New Garage Build - Beginner Questions

[thoyer]

Been wanting to build a garage in the back yard for years. I was able to secure a variance from the local township (I'll spare the details) for a maximum of 950 sq ft, they will not allow anything bigger. Essentially 26 x 36' 6". Big enough for four cars, two deep plus some working room. I have a few questions as I work with the architect getting the plans together.

1. Floor thickness 4" or 6"? Future plans may include the addition of a four post lift.

2. Overhead door width, two 10' or one 18' wide? The two 10' doors may prohibit me from parking the cars close side to side to maximize the working room along one side.

3. There will be a 2ft wall around the perimeter. Block or poured concrete?

4. the interior height will be 10' 6" and will have "attic" trusses spaced 24" so I have some storage space.

5. Eventually interior will be insulated and sheet rocked

6. Contemplating radiant floor heat - comments / experiences?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

 

[Astross89]

I did a 24x36. The difference from 4" to 6" was $800. I did 6"

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

6
18
Why any at all?
Radiant heat; PA? Maybe... depends on how much and when the garage is being used.

 

[astroracer]

1). 4" of 3500psi concrete will make you good for any 9 or 10K lift on the market. Most lift manufacturers will have a concrete spec in their FAQ.
2). An 18' door in a 26' wall will leave you with about 3 1/2' on either side to the inside of the building. 4' is better. Maybe resize to 28 x 34 to get the extra room on the sides for storage and working space.
3). 2 10' doors in that 26' wall leaves you 5' to split three ways. 1 1/2' is not enough space around the vehicle to work or have a bench...
4). Attic trusses are a good thing but consider going at least 12' on the side walls to get room for the hoist.
The best thing you can do is lay out the barn right where you want it. Lay it out to the INSIDE dimensions. Put two 10' doors in and park cars in the "garage". Put in an 18' door and park in it... Walk around stuff. Set garbage cans for the hoist columns on tool boxes... Or spray paint them in place and remember you can't violate those area's with you or the car...
Mark

 

[matt_i]

Just make sure you have a 4" minimum, not a 3-1/2" which could easily go to 3" in spots where the compacted stone is mounded up very slightly.

The block is good, it can be done with a perimeter bar and vertical pins that tie it into the slab. The poured looks a little nicer in my opinion and is generally stronger (also should be rebar-reinforced in my opinion).

Make sure 10'6" is tall enough for your lift. I'm of the opinion that 12' floor-to-ceiling is a minimum for a vehicle lift. Maybe if you have Corvettes....

I would spend some days researching this site, both the Gallery and the General sections. Just read back 1 page at a time and click on topics that might seem to have a relevant title. You will learn a LOT from all of the varied problems and recommendations that you can apply to improve your build.

 

[Junkman]

Been wanting to build a garage in the back yard for years. I was able to secure a variance from the local township (I'll spare the details) for a maximum of 950 sq ft, they will not allow anything bigger. Essentially 26 x 36' 6". Big enough for four cars, two deep plus some working room. I have a few questions as I work with the architect getting the plans together.

1. Floor thickness 4" or 6"? Future plans may include the addition of a four post lift.

6" if it doesn't break the bank. 5000 PSI, power troweled to smooth finish.

2. Overhead door width, two 10' or one 18' wide? The two 10' doors may prohibit me from parking the cars close side to side to maximize the working room along one side.

10'x10' will be best in my opinion. You can always slide the car sideways with your floor jack. Also use a torsion bar door operator.

3. There will be a 2ft wall around the perimeter. Block or poured concrete?

My preference has always been to use poured concrete. The wall should be "keyed" to the footing. Also if you are in a wet location, consider putting drains below the footing, and out to daylight if possible. This will give you a dry floor. Black builder plastic under the concrete floor.

4. the interior height will be 10' 6" and will have "attic" trusses spaced 24" so I have some storage space.

Not high enough for a 4 post lift. Going higher will not cost that much more, and will give you the option of storing a car on the lift, and a car under. I have a 12' ceiling in my garage, and with a Corvair on the lift, I can't get another Corvair under the runways. Not enough height with a 12' ceiling. You need at least 14' and 16' would be much better. With trusses, you never have good storage space, since you have to negotiate your way between the wood braces.

5. Eventually interior will be insulated and sheet rocked.

Consider spray foam, and make sure you have all your electrical in before insulation and sheet rocking.

6. Contemplating radiant floor heat - comments / experiences?

Installation of the PEX isn't the big cost, but the boiler to heat the water, is. Get this done and also have a detailed picture and measurements for future reference.

Thanks in advance,

Your welcome... Junk

Tom

....

 

[Kaizen]

I prefer 2 doors. I did concrete stem wall for longevity. Figured less places for cracks. 6 inch 4K psi. Never think about it again.
I did not do pex due to cost. If you can afford it put the insulation and pex in. Even if you don’t use it it’s there for future.
Can’t go 12 feet high interior?
Higher the pitch the more room in attic. Wish I had done them once I saw the space in normal trusses I got


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tmart86]

Id think about re arranging size my dad just finished a 24’ deep 36’ wide with two 10’ doors and 10’ ceiling height. The 24’ depth is tight he wishes he had gone 30’ deep. 30x32 would but you at a 960 sqft pad is your size restriction finished square feet or outside dimension.

 

[thoyer]

Thank you for all of the constructive replies - much appreciated.

To answer a couple questions:

Perimeter wall is needed due to sloping grade of the yard.

Overall size L x W and height are the max the township would approve a variance for (they wanted it smaller......).

I will review the inside height vs the vehicles I have - which someone mentioned earlier...... I'll see if we can squeeze a bit more height.

