New Michigan Member Here

[fishboy]

Hi everyone,

I've been browsing around the forum now for about a week and figured now is as good as anytime to join.

A brief introduction... I bought my first house a little over 4 years ago on 7 acres out in the country in Michigan. It took my 5 years to finally find the house for me (and I was waiting for the housing market to finally hit rock bottom) and I got it for a steal! All that waiting to buy payed off.

It's now time for me to build the pole barn (garage/shop) that I have been dreaming of for a while. There are so many different styles, kits and companies to choose from. I think I am set on a 64' X 40' footprint with 12' ceilings. That was the easy part.

Now for all of the hard decisions... Do I do some of the build myself? What company should I buy the kit from? Do I let them contract the work? What truss style should I go with, do I want a lean-to, doors and windows, .etc. The other head scratcher is which way to finance. Do I pull equity out of my house and refinance or do a get an additional loan? I have a decent 30yr fixed rate on my house currently at 3.75%. Decisions, decisions.

Anyways, I have enjoyed reading the threads that I have searched so far. Some of you guys have killer garages!

See you around,
Greg

 

[koditten]

Welcome from Midland.

Lots of ?'s. good that you are thinking about these major purchases.

Later

KO

 

[rburke65]

Welcome from Ohio. I went with lumber from a smaller yard rather than a big box store and their lumber was true, straight and small knots. Beautiful lumber. Then they asked to give me a price on erecting the shop for me and I signed the check. Very happy. Attic truss. I didn't finance. The other questions asked are all up to you. Never big enough or tall enough. 13' 4" ceilings.

 

[fishboy]

Thanks for the welcomes guys,

I have a really good local lumber yard that is not a big box retailer that I thought about purchasing a kit from. You might be right with the 14' ceiling though. At least one car hoist will be going in the garage and I definitely don't want to screw around with having to decide what will and will not fit.

A buddy at work told me to consider the attic truss too for the extra storage space and that the 8/12 pitch roof won't keep as much snow on it either in the winter. Only thing I would be worried about how much extra it would cost to heat and how the extra 2' of wall height and the added height of the attic truss will make the barn tower over my house which is a single story ranch.

Greg

 

[1/2 Cup]

Welcome to the GJ Greg from down under, enjoy.

 

[930dreamer]

Welcome to the GJ.

 

[bczygan]

Welcome to GJ.
Where in MI?
What does your lot look like?
What are your zoning rules and restrictions?
What functions are you going to use the space for?
To give you good answers we have a bunch of questions.
We need lots of photos too.

 

[fishboy]

bc,

I am in Lapeer County. Probably, not too far north of you. In the area I want to build the barn, the land is cleared from trees and shrubs and is flat and on the higher ground of my property. I have been told by many that it's probably not as flat as it looks though. Lol.

My barn is going to be used for many things. It's primarily going to be my personal (not for business) mechanics heaven. Car and motorcycle restoration, welding and fabrication, vehicle storage. The man cave really.

I am planning on partitioning the inside keeping the lawn equipment and typically dirtier stuff out of the garage shop side.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[shawnspeed]

Greg, welcome to the forum...I am also in lapeer out by the airport...sorta between the airport & the sportsmans club...alot depends on which township you are in ...lapeer township has some more restrictive zoning than mayfield or arcadia...check with your township to see if they have there own building department , of you may have to deal with construction code authority, a third party inspector for some areas....and as far as putting it up...I hired mine done , just putting it up , I finished the iside myself...and it was worth it....mise was only a 24x32 , and it was up and weather tight in 2 days...and he got t o deal with the inspectors....just my 2C ...Shawn

 

[bczygan]

My stepson lives on N. Saginaw Street, right across from Anrook Park.
His house has attached pole barn that covers almost the entire lot.

What is your lot layout?

Do you know the setbacks?

Do you have any nice views?

Any other uses you plan for the property?

Photos?

 

[Creative Fab]

Welcome from Sanford! Enjoy your stay, I joined a few days ago and can't stop reading and looking at pictures!

