entertaining area well in lieu of the previously suggested windows adjacent to it (as far as balancing costs). Or do both. The more natural light the better!

You nailed it on the head. The 8x8 door is an all glass construction door. We have no plans on using an opener for this door it will be manual lift. Yes the tracks will follow the wall and not hang down much from the 12' ceiling.

Thanks.

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Octane,

Id suggest an outlet at least up by top height of the door for a jackshaft opener in case you ever decide you no longer find manually opening/closing the garage door fun. I'd assume you'll be running wiring anyway, only one additional outlet to futureproof the space will be a worthwhile investment. Also, with the porch being an entertaining space ensure a handful of outlets at ground level on the outside wall for plugging in crock pots, catered food warmers, etc, if you set up tables with food for parties (Ensure you have each outlet on a separate 20 amp circuit, those pots take a lot of juice or you'll see a lot of tripped breakers). Maybe even add a few outlets in the overhang or soffit area to power a security camera or two or if you're into having those outdoor patio string lights.

 

[octanefam]

Octane,

Id suggest an outlet at least up by top height of the door for a jackshaft opener in case you ever decide you no longer find manually opening/closing the garage door fun. I'd assume you'll be running wiring anyway, only one additional outlet to futureproof the space will be a worthwhile investment. Also, with the porch being an entertaining space ensure a handful of outlets at ground level on the outside wall for plugging in crock pots, catered food warmers, etc, if you set up tables with food for parties (Ensure you have each outlet on a separate 20 amp circuit, those pots take a lot of juice or you'll see a lot of tripped breakers). Maybe even add a few outlets in the overhang or soffit area to power a security camera or two or if you're into having those outdoor patio string lights.

As usual all good ideas and noted for electrical needs when we get to that point.

 

[octanefam]

Plans are DONE and off to get stamped by the engineer. Designer was working on the Site Plan to submit to the county. Builder and I had to find my property markers to get some better measurements for designer. Should have a Site Plan done and submitted to County by the end of the year. Then the waiting starts..... Hope to break ground by March/April.

 

[puttinonthekritz]

Can we see the final plans to see what's heading our way!?

 

[octanefam]

Can we see the final plans to see what's heading our way!?

Our plans are posted at the beginning of this thread. Nothing really has changed much with the plans that were posted. The Engineer just stamped off the plans this week. My GC and I should receive our set of official plans this coming week.

After we get the plans we will distribute them between the subs and the county and then it starts to get real! Just heard the county is only 5-6 weeks out for permitting compared to the county to the north of us they are 8 months out. Break ground April'ish?

 

[octanefam]

Not much new to report.

We should get approval from the county's health department regarding the site plan and our setbacks from the septic and drain field hoping for this week. As soon as we get that approved then we will move on to the building permits. As we wait for the building permits (5-6 weeks) we will review all of the incoming estimates that have been sent out to the subs.

As soon as we break ground I plan on doing a Youtube series on the building of our garage/shop.

 

[octanefam]

Well....This isn't the reply I wanted to write but the garage build is on hold until further notice

We received back all bids and the garage is coming back WAY over budget I will not build with these lumber prices. Time to find a hole where I can stash my current garage fund until I'm ready.

So until prices come back somewhere close where they should be I will continue to keep reading what everyone else is doing.

Until later take care,