Help deciding on Garage Dimensions

[deepstuff]

Hi,
Just deciding on garage size. Unsure if I should go wide but shallow or narrow and deep. I can go with two or 3 garage doors on the front and want to put another garage door in the side near the right rear of the building. The width I go will directly affect how deep I can go.

I'm thinking anywhere between 26' wide with two 10' foot doors in the front x 40' deep.

to: 38' or 40' wide with three 10' foot doors in the front x about 34' deep

or another option of 32' or 34' wide with one 10' and one 16' door in the front.

Roof pitch will be either 6/12 or 8/12 depending on orientation.

Any opinions?

The garage will be used as a shop (mechanical and welding) and storage for an antique car, motorcycle, ATV's, trailers etc. I plan on having a car lift in one bay.

Should I make building wide enough to have a workbench etc on the side of a bay (along side of building) or leave just 2 feet or less between garage doors and building sides in favor of building a deeper building and putting workbench etc near the rear?

Thanks!

 

[Schurkey]

Are you limited on overall square footage?

The obvious answer is to build it both deep AND wide, if at all possible. Bigger is better, ESPECIALLY if you plan to do welding. When I had mine built, I was limited to 1000 square feet by the Damned Code Nazis; and the width was limited by proximity to the property line.

 

[YukonXL04]

The problem with narrow and deep is you have to move vehicles and tools and stuff around if you need to get something from the back out the front. I would say wider is better. As wide as you can build, and a solid 30ft deep minimum. Then you have room for work benches across the back wall and room to get each vehicle out on its own.

With 40 ft wide, I would probably do 2 16 or 2 18 ft doors.

 

[deepstuff]

I am somewhat limited in square footage but will be applying for a variance in any case. That shouldn't be an issue since I have a very large lot but a smaller building will mean easier approval. I would like to keep below 1300 square feet but I am flexible and if going a few feet wider or deeper makes a lot of sense that I'm all for it.

Would a 16' door make sense with a car lift to one side of it?

 

[bczygan]

The most efficient use of the quantity of materials comes with a square structure.

The most economical use of materials comes in a rectangular structure, with the roof spanning the narrower dimension, the ridge parallel to the long walls, and the doors in the gable ends of the shorter walls.

Best layout depends on what is going into it and how it will be used.

 

[bczygan]

I am somewhat limited in square footage but will be applying for a variance in any case. That shouldn't be an issue since I have a very large lot but a smaller building will mean easier approval. I would like to keep below 1300 square feet but I am flexible and if going a few feet wider or deeper makes a lot of sense that I'm all for it.

Would a 16' door make sense with a car lift to one side of it?

Be careful about counting on a variance. Most places they are hard or impossible to get. You have to prove a hardship (Not financial).

 

[600SL]

I am somewhat limited in square footage but will be applying for a variance in any case. That shouldn't be an issue since I have a very large lot but a smaller building will mean easier approval. I would like to keep below 1300 square feet but I am flexible and if going a few feet wider or deeper makes a lot of sense that I'm all for it.

Would a 16' door make sense with a car lift to one side of it?

Take a look in the Garage Gallery for ideas. Mine is 30' x 48' x 10'. see my sig. There are many more ideas you can get from the garage gallery.

 

[deepstuff]

The most efficient use of the quantity of materials comes with a square structure.

The most economical use of materials comes in a rectangular structure, with the roof spanning the narrower dimension, the ridge parallel to the long walls, and the doors in the gable ends of the shorter walls.

Best layout depends on what is going into it and how it will be used.

Why are doors in the gable end more economical?

 

[bczygan]

Why are doors in the gable end more economical?

Smaller and thus less costly header, because of lower load of just wall, rather than wall and roof loads.

 

[larry_g]

My building is 36x48. If you trim off the last 12' where the machineshop/loft is you have a 36x36. For what you are describing as usage then the two doors like I have may suit you. I tend to think that most people have to many OH doors. So many shops have doors all along one wall that they loose wall storage, and if you open the door it is just storage there anyway.

My thinking, and how I use my shop is that the door on the left is for storage of wheeled stuff, mowers, tractor, atv's whatever. The right door is for moving in mobile equipment to be worked on. Behind where a third door could be is workbenchs, storage shelves for shop supplies work area. It works for me.

My one regret is that I did not leave enough room between the left door and the end wall. Another couple of feet would have allowed a lot more flexibility for storage there or room to open a car door.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Cyberbear]

Obviously you have several options as mentioned by others. I, too, believe wider is better, but you can also have both a deep bay section and a shallower one side by side depending on size restrictions according to code or financial reasons. I personally opted to not ask permission from the county about building on my own Private Property. They threatened me at first, but when I asked for proof of jurisdiction over private property, they went silent and I have not been bothered since 1995.
As far as work benches go, permanent benches are good but having a movable bench can be helpful as well. I have a heavy wooden 5' x 5' bench in the center of my shop that can be relocated if needed. My 2400 sq/ft 30 x 80 shop is divided in two sections; metal working and a larger woodworking area with storage room, office, washroom below a mezzanine for more storage. So far everything has worked out well.