 

[fishboy]

Creative Fab,

I fish Sanford and Wixom Lake all the time. Amazing bass fishing lakes. Many good times out there.

bc and Shawn,

I am in Hadley TWP. My lot size is roughly 330' X 1100'. I currently have a 1/3 acre pond in the back yard. I am planning on doubling the size of it one day. I also have a 150 yard shooting range in the backyard as well.

No real setbacks that I know of. My neighbor across the street is the TWP board director and I've shared everything with him that I have planned and he says it shouldn't be a problem at all.

I absolutely love my property. I spend as much time as possible outdoors enjoying it. It's a great place for entertaining. The house was built in '96, it isn't huge (doesn't need to be in my opinion), and it's nice enough for me. I couldn't be happier with what I have.

I'll post up some pics when I get to my computer this evening.

Greg

 

[shawnspeed]

I grew up off Pratt rd on Meritt lake...the one on the south side of Pratt across from lake metamora, but before Baldwin Rd...Shawn....Is your neighbor a serikowski???

 

[prostock3]

welcome, im from oakland county

 

[fishboy]

Pics as promised...









Greg

 

[bczygan]

Creative Fab,

bc and Shawn,

I am in Hadley TWP. My lot size is roughly 330' X 1100'. I currently have a 1/3 acre pond in the back yard. I am planning on doubling the size of it one day. I also have a 150 yard shooting range in the backyard as well.

No real setbacks that I know of. My neighbor across the street is the TWP board director and I've shared everything with him that I have planned and he says it shouldn't be a problem at all.

Greg

Greg,

First off........you got a spare bedroom for me???......beautiful house and property!
Looks like some serious mowing!
As far as setbacks. Almost everything in Michigan is zoned. Find out your governing authority for zoning, either township or county. They can tell you your particular zoning. Then you can find out what the setbacks and area restrictions are for that zoning.

I just did some investigation. The township is the zoning authority.
Here is a link to the zoning rules (The zoning map is at the end):
http://www.hadleytownship.org/files/Download/ZONING%20ORDINANCE.pdf

Look at the map to find your zoning. (AR and R-1 start on page 75 of the PDF file) Then read the rules to find out the height, area and setbacks that apply for the main dwelling and accessory building.

There are setbacks that apply to your accessory building, and height and area regulations (See page 25). Height is restricted to 35', but area is unrestricted. Remember to check lot coverage percentages.

If zoned Agricultural Residential, you have 25 foot side setbacks and a 50 foot rear setback. If R-1 it is 10 and 50. (See page 87)

Note: Page numbers I mention are PDF pages, not numbers printed in the corner of the pages or contents.

Bill

 

[fishboy]

Bill,

Thanks for the link and provided research. I greatly appreciate it! You are invited to the barn party and beers are on me.

From what I am reading, looks like I won't have any issues doing exactly what I want.

I am zoned AR.

• Maximum 3000sq/ft (mines 2560sq/ft - not including lean to, does the lean to apply?)
• Maximum Height is 35ft (mines 30ft)
• Minimum 25ft from side and 50ft rear lot line (mines approx. 40ft from side and 250ft from rear)
• Minimum 10ft from principal building (mines approx. 30ft)
• No detached accessory building may be located between the front property line and the front elevation of a principal building (mines behind my house)

Question... looking at this document for my setback rules, I will not have any animals in my accessory building so I believe article F applies to me and not article G, correct?
- Section 4.10, Article F. states - No detached accessory building in any zoning district shall be located closer than ten (10)
feet to any side or rear lot line.
- Section 4.10, Article G. states - Accessory buildings for the housing of fowl or animals shall be permitted only in the AR and R-1 districts, and shall be located not less than fifty (50) feet from any lot line and not less than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from any dwelling.


Mowing and trimming is definitely a half-day job. A commercial grade zero-turn was my first purchase after buying the house.

If I decide to go with attic trusses... I might be able to work out the extra room thing. Do you like to mow???

Here's a lovely picture from today where the barn is planning to go.


