New guy with crazy garage idea.

[Briggs]

Wow. I wish my home town car thread seen this much traffic...

Thanks for everyones advice and opinions.

I finished the bottom floor of the new garage and will post it up in a bit. Im working on a couple of 2nd floors and different designs. The current one only has 1 bedroom. I want to keep it as cheap as I can.

As far as changing duty stations. I signed another 4 year contract last October. I plan on getting out in 3 years and going to school at NC state in Raleigh. Either way I plan on living in Raleigh. If I do happen to move I can always rent out the 2nd floor as a "apartment".

Im going to do some research on the "fire wall" concept. Find out what needs to be done to have living space above a garage. I know plenty of houses that have rooms above their garages so I know its possible.

 

[Briggs]

Ok so here are some new plans that I have been working on.

This is looking at what would be the front door and the main entrance to house.

^To describe what we have here is to the right a half bath with a complete wall separating the garage completely. Going into the garage is a 4' flight of stairs. To the left I have a small closet and a flight of stairs totaling 8'10". Beats climbing over 12' of stairs everyday just going to your living quarters.

^In this one you see the flight of stairs going into the garage. Notice I added windows up top to let natural light in.

^More windows on the back side of the garage.

^Thois one explains why I have the main entrance on a different side of the house then the bay doors. I didnt want to have a flight of stairs leading to the front door. I wanted it to be level with the ground. Now the only problem with this one is that in order to do it you would need to either build on a unlevel surface or dig a big *** hole... Im not all for digging big holes.

I think when I figure this design out I will go for a "Ranch" style one. The main reason I like 2 stories is they are cheaper. You save money on foundation material cost and roofing material cost. Plus they take up less space on your property.

 

[krapie]

First, thanks for your service!

As for your crazy idea, I had similar ideas and looked at building in different areas as I transfered from one company to another a few years back. Ohio and Colorado would not allow a combined, 2 story structure. However Indiana would, and we had family there so...

Not so fast, local building said ok, but insurance said no way, and hence so did the lender. I eventually built a 50'x200' "machinery storage building" to satisfy the insurance company, with 50'x64' being 3 bedroom, 3 bath and living space. A double firewall separates the living from the garage area, and as I get older, I am happier it is all on one floor.

I built it for my wife and I and our kids, resale was not at the top of the list, but with 25 acres, it would be fairly easy for the next owners to build a nice home beside the 2 acre lake, and turn my current building into a shop with a nice show area for cars, family gatherings, man cave, etc.

Good luck with your design and future building plans!

 

[Briggs]

Josh, welcome to GJ and thanks for serving. Please visit this thread and post up too.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64422


On to your garage plans, good job designing it before building it. Contary to some, posting it here was another great idea, as you can get some more ideas, creative criticism and pointers of where not to make mistakes. I think about 95% of us love your basic design with just some tweaking it would be great.

Let me ask this first, any chance of changing duty stations mid build or after it's over ? I'd hate to see it built and then you get shipped off somewhere else.

I have often thought of a design similar to yours. My thoughts were to have a 40x60 with a 20' end sectioned off for living. Over that 20' would be a second story for two bedrooms and a bath. I often thought of a basement under the living section. The basement would give you a place for utilities, a laundry room, and a large family/rec room. Perfect for a pool table, a large entertainment center and a wood burner for the winters. I do realize that there's not many basements in NC or really cold winters like Ohio.

Looking at your design, the living area only looks to be about 12' wide. While comparable to a barracks room, it'd be too small for a future family, even wife and a dog. If you make it 30x35, make sure you give a consideration to add on plan if needed in the future.


Good luck on the planning and keep us updated.

First thanks for your service! Its great that you have a life plan, unlike a lot of guys who are "drifting" through life. I started planning my retirement when I was your age.

First, thanks for your service!

As for your crazy idea, I had similar ideas and looked at building in different areas as I transfered from one company to another a few years back. Ohio and Colorado would not allow a combined, 2 story structure. However Indiana would, and we had family there so...

Not so fast, local building said ok, but insurance said no way, and hence so did the lender. I eventually built a 50'x200' "machinery storage building" to satisfy the insurance company, with 50'x64' being 3 bedroom, 3 bath and living space. A double firewall separates the living from the garage area, and as I get older, I am happier it is all on one floor.

I built it for my wife and I and our kids, resale was not at the top of the list, but with 25 acres, it would be fairly easy for the next owners to build a nice home beside the 2 acre lake, and turn my current building into a shop with a nice show area for cars, family gatherings, man cave, etc.

