Large garage with apartment advice

[airban]

Hi guys. New to the forum, but really enjoy reading about your different projects!

Here's my situation I would appreciate some advice on: I just bought a nice piece of land where I would like to put up a building for my business and a small apartment for my older parents. I would like about 2000 square feet for my business (that includes storage) and have the apartment be about 1000 sq feet. I envision a building where half the footprint is the apartment and half is the shop, with storage above the apartment.

Off the top of my head I was thinking about a 40x50 building with a 14 foot height (to allow for storage above the apartment).

There is no zoning in my township (NW PA), and I already received verbal permission from the building inspector, as long as it is up to code (firewall in between the shop and the apartment, etc).

My questions: Go stick built, or go with a company like Morton? Or any suggestions in general about how to go about this project? Any warnings or words of wisdom?

I appreciate all input in advance!

 

[airban]

Anyone?

 

[CNGsaves]

Morton is going to be expensive . . . plus your apartment side will be custom which will cost you plenty through Morton.

I'd recommend you research local pole barn builders (or stick built) in your area of PA. Drive around and see buildings that you like and determine who built them. What do any neighbors have??

My guess is Amish builder would do any awesome job on something like that. There's likely plenty of Amish is Pennsylvania - - - they are true craftsman when in comes to barn/house building.

 

[bigbubba]

Search for Bams50 he is planning something close to what you want but larger i think.He has gotten a lot of advice/feedback and even has some floor plans in his thread.

 

[64 lane]

I have had the same idea. Best of luck. I will be rebuilding an apartment in my 30 x 60. I will go with a 30 x 12 apartment footprint. Instead of storage, half of the space above will be a room for my boys. Approx 15 x 12

 

[REPO]

Like 64 Lane, I am building a 30x48 pole building that will have 17-18' walls. I plan on putting a 12 deep mezzanine across the back (30x12) that I want to make into a guest room. Basically a one bedroom, bathroom, sitting room with a bar fridge, small counter space, coffee pot, etc. just somewhere that guests can have a bit of privacy.

 

[airban]

Morton is going to be expensive . . . plus your apartment side will be custom which will cost you plenty through Morton.

I'd recommend you research local pole barn builders (or stick built) in your area of PA. Drive around and see buildings that you like and determine who built them. What do any neighbors have??

My guess is Amish builder would do any awesome job on something like that. There's likely plenty of Amish is Pennsylvania - - - they are true craftsman when in comes to barn/house building.

I agree this is the way to go - problem is where to start? I see lots of ads in the local "farm paper", but it's overwhelming wondering who is decent and who isn't.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I agree this is the way to go - problem is where to start? I see lots of ads in the local "farm paper", but it's overwhelming wondering who is decent and who isn't.

Try driving around in your rural area and look for some recently built pole bldgs. Stop and talk to the farmers... make sure they're not busy as all get out or stick around forever. My advice, when you walk up to one, say "hello, my name is ___" and put your hand out to shake hands. Don't wear nice clothes(or be afraid to get dirty), give a firm handshake and look them in the eye.

A farmer will generally give you straight up and honest advice. Have a good report with these guys, they will be your neighbors in the future.

 

[fflintstone]

Try driving around in your rural area and look for some recently built pole bldgs. Stop and talk to the farmers... make sure they're not busy as all get out or stick around forever. My advice, when you walk up to one, say "hello, my name is ___" and put your hand out to shake hands. Don't wear nice clothes(or be afraid to get dirty), give a firm handshake and look them in the eye.

A farmer will generally give you straight up and honest advice. Have a good report with these guys, they will be your neighbors in the future.

x2 !

 

[tomroblee]

I had a vacation home built with similar ideas. I ended up having a 36' x 64' stick built building with a 12/12 pitch roof and attic trusses that gave me an 18' x 64' second floor with 8' ceilings. The first floor was one half garage and one half living area configured as a one bedroom apartment.

I considered a pole building but eventually decided on stick built for the primary reason that it allowed me to put a crawl space under the living area for better access to heating ducts, plumbing, etc. I also wasn't too fond of having the living area on a concrete slab because the concrete tend to be cold (unless you have infloor heating) and hard on the feet.

The advantage to having the living area built on a slab (especially for older people) is that you could eliminate any steps.

I would strongly suggest that you consider building the living area as much handicap accessible as possible with wider hallways (if there are any) and 36" wide doorways, lever handles on the doors, and possibly having the electrical outlets installed higher than normal, etc.

Several years after the home was built I had a 36' x 48' pole barn built by an Amish company. Nobody in my area (southwest Indiana) could match the price and quality of the Amish builders for an unfinished building. However, the major Amish pole barn companies in my area weren't set up to handle electrical, plumbing, and finish work.

 

[JakeKohl]

The first decision to make is whether or not to hire a builder to work on your behalf and coordinate the various trades. They may seem a little expensive...but good ones are very well worth it. Experience pays big dividends here. If you are going to hire a builder, let them guide the design and construction process.

You may also find a builder that is willing to coordinate the bulk of the construction and leave you with a building that still needs to be wired, plumbed, insulated, sheetrocked, etc. This is what I did and it worked well for my purpose but still required a lot of advanced planning for me. In my case, I found an outfit that specialized in building garages and they constructed by 2 story 24x36 structure quickly and without too much fuss. We messed up communicating on a couple of points but generally, they did a fine job. (we discussed but I didn't document my desire for 24" overhangs and the roof slope was a little more than I wanted but the difference between my house is not noticeable even if you are looking for it).

You should involve whoever is building the structure in the decisions of how it will be built/configured.