My 24 x 28 build thread

[kartracer23]

Okay - it's a demo thread to start with...
Old garage had to go, so it's time for a new one. Not going to be anything super fancy, but larger than the current one and I'm going to divide off a 6' x 24' room in the back for lawn equipment & stuff. The front will just be for cars. Growing up we had a shed where we kept all the lawn equipment so I never realized what a PITA it was to mix lawn equipment and cars. More details as they come up during the build.

Here's the old garage, inside & out. The craziest thing is that it was just sitting on blocks that were sitting on the slab - not attached at all. Looks like at some time they jacked it up, poured a new slab and then set it back down on a row of blocks. you could actually kick some of the blocks out from under the sill!

And here's the demo. Contractor was worried about the garage next door so he brought in a more experienced backhoe operator. We did have one shift where it went to about 8" from my neighbor's, but everything turned out ok. After they took down the right half, he just grabbed the left half and pulled it over.

They got about 2/3 of the debris out last night and then they'll come back today and get the rest and demo the concrete. Since it's going to be so much bigger we're also taking out the first section of driveway and repouring it.

Won't be any progress after that until Wednesday when they dig the footer. We're supposed to have rain on Monday and Tuesday and apparently if you dig a footer and it rains then you have it inspected, they can make you dig it even deeper.

Weirdest thing about this so far is how big my yard looks without the garage.

 

[oldldh]

HMMMM!!!!

24X28....That's what I'm planning to build...

I've decided to let YOU make the mistakes first...

Good luck!!!

Larry

 

[kartracer23]

Just a little update...
They got everything cleared this weekend (worked until 9:30 on Sunday night!). It's not nearly as big as what it looks-we're replacing part of the driveway since ithe garage will be so much wider. Plan for today is to grade it and pull the old fence in the back, assuming it doesn't rain too much.

 

[kartracer23]

They got the footer dug yesterday. The guy with the backhoe was GOOD. This thing is so square it's uncanny. Should be pouring within the next day or two.

This is interesting. While digging, they found this cast iron pipe. It's at a pretty steep angle so it's definitely drainage. All we can figure is that it's an old drain pipe. At one time, the city was going to put an alley in behind the garages and rumor is that they put small drains back there (like 6" x 6" grates). The angle of the pipe would suggest that it comes up where the alley would have been and where it leads to is right above where we know a sewer line is. Oh - the locator service DID NOT find this! unbelievable. It's less than 2 ft. deep. They also missed an old electric line to the garage that was buried on the other side - fortunately it wasn't hot.

 

[Bustedwheel]

How deep is your footer? Are you required to go below the frost line?

 

[kartracer23]

How deep is your footer? Are you required to go below the frost line?

Yep. 36" deep and then there will be 12"-18" of block above ground (yard slopes). Previous garage was just on a slab - no footer- so this is a little weird for me.

 

[grissom]

HMMMM!!!!

24X28....That's what I'm planning to build...

I've decided to let YOU make the mistakes first...

Good luck!!!

Larry

Me too, well around that size anyways

 

[kartracer23]

Footer poured and block delivered. They're going to start laying block today.

 

[Nighttrain]

I hope those are the old windows up against the fence. That old garage had a lot of character. Congrats on the new build.

 

[kartracer23]

I hope those are the old windows up against the fence. That old garage had a lot of character. Congrats on the new build.



Yeah, but they were completely rotten - you could take them apart by hand. The demo crew just set them aside so as not to get glass everywhere. New garage will just have clearstory windows to match the clearstorys on the house. Zero security risk.

Decided this weekend to put in a solar attic fan. Figure it will help keep it a little cooler in the summer. And there's a 30% tax rebate on solar right now too, so it's a little cheaper + never cost me another dime.

 

[kartracer23]

We're goin' UP now!
Block was laid a couple of days ago. 3 courses of regular block and 2 courses of split-face. I knew that split face was a lot more $$ than regular, but didn't realize the mason actually charged more to lay it becasue (a) it's heavier, and (b) it has to be lifted over the string instead of slid out to it. Funny the stuff you learn watching a project.
Tomorrow or the next day will be back filling and compacting to do the floor pour.

