Lengthen garage?

[pip9ball]

Hello all!

I am looking for advice on how to lengthen my garage by 6". I recently purchased a boat and have to use up two bays for it to fit. I have measured and determined that if the length of my garage was 6" longer I could squeeze this into one bay. Since this is a two car garage attached to my house, I can't easily extend the back of the garage due to the other room on the other side. My only option is to extend the front. Has anyone done this before?

Thanks for all your help!

-Phillip

 

[tcianci]

Is it the boat itself that is too long or the trailer? What if you brought the boat in and then lifted the tongue of the trailer up as far as it can go would that give you the room?

 

[pip9ball]

It's actually the trailer length that is the problem. Currently I have the swim step of the boat removed and the trailer tongue folded in. I don't think I could jack the tongue up enough to make 6" of space due to the jack's limitation in travel. Any other ideas?

-Philip

 

[NUTTSGT]

If I was going through the trouble of lengthening the garage, I'd do it by more than 6". I'd go no less than 4', but then you start talking foundation and roofing too.

 

[Red05GT]

While serving as a township trustee we added 2 feet on to the front of the township building to accomadate a new longer wheelbase plow truck. If the front of the garage
is the low eve side, you could frame a gable end roof extension. The ceiling height
will be the biggest issue, i.e. moving the garage doors out and reinstalling the door
track. LVL beams can be engineered to carry quite a load and possibly could be
buried above the ceiling in the gable.

 

[pip9ball]

If I was going through the trouble of lengthening the garage, I'd do it by more than 6". I'd go no less than 4', but then you start talking foundation and roofing too.

I agree, however, I'm not looking to do major renovation....just looking for simple ideas to gain me 6".

Phillip

 

[Todd.Brock]

Shorten the boat by 6"? Seriously, other than building a small alcove on the back, Im not sure what you could do?

 

[scheu]

Any chance of shortening the trailers tongue by 6"? If that would put it too close to the tow vehicle you could get an extension for the hitch drawbar.

Jeff

 

[volvo]

''
I have seen others with the same problem.....

1) Just make a small bump out box, either in the door or rear wall.
2) Convert trailer tongue to a fold-able or removable ft section.

 

[pip9ball]

Trailer is already a swing away and is pivoted at the bow of the boat. Notching out the rear wall isn't an option. Can you explain more about notching the door?

 

[Jack Olsen]

Pictures would help a lot.

My first thoughts were: 1) sell the boat and buy a shorter one, and/or 2) sell the trailer and buy a shorter one.

Extending the overall footprint of the garage is going to cost some money and time. Cutting a hole in the garage door or the back wall is going to (probably) come back to bite you in the behind, down the line.

 

[timewarp]

If the boat is an outboard or I/O and the inside of your garage is sheetrocked you could cut a hole in it on the back wall that the drive could go back into, will give you 6" if you have 2x6 wall or 4" if you have 2x4 wall. Then you could pick up an extra panel for your garage door(that way you can save the original for when you go to sell) and cut a section out of it and build a box that would go down over the tongue of the trailer just make sure that you don't open the door up high enough to hit the box on the header. The other thing you could do is build a box that you could set across the front of the garage that the door would set down on top of sealing it in, you would have to move it manually but it would give you t he extra length.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Yes, photos would help. From the way it sounds, a simple bumpout in the back wall (like a bay window, except without the windows) could give you enough extra space.

 

[timewarp]

Yes, photos would help. From the way it sounds, a simple bumpout in the back wall (like a bay window, except without the windows) could give you enough extra space.

He said the back wall is the house.

 

[pip9ball]

Pictures would help a lot.

My first thoughts were: 1) sell the boat and buy a shorter one, and/or 2) sell the trailer and buy a shorter one.

Extending the overall footprint of the garage is going to cost some money and time. Cutting a hole in the garage door or the back wall is going to (probably) come back to bite you in the behind, down the line.

