bkdawg61
Member
Looking at having a 30x40x12 built. Originally planned on going 30 wide and 40 deep but looking for opinions. Should I go 40 wide and 30 deep? Also contemplating having 2-10x10 doors or just 1-20x10 door. Any thoughts?
Go 30 wide or 40 Wide?
- Thread starter bkdawg61
- Start date
matt_i
Well-known member
Personally I would go 30 wide. Spanning 40ft is certainly possible but the trusses are going to get more expensive and harder to set due to their weight. But, either is definitely possible. Many 40x60 buildings are out there doing just fine.
The doors are usually parallel with the trusses? But I guess you could do doors that are perpendicular to the trusses and thus have a 40' wide by 30' deep garage. Though a lot of rain will fall down in front of the doors.
ishiboo
Well-known member
What are you doing with it? What do you plan on fitting in it? That would completely determine it for me.
I had a 30w, 40d and it was perfect for me... 29' boat on a trailer just fit with about 1.5' to spare. 30 wide is room for 2 cars plus a ton of room around them.
My new garage only (not shop/boat storage/etc.) is going to be about 40w x 30d or 32d... will have 3 cars across the width.
btdobie
Well-known member
I never heard someone complain that they built their garage to big. 
djjsr
Well-known member
I had one that was 42' wide and I really liked it. Used 3 doors.
ghlkal
Well-known member
RayBob58
Well-known member
I put a single 8'x12' wide door on the 28' end of my 28'x36'. It will be used as more of a workshop than a garage. The single bay in front of the door will always be empty. I hope.
Bib Overalls
Well-known member
I have a 30' x 40' shop building and it is perfect for me. When I was researching the build I was told more than once that 32' wide was the sweet point. Any wider and the the price of the trusses accelerate. At that point it was better to add length rather than width.
A 30' x 40' works out to 1,200 sg ft. A 40' x 40' is 1,600 sq ft. a 30' x 50' is 1,500 sq ft. I would price both ways. You may be surprised at how much the additional 100 sq ft will cost. And then again I could be all wet.
A 30' x 40' works out to 1,200 sg ft. A 40' x 40' is 1,600 sq ft. a 30' x 50' is 1,500 sq ft. I would price both ways. You may be surprised at how much the additional 100 sq ft will cost. And then again I could be all wet.
How big is the property, how will it sit and look on the site ?
Fredro Starr
Well-known member
I elected to go 40 W x 30 D.
I agree with the quote above. It is the difference between a 3 or 4 car. My lot dictated my size and since I wanted living space above 40W better suited my needs.
I agree with the other posters that form should follow function.
stngfever
Well-known member
It all comes down to personal preference and function of the space.
Mine is 40 w x 32 deep with 12 foot walls. I did 3 - 9x8 doors.
Mine is setup such that it will never have more then 3 cars (one bay eventually will have a 4 post lift for double parking, etc... Center bay has 2 post lift, last bay for general detail work or other misc.
I have a friend that did his 30 wide x 40 deep with one wide door. Open floor plan with no lift as he has 10 foot walls (now wishes he did 12 and installed a lift). With this configuration, he can put 3 cars width across back wall and 2 more cars by door. Allowing work to be done on 1 vehicle at a time but cramped.
Mine is 40 w x 32 deep with 12 foot walls. I did 3 - 9x8 doors.
Mine is setup such that it will never have more then 3 cars (one bay eventually will have a 4 post lift for double parking, etc... Center bay has 2 post lift, last bay for general detail work or other misc.
I have a friend that did his 30 wide x 40 deep with one wide door. Open floor plan with no lift as he has 10 foot walls (now wishes he did 12 and installed a lift). With this configuration, he can put 3 cars width across back wall and 2 more cars by door. Allowing work to be done on 1 vehicle at a time but cramped.
James-W
Well-known member
I haven't either, but I did know a guy who bought a house with a 4 car garage and he put up a wall across half of the garage. He just parked his cars in one side and used the other side as a workshop. I know that isn't exactly complaining his garage was too big, but it did cut his garage work space in half.I never heard someone complain that they built their garage to big.
Mine is 30 deep 40 wide. I really want to add some length to it. The 40 wide is awesome but one of my projects is a crew cab long bed and I have picked up building utility racks for our local power company those are usually crew cabs with 9 or 10 ft utility beds on them. So I need more depth but that is specific to my situation
I think the 30 wide 40 deep would look nicer on my lot but want it to function for what I want to do. As of right now my F150 and my wife's suv will be the only 2 vehicles parked in there. I would like to put a 2 post lift in down the road. Don't have plans on a project car right now maybe a 22-23ft boat at some point.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
A lot of which way to build it depends on your property. Can you do a Google Earth shot and then draw the building in both ways to try and determine which best suits your needs? I built my addition at 28' wide and 36' deep. I had to do this because of my septic system, and I also had to consider the aesthetics of adding onto my existing garage. I would have been happy with 36' wide though but my leach bed would have been encroached on.
I think you would be happier with a 40' wide garage vs. a 30' wide. I would go with the (2) 10' wide doors also. In the winter, pulling in and out, if you are heating the garage, you won't be dumping all the heat out like you would with a 20' wide door. Building the garage at 30' deep, you have room for a fullsize vehicle with a workbench in the front. My main garage is 28' deep, and I can pull my Dodge Ram 4door 4wd in and still have room to walk around it. But I'm going on what would suit my needs. You may very well want a 40' deep garage. At 40' deep you can park two vehicles in tandem. That would let you easily park four vehicles in your garage.
Are you planning on putting a lift in eventually? If so, then you might want the 40' deep as the side with a lift, you will normally park one vehicle on that side, and you can get two in tandem on the other side, giving yourself room for three cars and a bench either on the side, or in the front of the garage.
