Beginning My Build. Advice and Comments Appreciated.

[c615586]

My wife has talked me into building our "forever" home. My part of the deal is that I get a bigger garage. Our space requirements for the house vs. our lot size and limitations resulted in the architect compromising to get us four parking stalls.

The larger space will be the area that I want to focus on. It will be a combination of a workshop (I do a little very amateur-quality wood working) and storage for outdoor toys, bicycles, etc...

The extra parking stalls will be for my convertible and maybe one day a lift and a project car. I do anticipate my wife and I will some day have plug in hybrids or full electric cars so I will be asking our contractor to wire the garages appropriately. I'd also like to pursue geothermal and maybe solar options if within our budget.

We have our architect, lot and contractor in place. We're very early in the planning, engineering and loan-applying stages. As stated in my title, I'll appreciate any garage planning advice I can get. Thanks in advance.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Garages and work shops are never big enough, Plan for expansion, future needs..

 

[qdvuu]

Check out the auto court's drainage of rainwater. I once rented a house that was U-shaped with a concrete patio in the middle which turned into a lake during rain storms. Good thing I was only there for a short while, but it did open my eyes to poor design and implementation.

 

[c615586]

Check out the auto court's drainage of rainwater. I once rented a house that was U-shaped with a concrete patio in the middle which turned into a lake during rain storms. Good thing I was only there for a short while, but it did open my eyes to poor design and implementation.

Thanks, good point. I'll be sure to ask the contractor about it at the next meeting.

I was thinking about using a minisplit for AC since the garage and workshop won't be used every day. I'll be sure to check the Heating & AC and Electrical sections of the forum, too.

 

[MScott]

I would strongly advise you to put your location in your profile. You will get better advise on any subject where climate could be a factor (heating, cooling, insulation etc.)

 

[c615586]

I would strongly advise you to put your location in your profile. You will get better advise on any subject where climate could be a factor (heating, cooling, insulation etc.)

You bet, just updated. We live in Columbus, Ohio.

 

[larry_g]

To my eye that auto court looks to small the easily maneuver into the garage. A layout of the drives and whatnot would give a better idea. Having a single garage door, 16' would make maneuvering in and out of the garage easier as one would not have to worry about the center posts. I also would not like those double doors swinging into the workshop, consider a overhead door.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[c615586]

To my eye that auto court looks to small the easily maneuver into the garage. A layout of the drives and whatnot would give a better idea. Having a single garage door, 16' would make maneuvering in and out of the garage easier as one would not have to worry about the center posts. I also would not like those double doors swinging into the workshop, consider a overhead door.

lg
no neat sig line

Agree on all three points.

The auto court is small, but we have limitations on the "footprint" size of the house and paved areas relative to the size of the lot per the city.

I will push for an overhead garage door type entry for the workshop--It would make it easier to bring chairs and supplies in and out of the second garage to the adjacent patio as well.

Our architect gave us a structural reason for the four single garage doors vs. double doors, but I can't recall it right now. I'll bring it up again at the next meeting.