Good luck with your design and future building plans!

Wow, thats good to know. Thank you, I kind of forgot about the insurance part. What does the fire wall consist of?

Are you guys telling your insurance companies everything that you are going to be doing in your garage's? I know of houses that have garages as their basement. I guess the best think for me to do is when i get back call around and find out what Im allowed to do. Who do I call to find out if my state allows this kind of building?

 

[TWX]

I think that the main point of a firewall in a structure is that there's no opening between it and the rest of the structure, so hot air and flame can't travel from section to section easily. They sell fire-rated doors for when a door needs to breach a firewall.

My insurance company knows that I have a large detached garage on the property. Basic auto self-service, hobbyist car restoration, and simple stuff like that are certainly not a problem.

 

[krapie]

my firewall consisted of two layers of half inch(?) drywall on both the garage side and living side of a 2x6 wall.

I talked to insurance early in the process. I had an uncle who took a 15 year old pole barn and built a small living area for his daughter and son in law after daughter became ill. when complete, he went to add it to insurance and they denied coverage, new company was high cost,ended up with no additional insurance on the apartment, only the barn itself.

 

[WQ59B]

I wanted it to be level with the ground. Now the only problem with this one is that in order to do it you would need to either build on a unlevel surface or dig a big *** hole... Im not all for digging big holes.

Or.. bring in fill dirt.

 

[Will67]

Thanks for your service!

I have a two story garage that is 24x40 with 12' Walls downstairs. Upstairs is for storage and woodworking. My county had a fit and almost made me re-engineer the whole thing due to their error thinking I was going to inhabit the upstairs. If I was going to inhabit upstairs I would have to have a minimum of 90 minute fire break between floors. Two sheets of 5/8 firerock laminated with staggered joints would not be sufficient as I was told by County Engineer. I have no plans to ever live upstairs above garage, but if some else did and there was a fire downstairs I am willing to bet any claim for damage to upstairs would be disputed.

I would check with whatever agency would be issuing building permit on what is and what is not acceptable.

I am in California so things are a little bit over the top here.

 

[Wanna Ride]

Do you REALLY want to live in the same environment as your cars, fumes, welding etc all will get in your food, bathroom etc. I'd want a little more division and maybe a firewall between the two myself. I think everyone likes the idea of living in a garage, but I don't think many people would like the reality. Its also a great way to stay single (might be fine now, but you never know who you might meet).

It seems like a good idea at first, but I can assure you'll not want all the fumes in your linens, furniture, and clothes. And 30 x 40 is never big enough. Mine's 30 40, and it was too small beofore I nailed on the last shingle.

 

[James E]

Briggs, I don't want to rain on your parade either. I love the idea of a large garage with attached living area. I really do, however, think you'll have a hard time getting any building inspector to pass off on the idea as you've outlined it here. With solid walls between the garage and living space, sure. With open walls, no way. Maybe with rolling steel doors that you can open and close?

I am wrapping up a garage that happens to have an upstairs loft that may eventually be turned into an apartment. As such, it has running water and a bathroom. I don't live in the city limits but the county inspectors had serious problems with my layout just because they thought one day I might want to turn the loft into living space. I had to get the plans approved with some details whited-out and a wink-wink between my builder and some of the people involved with the county.

Depending on where you put this building (which is cool, by the way), you may want to find out the codes and how strict the inspectors are before you invest in any land.

Good luck to you and thanks for your service.

James

 

[Briggs]

I will definitely make some phone calls once I find some land for sale. I would be very upset if I bought some land and then found out I couldn't build this or something similar to it.

Im almost finished with the house. I will post up pictures of it once done. I finished the apartment area in a little over an hour earlier today. I keep getting faster at sketch the more I use it.

 

[muibubbles]

Do you REALLY want to live in the same environment as your cars, fumes, welding etc all will get in your food, bathroom etc. I'd want a little more division and maybe a firewall between the two myself. I think everyone likes the idea of living in a garage, but I don't think many people would like the reality. Its also a great way to stay single (might be fine now, but you never know who you might meet).

common, they do it in japan.... didnt you see tokyo drift?!?!?!

just kidding. i always wanted something like this too but the car fumes and paint and welding and chemicals etc would be too unpleasant...

 

[Tman]

We live in something similar but a bit bigger. About 1000 sq ft upstairs for living, office kitchen bath and laundry on first floor with 1400 sq for the shop on the 1st floor as well. Really all you are building is a split level with an attached garage, nothing more. This is common all over the country. Everday fab and rattlecan fumes are not a big issue.