 

[bearohs]

I am curious to what the concrete costs are.. I just bought a new place and want to build a detached garage to house the boat and whatever other toys we accumulate.

I was told to use 45/sq ft as a good rule for the build... If I am doing 30x20, thats a decent chunk of loot.

 

[kartracer23]

I am curious to what the concrete costs are.. I just bought a new place and want to build a detached garage to house the boat and whatever other toys we accumulate.

I was told to use 45/sq ft as a good rule for the build... If I am doing 30x20, thats a decent chunk of loot.

My concrete costs aren't broken out - this contractor subs very little. I'm at $38 sq. ft. but I'm doing the interior finishing & exterior painting.

 

[kartracer23]

Today is floor day! Over the weekend,they finished back filling the foundation. Took 11 loads of a medium sized dump truck. They'll come in this morning and do their final compacting with a vibratory plate compactor and then do the pour. Fortunately it's just going to be in the high 70's today vs. the 90+ it's been recently.

It's amazing how much work goes into getting to this point - and you see 8" of it! Going through this, I can see how contractors could really cut corners and not do all the steps to make a garage (or any building) solid. Fortunately my contractor didn't. Even had the building inspector pull me aside and tell me that my guy was doing it right and not like a lot of the 'garage' companies he sees. He said they may meet code, but just barely.

 

[kartracer23]

Concrete is done and cut. I kept it wet for the first 48 hours or so. Fortunately they got it done early in the week as it's supposed to be 102 here today. Trusses / lumber are going to be delivered in the next couple of days.

 

[Non Member]

My concrete costs aren't broken out - this contractor subs very little. I'm at $38 sq. ft. but I'm doing the interior finishing & exterior painting.

so are my calculations correct--about $25K for a 24x28---seems very high to me...must be doing some math wrong

 

[kartracer23]

so are my calculations correct--about $25K for a 24x28---seems very high to me...must be doing some math wrong

No, you're right. I didn't go with the cheapest, I went with the most respected garage builder in town. I had another quote for $55,000 for the same thing, so this is a deal compared to it.

Friend of mine is having about the same thing built and he got a quote from my guy as well, but ended up going with someone with a lower quote. Both garages are at the same point in construction but the cheap guy started 4 weeks before mine. My buddy's not real happy. Where my guy has been there every day except days they were letting the concrete cure.

 

[kartracer23]

Well,it was 'one of those days' in building today. Get a call from my wife that the trusses were being delivered, but the guy wasn't sure they were the right ones. So I go home & he's got a semi full of trusses. Uh. No. If I was putting them 3" on center with 20 ft. overhangs, they would have been perfect. Turns out they were for a church 20 miles away - paperwork got messed up.

So the guys show up to frame about 11. Two hours later, they're calling it quits. One guy threw up and the others were getting dizzy. It's 105* here today and there is zero shade on the build site. Normal hi here is 85* so these guys were completely out of their element. I'm glad they stopped before (a) one of them got hurt, or (b) I got a crooked garage.

The correct trusses will be here Monday and the guys will be back as well. Said they'd have it framed & sheeted by end of day Monday.

 

[matouse3]

Hotter than the blazes here too. Guys have been starting around 6am and calling it a day by 2pm. Hope it cools down soon.

 

[kartracer23]

The guys arrived about 7:30 this morning and started framing. Stopped at 1 PM. Got as far as they could & the (correct) trusses still haven't shown up yet. Builder is not real happy with the truss company since he had all his guys there to raise them.

 

[grissom]

What size garage doors are you putting in?

 

[kartracer23]

What size gaage doors are you putting in?

8' x 9'. I know it seems weird, but if I went with 9 x 9, it wouldn't leave much room on the sides / middle. It seems like there would be plenty of room left, but by the time you take out the wall thickness & all that, I would have ended up with like 6" on each side and 12" in the middle-would have been all door. With the taller doors, I won't ever have to worry about pulling in with anything in the back of my truck either.

The house is very tall so I wanted to keep in scale with it - that's why the extra height (10' walls). And everything looks taller anyway because we ended up about 10" higher than the previous garage due to drainage issues on the backside.