I think you would be happier with a 40' wide garage vs. a 30' wide. I would go with the (2) 10' wide doors also. In the winter, pulling in and out, if you are heating the garage, you won't be dumping all the heat out like you would with a 20' wide door. Building the garage at 30' deep, you have room for a fullsize vehicle with a workbench in the front. My main garage is 28' deep, and I can pull my Dodge Ram 4door 4wd in and still have room to walk around it. But I'm going on what would suit my needs. You may very well want a 40' deep garage. At 40' deep you can park two vehicles in tandem. That would let you easily park four vehicles in your garage.
Are you planning on putting a lift in eventually? If so, then you might want the 40' deep as the side with a lift, you will normally park one vehicle on that side, and you can get two in tandem on the other side, giving yourself room for three cars and a bench either on the side, or in the front of the garage.
lakeroadster
Well-known member
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ishiboo
Well-known member
Those awesome new things called "rain gutters" make this a non issue
If the trusses are perpendicular to the garage doors as he is talking about, that would put them on the gable end where gutters are not installed. Being that much of the roof is substantially higher than the doors, the same overhang typically gives you less protection from rain.
If that's a substantial issue (for most people I would think its not a big deal) you can install a roof overhang over the doors. I had trouble finding a relevant photo, but basically like this but you would go out the same distance as your overhang on the sides, and no posts are needed: (It's actually a lean-to)
lakeroadster
Well-known member
Doors located perpendicular to the trusses would indeed put them on the side, not the gable.
Doors located parallel to the trusses puts them at the gable end.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
Go big or don't go at all
Cougar
Well-known member
Is it possible to get variance and go 40 x 40.
machsnell
Well-known member
Use a tape that is missing the first 5 feet.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
finn
Well-known member
My garage is 32'x54' with three doors in the long (eave) side.
If I were to build again I would avoid that configuration if at all possible because of the snow shedding off the roof in front of the garage doors.
The snow compacts when the roof sheds, making it difficult to remove with the truck, and impossible with the snowblower.
My shop has a gable entry door and doesn't have that problem.
If I were to build again I would avoid that configuration if at all possible because of the snow shedding off the roof in front of the garage doors.
The snow compacts when the roof sheds, making it difficult to remove with the truck, and impossible with the snowblower.
My shop has a gable entry door and doesn't have that problem.
lakeroadster
Well-known member
Upper Peninsula.. That's gotta be rough.
Do you have snow trim on your roof?
I have it on my barn here in the Rocky Mountains.... snow shedding is minimal and not an issue.... but the roof has to be designed to handle the added weight of the snow.
Dormers over the doors would also help to deflect the snow to areas that are more advantageous.
I already had to get a variance for the 1200. They limit you to 600 sqft or less without a variance.
I have been told about the snow issue when the doors are placed on the eave side. That was one of the reasons to I was going to go with the doors on the gable end.
Thanks for all the input this forum is great and easy to spend hours looking at other builds and seeing the input from people.
sberry
Banned
The truss cost difference is minor. Turn is so the doors and the walk door can go in the gable end.
fabjunkie
Well-known member
On my last shop I did 30w, 40d with two 12x10 doors on the gable end. I regretted it immediately. Once you take 4' away from either side for workbench, toolbox, etc, it gets cramped width wise. Also take 4' off the back wall and you're not fitting anything tandem and working on it.
Granted the truck is ~21' long, the car is 16.5' and they barely fit. This was before finishing the walls and having stuff against it.
This time around I'm 36'd x 50'w. A single 18x10 door on eave side butted against the center of the wall (next to the truck0 and a 10x8 on the opposite gable end, again butted against the center of the wall. I'm laying it out with two bays perpendicular to the 18' door (far end in this pic) leaving the space behind the door open. It's still in the framing stage, but you can kind of tell the layout here. The 10x8 door will be on the far wall, right of center.
Granted the truck is ~21' long, the car is 16.5' and they barely fit. This was before finishing the walls and having stuff against it.
This time around I'm 36'd x 50'w. A single 18x10 door on eave side butted against the center of the wall (next to the truck0 and a 10x8 on the opposite gable end, again butted against the center of the wall. I'm laying it out with two bays perpendicular to the 18' door (far end in this pic) leaving the space behind the door open. It's still in the framing stage, but you can kind of tell the layout here. The 10x8 door will be on the far wall, right of center.
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fabjunkie
Well-known member
You have to remember too that you are going to lose roughly 1.5' due to wall thickness both directions.
btdobie
Well-known member
My Grandpa did the same thing to his shop so he would only have to heat half of it to work in and could store stuff in the unheated half.
jomobco
Well-known member
I never heard someone complain that they built their garage to big.
exactly
TK-421
Well-known member
Go as big as you possibly can, too many people complain their shop is too small, how many complain their shop is too big?
marksland
Well-known member
I went with a 30 x 40 by 12 foot ceiling in the fron thalf of the bay and 18 foot peak in the rear half. I put one door on the gable end with a small roof over it for the elements and a secondary overhead door on the eaves side to allow access for smaller cars/toys/equipment. You can see photos in my signature line.
I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference and the intended use of the space.
I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference and the intended use of the space.
spotco2
Well-known member
I've got a 30x30 with 2 10' doors on the side that are evenly spaced.
Someone else mentioned putting shelves and benches on the sides eats up that extra room, and it does more than you would think.
I could have gone 40 wide and should have, but didn't......yet.
Someone else mentioned putting shelves and benches on the sides eats up that extra room, and it does more than you would think.
I could have gone 40 wide and should have, but didn't......yet.