 

[Briggs]

Finished the drawings of the house.

 

[littleviking]

Josh don't call people.

Especially in NC, well Charlotte anyway.

8 years agoa buddy of mine went to do this same exact thing. Bought a piece of land and went so far as to line up companies for foundation and framing. Went to have the architectural review with his blueprints and the guy told him he couldn't do it.

The lady on the phone said he was fine with what he wanted to do.
It all had to do with living space above a garage and some other stuff.

He got screwed and ended up loosing money on the sale of the land.

get EVERYTHING in writing.

 

[Will67]

Josh don't call people.

Especially in NC, well Charlotte anyway.



get EVERYTHING in writing.

Best advise so far!!!!!

Also deal with same person each time, to avoid triangulation. I wasted weeks doing the well he said she said **** at my permitting agency.

 

[Briggs]

Josh don't call people.

Especially in NC, well Charlotte anyway.

8 years agoa buddy of mine went to do this same exact thing. Bought a piece of land and went so far as to line up companies for foundation and framing. Went to have the architectural review with his blueprints and the guy told him he couldn't do it.

The lady on the phone said he was fine with what he wanted to do.
It all had to do with living space above a garage and some other stuff.

He got screwed and ended up loosing money on the sale of the land.

get EVERYTHING in writing.

Thanks for the info. Are you from Charlotte? I was raised in Mount Holly, my mom now lives in huntersville. I always say to people, I joined the army and cant even leave NC. I dont mind it though, I go home a lot.

 

[Briggs]

Talked to a friend of mine that used to work in construction. He mentioned a company called polysteel. I looked them up and also seen some other garages on the net built using polysteel. i emailed the company with a list of questions. Hopefully will hear back from them and try to get a quote. So far it seems to be my best bet. My friend swears by it.

 

[flybefree]

Brigs, thank you for your service. I know that deploying is never easy...heck just being in Iraq is like being in jail for me, no offense to our Iraqi readers they just keep us locked down. You have a great dream and a vision...that is awesome.

Shaun

 

[Briggs]

Brigs, thank you for your service. I know that deploying is never easy...heck just being in Iraq is like being in jail for me, no offense to our Iraqi readers they just keep us locked down. You have a great dream and a vision...that is awesome.

Shaun

Thanks Shaun. I will be out of here soon, just counting down the days. I love the garage/hanger/guest room/office you are building, lol. Definitely is one of a kind.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I would leave the bottom level for garage stuff, and build a 2nd floor over 2/3 of it (basically what you have upstairs plus the 2nd bay, and leave the 1st bay open to the roof for a lift). That way you would have more floor space downstairs, and basically the same amount of living space

+1! That was my dream home when I was in my 20s. Big garage with upstairs living quarters.

Put a shower with a locker room downstairs so you can wash up and change without tracking the grease into the living area. Eventually you will have a woman living in there with you, and not many women I know wound want to live in the back corner of a garage.

Eventually you may want to build a dedicate house that is detached from the garage. Come up with a master plan on where that will be and put the super garage in the back yard somewhere.

Chris

 

[Briggs]

Whatever land I buy, it will be built in the back corner and I will eventually build a house in front of it (some day).

Thats a good idea about the shower down stairs. Might have to add that into my plans.

 

[justanengineer]

I had a similar idea I referred to as my "concrete cube" for quite awhile, and still may follow through on. It was inspired by an old concrete garage that everybody locally thought was abandoned due to the weeds in the yard and boards/bars in the windows. It sits next to a State Trooper barracks back east, and I was fortunate to meet the owner at a car show once. It houses his collection of 40s and early 50s European exotics - Porsches, Triumphs, Ferraris, and a few MGs.

My idea was to build a large concrete cube without windows except for skylights, and only a single roll up door with remote opener. I would leave it natural concrete, no paint or anything fancy, but inside build a retro garage look. It would keep everything safe, keep the property taxes low (being ugly), and definitely keep the Jehovah's witnesses and neighbors away. Sort of a "bat cave" for myself.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Josh, that looks like a decent layout.

 

[flybefree]

Thanks dude...safe travels soon!

Shaun

 

[streetstar]

Not such a crazy idea -- i had a similar idea a few years ago, but executed a bit different than your original plan.

