A GC might be able to answer this question.

[Uncle_Charlie]

I know that local regulations might influence the answer, but I'll still ask. I'm thinking about building a house. What I want is the polar opposite of what usually constitutes a house. I'm single and have no need for four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a massive kitchen, family room, separate living room, and don't forget the vestigial garage. I want a living space no bigger than a two bedroom apartment attached to a massive shop. Ten foot walls, overhead garage doors on two sides, and multiple 220V outlets.

Is there anything in the building codes that dictates the ratio of living space to garage space or would otherwise prohibit this from being approved for construction?

 

[jkwilson]

There are some pretty arcane zoning rules that might cause issues if you are in a city.

Some places limit garage size to a percentage of lot size or living area.

You may have more trouble with insurance and financing than planning approval. Talk to the people who issue building permits.

 

[Jackfre]

This typically comes down to local regulations. Go to the Napa Valley and they will have a 20 or 100 acre minimum parcel size to get a building permit for a house. Get "out in the country, around the country" and it makes no difference. The local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) will give you your local guidelines, if there are any.

I think you should build a heck of a garage and a 25' Airstream (airforums.com) for you.

 

[Joe Reed]

Even if you can pay cash for it (since financing would be almost impossible), do you plan on staying single forever? Building something that would have such a limited market might not be the best idea...sooner or later you might want or need to sell it...

 

[abk241]

Even if you can pay cash for it (since financing would be almost impossible), do you plan on staying single forever? Building something that would have such a limited market might not be the best idea...sooner or later you might want or need to sell it...

What Joe said....
Maybe consider a modest 3 bed 2 bath house?
And why the heck would you want your massive garage attached to it?

 

[404]

Buy a factory building or warehouse. Build the living space on the roof.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Financing may be the toughest part. Banks don't like houses that are out of the norm.

 

[JACDes]

what you build now affects what you will sell it for later..

If you are single man in his golden years (60+) and don't plan on starting a family etc etc then who cares. Otherwise your un-orhtodox dwelling will be hard to sell later on unless you find a like-minded buyer.

Most "normal people" want a home so they can raise their family in, host holiday gatherings, birthday parties etc, which means they want a nice kitchen and 3-4 bedrooms.

 

[Kaizen]

even though you won't use it get a house. something like a colonial already built and seal off the upstairs so you just use what you need. unless you have your own land and money already its not worth just building what people call a small house. http://smallhousesociety.net/
You can buy a normal 2 bedroom house for the same. And you would be able to sell it at some point. Cause you or your surviving relatives will at some point. I would focus on finding an area that allows a living space in industrial zone. so if you bought an old garage you could make a living area in it.

 

[Von Psycho]

Maybe for starters you need to build a live in shop with space for a house
in the future in case you decide to sell.

 

[DC73]

As others have said, you'll need to check local codes. You'll likely have an easier time pulling this off by locating it outside of city limits. Years ago I watch some folks do something similar. They bought a tract of land outside the city. Put up a large metal barn set further back on the land. Built an efficiency apartment inside the barn and then lived in it for awhile. Later they built a house in front of the barn and now use the apartment for guests.

Even if you don't want a larger house now, planning for the possibility of having one in the future could be smart.

Good luck.

DC

 

[Uncle_Charlie]

AYou'll likely have an easier time pulling this off by locating it outside of city limits. Years ago I watch some folks do something similar. They bought a tract of land outside the city. Put up a large metal barn set further back on the land. Built an efficiency apartment inside the barn

DC

That's a great description of what I want. Buying land outside the city limits is also something that I'd love to do if I could find a piece of land that I could afford. Land is ridiculously high around here.

 

[James E]

I'd love what you're describing but not many people are as weird as I.

You might consider buying a piece of property and building a shop that has a living space, but build it in a way that allows you or someone else to build a real house on the property later.

As for what the rules are, you aren't going to get that dream house permitted anywhere but out in the country--and even then you're going to have trouble if you don't live in a very rural area. No city or highly populated suburban county is going to allow what you have imagined--as cool as it sounds.

 

[Chris705]

If you go forward with building a "massive shop" and need to go thru a zoning approval process, be cautious how you label the space on your plans....calling the area a garage may be meet with stiff resistance, calling it a shop or storage might allow you liberties to proceed easier.

 

[joes169]

It varies greatly depending on where you are, but here in a relatively rural area of WI, you certainly can do it as long as it's attached. For example, my brother bought a 2000 sq. foot home neighboring mine about 10 years ago. At the time, the house had it's original 2900 sq. foot attached garage. His first addition was another 2000 sq. feet of shop. His second addition was about 700 sq. foot house addition. Nothing against it in our zoning, as long as it's attached........

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I think you might find you are somewhat stuck in a catch 22. Many zoning codes let you build a certain size main building (Home and attached shop), just be cautious how you label the space. Call it a large garage. Insurance on the other hand will not like the idea of a large work space attached to a residential dwelling.

I do know of one guy back in my home town, Up State New York, who build exactly what you describe.

 

[Radix2]

Typical zoning specifies a minimum size for the principle residence - and maximum size for accessory buildings.

An attached shop/utility space may well go toward the area of the principle residence since it is considered "living space" as long as it is conditioned. Often there is no limit to an attached garage- but it does not count toward the minimum requirements of the principle residence either.

So, IMO even in residential zones you can probably do what you want as long as you plan much of the space to be conditioned "living area" space - after all, what is the difference on paper between a "great room" and a nice machine shop...

What often would not be allowed is a low cost pole building, largely un-conditioned with a small living space built inside - you will need to go to a zoning free area for this most likely.

 

[Tdoriot]

A man after my own heart ! All the test of that stuff is just unnecessary overhead!

 

[old_biker]

What Joe said....
Maybe consider a modest 3 bed 2 bath house?
And why the heck would you want your massive garage attached to it?

I know of a property for sale, it has a huge garage built to tiny home, the couple traveled, had a huge RV they parked inside plus large boat, the house is a 1 bedroom 1 bath around 800 square feet, sitting on under 3/4 of an acre in middle of no-where, a couple houses from a former school, that closed & sold & now is a church. the woman died, & guy doesnt care anymore, & everythings for sale.