Both the boat and trailer are brand new...selling is not an option

 

[pip9ball]

If the boat is an outboard or I/O and the inside of your garage is sheetrocked you could cut a hole in it on the back wall that the drive could go back into, will give you 6" if you have 2x6 wall or 4" if you have 2x4 wall. Then you could pick up an extra panel for your garage door(that way you can save the original for when you go to sell) and cut a section out of it and build a box that would go down over the tongue of the trailer just make sure that you don't open the door up high enough to hit the box on the header. The other thing you could do is build a box that you could set across the front of the garage that the door would set down on top of sealing it in, you would have to move it manually but it would give you t he extra length.

The boat is a complete inboard...I'll try and snap some pictures and post shortly.

 

[PassnThru]

Sounds like a great excuse to build a detached garage if you have the room

 

[mmurphy]

Change garage doors from inside mount to a outside mounted door.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Another thought would be, Can you park the boat in at an angle? It seems if you only need 6 inches you would not have to make it all that angled towards the center of the garage. Just another thought. My .02

 

[kbs2244]

Storage unit.

 

[Sammy7]

I'm with kbs2244; my parents park their RV at a secured lot for a few bucks a month--probably cheaper in the long run.

Either that or you can try to bump the front out sort of like this:

Do it right, you could add a lot of curb appeal to the house.

 

[pip9ball]

Change garage doors from inside mount to a outside mounted door.

I've never seen this done before. Can this be done with a traditional metal door and how difficult is it?

Thx,

Phillip

 

[Justanoldguy]

Now you know why boats are huge money pits...

 

[pip9ball]

Now you know why boats are huge money pits...

Wow! I didn't know that boats are money pits because they can't fit in a standard size garage...thanks for the information. If I wanted your opinion on whether or not boats are good investments I would have asked. If you must know, I designed the website for the boat mfg in exchange for a boat. The enjoyment me and my family get out of a boat far exceeds the cost of ownership. I came to this forum seeking advice on ways to lengthen my garage. The boat already fits as it stands now...it just cuts into the 2nd bay.

 

[pip9ball]

I'm with kbs2244; my parents park their RV at a secured lot for a few bucks a month--probably cheaper in the long run.

Either that or you can try to bump the front out sort of like this:

Do it right, you could add a lot of curb appeal to the house.

I've looked into storage for the boat and it runs about $230/mo. I refuse to stow a 70k boat outside with the elements so it must be covered storage.

I cannot bump out the rear as this backs up to my home theatre room ...well I could but it would be pretty expensive.

I like the idea of converting the garage to outside mounts, however I cannot seem to find any mfg that have this option.

Thanks for the reply...I do appreciate it!

 

[Justanoldguy]

Wow! I didn't know that boats are money pits because they can't fit in a standard size garage...thanks for the information. If I wanted your opinion on whether or not boats are good investments I would have asked. If you must know, I designed the website for the boat mfg in exchange for a boat. The enjoyment me and my family get out of a boat far exceeds the cost of ownership. I came to this forum seeking advice on ways to lengthen my garage. The boat already fits as it stands now...it just cuts into the 2nd bay.

My my you are very touchy on this.
Did I hit a nerve?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

...Did I hit a nerve?

Apparently with a 10 lb. sledge! Sheesh, what a grouch.

 

[pip9ball]

My my you are very touchy on this.
Did I hit a nerve?

No, didn't hit a nerve at all. I just though that your post was rude.

 

[pip9ball]

Apparently with a 10 lb. sledge! Sheesh, what a grouch.

I asked for advice on something....his post in no way added any value....so I just let him know. Not a grouch at all...I appreciate all of the positive help I'm getting on here, I just thought his post was rude....if your not going to offer anything helpful...why post ya know?

-Phillip

 

[Justanoldguy]

PIP

Lighten up.

Chill out.

Grow some balls.

Newbies are ALWAYS so sensitive..

Just add a bit on the front of the garage like the pic above and stop whining.

 

[gc11090]

Just build a swing out style door on the outside of the garage, could even build the frame for the doors out of something like 4x4's to make it come out even further

 

[pip9ball]

PIP

Lighten up.

Chill out.

Grow some balls.

Newbies are ALWAYS so sensitive..

Just add a bit on the front of the garage like the pic above and stop whining.