My garage is a 30' x 40' - roof pitch is 12/12 and this gives me room for an approximate 900 sf apartment/loft above the garage. You can see from the exterior shot that i used big dormers to kick out the space upstairs - one dormer has the dining area, the middle dormer is the kitchen and the other dormer holds the bathroom. To my eyes, this looked a lot better than using one great big shed dormer

Interior pics are the upstairs main living area , which is huge, (relatively speaking) - there is 1 bedroom beyond the back wall that has walk up access via a deck which you can't see in any of the pictures, as well there is a stairwell in the garage.
Mine is laid out with only one bedroom, but the large living room could pretty easily be divided up into a 2 bedroom space without sacrificng too much comfort. 3 bedrooms in 900 sf would be kinda tight though

Downstairs , my true working area is 30' x 33' with an extra 12' x 8' L shaped kickout. It could be bigger, but i wanted a small office downstairs as well as a bathroom.

These pics are mostly from when i was at the tail end of building it ---

I am now working on a house which is going to be in close proximity to the garage (same architectural style to match ) --- but the garage has served its purpose and given me a nice place to live while keeping my toys out of the elements.
People thought i was an idiot at first (maybe they still do) for building my garage before my house, but it was the way i wanted to live my life

Its been great so far -- plus it wasn't an extraordinary amount of money to get it put together. I probably could have saved another 15k by not tricking out the upstairs to the extent i did also (granite and marble throughout, oak woodwork, cedar trim , etc. ) but i knew it was going to take me a little while to get the cash together to start on the aforementioned main house, so i wanted to make it nice and contemporary ---
when i started, i thought i'd be living in it for 2-3 years , that was 5 years ago and i have another year to go, but i'm still having fun

 

[Briggs]

Damn, that is nice man. Deff nice. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost you to build it? Im guessing you used just regular wood framing? Please feel free to post up some more pictures. That is just awesome. Thumbs up.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Saw this too late to try and read all 66 replies.

If you are in an area where building codes are enforced (and almost anywhere on the east coast you will be, you need to investigate the requirements of separating living and non-living areas from each other. I think you will be required to have a 4 hr firewall between a garage and living areas, fire doors (which can have glass in them, tempered and fire resistant) and self closers on the doors thru the firewall. Many localities are requiring sprinklers now when the living and garage areas are attached/common/over-under, and such, or again, four hour firewalls.

Charles

 

[Briggs]

Saw this too late to try and read all 66 replies.

If you are in an area where building codes are enforced (and almost anywhere on the east coast you will be, you need to investigate the requirements of separating living and non-living areas from each other. I think you will be required to have a 4 hr firewall between a garage and living areas, fire doors (which can have glass in them, tempered and fire resistant) and self closers on the doors thru the firewall. Many localities are requiring sprinklers now when the living and garage areas are attached/common/over-under, and such, or again, four hour firewalls.

Charles

That is my main reason for wanting to go with the polysteel, its a 4 hour firewall, plus its super strong. I will use floor trusses and fire rated insulation with 1 inch sub floors. Hopefully I wont need a sprinkler system. If thats the case then so be it.

Now I need to figure out a ventilation system for getting out fumes from painting, welding, etc.

I figured using the polysteel I can get away with going with heated floors, that should be plenty enough to keep the garage warm, plus it doesnt get that cold in NC.

I would like to have AC has it does get pretty hot and very humid in NC.

 

[streetstar]

Damn, that is nice man. Deff nice. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost you to build it? Im guessing you used just regular wood framing? Please feel free to post up some more pictures. That is just awesome. Thumbs up.

Thanks for the compliment-- it is stick framed, just as you surmised. I admit i didn't keep track of my receipts on the cost, but a pretty rough guess would be about 90k -- possibly a bit more, but as i mentioned -- I could have saved a ton of money and not sacrificed the livability of the place by going with more budget oriented trim and stuff like that ---

The joists between the garage ceiling / 2nd floor sub-deck are 12" LVL's -- i stuffed the cavities with 12" insulation --- It really helps keep the garage area nice. With all the insulation i used , in the summer i just use a cheap window air unit to keep the place cooled down --- it won't keep up if i'm opening and closing the doors a lot, but if i keep the doors closed , it keeps it nice.

