OSF's 22x30 with Storage Attic

[OhioSiouxFan]

After ten years in our house my growing family has finally displaced me and my truck from our attached two car garage. It's now the continued home to my wife's Ford Explorer and all the kids' bikes, sports stuff, lawn mowers, etc.

A little background is in order. A couple of years ago I had plans drawn up for a second attached garage which called for an addition on the front of our house. That plan quickly became impractical due to the cost (bids) and the fact it would have made the house look "weird" by projecting halfway to the street from the house. So, the project was put on hold until this fall when I took it on again with the different idea of placing the garage behind the house at the top of our driveway.

Below are the "before" photos.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

Below is the garage site from the back yard.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

I got out my camera and took some pictures and started playing around with a photo editor to try to visualize what the garage would look like. I then gave the pictures to my contractor and architect friend. Here's what I came up with to start the design process:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

At first I was under the understanding that my deed restrictions prohibited a detached garage. That posed a design problem that somehow we'd have to figure out how to attach the new garage without looking awkward while also forcing me to get a variance from the city for building closer than 15 feet of the property line. Happily, as we progressed, I found out that the deed in fact did not prohibit detached garages so long as they get approved by the homeowners association and meet city building codes. The even better news was that detached garages could be built as close as 5 feet from the property line. This was key, as I wanted a nice front load garage straight in front of the existing driveway. The result was a new rendition of the garage plan, I put together below.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Now free to come up with a plan that didn't have to attach the garage to the house, the architect came up with the following 20 x 30 garage with a storage attic:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

The contractor stayed true to the budget I gave and provided me an estimate that I could live with. I changed the dimensions 22 x 30 to give us more height in the attic and to help with the stairs access. We broke ground the third week of October (last Monday)!

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Then the rain set in....it rained for three days after the footings were poured for the foundation. We thought about having RC boat races ....

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[Nighttrain]

Very nice, You did'nt have any wild animals at your place did you?

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

The trenches got drained and the foundation blocks were delivered this morning (7:20 am sharp!). The foundation subcontractor distributed them around the perimeter by hand. In the background you can see the orange fence I put up the night before to give the dogs room to run without getting all muddy. The contractor also trenched from the house and put in conduits for the utility runs.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Very nice, You did'nt have any wild animals at your place did you?

Funny you should ask. I did take this picture....

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[Nighttrain]

LOL. That was just a sad story all around. Hope you get closed in before the real cold weather arrives. Keep us posted.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

The sun came out today! It's a rare occurrence in NW Ohio from now til next May. So I took some pics from the back yard.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

The foundation blocks were set today and yesterday. It's nice to see the dimensions come into focus a bit more. Because of the slope in the backyard there will be a bit more of a slope to the back fill on the back corner by the fence. I can't really picture how that will look yet.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[freddyaudiophile]

Looking good OSF!

Keep the pics coming along...

It looks like your door will be centered. How big is your door? I went with a 10' wide x 8' tall and have not regretted it one bit... Just wish the doors on my attached garage were 10' x 8' also instead of 9' x 8'... that extra foot makes all the difference.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Looking good OSF!

Keep the pics coming along...

It looks like your door will be centered. How big is your door? I went with a 10' wide x 8' tall and have not regretted it one bit... Just wish the doors on my attached garage were 10' x 8' also instead of 9' x 8'... that extra foot makes all the difference.

Actually when I took these pics the mason hadn't yet framed in the garage door. I am actually not centering the door, but will be favoring the left side. It will start about 40 inches from the left corner. Door size is 7 high x 12 wide, and the width of the front of the garage is 22 feet.

Keep in mind the garage is positioned slightly behind the corner of the house, and in addition, I have a fireplace jutting out from the house as well. I planned this garage to only hold one daily driver vehicle. There's space for a second car, boat, snowmobiles, or whatever other toy I will hopefully treat myself to. Also, I'm hoping to have a project area on the back wall and space for bikes, lawn equipment, etc.

Below is a picture down the driveway to the street that also shows the fireplace.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

EDIT: I added a picture of the finished garage door block framing so you can see where it will be.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[CULLY]

I will be tuned in to this. Good luck with the winter and great choice of the attic trusses, love my and use it all the time.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Foundation passed inspection today. Back fill next. Then the contractor wants to get the floor poured.

(I figured out how to add the pics in the thread posts as opposed to thumbnails.. much better IMO. )

 

[hockey88fan]

Looking good osf, check out my build going on right now in your neighboring state. From the pics you provided it looks like we're going to have they same type of garage with second floor storage. Keep pics coming.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Here's the garage plan overlayed on the foundation.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-10-28

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Looking good osf, check out my build going on right now in your neighboring state. From the pics you provided it looks like we're going to have they same type of garage with second floor storage. Keep pics coming.

Thanks 88! I checked out your barn, and bro that is fantastic! I think you put my entire garage in your storage loft!

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

After a week of on and off rain, we finally had a break to get some progress. The foundation blocks were setting and we decided to add drain tile around the entire garage before the back fill. The two nearest down spouts from the house came down right next to the front of the garage (where the concrete apron will be). To prevent ice buildup in the cold months from the run off, we decided to funnel the downspouts to a buried drain run using the excavated area next to the garage foundation. The contractor also put in connections to the buried drain for the garage downspouts.

Today, they brought in fill for the garage interior. It was nice getting a feel for the amount of space I'll have inside.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-01

You can see the gutter downspouts below have been reconfigured to funnel into a buried drain. From there is goes to the back yard alongside the foundation of the garage.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-01

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-01

Below is a picture of the utility runs coming up from the house. There are three separate runs: gas line conduit; electric and miscellaneous wires; and a forced air run from the house's heating and cooling system.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-01

Back fill is scheduled for tomorrow around the garage. The garage floor is scheduled to be poured Friday (weather looks good). Framing should then start next week. That should take a week. The plan is for a brick front to match the house and a concrete front apron from the garage to the asphalt driveway.