 

[AnthonyJ124]

I didn't build mine, but it's 24x34 with three garage doors on the front and the man door on the side. If I were building it, especially after living with what I have for a year now, I would have gone at least 30 or 34 wide and 30 deep. As it is, my supercab f150 won't fit, and I don't really have a workshop/bench area without losing the third bay. If you've got cars you want to fit, I'd get those measurements and shoot for at least 3' between each other and 6' on the walls (3' for storage/benches and 3' for walk around.

Just my .02. I am NOT an architect, or have experience building a shop. Just offering a first hand experience. Good luck!

 

[hybridjim]

I agree with wider over narrower. You can use the back wall for your work bench and use a portable bench or roll around cart as needed. As far as a previous poster stated about not getting approval for their building, not a
good idea for two reasons. 1- upon re-sale of the property the local authorities could demand the removal of the structure for not having permits. ( This happened to a friend of mine in South East Michigan. Not Cool.) 2- Should you have the un-thinkable misfortune of your building catching fire or what ever, your insurance company might not cover the loss due to no permits. I was told this by my insurance agent when I added my (SHED) to my policy.

 

[deepstuff]

Any opinions on garage door size from people who have lived with them? I'm thinking three 10' doors on the front but someone else mentioned two 16' doors may be better. Any opinions. I will have a car lift so it may make sense to have only a 9' or 10' foot door in front of it (since most lifts are less that 9 feet wide) and then have one more 16' or 18' foot door and not two more tens? Or have an 18' door off center with my lift and make the second door for antique car storage a ten?

What are peoples thoughts on putting in a dividing wall to divide storage area from work area so that antique cars, motorcycle etc not being worked on are not exposed to damage and dust?

Thanks for the ideas so far. The gallery is great also and a lot of good ideas there?

 

[net gain]

On the 10' door... I have a 10' and 16' door on the gable end of my barn (32' wide). I am not a fan of the 10' door. I use that side for my F250 and although there is enough room, it is very tight backing in. I only have about 3 inches clearance on each mirror without folding them in. If you have plans on parking anything large in there, go at least 12' for that door.

 

[deepstuff]

10' would be wide enough for me and my vehicles. Would a 16' give me space to park two normally sized vehicles side by side thus in essence giving me space to park 2 vehicles whereas a 10' would only allow one? Here's my logic, is it flawed?

Two ten foot doors = two vehicles, 10' + 16' doors = 3-vehicles side by side? 10' + 10' + 10' = 3 vehicles side by side. Only one bay would be used for working on a vehicle and the other two for storage.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Any opinions on garage door size from people who have lived with them? I'm thinking three 10' doors on the front but someone else mentioned two 16' doors may be better. Any opinions. I will have a car lift so it may make sense to have only a 9' or 10' foot door in front of it (since most lifts are less that 9 feet wide) and then have one more 16' or 18' foot door and not two more tens? Or have an 18' door off center with my lift and make the second door for antique car storage a ten?

What are peoples thoughts on putting in a dividing wall to divide storage area from work area so that antique cars, motorcycle etc not being worked on are not exposed to damage and dust?

Thanks for the ideas so far. The gallery is great also and a lot of good ideas there?

I went with 3 10-feet tall doors 9-feet wide, because that's all I had room for with my design. After installation (and living with them) if I hand it to do over, I would go with 10-foot wide doors instead. A full size pickup truck is almost 9-feet wide mirror to mirror. 10-feet would be enough...but 9-feet is really too tight. So...I would have made my garage 3 or 4-feet wider if I had it to do over.

I wouldn't put any extra walls in the garage. They get dusty and you have to clean them occasionally. A wall would be in the way if plans change in the future.

If you can get away with it...floor drains are awesome. One more thing to think about just sayin.

Phil

 

[net gain]

This is my opinion only, other peoples experience may be different. A 16' door would allow you to park two vehicles in provided you have enough depth and width on each side to angle them slightly. Thats how I would do it so you can open the doors on each vehicle. Maybe an 18' and a 10' would fit your needs better.

 

[SammyNickels]

I decided with Narrow and deep, 26 x 36.. Garage on the 26' side.. This way i could squeeze 4 cars if need be, where as if i was 26 x 36 with the garage on the 36 side, i'd be pretty limited to 3 cars. 36 ft deep will let me have my two cars parked at the enterance for general use, (14 ft long vw) and give me an extra 26 x ~22 ft for my next restoration.

 

[Thumper68]

Location, Location, Location.

For me a lot depends on your location, what you are going to use the space for and how you are going to use it.

If you are in the north and plan on heating the space more smaller doors (I wouldn't go less than 12' wide after living with a 10' wide door.) are better, less heat loss when open.

If you are going to be backing trailers in often then a 14+ foot door is nice.

My shop is 40 wide by 32 deep with the 10'x12' door 30" from one side wall in the 40' wall and it works well, but I never wanted more than one vehicle in the shop at a time, makes you get it done so you can move on to other projects.

 

[Higshemi]

Is this a detached a garage? If it's attached you may be limited by the size of your home. In my township, we can't build an attached garage greater than 40% of the sq ft of the home. And I echo the above statements, applying for a variance is not as cut and dry as you may think. And as soon as you do apply for the variance. Building inspectors will be happily coming to check up on you, so don't cut corners.

 

[Higshemi]

Personally, I like a 16x9 and a 9x9 garage door.
Sorry, just read your update. 26 wide, go two 10' doors.