Thanks again,
Greg

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Hi Greg, welcome from capac, i'm sure you know where that is.
nice house and property, keep the pic's coming as you progress........we like pic's

mike

 

[dittle fart around]

I grew up off Pratt rd on Meritt lake...the one on the south side of Pratt across from lake metamora, but before Baldwin Rd...Shawn....Is your neighbor a serikowski???

Born in Pontiac, went to school in Oxford till 6th grade, moved to Metamora and graduated from Lapeer High. My brother in law owned Baldwin Meadows Sod Farm north of Oxford.
Small world isn't it.

 

[bczygan]

Bill,

Thanks for the link and provided research. I greatly appreciate it! You are invited to the barn party and beers are on me.

From what I am reading, looks like I won't have any issues doing exactly what I want.

I am zoned AR.

• Maximum 3000sq/ft (mines 2560sq/ft - not including lean to, does the lean to apply?)
• Maximum Height is 35ft (mines 30ft)
• Minimum 25ft from side and 50ft rear lot line (mines approx. 40ft from side and 250ft from rear)
• Minimum 10ft from principal building (mines approx. 30ft)
• No detached accessory building may be located between the front property line and the front elevation of a principal building (mines behind my house)

Question... looking at this document for my setback rules, I will not have any animals in my accessory building so I believe article F applies to me and not article G, correct?
- Section 4.10, Article F. states - No detached accessory building in any zoning district shall be located closer than ten (10)
feet to any side or rear lot line.
- Section 4.10, Article G. states - Accessory buildings for the housing of fowl or animals shall be permitted only in the AR and R-1 districts, and shall be located not less than fifty (50) feet from any lot line and not less than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from any dwelling.


Mowing and trimming is definitely a half-day job. A commercial grade zero-turn was my first purchase after buying the house.

If I decide to go with attic trusses... I might be able to work out the extra room thing. Do you like to mow???

Here's a lovely picture from today where the barn is planning to go.


Thanks again,
Greg

Greg,
You are reading it all more carefully than me, but in some schedule, I saw that you, because you exceed 7.1 acres, can have an accessory building of unlimited size. And somewhere else, I saw that the accessory building must meet the setbacks of the dwelling unit. I'll let you do further research. These rules systems are fun. You have to work them back and forth to find out the real skinny.
My question is, what bank are you going to rob for a building this big? Attic trusses for that big a span are going to be somewhat costly. The building is almost as big as my lot (40x100). And insulating and heating...it boggles my mind.
But the things you will be able to do in that big a space!

 

[fishboy]

Bill,

I am looking at a $50K budget.

I'm thinking about refinancing the house fund this project. Not sure if you know or have any incite on this but, how much will the barn increase my overall property value and can this be considered when I refinance?

Greg

 

[shawnspeed]

A building as large as what you are planning may not add much value...I know it seems contradictory..but much over a 2 car garage does not seem to help with appraised value, and have been told by several real estate brokers that it is most times a hinderance to selling a property...thus lowering the overall value of a property...example..one of my outbuildings is on a 1 ac parcel separate from the other 26 ac...the 30x48 that is on it only raises the value of the 1 ac lot by 2000 bucks , according to the township...I know it cost the prevuious owner about 26 K to build...Shawn

 

[fishboy]

Shawn,

That's not good news... Although, I am not building the barn for anyone else, I am building it for me and I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

Greg

 

[1938flatty]

Welcome aboard, from northern Oakland co. Good luck saying on budget. I spend 50k a night looking at everyone's ideas for my place.

 

[Glenn M.]

Welcome to the GJ from VA!
What a beautiful place for your shop, really nice, and looks peaceful as well.
Hope everything goes good for you when you're building it.

 

[shawnspeed]

Shawn,

That's not good news... Although, I am not building the barn for anyone else, I am building it for me and I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

Greg

That sir is the correct attitude...............I would have a small hangar size building if I could afford it.. but the 2 I have now will get me by....commence your build, and make it your own....Shawn

 

[rick barnes]

Hello from Muskegon. Just joined myself.


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