Austin, TX 600 sqft refuge

[Nimonic]

I've got a "3-bay" garage that has been in progress since about the spring of 2011. It's approximately 600 sqft, 10 ft walls, and scissor trusses give me about 14ft in the center. It's 2x6" stud wood frame construction with a brick facade on three sides. Hardy on the 4th.

I've designed it for maximum insulation capacity for fighting the TX heat (R19 walls, aluminized decking, and as much blown in insulation as I can fit in my trusses. R16 injected garage doors.

Electricity service is 100A, but I ran #2 wires in case I want to increase service. It has 9 120v quads oulets, 3 220V 50A outlets (TIG welder, end mill and lathe), 1 220A 30A outlet (compressor).

Has 2 kemmel strips that hang from the ceiling, two ceiling fan outlets and 6 8ft T80 flourescents (4 bulbs). Also has a 220 30A provisional outlet for lift in the future.

Finally got it finished out last month and just need to trim out and paint. I'm pretty excited but my wife is about to divorce me....

 

[Nimonic]

Pics of slab prep and framing.

 

[ralphy99]

Looks like you are going to have a great garage. Are you going to put an air conditioner in it? A window unit would probably work just fine. I've also seen where some people have used motel units that have both a heater and an air conditioner.

Please keep posting your progress.

 

[Texas Aggie]

Sounds like a great build, especially the insulation. I'm in Austin also and have debated on whether I can fit another garage on my lot. Did you have any hassles with permitting or HOA restrictions? Looking forward to more pics.

 

[Nimonic]

Ralph, I plan to install maybe ~16-18000 BTU minisplit sometime this spring/summer. Haven't done the calculations on BTUs vs floor space, height, doors, windows yet. Based on this nasty fall/winter I may have to go with a heat pump.

Aggie (Gig 'em), the HOA in my neighbor hood is a stickler for certain things, like I have to have a side facing garage and I'm limited to 600 sqft, but other than that they have been easy. The city permitting process SUCKED. It was the most byzantine, bureaucratic, needlessly complicated process imaginable. I had to pull construction permit, electric permit, and plumbing permit (because I rough plumbed the slab for water and sewer for possible future use). Permits have to be updated every 6 months or they expire. That pissed me off because I'm basically building when I have spare $$$ so it is a 3-4 year process. The permit process is designed for professional contractors, not do-it-yourselfers.

 

[Nimonic]

More pics of facade and interior.

 

[monkey-1]

Progress looks great. I'm on the downhill side of a very similar garage and I have to agree-the permit, HOA, dealing with the city *****. I too had to brick my shop, but had to do all 4 sides. Sound like you put a lot of though into electrical. Can't wait to see it completed.


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[Texas Aggie]

Looks like a great garage. I was afraid that would be the story on permitting. The department is so screwed up that a city permitter was actually indicted this year on bribery charges. I'm afraid my lot layout wouldn't allow a big enough garage to justify the hassle.

 

[Nimonic]

If an impatient ******* like me can navigate the permit process, anyone can. Just put on your patient hat and be prepared to wait a while, fill out lots of forms and have to come back a few times to Barton Springs rd.

Are you in city limits? They will ask about impervious coverage. I think the max may be around 40%.

 

[Nimonic]

More pics after batts, blown in insulation (glass) and drywall (5/8" type X). As soon as shop is done I will restart on my 71 RR!

440 4spd pistol

 

[Nimonic]

Original layout relative to house and existing garage

 

[Texas Aggie]

Nimonic - I am in the city limits. My lot is big enough (about 19,000 sq ft) that the impervious coverage shouldn't be an issue. It's just the layout of the house on the lot, existing mature trees, setbacks and utility easements that create issues with adding a decent size garage. Good looking Mopar you've got there.

 

[davo727]

Move out to the country.

Looks like a great garage. I was afraid that would be the story on permitting. The department is so screwed up that a city permitter was actually indicted this year on bribery charges. I'm afraid my lot layout wouldn't allow a big enough garage to justify the hassle.

 

[Texas Aggie]

Move out to the country.

If garage space were the only consideration, I'd already be out there. My commute is bad enough living in the city. I'd hate to make it any longer and more headache-inducing than it already is.

 

[Nimonic]

Updated pics. Interior paint and trim basically done. Moved in some metal cabinets, slate counter and other tables, tools and TIG welder. Need to hang some peg board, sweat some copper tube and move in my compressor.

 

[930dreamer]

Nice shop you have there.

 

[rixtrix1]

Nice garage, but why not a tall door, just in case?

 

[quasi_accurate]

Another Austinite here. Your garage is looking pretty awesome!

 

[Nimonic]

Nice garage, but why not a tall door, just in case?

Thought long and hard about that. Worked with an architect on the exterior and decided that the detached garage doors needed to match the height of the attached garage for visual appeal and resale (they are flush along the same plot line). I'll have to post a picture from a 100 ft away so you can see what I mean.

That and I can't honestly think of when I would need a taller door. Not enough depth at 20.5' to ever park an RV or big boat.

 

[M17715]

That looks fantastic. The brick work really gives it a Wow look. Good luck.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Your build looks absolutley fabulous, well done and thanks for the update.

 

[rixtrix1]

Thought long and hard about that. Worked with an architect on the exterior and decided that the detached garage doors needed to match the height of the attached garage for visual appeal and resale (they are flush along the same plot line). I'll have to post a picture from a 100 ft away so you can see what I mean.

That and I can't honestly think of when I would need a taller door. Not enough depth at 20.5' to ever park an RV or big boat.

Understand. A large truck or van comes to mind. Probably just jealousy as both my Suburban and conversion van won't fit under my door

 

[Nimonic]

Understand. A large truck or van comes to mind. Probably just jealousy as both my Suburban and conversion van won't fit under my door

Sadly, I'll probably live to regret my choice!

 

[dhubbard422]

Nice shop! Great job dealing with the city and an HOA (I'd need more than a "patience hat"... After Austin approved the McMansion ordinance, I thought it was just too hard to build a shop in Austin. So, we moved last year to a couple of acres on the San Gabriel and hopefully this is the year I build my shop.

I'm envious of your lathe and mill. I keep looking for used items, but they're hard to find in this area. Again, nice shop.

 

[Nimonic]

Thanks to all for the kind comments.

The lathe and end-mill are on my 2-yr plan. This year, get a life support system (mini split AC) in by June/July. Next year get a phase converter to run the machine tools, which have 3-phase motors.

 

[bazzateer]

Beautiful looking garage you have there! Basically the same size as mine but owing to the size and shape of my plot mine is 30' long where yours appears to be 30' wide. Your layout is better!

 

[Sunbimmer]

Beautiful place thanks for sharing!