Help! Building a new garage in a tight backyard space

[mannydantyla]

Hey guys!! I need help planning an all new garage in a tight space! But first I'll show off some pics (that you could skip, if so then go to the bottom of this post where I lay out all the question in a numbered list).

So after many years of moving around and having only tiny 1-car garages - here, here, and here (that last one being bigger but wooden floor couldn't support a car) - my wife and I finally started looking at buying a house.

And she agreed that I need a 2+ car garage!!

The first house we both fell in love with had a very handsome, detached 2 car garage. I was already making plans for bumping it out, adding a lean-to, etc. And we put an offer on it! Sadly, another offer was accepted while we were negotiating the closing date with the seller. That was yesterday.

However we had a very close runner up in mind, a better house at a much lower price, but there's no garage. I mean, they call it a garage but I call it a shed. It measures 10' x 16' and has a large crack in the concrete slab.

Here it is:

Here's another picture but I feel I must apologize for the quality - our buyer's agent was doing a FaceTime tour for us as we're currently living 1,800 miles away, the video quality was terrible. No picture from the listing either. (why do home listings never have pics of the garage??)

And a few photos from google street view:

So you can see there is a larger tree to the right of the garage door, a smaller tree in front and a little off to the right, and not much room to the left (more on that in a minutes). Also, note the two windows above the old Ford pickup. Those are the windows above the kitchen sink, so we do not want to block those!

And now for the all important GIS satellite image:

Does it look like the apartment to the North has their parking over the property line?! I doubt the line in mapping software is totally accurate but all other lines look like they're where the should be, i.e. on fence lines and sidewalks.

So I would need a survey for sure. I think the apartment was build in the 80s or 90s so I would want to look into "adverse possession" laws.

But if it's true that there's more space to the left of the garage door then I should be able to fit a double-wide garage door in there no problem. Right?

Questions:

1. should I get a survey? what kind of survey? during the inspection period, right?
2. Would a new, larger foundation for the garage hurt the tree's rootball and kill it? I would like to keep it if possible.
3. Would it be too difficult/expensive to build a L-shaped garage? I have little construction experience but I know enough to put up walls at least. I would pay a sub-contractor to do the foundation (need 30" deep trench footer). The roof framing, I don't know yet.
4. What else am I failing to realize?

Thanks!

 

[willysmd]

First I would check your local laws or get in touch with a builder "in the know" to find out how much offset you need and what the size restrictions for your area are. Are you married to those trees? You could always take them down and plant new ones further over on the lot. After-all "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit". Suposedly at least.

 

[The Cobbler]

you could get a survey pre purchase , or in your offer ask for a survey as a condition, and if the lines are where they appear now, you will buy the house sort of thing .
the rest, well I would get a hold of the municipality or town or whatever and ask most of those questions .

 

[mannydantyla]

First I would check your local laws or get in touch with a builder "in the know" to find out how much offset you need and what the size restrictions for your area are. Are you married to those trees? You could always take them down and plant new ones further over on the lot. After-all "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit". Suposedly at least.

Here's my notes from reading through the city's building code's and ordinances:

• will need building permit and electrical permit
• licensed contractor applies for the permits OR the home owner does if doing own work, but must fill out owner-occupent paperwork
• talk to the Building Safety department for help
• foundation must have trench footing with a minimum of 30" deep, 12" wide, and R10 barrier
• maximum 25 feet tall
• Minimum garage entrance Setback = 20 feet and setback further than main house
• 5 foot clearance from back and side property borders

Excellent tree quote! I don't even know what kind of trees they are but the smaller of the two is probably one that should not be growing that close to the foundation to begin with. Something tells me the smaller one is the invasive "tree of heaven" and the larger one is an oak. Just a hunch.

 

[Kaizen]

All trees need to go. Too small of an area to use machines and save trees.
If possible give border ten feet. Building and trying to paint that close on a tall wall is hard.
Those gis maps are not right most of the time. You definitely should plan on getting a survey esp with such small lot.


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[astroracer]

Why not go a bit out of town and buy something that has an acre or so of land, isn't packed in like sardines and doesn't restrict the building height or sq. footage? Just asking the question...
Mark

 

[mannydantyla]

All trees need to go.

You must not be a tree hugger like me lol

but seriously, the tree adds value. So I'd like to keep it if possible, would even build around it if I can. If not then alright, no biggie

Why not go a bit out of town and buy something that has an acre or so of land, isn't packed in like sardines and doesn't restrict the building height or sq. footage? Just asking the question...
Mark

I already tried that with the wife. Plus, only places around here with some acrage are either way out of our price range or are vacant (or might was well be vacant, aka there's a trailer) and I don't think we have the money or credit to build new construction. Plus we want to live in an older house in the city center

 

[YukonXL04]

I would be questioning living next to a business... that would be a hard no for me. Also are you traveling and looking at these houses in person before buying?

 

[ez-duzit]

...I need help planning an all new garage in a tight space!...

Actually you need help finding a better location with garage.

 

[mannydantyla]

thanks guys

 

[getbent4x4]

Cut the trees down and build a steel shop behind the house and make the driveway to it L shaped. Build atleast a 30x30 "garage". Run you about $15-20k from the steel yard with concrete foundation and insulation. Buy steel at the steel yard have your contractor paint it and build the framing and hang the sheeting and doors. 1-2 trees gone will not hurt anything. After everything is done you replace them. You dont want any trees near the home or building. It will damage the foundation and plumbing.

