No Garage what to do

[mopar4wd]

So not my first post but first one actually about a garage. I have been looking to move out of my house for the past three years. Largely this was to do with size of my house and school district ( as well as lack of garage) We love our neighborhood and area we live in but at 1100 sq ft with two kids we are kind of tight. Also we are not in the greatest school district for the kids. We solved the school distrct by enrolling the kids in charter school we like so far. When looking for a house the problem became what we could get for our house as a rash of foreclosures a few blocks from us dropped our value quickly and did not leave us with much to take out for a down payment on the next house. So the current soloution is to make this house work until we can make up for a larger downpayment on what we realy want. ......... and now onto the garage or lack there of.

Right now I have a 8' x 12' shed and a full basement a little over half of which is my woodshop/winterworkshop (about 18' x 25') I keep my auto tools and a small workbench in the shed and work on cars in the drive way as required. Right now I have stuffed the shed with lawn care gear and kids toys. I actually have to take out a number of things just to get to the tools.

My right now goal is a a small expansion of the shed for bikes and kids toys (right side of the shed) and to redo the basement for better storage.

And on to the question. As said above we are running out of room. My theory is to build a one car garage or larger shed in the back yard move my wood shop and mechnical shop out there and finish the basement. The issue is I have a small lot and a hill in the middle of it. The ideal soloution is to build something to the plan below and build the lower half as a foundation into the hill. then move the existing shed to the top of the hill. But running some estimates this is going to come close to $10,000 with me doing the majority of the labor which would slow down the savings for a new place (goal for new place is 5-6 years from now)

The other option is to build a shed up on the hill use the lower shed to store auto stuff and keep working on the cars outside. Set up a wood shop and storage in the larger shop on the hill. Here are some pics including some of the kids junk I no longer have any room for.

 

[rwhite692]

I would certainly not spend the money to build an additional structure or garage based on your situation, and the plan that you described, to be out of there in 5-6 years.

What you should do is try to consolidate stuff as much as you can, throw stuff out, sell stuff that you don't need, and accumulate $$ for the down payment on your next place.

 

[evildky]

conversely, some of the enhancements might make your time there more confortable as well as making the home more desirable for a fast sell and for more money, although maybe not as much as the cost of doing the enhancements

 

[Jagmandave]

Would it make more sense to stay in your home and build on an addition where the upstairs could be living space/bedrooms and that could also be your garage/shop on the lower level?

Ask a real estate agent who specializes in homes in that neighborhood whether this will help or hurt the future sale of your home, then go accordingly.

 

[plung]

You could get a used shipping container and plop it back there.

If you think the city will give you problems, cover it with dirt and make it look part of the hill.

 

[jeepjunky]

I’ve had a similar post on here. My realtor told me that each single bay garage (attached) add 5k to the value of the house. BUT there are those who will not touch a house without a garage, so the loss in value may mean a quicker sale. If you’re planning on moving in 5 years live without it! Save the money. Think of it this way, if you save 5K a year for a down payment...in 5 years you will have 25k. BUT if you spend 10K on the garage it will take 5+ years to pay for that. And you will be saving less for your down due to garage payments, so now you’re looking at more than 6 years

 

[64dragnwagon]

As stated see what you can throw away. Maybe rent a storage unit for things you want to keep but don't have to get at very often.

 

[mopar4wd]

Still thinking this thru I have been in this house for 8 years now and hoping we will be able to move in the 5-6 years but something seems to happen everytime we start building up our savings. My neighbor added a single car garage to her house which is identical to my own. This would be a little more cost effective as I would not have the excavating and concrete costs involved with building into the hill but it would require losing more of our useable yard. Building into the hill would be good because its part of the yard we cant use. I'm thinking about just adding the extension to the shed for the kids toys and bikes. This would allow me to reclaim the small work section of the shed and I can keep using the basement while we try to decide how to go from here. One more question the shed is vinyl sided would it be easier to try and match the siding or should I just build the addition with T111. Thanks

 

[KenB]

There might be some ideas for you about inexpensive, relocatable garages in this thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36321


Ken

 

[bobemmerich]

I've been eyeing one of these....

http://www.carport.com/

Cheap enough and i can add t-111 to it to fill in the sides.

 

[paullie]

I've been eyeing one of these....

http://www.carport.com/

Cheap enough and i can add t-111 to it to fill in the sides.

one of these with walls and a door would pry be the cheapest and quickest, save yoyr money for a down payment/moving expenses

 

[peghead]

You got the E bee-Geebee's. You want a garage but you can't wait. If your moving in 5 years wait! Wait and plan exactly what you want, and go as big as you can handle. One car, go with 2 car. Bigger is better!

 

[Steevo]

Do most of the homes on your street have a garage? If so, your not having one won't help when you do try to sell. In CT, I would think that having at least one indoor parking space would be a requirement for most folks in winter. It seems to me that moving your shed and building a small garage (2-car?) backed into that hill would add value to your home. Perhaps when it comes time to sell you will recoup most of your costs, if you DIY as much as possible and don't go overboard on the structure, keeping it in style with the house.

 

[Shadowdog500]

My inlaws outgrew their house and after starting a family but liked the neighborhood. They bought a house that met their spec four doors down the street, and sold thier smaller house to someone who was just starting out. Perhaps you can buy a bigger foreclosed house in your neighborhood and sell your small house to someone just starting out. I've also seen someone do house swap. Empty nesters needed to scale back, and a new family wanted to scale up. Swap + money, and they traded houses. I'm sure there is more to it for a mortgaged house, but it could be done.

Chris

 

[kyles974]

When I used to rent, I needed something. So I got one of those "instant" garage. It was a 12x20 if I remember. It had a nice tube framing with a heavy duty tarp type material on it. The only thing I didn't like was the zipper door, but I just left it open. (theif was not a problem in my area.)
Ran an extention cord for a few lights, and worked out of it for many years. Worked great for a shed for wood in the winter once I did buy a house with a garage! I think I paid around $800 for it. Got more than that out of it!