Garage planning questions

[NickCity]

Long time lurker and noob here. I've enjoyed this board for a while and now I'm trying to plan for a new(er) garage for the spring. I need a "mancave" to work on my Jeeps out of the Buffalo snow! It'll be a 1.5 attached because the existing one has carpenter ant damage on the outside wall and needed to come down anyway so I'd be tearing down the existing garage and totally replacing it. Plus it now has an almost flat roof and that needs to go, especially in "Snow Country". I can't go further back (6' drop) but I'd love to or to the side (property line) so a 1.5 will suffice for now.

I attached 2 images because I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The differnce between the two comes down to cost and how $$$ it'll be. I'd like the room about the garage for storage as I have no basement and space is always a premium here.

I'd like to replace the concrete pad and a radiant floor put in but I'll have to see what the cost is. What are some other "must haves" or gotcha's I should look out for? Pros & cons on ways to heat it?

Thanks to all on this board for the ideas you've given me and for letting me totally drool over your garages and the cars rigs in side them.

 

[forty1]

Check zoneing codes- you may need to leave one wall up for 'GRANDFATHERING' the existing site/garage...
Not sure about RH, I personally would add a shower to any bathroom, you may add.I assume you will have a deep sink of some kind..- just saying..
( keeps the house clean..). keep us posted..
-41-


" ....because the existing one has carpenter ant damage on the outside wall and needed to come down anyway so I'd be tearing down the existing garage and totally replacing it. Plus it now has an almost flat roof and that needs to go, especially in "Snow Country". I can't go further back (6' drop) but I'd love to or to the side (property line) so a 1.5 will suffice for now.
I'd like to replace the concrete pad and a radiant floor put in but I'll have to see what the cost is. What are some other "must haves" or gotcha's I should look out for? Pros & cons on ways to heat it?"

 

[NickCity]

I checked and all 3 walls can come down. I'm trying to "ballpark" the price or the two options. I called a place for an estimate and told him I wasn't doing anything until the spring and he wouldn't even talk to me! While I can understand that labor and lumber prices can change I thought they were a little harsh. I'm shopping and started early! Can any one in the Buffalo area reccommend a GC and/or give me an appox cost to something relative to this?

 

[Daniel Dudley]

If you want bids you need plans. If you don't have plans you need a designer builder.

Generally if I get a client who has no idea what they want, I ask a lot of questions about what they want, what the use is, if they have a budget.


If you have a budget, you want three walls and trusses. If you want a second story, It will cost a lot more. Think about the difference between 30 and 85K and that's about right, although a couple of hungry guys could do just the outside of a basic unit for less.

 

[sledmods]

Since you plan on pouring a new pad can you make the garage deeper?

 

[Red Green]

I would look seriously into adding the second story. Menards has a computer to get a price on materials for a garage. If you want to save money do the interior and electrical yourself.

 

[jtillery]

What is your budget? That will really be the key factor in determining what you can do.

Everyone will tell you the most important thing is space, get as much as you budget/land/zoning will allow. Even if you think you have enough you will fill it up. Granted I have more "stuff" than alot of people, and I run a motorcycle repair business out of a portion of my shop, but I have 3200 sq ft packed full.

What condition is your concrete slab in? Unless it is real bad, I don't think it will be worth the cost to rip it out, put in radiant heat and repour the slab. As long as it is in reasonable condition, you could cover it with RaceDeck for what it would cost to just get the old slab taken out.

There are several options for heating. Radiant heating is best if you are pouring a new slab anyway, and you want to keep it heated to a comfortable temperature day in and day out. If you only use your garage on the evenings and weekends though, you will spend alot of money heating it during the times it isn't in use since the radiant takes a long time to warm up the space. I put forced air heat and central air in my shop, it cost $6,000 total for energy efficient equipment, ductwork and labor for profession installation. It will heat or cool the entire 3200 sq ft in under 30 minutes from extreme temperatures. You can also use Reznor style gas heaters or the mini-split heat & a/c units. Without knowing how often you will use it though, it is hard to make a recommendation.

Another thing to consider is being near Buffalo you could probably find a cheap industrial/commercial building to set up as a shop. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on rebuilding my 2 car garage, when I started looking again at commercial property. I just picked up a nice 4700 sq ft building in Cleveland for $26,000 that is 2 miles from my house. The front half if 40'x40' and the rear is 45'x70' and the entire building has 13' ceillings. I would have spent that much on a 2-3 car garage build.

 

[NickCity]

Since you plan on pouring a new pad can you make the garage deeper?

I'd like to but 6' behind the garage it drops off 8' down to the rest of the yard. It's take a lot of fill to level that out for a garage.

What is your budget? That will really be the key factor in determining what you can do.

Another thing to consider is being near Buffalo you could probably find a cheap industrial/commercial building to set up as a shop. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on rebuilding my 2 car garage, when I started looking again at commercial property. I just picked up a nice 4700 sq ft building in Cleveland for $26,000 that is 2 miles from my house. The front half if 40'x40' and the rear is 45'x70' and the entire building has 13' ceillings. I would have spent that much on a 2-3 car garage build.

Probably about $30k budget. The whole house & land was only $115k and people can get a detached 1 car stall for about $7k here so I'm not sure what $30k will get us.

If you want bids you need plans. If you don't have plans you need a designer builder.

Generally if I get a client who has no idea what they want, I ask a lot of questions about what they want, what the use is, if they have a budget.


If you have a budget, you want three walls and trusses. If you want a second story, It will cost a lot more. Think about the difference between 30 and 85K and that's about right, although a couple of hungry guys could do just the outside of a basic unit for less.

Ouch...$85k buys a nice house up here!