Beware being next to a business like that could be increased crime as others can see your building from the parking lot.

 

[mannydantyla]

it's actually a pretty nice apartment building, I wouldn't call it a business, that's a strange way to put it, people live there. About 6 unites.

This is not a large city, not a lot to choose from.

 

[Kaizen]

You must not be a tree hugger like me lol

but seriously, the tree adds value. So I'd like to keep it if possible, would even build around it if I can. If not then alright, no biggie



I already tried that with the wife. Plus, only places around here with some acrage are either way out of our price range or are vacant (or might was well be vacant, aka there's a trailer) and I don't think we have the money or credit to build new construction. Plus we want to live in an older house in the city center

Has nothing to do with if you like trees. I’m a woodworker that harvests his own wood. I appreciate a simple tree more then most. The construction activity would kill the root system and the tree will eventually crush the garage. Just common sense.


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[mannydantyla]

Just common sense.

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-463-W.pdf

 

[CraigStu]

First you need more info from the zoning people. What would be allowed there? 6 yrs ago we bought house w/ a small attached 2 car. My plan was another 2 car near the existing attached. Got a contractor out there to figure what could be done. Who knew that the power line coming across where I wanted to build made that impossible. Power line needed a 20 ft wide path w/ nothing under it. If it's possible I'd probably knock down that existing garage. I'd put a 2.5 or 3 car garage where the existing one is and off to the right behind the house. Put an 18 or 20 ft wide door all the way on the left where the existing is and give your wife the left most parking spot. You have to do a bit of a turn to get to the right of her car. That's why I say an extra wide door.

 

[Kaizen]

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-463-W.pdf

Your money bud. Good luck


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[Docbentley]

I would NOT buy a home with parking lot for apartments in my front yard.

 

[James-W]

I think the first step is to talk with the local building department and find out exactly what you can and what you can't do. You need to know how far back you must stay from the lot lines, and you need to know what size of a garage they will permit. For example, where I live, you must stay back at least 3 feet from the lot lines, you can't have a garage over 24ft by 36ft in size, and it can't be over 18ft 6in high at the peak of the roof. Once you know these things, you can better figure out what you want to do.

It is my personal opinion that if you can't build the garage you really want, then don't build any garage because you will never be happy with it. Live there for awhile and keep looking around for something you like better. If, due to restrictions from lot size and other possible issues, you have someone build a garage for you anyway, I doubt you will like it. The cost to build a garage will be several thousand dollars and if the garage can't be built the way you really want it built, you won't be happy with it. Also, I seriously doubt you would get back the money you spend to build it when you sell the property.

That is my opinion for what it is worth, others may, and probably will, disagree.

 

[SALIV8]

I would be sure I knew the setbacks/rules/inspections first.

I got a survey with my property purchase however I got another one when I was planning my shop. This time I had them stake the property line every 10’ or so down one side where shop was going.

 

[mannydantyla]

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the help! I hadn't thought about the power lines! There's power lines in the back yard, above the back fence.

Doing my due diligence! A survey will be important given I would want to build, and there's concerns about where exactly the property line is.

I understand your feelings about the next door neighbors and their parking is why I reached out to the forum to ask about thoughts on that. I've learned that "adverse possession" laws in this state are 15 years, it's probably been longer than than, and it transfers to new owners.

This is a small to medium size city, not many homes for sale that we're interested in, our first choice we lost to another buyer during negotiations. This one now was a close 2nd choice and while the garage might be a problem, the house is much much nicer inside, larger, better proximity to downtown, and $50k cheaper. So it really does make sense to buy this house - UNLESS there's too many obstacles to building a larger garage. That's what I'm trying to figure out.

My city's rules as I understand them:

• 5' setbacks
• garage must be set back fron the street further than the house is
• garage height maximum is 25'
• garage cannot have larger footprint than the house
• need concrete trench footer 30" deep

 

[964haus]

Check if you have a maximum allowable density permitted on your lot. Or if there's a max site coverage - both would impact what you could do.

Usually the planning department can provide you this info (even before purchasing) and other things like max height allowed, etc.

Good luck - looks like a great house!
M.

 

[3onthetree]

If a garage is needed and a potential house having a great one might tickle your fancies, but if not, and you can live with building a new "adequate" one, whilst the wife, kids, your commute time, and your ROI is happy, then go for it. If the garage is your utmost priority, then this house is probably not the best opportunity for that. When the garage dictates your life choices, at least when it is not directly contributing to your earnings or marriage success, then the decisions are being viewed in the wrong light.

Not to minimize your excitement, but since you haven't even closed on the property yet, you may want to live there a good 6 months-1 year to get a "feel" for living there. You may want to add on a 1/2 stall instead of a shed. You may need lots of attic storage or a bonus room. You may actually want to attach a portion (like a breezeway) to the house for additional allowable square footage. After a few BBQs on the deck, you will have a picture in your head of where and where not you want it encroaching on your backyard.

As far as a survey, around this big metro area it is standard procedure for sellers to provide one and flag the corners. However, in many places you might be able to get corners staked for maybe $300, or a basic plat drawn for $1000. Ask for the seller to stake the corners to alleviate a concern about the parking, but don't make it impingent on the sale. A plat with deliverables can be done later on your own dime once you know you are going with a garage.