Winter in Oklahoma is rarely a huge problem and with the insulation i have -- i might have to wear a sweatshirt down there for a couple of weeks, but thats it

Those , regretfully, are the only pics i have at the moment , but i am working on a couple of projects in there now and hope to post up some fresh pics pretty soon

I will add that if i were to build it with ******** shop use in mind as the first priority , i would have went with 10' or even 12' ceilings .
As it is, it works for me -- the thing i am most ******** about are motocross and cycling , and neither dirt bikes nor bicycles need a 2 post lift.
I have a frame off truck restoration project going on, but i farm out the jobs which require a lot of specialized skill (the messy jobs like blasting, powdercoating, welding, etc. ) My philosophy on that stuff is that i have a few friends who spent years learning how to do some of those things well, - may as well take it to them and stick to the stuff i know how to do best.

I have found that the garage kind of takes on a life of its own, and much like any big project -- it never seems to be "finished" -- there is always something to do to it ---- but the process is part of the fun.
I would love to have the bucks to have a contractor come in and do a full profile epoxy floor in place of the thin Lowes budget epoxy i have on there now, and a few other things, but my wife has had to rein me in a little by reminding me that i am in the middle of building my main dwelling now too , so garage upgrades can wait a bit

Also, picking your spot can be a big influence on how you can go with your build ---- for instance, if i was in a rural area and lived out amongst the trees --- i could have built a metal building twice the size for the same price
-- but although i am on 5 acres, it is not really rural and everything around me looks like it belongs in Bushwood Country Club (old Caddyshack reference) , so i had to build somewhat accordingly.
When i was your age, my dream home would have been an airplane hanger with a small apartment tucked away in the corner --- as i got older and got married, i realized that most wives don't want to live in airplane hangers or metal barns though, so this is my version of my earlier aircraft hanger dream

I'll keep ya posted when i post up some fresh pics though for sure

 

[Briggs]

Thanks for the compliment-- it is stick framed, just as you surmised. I admit i didn't keep track of my receipts on the cost, but a pretty rough guess would be about 90k -- possibly a bit more, but as i mentioned -- I could have saved a ton of money and not sacrificed the livability of the place by going with more budget oriented trim and stuff like that ---

The joists between the garage ceiling / 2nd floor sub-deck are 12" LVL's -- i stuffed the cavities with 12" insulation --- It really helps keep the garage area nice. With all the insulation i used , in the summer i just use a cheap window air unit to keep the place cooled down --- it won't keep up if i'm opening and closing the doors a lot, but if i keep the doors closed , it keeps it nice.

Winter in Oklahoma is rarely a huge problem and with the insulation i have -- i might have to wear a sweatshirt down there for a couple of weeks, but thats it

Those , regretfully, are the only pics i have at the moment , but i am working on a couple of projects in there now and hope to post up some fresh pics pretty soon

I will add that if i were to build it with ******** shop use in mind as the first priority , i would have went with 10' or even 12' ceilings .
As it is, it works for me -- the thing i am most ******** about are motocross and cycling , and neither dirt bikes nor bicycles need a 2 post lift.
I have a frame off truck restoration project going on, but i farm out the jobs which require a lot of specialized skill (the messy jobs like blasting, powdercoating, welding, etc. ) My philosophy on that stuff is that i have a few friends who spent years learning how to do some of those things well, - may as well take it to them and stick to the stuff i know how to do best.

I have found that the garage kind of takes on a life of its own, and much like any big project -- it never seems to be "finished" -- there is always something to do to it ---- but the process is part of the fun.
I would love to have the bucks to have a contractor come in and do a full profile epoxy floor in place of the thin Lowes budget epoxy i have on there now, and a few other things, but my wife has had to rein me in a little by reminding me that i am in the middle of building my main dwelling now too , so garage upgrades can wait a bit

Also, picking your spot can be a big influence on how you can go with your build ---- for instance, if i was in a rural area and lived out amongst the trees --- i could have built a metal building twice the size for the same price
-- but although i am on 5 acres, it is not really rural and everything around me looks like it belongs in Bushwood Country Club (old Caddyshack reference) , so i had to build somewhat accordingly.
When i was your age, my dream home would have been an airplane hanger with a small apartment tucked away in the corner --- as i got older and got married, i realized that most wives don't want to live in airplane hangers or metal barns though, so this is my version of my earlier aircraft hanger dream

I'll keep ya posted when i post up some fresh pics though for sure

Definitely man, thanks for getting back to me. I will for sure do at least a 10' ceiling. Cars are my main hobby and reason for doing this. Im surprised it only cost you 90K. Did you build it yourself?