I'm not whining and my balls are just fine...again you add no value to this thread....you can't even decipher a picture correctly...that is the rear of the garage in the picture above!

 

[Justanoldguy]

"you can't even decipher a picture correctly"

Well 45 years in the building Industry.
25 of those self employed.
I can read a pic as good as anyone.

The idea in the picture is right.
The guy says "Either that or you can try to bump the front out sort of like this:"
You are showing YOUR ignorance now.

I notice this is your first thread here.
Hopefully you will learn that NOT EVERYONE will please you on here.
Get over it.

 

[pip9ball]

"you can't even decipher a picture correctly"

Well 45 years in the building Industry.
25 of those self employed.
I can read a pic as good as anyone.

The idea in the picture is right.
The guy says "Either that or you can try to bump the front out sort of like this:"
You are showing YOUR ignorance now.

I notice this is your first thread here.
Hopefully you will learn that NOT EVERYONE will please you on here.
Get over it.

My my, did I hit a nerve here? Lol, this is comical!

 

[Justanoldguy]

My my, did I hit a nerve here? Lol, this is comical!

Aha.. a sense of humour now.

Welcome to the GJ.

Try doing an intro like everyone else now.

 

[Karnage]

I'm not whining and my balls are just fine...again you add no value to this thread....you can't even decipher a picture correctly...that is the rear of the garage in the picture above!

Now that you have made some friends What would be wrong with using the same technique for the front of your garage?

Perhaps as previously suggested, supplying some photos of the garage and the boat would also help. Fact of life is not everyone is a mind reader and "demanding" that all post satisfy your ambiguous description is counter productive.

 

[Gravedigger]

Could make it a folding tongue

http://www.trailerpartsdepot.com/items.asp?Cc=A-TONGUS&iTpStatus=1&Tp=

 

[nate379]

Why can't you park the boat outside? Could buy one of those $300-400 "temp" plastic garages if you wanted to keep it out of the weather.

Personally I don't view a garage as a place to park cars, but rather to work on them. I park my stuff in the driveway unless it's real cold out.

 

[NOVA87Wrangler]

I asked for advice on something....his post in no way added any value....so I just let him know. Not a grouch at all...I appreciate all of the positive help I'm getting on here, I just thought his post was rude....if your not going to offer anything helpful...why post ya know?

-Phillip

I'll consolidate in this post since similar suggestions keep being raised:
1. The boat is 6" too long for the garage.
2. The boat and trailer are both new and you won't sell.
3. The boat is a $70k boat you got for designing a website and therefore you won't park it outside.
4. The trailer tongue is already a fold-up.
5. The back of the garage is the house so a rear bump out isn't an option.
6. The front bump out/exterior hung doors would work for you in theory but since there isn't a ready-made, manufactured solution you want new solutions here.

What you are trying to do is not possible with an off-the-shelf solution. That's why you're meeting resistance, it's not that people aren't willing to help, you just don't like the answer. What room is on the other side of the back wall that you "can't bump out?" Is it a family room? Could you bump out the bottom 5 feet 6" to clear the back and then make a shelf/mantle under a hanging TV out of it? You still haven't posted dimensions or pics btw.

 

[pip9ball]

I'll consolidate in this post since similar suggestions keep being raised:
1. The boat is 6" too long for the garage.
2. The boat and trailer are both new and you won't sell.
3. The boat is a $70k boat you got for designing a website and therefore you won't park it outside.
4. The trailer tongue is already a fold-up.
5. The back of the garage is the house so a rear bump out isn't an option.
6. The front bump out/exterior hung doors would work for you in theory but since there isn't a ready-made, manufactured solution you want new solutions here.

What you are trying to do is not possible with an off-the-shelf solution. That's why you're meeting resistance, it's not that people aren't willing to help, you just don't like the answer. What room is on the other side of the back wall that you "can't bump out?" Is it a family room? Could you bump out the bottom 5 feet 6" to clear the back and then make a shelf/mantle under a hanging TV out of it? You still haven't posted dimensions or pics btw.

Thanks for the summary...everything is spot on. Here are some pictures.

Sorry for the mess!