Detached Garage Build

[Coldstream]

I've been reading Sliderjack's thread on his TN garage. Didn't want to hijack and I've got some questions about my upcoming garage build. I hope to start in the spring.1) Wondering about footing depth, I've seen conflicting info. Per Sliderjack's thread as well as some other postings from folks even farther north than me, it seems that many go with 18" depth or so on footings. However, frost line here in MO is generally considered to be 36". Is it necessary to have footing depth to frost depth? 2) We all know that setting trusses takes several people. I hope to build this thing alone as much as possible, maybe with 1 other when needed. Why not build the garage using the old traditional method? Walls, ceiling joists, roof ridge board and then rafters. If I go 24' wide I can use a 'beam' joist length wise at the ceiling joist elevation then use 12' boards from either wall to the center. Drop some posts from the beam to the floor. Then throw some plywood up on the ceiling joists to finish building out the ridge and rafters. I know everyone uses trusses now, just wanted to get opinions. Thanks folks!

 

[pjboy]

if frostline is 36 inches your footer needs to be below the 36inches, in va its 18inches so footers top level neesds to be 18 inches below grade or lets say a 30 inch hole for a 12inch footer. the 12inches is below frostline. mtwill help ya?

 

[matt_i]

Consult building department for local frostline code. Basically measured from the finished grade, the top of the footing needs to be below that.

I would use trusses for several reasons. 1) they will be engineered to support the loads without sagging and without guesswork, 2) they should be so closely matched it should be hard to tell one from another, leading to a nicer, straighter build, and 3) around here you can't even go to the lumber yard and buy the basic framing lumber to duplicate the engineered truss and save money. Otherwise said, building your own trusses is a money losing proposition in most cases.

For a 24' span, two to three people should be able to set them, lay them inverted inside the walls, and someone rotate them up, pushing at the peak. Have to work carefully at the end with space running out.

 

[Jlbc212]

The main advantage for building a garage with trusses is having no supporting posts in the interior of the garage. This can also be accomplished with using engineered I-joists or wooden floor trusses for the ceiling. The stick frame roof would be built over those. If you don't mind having post(s) in the interior of the garage, then you could stick build the roof. The interior post(s) are typically used to support a girder spanning across the center of the garage. The girder, along with the exterior walls, supports the ceiling joists.