MN garage/cabin build!

[Priariecanary]

Ok so I started collecting cars and storage and lack of shop space is getting out of hand. At first my wife and I started looking for a new house with a bigger garage but the housing market was still in recovery not quite functioning as it should. We wanted to avoid owning two houses if it took a while to sell ours. We also couldn't find one that had enough garage space without having too much living space.

So on to plan B. We bought a bank-owned property last year. The lot is big enough to build a big-*** garage. There is an existing pole barn, 2 car garage, and small house on the property. Garage is in decent shape, pole barn is kind of sketchy, and the house is a disaster. At first we looked into saving the house and building a detached garage. The house required too much investment to save it (bad foundation) and it would only be small but upgraded house when done. So we decided to tear it down. Local zoning laws won't let us build a garage without a house on the property so my garage/shop plans have morphed into a garage/shop with attached living space. Kind of a small house for car nuts, if you will.

The last garage I built was decent sized. It can be found here. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242531. That was two houses ago. I don't have time to build this one myself so I have been working with a builder. We are reviewing preliminary plans and getting geared up for August start of construction. In the mean time I am having the old house demo'ed, selling the pole barn, and figuring out how to move and save the existing garage because it's sitting right where I want to put the new house/garage. I will post a scan of the plans soon...

The new garage will have a 24x24 garage with ceiling height for a car lift. There will be a separate 14x24 shop. Both will have heated floors. It Minnesota after all. The living space will have a open kitchen/living room area and a separate bedroom area. We are trying to make it look like a real house (even though it will be mostly garage) with an eye towards future expansion and/or resale. More updates to come....

 

[920kip]

Sounds like a nice plan.
Happy 4th, Kip

 

[upndown]

Sounds like a fun project! Best of luck to both of you. Keep us posted..

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sounds like a plan, all the best with it.

 

[Priariecanary]

Photo of the property as-is. Building on the left is the existing house. Garage is in the middle, pole barn is on the right. I gave the pole barn to a neighbor who is slowly disassembling it and hauling it away. I am going back and forth on whether to try and save the garage or not. At the very least it will have to be moved since the new cabin/garage will be located there. House is a goner, it will be torn town in a few weeks.

I will post the plans for the new cabin/garage soon.


 

[Priariecanary]

Plans are below. Main garage is 24x26 and will have a 2-car lift. The shop is a seperate 14x30 building attached to the main building with a shed roof. There will be heated concrete floors in living space and garage space. The builder included piers under the concrete floor where the lift posts will be. I am not sure if this is needed or not. I have been discussing concrete prep with the builder. He wants to use 3.5 inch concrete over compacted sand. Not sure if this the best route to avoid cracking. More to come...

 

[1/2 Cup]

Your plans look great
I am not sure on on the 3.5 " of concrete either.

 

[Priariecanary]

I was out of town for a while but progress has been made. Pole barn is gone. My neighbor might take the existing garage if we can figure out how to move it. The old house was inspected for lead and asbestos so we could get a demolition permit. We had to have the tile in the house removed by a remediation expert since it probably contained asbestos. I contacted the demo contractor and he should be able to knock the house down in a couple of weeks. We are making final tweaks to the plans. Both garages got slightly larger and the living area was extended by 6 feet. See below for elevations. Bedroom area is in the middle of the lower elevation, living area is to the right. The single car garage is completely separate from the 2 car garage but on the same slab and is heated with the same system.

Today we are going to rip some of the paneling out of the old house. We might re-use it in a divider wall in the bedroom.

 

[Priariecanary]

Pole barn is gone now. The other picture shows one of the reasons I need more garage space.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Very cool old car, what is it? Early 60s I know that..

 

[Priariecanary]

Very cool old car, what is it? Early 60s I know that..

It's a 1961 LeSabre Bubbletop. Little old lady car with a stock 364 nailhead. It even smells like little old ladies in there!

 

[Priariecanary]

Ok. So plans changed. I moved for work, put the cars in commercial storage and then moved back. I stopped construction on the cabin/garage. 2 years later and here we are.

After moving back to Minnesota I bought a Garage Condo instead of building a garage. It's like a storage unit that you own. Just made more sense. It's 24 x 50, heated with epoxy floor and 2 car lifts. I pay association fees for electricity, snow removal and taxes but otherwise its mine to do what I want with. Picture is attached.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Oh wow that certainly is a cool setup!!