 

[hpw]

Below is a picture of the utility runs coming up from the house. and a forced air run from the house's heating and cooling system.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-01

VERY NICE!!!!!!!

? about the forced air run, is that going to heat and cool your garage? Isn't that expecting a lot? Or is it just to bring the temps. to a more tolerable level?

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

VERY NICE!!!!!!!

? about the forced air run, is that going to heat and cool your garage? Isn't that expecting a lot? Or is it just to bring the temps. to a more tolerable level?

Hi and thanks hpw. The forced air run is not intended heat and cool the garage completely, but rather the hope is that it will keep the temp in there above freezing in the winter. We have a gas run conduit to allow for a heat source in the garage to bring the temp up higher for when I have a project going on in the garage. Most of our winter here in NW Ohio is rather bland, with temps in the teens and twentys only. If I was living in my home state of North Dakota this would not have a chance.

I'm honestly not sure how the forced air run will work out, since it's running air literally out of the house with no return. It may unbalance the system because of that. However, most of the time the run will be closed. It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Very nice! I am subscribing!

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

7:45 am the concrete crew showed up ready to work. Good weather on tap for today and the next few days.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Here's a quick view of the progress thus far. It seems to have been really slow, since we've had some rain to contend with and all the work thus far has not been "above ground." Next week should be different.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

 

[hpw]

Is the back fill limestone?

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Is the back fill limestone?

I do believe so. They mine it in this area so there's lots of it around. It appears to be limestone gravel with screenings. (See the powder footprint in the dirt?) It sure did compact nicely and felt almost like concrete standing on it. I'll confirm what it is with the contractor.

Here's a close up photo of the fill (top) compared to a picture of limestone gravel I found on the internet (bottom):

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-04

 

[NUTTSGT]

More than likely it is limestone, there are several quarries here locally. (National Lime and Stone) It makes it real easy for some of us to get our own stone for projects rather than have somebody deliver it.


OSF, it's been nice the last couple of days, compared to the rainy month of October. It was a little brisk today but a decent day to work outside. I hope your guys get it up and closed up in the next couple weeks.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Ok, I'm learning that these projects seem to go in spurts. But we've had some really good progress this week!

On Tuesday this was sitting in the driveway when I got home from work:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

It rained Wednesday, but Thursday the boys started early and worked late:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

Friday was Veterans' Day, and I thanked Gary (my contractor) for his service in the Marines. I took the day off from work and tended to the deer blinds for the youth hunt next week. The trusses were delivered and Gary and his sons got most of them up on Friday:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

I'll attach thumbnails of the two blinds we have for deer hunting.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Today I went in to the office a few hours and came home to a lot more progress on the garage.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

Here's an inside panoramic picture from the back corner:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

I climbed up to check out the attic loft. It has a 6'5" height, which is more than enough for me. The storage loft seems bigger than I imagined it would be. I'm going to like this a lot!

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

Weather permitting, these bricks will begin appearing on the front of the garage on Monday....

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-12

Gwenny loves to watch the construction action....

 

[hpw]

Nice

 

[Graham08]

Looking good! You're really going to like the attic space.

The weather has been really good here for the past couple weeks. Hopefully that trend continues through the winter!

 

[hmbemis]

Nice house and garage, looking forward to more progress

...and a forced air run from the house's heating and cooling system.

As you mentioned, you are creating negative pressure in the house which will drawn in unconditioned outside air...

How are you handling keeping moisture out of the underground duct?

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Nice house and garage, looking forward to more progress

As you mentioned, you are creating negative pressure in the house which will drawn in unconditioned outside air...

How are you handling keeping moisture out of the underground duct?

It is a bit of an experiment. We're using an insulated duct within a waterproof conduit. It's the ********* conduit at the bottom in the picture below (maybe 10 inches?). So it should be protected from moisture within the ground. As it's an insulated duct, it hopefully will minimize the condensation as well.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-13

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

The bricks got unpacked and started to appear on the front of the garage today.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-15

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-15

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-15

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-15

I found the right outside lights today: black aluminum cast fixtures that should take a beating (I've got three boys) while also looking nice. Also, the bulb can be replaced without disassembling the fixture. I bought a total of six and will replace the existing exterior lights on the house so they all match. Each unit cost $38 plus tax.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-15

 

[mhadden]

Looking awesome!

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Progressing along as the temperature has dropped a bit and we've had days of lots and lots of rain. And with the days getting shorter, it's usually dark by the time I get home from work and I can't view the progress too well.

The front brickwork got finished up and while not a perfect match to the house, it will certainly do just fine. For some reason this picture below shows the garage brick considerably darker than it really is, compared to the house. I think it's just the angle of the sunlight and camera.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-23

This morning the picture below shows that the roof was ready for shingles. I'll get a picture tomorrow of the roof with the shingles laid.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-23

The double utility door below was delivered and will be in place soon.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-23

Below is the view of the opening to the attic storage loft from the garage floor level. The stairs haven't been built yet.

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-23

 

[Bib Overalls]

Cool project. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[OhioSiouxFan]

Up to date progression collage:

By ohiosiouxfan at 2011-11-23

 

[mypov]

Looks friggin amazing! I am totally in envy over here.
Here's to many more amazing nights, and weekends tooling around!
Enjoy

today might just be better than tomorrow.