Two doors may still be an issue - I'd rather not have to jack the cars around to get them to fit. One door works better in that respect.

Back to the architect this week to discuss more details.

I appreciate the feedback!

Tom

 

[mgbbob]

I did a 24' x 35' with two 10' x 10' doors. the room between the doors always me to park motorcycles in the middle. 4" is good for 4 post. I went with 12' walls and with my Jeep Wrangler on top I can still get 7' clearance underneath. 10.5' will probably cause you problems. For me I went with a metal carport type building and the cost for the additional 2' was almost another. I would go tall on the walls and think about an extra high lift if. you do trucks or are over 5'9" and want to walk under the lift without ducking when storing cars. Bob

 

[mgbbob]

I forgot to mention you need a FLAT floor for your lift. Don't be fooled into allowing drainage slope or you will be shimming your lift. Contractors always want to make sure it drains. My floor is FLATL and I can squeege it in a matter of minutes. My engine hoist and engine stand roll very nicely in a straight direction.....thanks to flat.

 

[Junkman]

Tell the architect that you need height, and possibly he can figure out the truss's or build them on sight. If you can't go up, then talk to the town, and explain the problem. You might get a sympathetic ear to listen and allow it.

 

[bottom feeder]

Been wanting to build a garage in the back yard for years. I was able to secure a variance from the local township (I'll spare the details) for a maximum of 950 sq ft, they will not allow anything bigger. Essentially 26 x 36' 6". Big enough for four cars, two deep plus some working room. I have a few questions as I work with the architect getting the plans together.

1. Floor thickness 4" or 6"? Future plans may include the addition of a four post lift.

4" is fine for a four post lift. Plan out where you'll probably put it, and make sure the floor is flat in that area.

2. Overhead door width, two 10' or one 18' wide? The two 10' doors may prohibit me from parking the cars close side to side to maximize the working room along one side.

From the PDF you provided, I'd be hesitant to use two doors unless you like the look. I'd do it like you have illustrated, with one big door. I have a 18' x 8' door on my "attached" garage and wouldn't have it any other way. Some days you may want to park in the center of the garage, or back in something on a trailer, etc. and it's nice to have a big, wide doorway. One door opener instead of two is a bonus as well. Do yourself a favor though and make sure it's at least 8 feet high if you currently own or ever plan to own a full size pickup. Also make sure its insulated so you don't have to go back and add insulation later (another lesson I had to learn the hard way).

3. There will be a 2ft wall around the perimeter. Block or poured concrete?

I don't understand if you mean a stem wall for the actual garage or a second, outer wall holding back the yard. If it's just holding back the yard you'll want to compare costs on block vs poured and decide which you'd prefer to look at every day. 2 feet isn't very tall, so structurally either one is not that big of a deal. If you mean a 2 ft stem wall on the building I'd go poured concrete unless costs are prohibitive. I'd do (actually I DID do) a proper foundation with poured concrete stem wall for the building.

4. the interior height will be 10' 6" and will have "attic" trusses spaced 24" so I have some storage space.

As others have said, you may want to rethink this and go higher if possible if you're going to have a lift of any kind. I assume your trusses will span across the 26 foot garage distance. You didn't say what the pitch of your roof will be. I just built my new garage with 28' spans and a 4/12 roof pitch. I thought about attic trusses but realistically there would only be a few feet of room up there with my relatively shallow roof. Attic trusses will likely increase the truss costs as well over standard trusses, and you'll have to devise some way of getting up there while carrying whatever you plan to store. Stairs are best but take up room down below. I opted to skip it and get rid of stuff rather than store it.

5. Eventually interior will be insulated and sheet rocked

Good plan. Electrified too I assume.

6. Contemplating radiant floor heat - comments / experiences?

I considered it to the point of "analysis paralysis" and finally decided not to put it in. Depends on how much you plan to be out there in the winter months. I currently use a 5000 watt electric heater in my attached garage, and it actually works very well for the times that I'm out there working in the winter and really doesn't cost that much to run since it isn't on all the time. The new garage will probably get a gas fired heater, but I haven't got that far yet.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Good luck to you Tom. Hope this helps.

 

[thoyer]

More good suggestions, thank you.

Stem wall - yes - learning construction jargon as I go along....

Will revisit the truss approach. Went to the lumber supply place on Saturday to discuss the types and they were also trying to talk me out of using the "attic truss" approach.

Roof pitch is currently at 6/12 with the truss's across the width.

Electric - yes. Compressor, welder, drill press, etc....

Radiant floor heat - only considering because I hate having the cars and tools covered in moisture on those warm winter / spring days. I have no issue going electric as I have one in my house garage that gets it warm enough to work on those 10 degree winter days.

I usually have some sort of restoration project going on each winter to keep me occupied so I'm usually out in the garage a couple week nights and most weekends.

I currently have a 1 1/2 car garage attached to the house where I do my work, but I had four cars - down to three at the moment. Sold one to help finance the garage.

Tom

 

[mgbbob]

I ran a quick check and the cost of the additional height and 4 post lift is about the same as extra floor space. I went with extra height and since I am 6' 2" I wanted to be able to get the car on the lift high enough I didn't have to duck if I am just storing a vehicle. Just a thought. Good luck .....Bob

 

[ReggieR]

My question is "What kind of architect ?"
Make sure you have someone who has done commercial work before.
Guys and gals that play with bathrooms and luxury homes for the most part, have no business trying to help with this. Get a guy that's done some shops, warehousing,tire Kingdoms and stuff like that. He'll have some interesting tricks for you.