My 26 x 38 Build

[Squirrely Dan]

Well, after lurking for a year, I've finally got approval from the zoning committe and building permit in hand for my little 26 x 38 detached garage!

I'm a fairly new home owner and landed my forever home on the first go around. I'm planning on matching architecture and styling of my home, with 2 x 6 framing, attic trusses, and additional space for my mx5 project car and random wood working projects.

While I've never tackled any design or projects of this magnatude, I've had fun with deck builds, bathroom fitouts, and many lessons learned during past projects. I plan on self performing excavation, foundations, framing, and electrical; while hiring out roofing, siding, and overhead door installation.

I started with a hand sketch and then quickly got suckered into the Chief Architect program. Without having to hire an architect, and being handy with code reading, I was able to get away with the entire design process for less than $200. Most of the features are way over my head, but after a few go arounds, I was able to come up with the following design.

Join me as I document what is guaranteed to be many more lessons learned as I break ground in July!

 

[CraigStu]

Why the wall between garages?

 

[Squirrely Dan]

My general thought was to be able to park my car on the smaller side and be able to close it off with a barn style type door.

That way when I'm doing any wood working or messy projects on the larger side, it will keep the parking bay cleaner.

Given that the wall is not structural, I'm going to start with it wide open and add it if deemed necessary.

 

[Hooked]

When we built our garage I decided 26x40(similar design as yours) was the 'right' size. What I discovered rather quickly was the 26' should have been 30' (to say nothing about the overall size...lol). The reason being after I added a narrow (26") workbench along the rear wall our suburban could barely squeeze in.
If you can swing it financially and property space I would recommend reconsidering the overall size.

 

[kj_mustang]

Agree that I would go wider if your setback, easements, covenant rules will allow it. You are at 25' in the inside depth. Are you going to add work benches and or tool boxes on that side? Figure out the longest vehicle you will be pulling in and get its length and add the depth of any benches and add several feet for walk around. If you are going to pull motors, you need even more space for a roll around engine hoist.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Unfortunately I'm blocked by my zoning appeal, and a limit of 1000 sqft. Great advice though, going as big as you can from the start rather than regretting design decisions down the road!

I've got a work bench that will fit under the stairs and a rolling mobile shop bench that will likely float around as needed.

I have a Tacoma, and love the mid truck size, but wanted to be able to fit a full size truck if for some reason I decided to go that route in the future. To your point, I'll have to keep benches and storage off the rear wall!

 

[kj_mustang]

Yeah, reason I suggested it is my F150 Screw cab truck is almost 19' long.

 

[ConCretin]

Perhaps it's just the way it's drawn but I assume you aren't really planning an 8" slab?

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Perhaps it's just the way it's drawn but I assume you aren't really planning an 8" slab?

Nope, you're correct! Plan is to do a 4-in slab but that was not depicted with my poor sketching abilities

 

[TurnipTruck]

What is going upstairs? Heated and/or cooled? You may want a door on the stairwell, but then you will need a way to get big stuff (like Sheetrock) upstairs, maybe via a door or large window. If the attics are large enough, the hvac or air compressor or water heater or storage nooks could fit.
I would also look into a ceiling I beam or lifting point when getting the trusses designed (for pulling engines or unloading trucks).

 

[CraigStu]

My general thought was to be able to park my car on the smaller side and be able to close it off with a barn style type door.

That way when I'm doing any wood working or messy projects on the larger side, it will keep the parking bay cleaner.

Given that the wall is not structural, I'm going to start with it wide open and add it if deemed necessary.

Good on starting w/o the wall. I do similar in my garage. I roll my radial arm saw outside when using it, grab an extra remote to put in my pocket. Close the garage door when sawing, open it when done. My bandsaws have a shop vac hookup so I use that to capture most of their sawdust. I also have a car cover but rarely use it. I do less woodwork now than I used to so my airhose and maybe twice a year, leaf blower clean out the garage. I suspect you would quickly hate that wall if you build it. You could use tarps to make a slideable wall like a huge shower curtain also.

 

[Jackfre]

I would not build that interior wall. It will really limit you in use of the space. In my 30x30 with attic trusses I also did not build a staircase. I used a 300# folding ladder and I had a bay in the ceiling with a winch up top to get bigger heavier items up there. It is for “light” storage and proved to be very handy and I gave up zero wall/floor space. Elevation drawings would be helpful. Handle the dust and mess at its source. Jet makes a nice ambient air filter box for shops that does a good job. Also a primary dust collector to catch the debris at its source. I had a Grizzly cyclone in my big shop. On the downsize I went to the Harvey G700. Pricey, but much quieter than any cyclone I have seen And being in a neighborhood now that matters. It looks like a really nice space. Good for you on the build.

 

[Jackfre]

Not sure if you can do the mod now, but my open 30x34 came in at 960 sq ft. I agree with others that the 26’ will become an issue.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Thanks for the input! I'll do some layout this weekend and see if it's feasible to squeeze a few extra feet in the north / south dimension.

Unfortunately I'm blocked by an electrical line to the north (have to stay 10' off it) and encroaching on the side of the house to the south.

I had to go through the appeal process for it's current location forward of the face of my home, due to well, propane, and a very large pine that I refuse to cut for the build. This was severely limiting as far as overall size goes!

I really dig the foldable ladder idea.. Initially I thought it'd be conveniant to be able to walk up stairs. However if it's too easy to get up there, I'll end up storing Lord knows what up there!

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Well.. I'm back from two weeks in AK, and finally started the build!