 

[Notch1988]

Lookin' good! I bought a new-to-me house that I get possession of July 12 and will be starting a 24x30 garage build in August, so this is great to see.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

so are my calculations correct--about $25K for a 24x28---seems very high to me...must be doing some math wrong

Depends on what area, in CT thats about avg for something that size

 

[grissom]

8' x 9'. I know it seems weird, but if I went with 9 x 9, it wouldn't leave much room on the sides / middle. It seems like there would be plenty of room left, but by the time you take out the wall thickness & all that, I would have ended up with like 6" on each side and 12" in the middle-would have been all door. With the taller doors, I won't ever have to worry about pulling in with anything in the back of my truck either.

The house is very tall so I wanted to keep in scale with it - that's why the extra height (10' walls). And everything looks taller anyway because we ended up about 10" higher than the previous garage due to drainage issues on the backside.

With an 8' wide door are you going to be able to put a truck in there? Fullsize?

Also curious as to what the distance is between the doors?

I am debating on either doing a 16x8 or two 9x8 depending on if I go 24' or 26'
wide.

 

[kartracer23]

With an 8' wide door are you going to be able to put a truck in there? Fullsize?

Also curious as to what the distance is between the doors?

I am debating on either doing a 16x8 or two 9x8 depending on if I go 24' or 26'
wide.

There's 3' between the rough openings.

My truck is midsize (Ridgeline). I'll have about 6" clearance on each side. My wife's Mini & my 370z will fit easy (not all at the same time though).

If you wanted to go 9' x 8', I'd definitely go to 26' wide. 24' doesn't leave you any room in the center. I'm putting in Liftmaster 3800s, so that was a consideration. I also want to mount a wall vac there.

 

[hpw]

Something that may need to be considered is a shear wall in the garage door end of your building, as there isn't sufficient wall length to add sheeting to resist racking.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/strongwall/wood-strongwall/garage-portal.asp

 

[megalo]

Something that may need to be considered is a shear wall in the garage door end of your building, as there isn't sufficient wall length to add sheeting to resist racking.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/strongwall/wood-strongwall/garage-portal.asp

This was the reason I went with one 18' door instead of two 8' doors for my 24x28 - doing two doors wouldn't pass code here (St. Louis) without using something like that Strongwall.

 

[kartracer23]

These guys worked on the 4th since the trusses didn't show up until the 3rd. Not sure how my neighbors felt about a compressor @ 7 am on a holiday, but oh well.

Got the trusses up, sheathed & tar papered.

Here's a shot from inside out since there was a question about how much room with 8' doors in a 24' build.

And here's a shot toward the back showing the man door to the outside. The door against the wall is the interior door that will go from the garage bay to the yard stuff storage room. It will be 5' deep and 24' long. They're building the interior wall today and starting on the exterior trim like soffits & stuff.

 

[grissom]

Progress Updates?

 

[kartracer23]

Progress Updates?

Yeah, just came in from watching them repour part of the driveway that had to be widened. I need to get some more pics up. And then go start hosing down the concrete...

 

[kartracer23]

Ok-here's an update & some photos.
Since the last update, they've installed the trim / soffits / man door / rough electrical and ceiling. And tonight they poured the concrete in front. I'm doing the painting & the wall OSB. Been trying to keep ahead of them and paint the trim before the siding is installed (siding is pre-painted) and paint the ceiling before the light installs. Came home early today to paint & they were getting ready to pour concrete so I'm a day behind now.

And now for some pics...

Here's the side showing the window (there are 3 of them) and the man door that goes back to the storage room. The window is 6 ft. high inside, about 7 ft. outside. Lets light in...but not people.

Here's a wider shot of the outside. Went with a solar vent for the roof. And I know it should be on the back, but with the trees, it wouldn't get enough light.

Here's the pour from tonight. Yes, there is dirt on there. As the guys were cleaning up, one of them was so tired that he took a bad step and kicked dirt on it. Fortunately it had set up enough that it will clean off without any issue.

Straight on shot of the outside. I got one coat of primer on the ceiling - but it's going to take 2 + a top coat. And you can sort of see the 'back room' in this one. That's where the door to the right goes.

