Garage Advice

[jkruttlin]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this site and looking for some opinions. My wife and I recently moved into our new home last December. The attached garage is way too small for two vehicle and my fishing boat and tractor so I am going to build a detached garage next to it. I refinanced and have a certain $$ range I need to stay within. My question is, should I reduce the size of the garage in order to keep the 8/12 pitch to match the house or should I go with the biggest garage I can afford and use standard 4/12 truss? My two options are 24x36 with 8/12 pitch and 10' sidewalls or 28x40 with 4/12 truss and same walls? Will a garage with a 4/12 pich look bad next to 8/12 attached garage?

I'm going to attempt to include a picture of my house for reference. The garage is going to be to the left of the house. Thanks for any ideas.

Jon

 

[dandan111]

Nice house. If you landscape it will look good either way. I would do a pole barn myself.

 

[Kevin54]

Attach it to the existing garage and make the roof the same direction and pitch as the house roof.

 

[jkruttlin]

Attach it to the existing garage and make the roof the same direction and pitch as the house roof.

Wish I could. Between the current garage and future garage is the septic and drainfield.

 

[ddawg16]

Welcome JK....we appologize in advance to taking up so much of your time....you will soon understand....

A few things first....please add your location in your profile...it helps to give you better answers....

The pic of your house looks good....

Your questions are good ones....it's good that your taking the looks into consideration....if you ever sell...it could be a major factor on re-sale value....but, don't let 're-sale' be the driving force behind decsions....you bought the house to live in...so make it what you want.

How much land are you on?

Is the driving force for the smaller size with the higher pitch cost? I would think that the cost would be pretty close for either one.

Personally, I would not go 4:12 pitch...that is pretty low for areas with a lot of snow...

Your 8:12 pitch would keep the look consistant with your house...but, if you have a lot of land around you....you move it back further behind the house so that it's not so obvious...but then you have a longer walk.....

One constant theme you will hear here all the time...."It's never big enough".

If you have to give up something initially to get the size and roof pitch you want...then go that route.....there are also other ways to save money....

Were you planning to farm all the work out?

 

[Jay_mc1]

I personally would go with the bigger of the two sizes because you can never build them big enough, but I do understand wanting to match the house. What is keeping you from going with the 28 x 40 and using an 8/12 pitch? What is the price difference from the 4/12 to the 8/12 rafters etc.? I personally like the looks of 8/12 much better than 4/12.

 

[pattenp]

I agree with Jay and ddawg. I think the 4/12 is a mistake. At a minimum do 6/12, but 8/12 is better if you can swing it with the larger garage. If you do the smaller garage with 8/12 were you going to use attic truss to have some storage?

 

[jkruttlin]

I think there is going to be a big jump in price between the 24x36 than the 28x40 keeping everything the same. I'm also considering going from 2x6 walls to 2x4" walls. I had plans to heat it but that won't be in the cards right away. Can you insulate and heat a garage with 2x4" walls? I would like to have some storage above the ceiling also...

How much of a jump do you think it would be going to a 26 or 28'x36'?

The area is already leveled and ready for a 30x40 at the max. Directly behind it is the gas line to the house and in front of it are power lines running to the house. So I can't move it around much.

I'm also thinking of having the conratctor leave the siding alone and me and some friends can finish it off ourselves.

I'm on 5 acres. I live in NE lower penninsula in Michigan.

 

[ddawg16]

First off......2x6 vs 2x4......in the total scope of raw material cost....you are looking at maybe a couple hundred $$ difference in price....or, giving up going out to eat about 2-3 times with the family....

Not only will 2x6 allow you more insulation.....it will give you a much straighter wall....especially if your going up 10'.

My garage is 2x6.....and I have 8' walls on the lower level (click on the garage build in my link).

So I take it that you 'planned' on the contractor doing it all? Except for maybe the siding?

What scope of work does he have? Did it include electrical and drywall?

Big money savers for you would be to do all of the inside yourself.

 

[jkruttlin]

First off......2x6 vs 2x4......in the total scope of raw material cost....you are looking at maybe a couple hundred $$ difference in price....or, giving up going out to eat about 2-3 times with the family....

Not only will 2x6 allow you more insulation.....it will give you a much straighter wall....especially if your going up 10'.

My garage is 2x6.....and I have 8' walls on the lower level (click on the garage build in my link).

So I take it that you 'planned' on the contractor doing it all? Except for maybe the siding?

What scope of work does he have? Did it include electrical and drywall?

Big money savers for you would be to do all of the inside yourself.

I was getting electical done separate. Was going to hold off on finishing it for a while on the inside. In one breath the contractor said it was only $200 more to go 2x6 and then in his quote he said $500 more. So I don't know...

I wish I knew how to build it myself.

 

[ddawg16]

Time to get more quotes.....

 

[camarotoolman]

Maybe 8" walls, 2x4 framing, 8/12 sisor trusses. That would be cheaper, match your house, and have head for a lift in the middle. You could use the attic trusses in part of it for storage or build a loft.

 

[TRC51]

I had a somewhat similar dillema and ended up a little smaller than your suggested size. Here is my build if you care to take a look:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44078


I would normally say go as big as you can, but I too believe the 4/12 over a 28ft span is too shallow as well. Can you get a bigger bottom cord on the 8/12 and expand the truss some? Are you planning on using the upstairs for storage? I wanted storage and realized that a 7/12 pitch allows me to walk through the trusses up there. I love it and had no issues with the town.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

My house has a 10/12 pitch and the new garage has a 5/12 pitch. No problem with the roof line as long as the two match closely in materials and you do one little trick. Take the sidewall up higher on the garage (maybe 12'-0") to get the roof peak at or just below the roof peak of the house. That will make them look in proportion to one another. Another visual trick is to set the garage farther back than the front of the house and use a taller door for the garage doors.

 

[Falcon67]

It's going to vary, but there should not be that much difference in price between a 4-12 pitch and a 6 or 8. Once you get over 24', you have to use a truss anyway, so maybe $20~$40 a truss for the house pitch vs the 4. That is a pure guess, you'd want to price it. It's not that hard to figure - get a quote for a fixed width and some length - say 26x30. Divide the cost by the sq/ft to get the per sq/ft figure. If it's a straight gable type building/barn, you'll get a decently close estimate by just adding length and multiplying the new sq/ft by the quote figure. Changing the width has way more effect on cost because of truss construction and roofing material. Also, depending on your snow load you might really need more than 4/12.

FWIW - I went 5/12 to save material costs and the house is 6/12. You can't tell the difference from the street. As noted, spacing it away from the house and adding a couple of fast grow trees and some bushes (bring me a SHRUBBERY!) will make it all look fine. Tieing it in with color will make more difference than the roof line.

Mine - house brick, shop is paint on HardiPanel

 

[jkruttlin]

I had a somewhat similar dillema and ended up a little smaller than your suggested size. Here is my build if you care to take a look:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44078


I would normally say go as big as you can, but I too believe the 4/12 over a 28ft span is too shallow as well. Can you get a bigger bottom cord on the 8/12 and expand the truss some? Are you planning on using the upstairs for storage? I wanted storage and realized that a 7/12 pitch allows me to walk through the trusses up there. I love it and had no issues with the town.

Yes I'd like to get some storage in the trusses. I'm thinking spreadweb truss instead of a full attic truss. I'm calling the building supplier to find out the difference between 4/12 and 8/12 pitch.

 

[jkruttlin]

Well I thought I'd give an update on my garage progress. I went with a 28'x36' with 8/12 spread web trusses. Starting to look good.