Basement Garage

[DanZ3]

I've searched but didn't find exactly what I was looking for regarding a basement garage. I am planning a move to an area that having the garage under the house is very common. What areas of concern should I have when inspecting the house regarding the garage. The obvious are moisture etc. but what other things should I consider?

 

[matt_i]

I think one of the biggest is the potential interaction between fuel/gasoline vapors and things that burn natural gas with pilot lights or the more modern auto-ignition.

I was in a guy's garage/shop built like that in Atlanta and it was huge...like the full size of a ranch house. Easy movement of his shop equipment in and out. As I recall the house was mostly supported with an I-beam underneath with several support columns. Not too bad considering the large space. However, I recall it was not very tall, sort of a "cave" motif. I think if I was building from scratch I'd go for a taller wall, despite more money "poured" into concrete.

Welding or flame cutting in a wood frame building is always something that should be done with great care...hot flash being one issue but the cloud of smoke potentially going upstairs would definitely not make people up there happy.

I think you can mitigate some of it with the Type X drywall.

 

[skidozer670]

I had one in my old house,2 car garage half other recent room. The plus it stayed warm in winter and cool in summer. Make sure there are no cold air returns if there is forced air heat. That would be a Hazzard for CO. And bring other fumes in. Once my old mustang carb leaked about a shot glass of gas and it stunk up the whole house at 3am. When I would start my tractor to snowblow it would set off my Co detectors. Not good for any dirty smelly work.Good for little projects.

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[sands35]

I'd put up type-x (fire rated) drywall to seal it off with a fire rated man-door.

+2 on no air changes between the garage and the house.

 

[Cyberbear]

Is this the type where one drives into and down to get inside? Obviously, not a perfect choice. I'd opt for a garage that has easy access and will not allow rain to collect inside due to grading or wind driven water under a door. Height limitations can be a problem, but if it is to be used strictly as a place to park the car, that may be acceptable.

 

[Hobbit]

Look for efflorescence on the below grade block or poured concrete walls. This indicates a water issue that could be expensive to remedy.

Some older homes have no ceiling, just exposed joists & the subfloor to the main level. While this makes maintenance easy is also has it's downsides. Most areas newer building codes require gypsum board ceilings for fire safety now.

Look for at least a 9' basement ceiling.

If the basement is partly finished. Look real close to ID if the work was done professionally or half assed. Specifically electrical, plumbing & below grade wall materials.

If you can see the subfloor look for any water leaks, wet black spots on the plywood.

If the breaker box is mounted in the basement. Check to see how it is grounded. I just discovered mine was grounded to a copper water pipe with an aluminum clamp. It corroded the pipe and caused a leak in the wall. Rotted the subfloor & termites.

Look for chipmunk holes around the exterior foundation. If found at below grade walls move on. You will likely also see that aforementioned efflorescence inside. They will burrow right against the wall and ruin your water seal, that is an expensive fix.

If able have a moisture test done on the flooring, it's simple, if you intend to apply any flooring. That means tile, epoxy, wood, carpet, any flooring!

I could keep going perhaps I will return later this evening with more.

 

[38Chevy454]

I had this on a previous house. The land had a gentle slope to the rear, so the driveway wrapped around and into basement garage door that was on back of the house. It was flat entering the garage, no downhill slope towards the garage door. The nice thing was there was no wall separating the garage from the rest of the basement. All unfinished poured concrete. I had 2600 sq ft of garage and loved it. I did have a large I-bean running the length of house and several support posts, that beam and posts were 90 degrees to the 2 car garage space which was at one end. I moved a couple of those posts each about 1 ft over to make larger opening, so I could drive cars into the basement area. I could store all of my cars and tractors down there, with still extra capacity. The ceiling was 8 ft, and was just the open floor joists. No drywall or any other fire break, probably not legal per bldg code now.

The best part was the temps down there were very moderate, so working in winter or summer the temps were very pleasant conditions. It was not heated or cooled directly, just ambient conditions. I did all kinds of work (car mechanical work, cutting, grinding, welding, etc) and started and ran vehicles without any real fume issues. Even my drag car, which would create bad fumes at idle, was not too bad for the time to get it out of the basement garage area.

This is a bad representation of the layout, think of each line as a vehicle: || = = =

So the only kind of PITA was to get a vehicle out near the far end, I had to move several vehicles out of the way. Also making that 90 degree turn could be tight.

 

[kbs2244]

You do not give your location, but if you are in snow country, I would say do not do it.
There are whole subdivisions in the Chicago area with "raised ranch" houses that have driveways that slope down into the garage.
Garage doors are replaced often and guys are late to work because they cannot get out of their garages.

 

[cdestuck]

In a home like this it's very important to have a carbon dioxide detectors if not 2 or more. You can't say never can a cars engine for some reason be left on and bye bye family. As a police officer I had a call years ago where two elderly folks died upstairs when they forgot to shut off their engine downstairs

 

[GDPossehl]

I grew up with a basement garage. I liked it a lot. Atlanta is fairly hilly being at the foothills of the Appalachians so many homes are built into a gradient with the front yards somewhat flat at street level and a drop off in the back yard. My childhood home had a 2 car carport at the front and a backside entrance single wide garage that was as long as the whole house.

As stated, it stayed warm enough in the winter and cool enough in the summer. The previous owner used it for fixing up bikes and had a spray booth set up in the back (which my dad removed when we first moved in).

The living space above was tiled so there wasn't much vapor leakage, but I didn't run the engine in the garage really. I rebuilt a bunch of stuff down there and did most R&R on my first car too. It was dark and cramped, but worked just fine and was out of the way.

 

[bpj71]

My house was built in 2012 with a basement garage that is one room. It is approximately 18' x 36'. The upper floors are supported by LVL beams with no supports in the basement. I have no heat in the basement and it is most definitely my man cave. Honestly the temperatures are comfortable and unless it gets below 10 degrees I can work down there with no heat. It is well insulated.

I agree with what most said, especially ceiling height. I would be much happier with 9' or 10' ceilings, compared to my 8' - 7.5'.

I would add make sure there is adequate attic storage or your garage basement will be ******* with storage.

My HVAC is in my attic which also helps with the usability of the area. The water heater is in the basement and is a hybrid water tank which helps remove some of the moisture.

My basement did have a pipe burst that did not have good insulation on the exterior wall and it flooded the basement. It was nice to just open the door and just squeegee it out. It happened when the temp dropped below negative 5 degrees and the builder did a half *** job insulating CPVC pipe. Almost no damage to my stuff because the floor is pitched out and drained right into the driveway. Obviously my stuff is off the floor and hanging on the walls or ceiling.

I would prefer my next house to have an attached garage and a basement. Feel free to ask me any questions.

 

[rt dak]

Everything was pretty much already said. Moisture is probably the biggest issue. I had a french drain and dual sump pump system put in mine before I moved in. Driveway sloped down towards the garage would be a turnoff, mine doesn't.

Really the only thing I don't like about mine is ceiling height. The oil burner, washer/dryer and the stairs going up to the living space takes up some room but it's not bad for me. Luckily my well pump and tank are in a root cellar off the back. Lally columns are sometimes a pain. Stays cool in summer if you keep the door shut and never really gets below 55 in the winter. My house was built in '59 so it has exposed joists and stuff so plumbing work and electrical is easy access.

My wife's car stays in the "garage" portion and my toy goes in the "basement" portion for the winter months. My Ram won't fit in at all.

 

[DanZ3]

Thanks for the ideas and watch outs. I'll update when we find a possibility for thoughts. I had most of the same concerns but appreciate the time spent responding.


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