I think I like it here...

[ssathre]

hello,

this is a great site! I'm in the planning stages of my new garage and there is a lot of inspiration here.

I'm looking to build roughly a 32 wide x 24 deep with in floor heat. I'm in a pickle though because my house is only 15' tall and local code won't let build taller than the primary structure. I would like to have an 8' tall door but don't know if that's going to be possible or not. lots of questions for the contractor!

at any rate, I'm looking forward to posting pics of this project and getting to know everyone.

thanks,

Steve

 

[ssathre]

Welcome to GJ Steve, keep us posted on the build!

Thanks, it's getting to where I can't sleep at night with all of the excitement and planning.

where a bouts in Iowa are located?

 

[Rickster55]

Welcome to the madness Steve! You're going to love it here! Good luck with your build!

 

[Coolabah]

Welcome to GJ, Steve. Are you able to excavate so that you can have tall ceiling but still keep within building code ?? Keep us posted on your progress. Totally understand about the excitement of planning- my 2 cents here is "think twice cut once" (ie way more expensive to change stuff once you have started building, try and nut it all out first !)

 

[ssathre]

Welcome to GJ, Steve. Are you able to excavate so that you can have tall ceiling but still keep within building code ?? Keep us posted on your progress. Totally understand about the excitement of planning- my 2 cents here is "think twice cut once" (ie way more expensive to change stuff once you have started building, try and nut it all out first !)

I think drainage is going to be an issue and won't be able to take out much of the grade if at all. I'll know more once my contractor does a survey, but if my eye is any good I will have to look at a lower pitched roof in order to get my desired celing and door height. ive been out of the trades for a few decades and been sitting behind a computer monitor all this time, so I'm hoping my eye is off quite a bit.

 

[Plombob]

Welcome, Steve!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Welcome to GJ.


Can you put a cupola on the top of the house ? After the garage is built, remove it ? Would it be grandfathered then ?

 

[ssathre]

Eric, funny you say that. I have been joking with friends about doing that same thing... but didn't take it serious.

as it turns out my contractor stopped by yesterday and took measurements. he thinks we will be fine. 7 years back I took on the challenge of ripping out the old weed field the previous owner called a lawn. I rented a skid loader for a weekend and did all the dirt work myself and "eyed" the drainage. ended up having a great lawn of bluegrass. however my neighbors don't take care of their lawns so their weeds and moles are a continual battle for me. but this is another story for some other forum.

back on topic. I guess my eye wasn't so bad after all, he said drainage is good and it wont be a problem tying into the exsiting driveway, which will end up being 100' total length. as far as the elevation, they will only have to dig it out for the thickened edge and prep work.

if all goes well, and the price is do-able, it will end being a 32 wide x 26 deep with 9' ceilings and a 4 12 pitch for the gable roof. (ironically this will be the same square footage as my little house, which is all that the city will allow.)

Since I found out that the city requires a driveway, in floor radiant heat is out. instead I have a buddy with a natural gas furnace, ac coil and condenser for $500. that saves some money for the added concrete and I don't have to worry about staying cool in the summer months.

it also looks like the neighbors are going to be making a stink over the build. he's kind of a squeaky wheel, and somewhat a peeping Tom. he's been on the block the longest so I think he just feels as things like this should be ran by him first. thats okay, I'm building what I can and to code... and the garage will serve the dual purpose of being our 15' tall privacy fence that spans the width of our yard.

now hopefully we can get going before these fuel prices jack up the cost of building materials even more!

 

[ssathre]

This morning I received a quote from one of the general contractors that I contacted a month ago. I used to be the network administrator for the company that owns them. About 20 years ago I used to work along side of them for another construction company until I blew out my back.

At any rate, I thought I would call them up and see what they would quote me. the dimensions were (at the time I talked with them) for a 30x24 with two 8' overhead doors and a single walk in door with no windows. the pad would be a thickend edge and thier plan was to frame direcly off the slab, no block or stem wall. The price I got back today was a little less than 20k and that was not including power or driveway. I did ask him to reconfigure the bid for my current specs which is going to drive the price up further.

These guys are great builders and I respect their work, I'm sure that they would do a great job. With that being said, I think that this is a little on the high side price wise. in particular the trusses were quoted at $1,500 for a 3 12 pitch gable system.

what do you guys think?

 

[Coolabah]

Now might be a good time to direct your question to the General Garage Discussion ( re-post this question as a new post there ) - sure to be seen by a lot more people in that part of the forum !

Personally- wish I could help but do not know the answer to your question !!!

Your build sounds exciting though...all sounds like it is going ahead well

 

[NUTTSGT]

3/12, I wouldn't go less than a 4/12 if you're using shingles.

Will framing off the slab get the wall far enough off the ground to prevent the rain/moisture off the lower part of the wall and prevent rotting ?

I think I might plant some pine trees to block the view of the neighboring Tom.