Block garage options

[oifla]

Hello all,

Posting to see if anybody has any ideas on how I could best modify my place to better meet my garage/workshop needs. Pls read below and let me know if you have any thoughts/ideas - thanks!

The short version is that our house came with a 'mother in law' apartment/little house next to the main house which is really a garage that was closed in to serve that purpose. With some work, it could (relatively easily) go back to being a garage.

Here's a shot of the front (taken from the road)

and a close-up of the building (note the elevation change)

Here's a very rough plan view sketch

and a bird's eye pic

Issues I'm working with:

Size:

- As it currently stands, the building is about 450 sq feet but it is not currently have a garage door sized access. In order to do what I need as far as workshop space, I need about 900 sq ft (if not 1,000).

In order to make up the missing square feet, I could add more square footage behind the existing building (it would be on two levels b/c of the elevation change but still workable), see pic here.

I'm not great at laying blocks but I would be ok if I ended up with a mixed block/stick built building.

Adding another slab behind the existing block building is easy enough, how to fix the roof is another matter.

I'm considering (a) treating it as an addition and simply adding onto the existing or (b) eliminating the existing and doing a new flat roof on the new and existing structure to tie things together.


Access:

The large maple out front would have to be taken down before we could drive up to the use the front for garage access. Alternatively, if I left the tree in place, I could use the 15 feet I have to the property line and try accessing the garage either from the side or, putting in more gravel, I would reverse into the garage from the back yard (nearly missing the septic system).

- Another alternative is to tear down the existing block building and put up a new stick frame using the existing slab (and a new slab next to it).

Whatever way we end up going on this, I'd likely end up doing the bulk of the work myself (except the cement work). Doing the work is not a problem but I did want to throw this up on here to see if anyone had any other ideas. A new set of eyes (or two) on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Are you sure it was a garage at one time ? I'm failing to see where the drive way to the garage or the O/H door would have been.

 

[oifla]

Are you sure it was a garage at one time ? I'm failing to see where the drive way to the garage or the O/H door would have been.

It has never been used as such but the modifications necessary to make it into one would not be too onerous. For a front access garage one would have to knock into the wall with the two windows and install the garage door there.

 

[James-W]

How big is your lot? If the lot is large enough and whoever has jurisdiction would OK it, perhaps you could rent out the "apartment house" and use the income from that to pay for building a new garage.

 

[oifla]

How big is your lot? If the lot is large enough and whoever has jurisdiction would OK it, perhaps you could rent out the "apartment house" and use the income from that to pay for building a new garage.

Good idea but I'd rather not have tenants if I can help it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It has never been used as such but the modifications necessary to make it into one would not be too onerous. For a front access garage one would have to knock into the wall with the two windows and install the garage door there.

Do the two windows share a lintel or do they each have their own ?

 

[lakeroadster]

Oifla.. if I may make a suggestion, post the photo's on your thread. You'll get more replies and input.

Posting Large Photo's Without Using A Photo Hosting Site

 

[oifla]

Oifla.. if I may make a suggestion, post the photo's on your thread. You'll get more replies and input.

Posting Large Photo's Without Using A Photo Hosting Site

I tried but for whatever reason (maybe I don't have pic posting privileges yet), they were coming up as blanks.

 

[lakeroadster]

Allow me to assist..

Hello all,

Posting to see if anybody has any ideas on how I could best modify my place to better meet my garage/workshop needs. Pls read below and let me know if you have any thoughts/ideas - thanks!

The short version is that our house came with a 'mother in law' apartment/little house next to the main house which is really a garage that was closed in to serve that purpose. With some work, it could (relatively easily) go back to being a garage.

Here's a shot of the front(taken from the road)

________________________

and a close-up of the building (note the elevation change)

________________________

Here's a very rough plan view sketch

________________________

and a bird's eye pic

_____________________


Issues I'm working with:

Size:

- As it currently stands, the building is about 450 sq feet but it is not currently have a garage door sized access. In order to do what I need as far as workshop space, I need about 900 sq ft (if not 1,000).

In order to make up the missing square feet, I could add more square footage behind the existing building (it would be on two levels b/c of the elevation change but still workable), see pic here.

I'm not great at laying blocks but I would be ok if I ended up with a mixed block/stick built building.

Adding another slab behind the existing block building is easy enough, how to fix the roof is another matter.

I'm considering (a) treating it as an addition and simply adding onto the existing or (b) eliminating the existing and doing a new flat roof on the new and existing structure to tie things together.


Access:

The large maple out front would have to be taken down before we could drive up to the use the front for garage access. Alternatively, if I left the tree in place, I could use the 15 feet I have to the property line and try accessing the garage either from the side or, putting in more gravel, I would reverse into the garage from the back yard (nearly missing the septic system).

- Another alternative is to tear down the existing block building and put up a new stick frame using the existing slab (and a new slab next to it).

