dziskovs
Well-known member
Looking for some advice/ suggestions on getting more garage/ workshop space in NW OH. Current attached garage is 25x25 ft attached to the house. Trying to think about utility, curb appeal, and ultimately cost. Hobbies include wood working, wrenching on vehicles, restoring/ repairing older garden tractors.
Our house is a little goofy as it sits completely sideways on the lot, so we don't have much curb appeal to start with. We have already been renovating, so we just finished the 1.5 year nightmare of working with a shoddy siding/ roofing contractor to get the result in attached picture with the slate colored vinyl siding on bottom, and tan siding on top with black trim. I know I'm going to have some sunk cost for roof tearoff and siding tearoff to do pretty much any of the options below, but waiting wasn't an option with multiple portions of our walls and roof needing replaced due to termites and carpenter ant damage (If I could go back in time, I would have torn down the current garage and added on what I really wanted, but the budget didn't give me that option either).
I'm waiting to really plan any landscaping etc until after I lock down my plan for the garage, as a lot will need tore up to do any of these options.
If it matters, we have a "Michigan curb" in the current garage which is about 6" higher than the parking area in front of the man door, and across the wall connecting to the house. Garage floor has a naturestone covering which I think was to cover up cracks in the garage floor from settling and improper construction when garage was added in 70's/ early 80's.
Currently looking at 3-4 options for a year or 2 down the road for trying to expand my garage/ workshop space.
Option 1: Bump out to existing garage to left. This would be ~ 6' wide x 25' deep looking at the garage from the street, that would likely only be used for storage. I could either do access doors from the outside of house, or possibly a single man door from inside the garage into the storage area. The higher raised "michigan curb" would necessitate the concrete being about a foot off the ground to left of house to tie back to main garage floor, or be sunk in if access is left from the outside. I don't think I really have the option of adding a garage door to front of the house in that area of the addition with the two different floor levels, and removing the current outside wall would require complete restructuring of the roof with wider joists, or a 25 ft long supporting beam and posts.
Option 2: Extend the garage outward towards the street. We sit about 150 feet back from the road, so no issues with being too close to street. It would cause issues with our parking pad to the right in the pictures depending on how far out I would go. Given how tight the current garage is, I would probably want to almost double the space so 25 wide by 40-50' deep. I also spent a good amount of money rebuilding that front garage door wall in a time crunch before siding crew would start, so lots of sunk cost there if that wall gets removed.
-Slope of driveway could be an issue depending on how far out I go
-Considerations of keeping garage door in the middle to use 1/2 as dedicated workshop/ and addition as vehicle parking.
Option 3: Combine options 1 and 2. Extend garage towards the street and to the left.
Option 4: Standalone garage (where shed is currently located) with a breezeway connected to main house (easier to get attached garage with HOA and township restrictions than a detached building). This is probably the preferred option from a functionality standpoint, and could be a dedicated workspace for me to get the current attached garage to only be parking, kid stuff overflow, and house supplies/ tools. Then use detached garage for all of my projects (wrenching, woodworking etc). I would probably sell the current 12x20 garden shed, so detached garage would need to house all my equipment that is currently stuffed in there as well. I could possibly relocate shed to back of property on opposite side of house, but not ideal as that is our main usable yard.
- Gas line runs parallel to driveway on left side-> means I have to relocate around the back, or I can't get a concrete driveway/ approach to the detached garage.
-3 very mature trees adjacent to current shed location.. Limits size of garage I can put there as well as the angle of the garage to the house to still have an adequate approach from the driveway. Also means if those trees come down on their own, then new garage is likely crushed. (Tree's could be removed as well, but that is another additional expense.)
- Yard behind the current shed goes down hill relatively quickly at the back of it, so the deeper the detached garage, the more foundation work is needed.
These or some combination of the above are the different options I've been noodling on since we bought the house, and am trying to gather either additional ideas, estimated cost for options 1-4 ($/sq ft estimates), and opinions on what others think based on their experiences.
Thanks All.
Our house is a little goofy as it sits completely sideways on the lot, so we don't have much curb appeal to start with. We have already been renovating, so we just finished the 1.5 year nightmare of working with a shoddy siding/ roofing contractor to get the result in attached picture with the slate colored vinyl siding on bottom, and tan siding on top with black trim. I know I'm going to have some sunk cost for roof tearoff and siding tearoff to do pretty much any of the options below, but waiting wasn't an option with multiple portions of our walls and roof needing replaced due to termites and carpenter ant damage (If I could go back in time, I would have torn down the current garage and added on what I really wanted, but the budget didn't give me that option either).
I'm waiting to really plan any landscaping etc until after I lock down my plan for the garage, as a lot will need tore up to do any of these options.
If it matters, we have a "Michigan curb" in the current garage which is about 6" higher than the parking area in front of the man door, and across the wall connecting to the house. Garage floor has a naturestone covering which I think was to cover up cracks in the garage floor from settling and improper construction when garage was added in 70's/ early 80's.
Currently looking at 3-4 options for a year or 2 down the road for trying to expand my garage/ workshop space.
Option 1: Bump out to existing garage to left. This would be ~ 6' wide x 25' deep looking at the garage from the street, that would likely only be used for storage. I could either do access doors from the outside of house, or possibly a single man door from inside the garage into the storage area. The higher raised "michigan curb" would necessitate the concrete being about a foot off the ground to left of house to tie back to main garage floor, or be sunk in if access is left from the outside. I don't think I really have the option of adding a garage door to front of the house in that area of the addition with the two different floor levels, and removing the current outside wall would require complete restructuring of the roof with wider joists, or a 25 ft long supporting beam and posts.
Option 2: Extend the garage outward towards the street. We sit about 150 feet back from the road, so no issues with being too close to street. It would cause issues with our parking pad to the right in the pictures depending on how far out I would go. Given how tight the current garage is, I would probably want to almost double the space so 25 wide by 40-50' deep. I also spent a good amount of money rebuilding that front garage door wall in a time crunch before siding crew would start, so lots of sunk cost there if that wall gets removed.
-Slope of driveway could be an issue depending on how far out I go
-Considerations of keeping garage door in the middle to use 1/2 as dedicated workshop/ and addition as vehicle parking.
Option 3: Combine options 1 and 2. Extend garage towards the street and to the left.
Option 4: Standalone garage (where shed is currently located) with a breezeway connected to main house (easier to get attached garage with HOA and township restrictions than a detached building). This is probably the preferred option from a functionality standpoint, and could be a dedicated workspace for me to get the current attached garage to only be parking, kid stuff overflow, and house supplies/ tools. Then use detached garage for all of my projects (wrenching, woodworking etc). I would probably sell the current 12x20 garden shed, so detached garage would need to house all my equipment that is currently stuffed in there as well. I could possibly relocate shed to back of property on opposite side of house, but not ideal as that is our main usable yard.
- Gas line runs parallel to driveway on left side-> means I have to relocate around the back, or I can't get a concrete driveway/ approach to the detached garage.
-3 very mature trees adjacent to current shed location.. Limits size of garage I can put there as well as the angle of the garage to the house to still have an adequate approach from the driveway. Also means if those trees come down on their own, then new garage is likely crushed. (Tree's could be removed as well, but that is another additional expense.)
- Yard behind the current shed goes down hill relatively quickly at the back of it, so the deeper the detached garage, the more foundation work is needed.
These or some combination of the above are the different options I've been noodling on since we bought the house, and am trying to gather either additional ideas, estimated cost for options 1-4 ($/sq ft estimates), and opinions on what others think based on their experiences.
Thanks All.