They'll be back tomorrow to get the electrical inspected so they can start hanging fixtures. Then the siding (pre-painted cement board) is supposed to be here on Friday. After that, just a few little things like grading and gutters and they're done. They had hoped to finish by Friday, but a 3 day delay on the siding has set them back.

 

[56rpm]

Any electrical going in?

 

[hpw]

Ok-here's an update & some photos.
Since the last update, they've installed the trim / soffits / man door / rough electrical and ceiling.


They'll be back tomorrow to get the electrical inspected so they can start hanging fixtures.

Any electrical going in?

yep

 

[56rpm]

Um...oops, solly. I'm working on colors this week, letters are next week.

 

[kartracer23]

The electrical will be interesting. They're not 100% sure the inspector will 'pass' the feed from the house to the box in the garage. Fortunately it's in conduit if we have to redo it.

And here's a little tip for you guys having a garage built (and maybe everyone knows this?). Make sure you have a cooler with water / drinks for the guys. They really appreciate always having something cold and not having to run out to get a refill or a fresh bottle of something. It's been probably an average of 95* during this build and it's killing these guys. I figure I've spent about $50 on water & sports drinks for them, but I know it will pay off more than that in the finished product. Every day as they're leaving I thank them and they always say how much they appreciate me having drinks for them. I guess most of their customers don't do it.

 

[56rpm]

X 2 on furnishing drinks kartracer. Last house I built was 5,500 sf and we used 3 different framing crews. It was built during the last boom in Cali and good help was the exception. We used a non union, a union, and a crew who were probably not over the Mexico border very long. By far the hardest workers, nicest guys and the ones I bought lunch for more than once were the last group of framers.

 

[kartracer23]

Siding is supposed to be in today, so my wife and I were out painting the trim @ 6 am this morning before going to work. Got started on it last night and then were interrupted by rain. So after the siding goes up, should have a little bit of touch up to do and the outside is done except for painting the doors when they come in.

 

[grissom]

Updates?

 

[kartracer23]

Okay - finally got around to some more photos. Everything the contractor is handling is done - except for the doors. Not sure what the hold up on those is. I ordered them the day the foundation was poured. Have a feeling the door guy forgot to get them on order. He should take better care of me - I've known him since kindergarten.

Still a lot to do though: OSB and paint the inside, build the cabinets for the back, fix the yard (worked on it last night), and a few little things like clean up the expansion material around the edges of the slab, caulk the siding, etc.

Here's a shot from straight on. Like everyone says - you could stack your cars in there. And I had thought about a storage lift, but to get my Z and my truck on it would have taken at least 2' more in ceiling height.

A shot of the side showing the siding, window and man door. Put a keypad lock on the man door and a motion sensor light as well. The area behind will eventually be fenced, too. The reason for the man door all the way int eh back will become apparent later.

The interior. My contractor put up the ceiling so I could paint it and all before the lights / doors were installed. 3 coats of Kilz 2 and one top coat. First coat of Kilz took 3 gallons. Top coat took 1 gallon. I didn't go full on shop style lighting - it's not a working garage - so I have the four 4 bulb x 4' T8's in the main bay and then an 8' x 4 bulb T8 in the back room.

The front wall is already insulated, covered and painted. We also pre-wired for the garage door eyes, buttons, etc. so everything is clean. Putting in two Liftmaster 3800's.

And here's the reason for the man door all the way in the back. The 'back room' will be for garden / lawn stuff. It's a small city lot, so I don't have a bunch - the 5' x 24' room will be plenty. I'll build cabinets in the end opposite the door for chemicals, tools, etc., have a hanging rail for rakes, brooms and all that good stuff, and the a few things will sit on the floor (mower, power washer). I hate tracking through the garage and making a mess with lawn stuff, having dirt & grass everywhere after mowing, and then getting it all in the cars. This will keep it all separate.

Hopefully the next update will be doors. We're using it now and it's better than parking in the driveway for the last 6 weeks, but it's a pain because any tools we use during the day have to be taken back inside since we don't have a way to secure them.