Whatever way we end up going on this, I'd likely end up doing the bulk of the work myself (except the cement work). Doing the work is not a problem but I did want to throw this up on here to see if anyone had any other ideas. A new set of eyes (or two) on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[oifla]

Do the two windows share a lintel or do they each have their own ?

Good question. They share a lintel.

 

[oifla]

Thanks Lakeroadster!!!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Good question. They share a lintel.

That is good then, that will save you some time and cash.

 

[lakeroadster]

I would demolish and start over. Make the garage match / compliment the home.

 

[James-W]

I would demolish and start over. Make the garage match / compliment the home.

That was my first thought, but then I thought if he kept it, rented it out, built a new garage, he could most likely get enough in rent to make the payment for the new garage. But he says he doesn't want to have tenants if he could avoid it, so that killed the idea.

I am in agreement with you, knocking the building down and starting over would seem to me to be the best way to do it because then he could get exactly what he wants in a garage.

 

[oifla]

I am in agreement with you, knocking the building down and starting over would seem to me to be the best way to do it because then he could get exactly what he wants in a garage.

Thanks James, I'm not beyond knocking the walls down and starting over but it just seems kind of wasteful.

I'm ok with losing the roof but I am still hoping to come up with a solution that doesn't require the demo of the walls.

 

[Stumble]

Frankly I think you are chasing good money with bad trying to expand what is there. I guess you could get it quoted, but I probably wouldn't bother.

But if you want to keep some of the walls then blow out the back wall and extend the shop that direction by however much you need. It will be long and narrow but will preserve three of the walls that are there. I wouldn't but you could. This also raises other issues, are permits required? If so work this sizable will likely require you to bring the old structure up to current code. Are you going to finish the new part of the garage or leave the old section looking much nicer than the new? Etc..

My bet is that it would be cheaper to demolish whats there, add to the slab, and put up a steel building or a garage frame than expanding it though. Likely by a lot.

 

[brownbagg]

give that building to your wife and build a huge shop beside it

 

[JimR1998]

I have a very similar building that's turned into a money pit. In retrospect I should have torn it down 10 years ago when the roof was collapsing, but instead I spent money building a new roof, more money to address grading problems, and soon a big chunk more to finish the place. In the end it will be more money, more headache, and more compromises than if I just built new. And I would've had a buidling that I'd be using all these years.

Now I have to decide... Do I spend that $25k to finish it nicely (drywall, electric, stucco, gutters, azek, etc) or have the Amish come out and build a new garage for a little more but unfinished inside.

In your situation I'd recommend... keep it as a big shed or demolish and build a new garage. Sounds so wasteful, I agree. It won't take more than a morning to have it in a dumpster. Time is $$$. Working around existing structures and all the unknowns is expensive. It will hurt seeing it be torn down and you'll have to dig a little deeper in your pocket to build new, but soon youll forget the old place and the few extra bucks you spent. Don't spend years trying to figure out how to make the old place work like I did.

 

[James-W]

I have a very similar building that's turned into a money pit. In retrospect I should have torn it down 10 years ago when the roof was collapsing, but instead I spent money building a new roof, more money to address grading problems, and soon a big chunk more to finish the place. In the end it will be more money, more headache, and more compromises than if I just built new. And I would've had a buidling that I'd be using all these years.

Now I have to decide... Do I spend that $25k to finish it nicely (drywall, electric, stucco, gutters, azek, etc) or have the Amish come out and build a new garage for a little more but unfinished inside.

In your situation I'd recommend... keep it as a big shed or demolish and build a new garage. Sounds so wasteful, I agree. It won't take more than a morning to have it in a dumpster. Time is $$$. Working around existing structures and all the unknowns is expensive. It will hurt seeing it be torn down and you'll have to dig a little deeper in your pocket to build new, but soon you'll forget the old place and the few extra bucks you spent. Don't spend years trying to figure out how to make the old place work like I did.

I would have to say there is a lot of wisdom in this. A lot of times people get involved in doing things they should never have gotten into in the first place. I am no different, I have repaired things I should never have repaired and in the end it cost me more than if I had just bought new right in the beginning.

 

[Mikeske]

I am going to say it and it is the fact that it was purpose built to be a "mother-in-law" home from the start and likely it was built prior to the main home. When my grandparents immigrated from Germany the Catholic church did a home raising in the part of Iowa I was from, they would build these small homes for the families to stay until the immigrant family had raised the money to build their permanent homes on the property immediately adjacent to the small home. That is very common in the communities I grew up in Iowa. Most of the small houses were torn down years ago but a few still survive. I know as my Grandmother lived her last few years in a home very similar. My father would check on her daily.

You are probably better off just tearing it down and putting in a new garage as likely you would still be paying a higher tax for the mini home then a new garage.

 

[kbs2244]

what kind of shop?
do you need a car entrance?

I would expand to the back with the roof ridgeline a "t"
if it is a woodshop, and you need big door just to unload, then I would put the door in the right side wall
if it is an auto shop, put the door in the back wall