I used some family connections and borrowed a mini for the excavation and dug the footer on Saturday. Thankfully there was a spell of dry weather and after inspection Monday morning, I had concrete delivered that afternoon. I don't have an after shot after floating, but I surprised myself that it is all within 1/2". I don't think I'll have trouble leveling the bottom block course with a little bit extra mortar in a few locations.

Block is getting delivered Thursday morning, and I'm excited to see how well I pick up another skillset on this garage build adventure!

 

[Squirrely Dan]

 

[Skyman]

Definitely punt the staircase if you haven't already made that decision. If you want one, put it on the outside.

Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Nothing wrong with the style of staircase depicted. My shop is 26 x 48, laid out similarly to this. I enclosed the staircase and insulated it to maintain the stairs and loft as unconditioned space. The stairs are steep enough that my metal lathe, steel storage, and horizontal bandsaw sit beneath them. As I get older, the last thing I want to have to do is unfold stairs and somehow carry items on a ladder to the overhead area.

 

[CraigStu]

I have used a 10ft step ladder that I hinged to the ceiling at the top and rope and pulleyed the bottom twice. It wasn't the same as steps but WAY better than the pull down stairs I had in another garage. You could build stairs to substitute for my ladder. They could be easier to walk up than the ladder and would be heavier so you would need either a winch or multiple block and tackle to raise it but still doable and takes up space only when in use. While the pul;l down stairs were **** they did give me an idea. They were placed between the 2 bays of a 2 car garage so I could use them w/o moving either car.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Unfortunately I'm making slower progress than expected, as I had family in from out of state for the past week.

Despite the delays, I'm slowly figuring out masonry and expect to have a pretty good looking wall for the 1-2 course that will be above grade.

I've got my electrical sub panel location laid out, and in the next few courses, going to embed the 2" pvc feed in my wall. I think this will make for a nice clean look without stub ups in my slab or outside in the yard.

I'm thankful for family and friends that have come over to offer up their time to mix mortar, stage material, and of course laugh at my struggle and overcome having never done masonry in the past.

Now on to a few pictures of what's been going on!

 

[Danno1]

.


I would recommend at least 2 courses above grade. But 3 or 4 is preferrable as I think it snows in Ohio. Sometimes anyway. Will also keep the rain from splashing on the siding.


.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

I was able to make a little bit of progress today. Another course and a half was laid, and I practiced tooling joints for when I get above ground. Also got my conduit stubbed up for my sub-panel.

Finally seeing the block break ground is a fantastic feeling, despite having three more courses to go!

 

[Jayman17]

At least your supervisor is comfortable!

 

[Squirrely Dan]

It's been a busy few weeks! I finally finished laying up my masonry foundation and got it filled. With some industry connections I was able to solid fill the entirety for the same cost as it would have been to mix 80# bags for corners and cells with rebar. The entire below grade exterior got foundation 'waterproofing'. I have r10 foam on the interior of the foundation as required by my county, and used some VERY old r10 roofing insulation on the exterior. On the interior and where any overhead doors / mandoors are placed I backfilled and compacted 57s. The rest of the exterior got backfilled with my spoils from excavation. I'll let it settle over the winter and rake it around for a gentle, mowable slope away from my building.

Tonight I'm finishing my doorway formwork, laying down / taping vapor barrier, and getting my mesh placed.

Tomorrow is SOG day!

 

[Squirrely Dan]

Today at work I'm daydreaming about sawcut placement..In my experience, pouring a slab through a doorway and on top of a foundation usually results in some cracking. I'm trying to eleviate that issue with a tooled joint on the man door and terminating sawcuts into the corners at overhead doors.

Does anyone else have some better ideas or is this layout overkill?

 

[CraigStu]

I am no expert at all but for reference my attached 28x32 has just two cuts. One down the middle in each direction. Moved in in April 2019 and no cracks so far.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

It's been a few weeks and figured I'd share a few photo updates!

Currently, I'm about half way done with wall sheathing and moving on to roof sheathing this weekend!

 

[CraigStu]

Looking good.

 

[jermah]

Wow. Looking amazing. Glad I came across this thread--we were thinking the same exact dimensions and my contractor told me 25-26' might be too short for depth. He recommended a 30x38 (I wanted a 25x40). Not saying it is bad...better than no garage! But I am reconsidering the 25' dimension.

Either way, stunning work and just know a random internet stranger is proud of you for getting this far! Can't wait to see it done.

I am thinking the same thing, almost identical dimensions, for a "single bay" being closed off. However, this would have a man door and would be a full wall with another man door to the garage space. I'm thinking I'll finish this as a kids hangout spot.

 

[CraigStu]

Be sure you can lock the kids out of the garage section unless you are there.

 

[Squirrely Dan]

It's been a few weeks since I've provided an update, so here we go!

 

[Squirrely Dan]

I spent the last few weeks getting the structural squared, braced and sheathed. Afterwards we wrapped, got underlayment down, and roofing material before the heavy rains from the hurricane hit us.

I'm now on to electrical rough in, testing out light setup/spacing, and have metal panels for the ceiling on order!

Siding is also ordered but we're not 100% on the color choice of 'wedgewood blue'. As soon as it's in stock next week, I'll get the girlfriends final approval, or perhaps get our safe, second option of 'natural clay'. Either way, I can't wait to get siding wrapped up.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Very nice! Its size and shape is pretty similar to my garage and I've been happy with it.

 

[thammel]

You're going to like having the attic space too! Mine is 28x 32 with attic trusses. Can't imagine not having this extra garage!