Ideas for my new space

[brasian]

I moved into a new house last year and it has a detached 2-stall garage. It's 21' wide by 25' deep. The garage door is offset to the right and there is not regular entry door so there is just a blank wall on the front left side. I'll have to move the electrical panel, but I'd like to add an entry door for easier access and I think it looks stupid.

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The inside is studs and trusses and this is where I'm fighting on what to do with the walls and ceiling. There are some water damaged areas around the base which have been and will continue to be addressed. A new roof and gutters were installed to stop water from pooling and I'll be putting a rock boundary around the garage to further help the grading.

In the pictures below you can see the floor is uneven in spots and the concrete comes right up to the top of the base wood frame. If I drywall this do I need to create some lower boundary between the floor and where the drywall would start? Is it worth drywalling? I need to get the workbench area and tools organized, but I've been waiting to figure out what I want to do with the whole space. The concrete is pretty crappy and uneven in there and I don't think it's worth redoing that.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

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[Bessy]

I wonder if the floor had previously been sinking and they decided to just pour over top of it to flatten it out. I notice the front left corner of the sill plate appears to be above the concrete, where as the right wall is below. I'd dig down around the edge of the building on the outside and find out if there's a footer (not likely) and find out what the damage is to your sill plate and slab, before doing anything to the floor.

It looks to have good bones, otherwise. You might be ok to jack the building up and do a stem wall (even gaining some height if you so choose) then bust out the concrete and pour a new floor above grade. It looks as though your driveway might slope toward the door some?

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[Stuart in MN]

With the sills below floor level, if they haven't rotted already they will rot soon - I'd address that issue first before doing any other improvements.

 

[brasian]

It looks to have good bones, otherwise. You might be ok to jack the building up and do a stem wall (even gaining some height if you so choose) then bust out the concrete and pour a new floor above grade. It looks as though your driveway might slope toward the door some?

Forgive my ignorance here, would it not be easier to teardown and start over if you have to jack up the entire garage? I'd love to just start over and put a loft above like my neighbors have. I'll have to check on the slope toward the door. It might just be the camera angles.

 

[CraigStu]

With the sills below floor level, if they haven't rotted already they will rot soon - I'd address that issue first before doing any other improvements.

I agree. Having the bottom of the stud wall flush w/ the lawn has got to be fixed. In another thread here one technique mentioned was to temporarily support the wall, cut off the bottom X inches, and fill the space w/ block. But that would depend on what is under that wall for the block to rest on. And since that one wall has essentially sunk into the concrete, when the bottom X inches of the wall is removed, you would need some concrete work done first so the block has something level to sit on. People who have done the cut and fix or jack up and fix seem to find it's not all that difficult. I think everyone so far has been thinking you want a reasonably inexpensive fix. But if you can afford it, $25k to $50k, then demolish and start over. Before you do that, look into whether you can get a permit. Sometimes and old structure like yours is grandfathered in since it already existed when regulations were changed. But a new structure needs to me current regs.

 

[brasian]

I think everyone so far has been thinking you want a reasonably inexpensive fix. But if you can afford it, $25k to $50k, then demolish and start over. Before you do that, look into whether you can get a permit. Sometimes and old structure like yours is grandfathered in since it already existed when regulations were changed. But a new structure needs to me current regs.

Demolish and start over is more of a dream space. I did some research last night and didn't realize jacking up can be a somewhat simple task. I don't think I'd take that part in by myself, but did find a few companies that do such things. I've been told, but haven't verified this, that if you leave one wall standing from the previous structure it counts as the old structure. Something I'll have to look into more.

At this point I'll just organize as is and look into getting the base higher from the foundation. This is in Utah so at least it's dry a lot of the time. Thanks!

 

[infinkc]

Just curious, you want to add an entry door for easier access. Do you access that space a lot for other things that dont require the main door to open? I see you have a keypad already for the garage door, which i would say is already easy access.

Adding the man door you loose that "storage" space in the corner. To me that is more useful than a door. Also much more secure not to have a man door.

just throwing that out there.

 

[twistedstang]

I would want a man door if im somewhere that gets cold in the winter and you heat your shop. Having to open the large door every time you need to step out would ****.

 

[ZRX61]

I'd probably put the man door on the side, close to the end of the bench... & have a r/h door so it doesn't hit the bench.

 

[brasian]

I used the garage this past winter to wax skis and snowboards and having to open the garage door every time did ****. I also use it for a home gym now with quarantine. I don't know that I need the entire workbench and had thought about putting a walkway in with the door all the way in the back on the side.

I do really hate the look of the blank space on the front though...

 

[Kevkx125]

You like this look. This was the best location for my man door.

 

[ZRX61]

I used the garage this past winter to wax skis and snowboards and having to open the garage door every time did ****. I also use it for a home gym now with quarantine. I don't know that I need the entire workbench and had thought about putting a walkway in with the door all the way in the back on the side.

I do really hate the look of the blank space on the front though...

Window...

 

[Flyin Flattie]

Windows are a must in my book

 

[Thunderpigeon]

Your sill plates are acting like big wooden sponges the way they are covered with concrete and potentially below grade. I would resolve that issue before spending money on anything else.

 

[pbon]

Replace them with PT. No need to spend $75k. But spending $2k on materials and a bunch of your time could transform that garage. I have one that is way worse and it’s been there for 80-100 years. I recently redid the sill boards and some studs. Would still like to add some rafters/low collar ties and a header to convert the double doors to a wide single.

 

[Joemctag]

Avoid a door close to a corner if you can. 3 to 4 ft. past the corner on the side wall, say. Also, someone will point out that a door in front will remove needed “shear wall”. There are things you can add to get it back. Keeps your building standing up. Ground level close to floor level: not good at all. Don’t store boxes directly on slab, too.

 

[brasian]

What type of company should I look for to help get these sills fixed? I had a foundation repair company out, but they only really do leveling. General contractor? Concrete company that would do the repour?