Attached garage extension.....thoughts?

[doyle4281]

Hello, I am new to this forum, and soon to be first time home owner. Being a gear head through and through, a functional garage is of up most importance to me, and believe it or not was my main motivation for purchasing a home. It came to my realtors surprise when I told her I was looking for a 2 car garage with 3 bedrooms attached, instead of the other way around.lol. After seeing what is possible on this forum, I hope to post my garage renovation as well.

Question?

I know anything is possible, maybe not practical, but has anyone on here entertained the idea of extending a 2 car attached garage forward to create a larger work area?
For example, a 20'x20' 2 car attached garage, plenty of room forward, and a reasonably level grade. Extend the front of the garage out 20', essentially creating a mirror image of the other side of the house. This would create a 20x40 work space and may accommodate a lift if the ceiling height permits. Has anyone here seen this done, or have any input on the logistics? Much appreciated, and it is great to be apart of this forum.

 

[swiss]

Do you have a budget your working with?? I see an extension with an upstairs on the original garage for thinking in, and loft storage/extra celing height on the extension. You have a beautiful starting point what ever you decide. Congrats on you first home!

 

[Kevin54]

To make it look right with the house style, I don't think you'll be able to accomodate a lift because of the roof line. A simple addition would match the left side up with the protrusion on the right side. It looks like your house is on a slope though, you may be able to go down some so the roofline stays the same but the garage addition would be lower somewhat, then put in Cathedral Trusses for some added height.

How much room do you have out back? Would it be large enough to build a eparate building and either put a driveway around the house or cut a garage door into the rear of the existing garage for access to the rear.

 

[doyle4281]

Thanks guys. As much as I would love to have a detached garage out back, I don't think I have the room for a driveway on the side, and there are a lot of large trees in the back. The rear exit from the garage is an interesting idea, however there is a room behind the garage that would need to be eliminated. My dream detached garage will have to wait until I move on to a different property. I admit that investing money in extending the garage may not be practical, but if things don't go to plans, I may be there a while, and the garage is very important to me. My thought process behind extending the garage is that in the future when the house may be placed for sale, I could finish where the existing garage is, increasing the living space, while maintaining the two car garage. A 20x40 garage will likely not be a selling point to most people, but adding an extra 400 sqft of living space would certainly be a plus. I do not have access to the house yet, so I have to inspect the framework of the garage or the ceiling height. Aside front the foundation the work would be done by myself and my father, which should bring down the costs. I have been searching around the forum, however I have not seen anything to compare too, aside from some truly gorgeous garages. I have the whole thing designed on Chief Architect, however the 3D function will not work.

 

[doyle4281]

Do you have a budget your working with?? I see an extension with an upstairs on the original garage for thinking in, and loft storage/extra celing height on the extension. You have a beautiful starting point what ever you decide. Congrats on you first home!

Thanks Swiss. I like your style

 

[BMW Rider]

I extended my garage to the side, but the concept should be similar to what you want to do. Looking at the photo of the house, you could bring the new extension out similar to the wing on the opposite end of the house. Do the roofline the same way tied in perpendicular to the existing garage. You could remove the current doors and leave the door openings as is or depending on the header, you might be able to remove the seprator wall between the doors. Other option would be to leave the doors in place to seperate the workshop from the parking. As to accomodating a lift, that will require some planning on the roof construction and heights to get the overhaed clearance you need. I was able to make mine work with scissor trusses, but that may or may not suit your situation. Not sure what the roof on the existing is like, but you might even consider removing that and re roofing the entire thing to get what you need.

 

[doyle4281]

I extended my garage to the side, but the concept should be similar to what you want to do. Looking at the photo of the house, you could bring the new extension out similar to the wing on the opposite end of the house. Do the roofline the same way tied in perpendicular to the existing garage. You could remove the current doors and leave the door openings as is or depending on the header, you might be able to remove the seprator wall between the doors. Other option would be to leave the doors in place to seperate the workshop from the parking. As to accomodating a lift, that will require some planning on the roof construction and heights to get the overhaed clearance you need. I was able to make mine work with scissor trusses, but that may or may not suit your situation. Not sure what the roof on the existing is like, but you might even consider removing that and re roofing the entire thing to get what you need.

You did a great job with your garage, and I can especially relate to your attention insulation and heating. It is going to be great to get off a cold wet floor and into a garage, no matter what size. I really like your idea about separating the parking area and work areas. I know from experience that a few good days of cutting and grinding will leave a layer of dust on everything in the shop. I don't know if I would leave the garage doors, but a heavy duty retractable curtain may work well. The existing roof is getting near the end of its life, so doing the garage and roof at the same time may ease the process. One of my concerns is having the house look like a construction zone, and dealing with my new neighbors. It seems like the framing itself should go up quickly, however the foundation, leveling, and damaged lawn may create a bit of a mess. One other thing that I do need to worry about, unfortunately, is that the gas meter and I am assuming supply line is on the right side of the garage. In that 3 ft. section to the right of the right side garage door, is the hot water heater, furnace and meters. I do not know how the lines run on the property, but I assume they would run parallel with the driveway? This may become a nightmare to deal with.