 

[Briggs]

I need some guidance here fellas. Do you guys think using 2x6's as exterior walls would be over kill for this? Or, do you think I should use 8x8x16 concrete blocks to build the walls for the garage? I am just trying to figure out the best yet cheaper way to do the walls and still have a 4 hour fire wall. The polysteel is just too expensive for me to go with. It definitely has its advantages but its just not in my budget.

If I go with the 2x6 I will use 6 inch insulation.

How well do the concrete blocks hold heat/ac? Are they good insulators? Will filling them with concrete help any? Is filling them with concrete even possible??

 

[Briggs]

Well figured I would update this thread. I completely forgot I had it.

Fast forward almost 3 years...

Im out of the Army, not active at least. Doing the reserve thing now. My first report is next month.

I moved back home to charlotte. Im renting a 2 bed 2 bath house with a friend of mine. It has a 1 car garage with a nice size work space. I'll post pictures soon.

I got a job as a welder and if all goes well, I will be looking to buy a house in the next 2 years. Thats my goal at least.

 

[boo coo tracks]

Nice plans!!!
Thank you for your service.
Tracks

 

[coljar]

I'll second that. Thank you for serving our country and I hope everything works out well for you. Welcome back to the Garage Journal, too.

 

[DenisG]

Your original plan looks more like what you'd find as a commercial property (like a fabrication shop). Zoning laws usually divide commercial and residential properties, but oftentimes industrial spaces get converted to residential use. Maybe you can find something closer to what you originally wanted by looking at commercial properties and seeing if they could be converted.

 

[bczygan]

I love the smell of welding fumes in the morning....smells like victory!

Seriously, cool thread.

We spend a lot of money in this country, keeping up appearances.

The big box home is a terribly expensive, very inefficient, structure for it's purpose of housing a family. Much of it's design and cost is spent on creating "curb appeal" and one upping the neighbors with features.

It's built as a commodity that is readily resold because we are a transient society.

Our zoning regulations are designed to keep a separation between building types and uses.

People on this forum have found ways to have both a home and a shop either by outfitting an existing garage, or building a new one. Mostly it is a residential zoning with a shop as an accessory use.

It is much harder to find a commercial or industrial zoning where you can also use it as a residence.

What I like about your plan, is that it is unashamedly exactly what you want.

It may not always be what you want. Find a girl and get married and have a family, and suddenly it isn't suitable.

And as mentioned above, resale may be more difficult than if it matched a cookie cutter definition.

And it is difficult to do commercial tasks in a residential zoning. It is critical that you find just exactly the right property to place this structure on.

Either a large piece of property in a rural area, or a property in a more urban setting that is surrounded or at least flanked by commercial and industrial zoned properties would be a good place to look. Deteriorated, but rebuilding areas of a city with empty residential lots adjacent to industrial space would work. Some abandoned industrial zoned land might allow re-purposing for mixed uses.

For structure, either pole barn or metal building are the least expensive and most flexible.

One Architect, fresh out of school and low on funds, built one bay of a metal building for a home. Slab on grade, steel columns and beams, metal siding, 2 story, flat roof, metal pan and concrete floor.

In a residential zoning you would have to meet the minimum requirements for that zoning. Minimum total square footage, sizing for kitchen, bathroom and bedroom etc.

You would have to label the large shop space as a "Great room".

In any kind of residential zoning, take care to screen your use visually and minimize noise and fumes that might make neighbors aware of your uses.

A large property is the best buffer, but even a small lot can be made so the use is hidden.

Find out what the zoning allows.

Here in Detroit, privacy fences are usually 6' tall, but zoning allows 8'. Much better for privacy, if you need it.

On my small (40x100) city lot, there are 3' side and rear yard setbacks, but if you build fireproof construction, you can build right on the lot line. I could enclose my entire lot with masonry walls and have a house opening into an interior courtyard. With gates in the front, parking would be in the courtyard, using the whole lot. No one does that. But it could be done, according to the zoning rules.

So everything flows from the lot and it's zoning. Find the lot that fits your needs, and then design your structure that utilizes that lot for the functions and uses that you desire..

 

[Briggs]

Im given up on the dream of having a house like in those plans from years ago. Its awesome and all, its just not going to happen. Its not feasible and I do want to start a family when I find the right girl.

Ill buy a house with a 2 car garage, 3 beds, 2 baths, 2 story. Just your average house for no more then $120k on at least 1/2 acre lot and plan to build a decent size shop in the back yard. Honestly in this area right outside of Charlotte, its not too hard to find a house like that. A nice fixer upper but not too much fixin.

 

[Briggs]

Deleted.

 

[Briggs]

double post