New Garage - Wall Height Finishing Question

[Smitty75]

Planning out a 32'x28' garage and trying to come up with a plan on the wall height. Was originally hoping for a 10" poured stem wall, 117" studs, and then standard attic trusses. So a resulting standard 10' wall height on top of a 10" stem wall. The garage doors are 9', so I wanted some wall above for appearance.

The truss company I am working with proposed a truss design that allows for a nice attic/second story, but at the same time the top cord sits on top of the bottom cord (at least a portion of it) which results in an additional 4" of wall height. This is good news because our concrete contractor recommended only doing a 6" stem wall, so the extra 4" would make up the difference and keep the same appearance. But is this going to make everything else with sheeting, siding, and sheetrock a lot more complicated? I can go with another type of truss, but the result would be 4" less head room in the 2nd floor.

Thanks

 

[Kaizen]

117 is under ten feet. Are you limited on height? I wouldn’t bother doing a stem wall if not a foot tall. Mine is two feet. Not sure why your contractor is saying that.
Stick with common numbers. Cutting a ten foot stud short won’t save much. I used ten footers for a 12 foot height. Remember you won’t be covering she stem wall so account for that.
Ever want a lift? Do 12 foot height. Esp with a nine foot door.


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[James-W]

Hey Smitty, I see you joined in 2015 but this was your first post. How come such a long wait to make a post? In any case, welcome to the world of posting.

 

[Paladin306]

Smitty75, I can't help you much on the measurements but, have you consider a loft? I went with 12 foot walls for my shop which, with the height of the trusses gives me a total height down the center of the shop of about 19 1/2 feet. If you want to take a look at my thread and it might give you some ideas.

Mark
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=369051

 

[Smitty75]

Attached is the truss design, with stairwell opening along the right side. The 117” studs result in a true 10’ once you add in top and bottom plates from what I understand. The issue is more the truss design and the extra 4” it adds to exterior wall height (above stem wall) which would then be 10’4”.


I’m not limited on height, just trying to match our house as it’s a detached garage perpendicular to the house (farm house design with nonattached garage) The foundation guys concern was sloping after forms are poured to finish the bottom as he is thinking a mono pour. I was hoping for at least 10” to give some room above the 9’ garage door For looks. So I’m not sure at this point, may call some other concrete guys for their thoughts. I could go to a 12’ wall, but it may look huge with 9/12 pitch.

Yep, been a member since 2015 which is also the first time I tried building the garage. Every time I get ready something comes up and depletes the funds. First time we ended up way over budget on the house build, second time my wife’s car needed to be replaced, and this time just as I’m about to pour concrete I get in a car wreck. So a little better luck and I’ll have concrete in the next couple weeks.

 

[Jackfre]

I have a 30x34x10' shop and I have attic trusses. My space is 7x8' in the attic and it is for light storage. I did not use a staircase. they take to much room. I installed a 300# AL folding ladder for access and I made a 4' long cut-out between rafters (22.5" opening). I put a winch up top to handle the ups and downs. The limitations of that system KEEP the storage light, but it has proven to be a very useful space properly managed. On sheathing, the original intent was to use 4x10x1/2 plywood set vertically. Due to cost of the 10's I used 8's, cut a 2' piece and wrapped the seam with a 1x4 horizontal band. With the plywood I can get into any wall section with a minimum of fuss and over the past few years have done so a couple times. The exterior sheathing was OSB, but I do not recall if 4x8 or 10. Exterior walls are 4x10x22 ga Core ten (606A) metal. Can an odd number influence labor and material costs? Definitely. Look at the sheeting costs and the waste if you end up with odd numbers, vs how much you want that particular set-up.

 

[Kaizen]

If you are framing in the soffit in the standard way with a vent or board going from the truss tail over to the building horizontally it will actually be less. See pic of mine.
The extra footage in height is worth it for additional shelving and wall space. Not much more of an expense at this point. Your concrete stem wall should be poured in a second pour. So more labor to set up forms and get the truck back. Keep in mind might be a charge for a small load so if you are thinking of having concrete walk or driveway start it now with extra concrete if they are going to charge you.
I did same pitch in my 30x36. Good call on attic trusses. Huge space up there. I regret not doing them.
I spent some money bringing the visual impact of my behemoth down. Used trim mostly and added some fake items like gable windows and a fake barn door on one side.






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[Radix2]

Where are you located Smitty?

Will this building be heated and cooled?

The truss as shown does not have enough space to properly insulate the edges of the ceiling with its minimum heal height. For a conditioned building you would typically use a raised heal truss, this would also mitigate somewhat the issue raised above that the soffits will subtract from the outside wall height.

Unless you aren't insulating, it would be a good idea to have them give you some more space to run your insulation right to the walls. The cost is minimal.

 

[Smitty75]

Where are you located Smitty?

Will this building be heated and cooled?

The truss as shown does not have enough space to properly insulate the edges of the ceiling with its minimum heal height. For a conditioned building you would typically use a raised heal truss, this would also mitigate somewhat the issue raised above that the soffits will subtract from the outside wall height.

Unless you aren't insulating, it would be a good idea to have them give you some more space to run your insulation right to the walls. The cost is minimal.

I'm in South Carolina. Eventually yes, at least heated in the colder months to keep the boat above freezing. I'll ask about the raised heal truss. The company has been great to work with, they have already changed the design for me a few times for the stairs. Regarding the roof line, they will not be boxed soffit, but follow the roof line. to match the house. So you will see the wall all the way to the top. Attached is a rough idea of how it's coming together. However, unless I get the higher stem wall or event look into the raised heal truss, I may not be able to get the lights in above the doors. The framing image shows the true scale, while the complete garage overlay is not true. The foundation also shows a slight foundation extension on the right side, that's so I can bring the grade down a couple feet and gain some lean to clearance on that side of the garage to store the camper.

Thanks for all the advice so far. When we built our house, the plans were made from the ground up. Ended up with a lot of things we like, and then some things we would have done differently. I'm sure the garage will be the same way.

 

[BigBri]

With using 9’ doors on a 10’ wall I would talk to your garage door company also. I’m finishing up my shed right now and I had only left 10” above one of my doors when I put in my mezzanine. I had to go with a special opener with twin tracks and I don’t get the use of the full height of the door. The door and tracks are slightly lower than the opening. Also it put the spring at the back of the tracks which looks ugly in my opinion

 

[Smitty75]

With using 9’ doors on a 10’ wall I would talk to your garage door company also. I’m finishing up my shed right now and I had only left 10” above one of my doors when I put in my mezzanine. I had to go with a special opener with twin tracks and I don’t get the use of the full height of the door. The door and tracks are slightly lower than the opening. Also it put the spring at the back of the tracks which looks ugly in my opinion

Makes sense. That's the reason I am looking to have some type of stem wall for the extra clearance. My garage door guy asked for 15" if possible, even with doing the side mount lifts.

I met with another concrete guy today and he recommended 2 rows of block over the footer with a floating slab. That would give me an extra 12" of wall height. He can do poured as well, but it's an extra $600. I would still prefer poured, but now thinking block does solve some issues.

 

[Bclinehand]

I think your measurements are off by 1.5 inches.
1.5” bottom plate + 117” stud + 3” for doubled top plate = 121.5” wall height (not accounting for stem wall )
Also remember to subtract your ceiling finish thickness when calculating clearance height above door opening


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