Jeepguy95
New member
Hey everybody im a young guy looking to build on land in the tears to come. Is it feasible to build a house on top of a garage? What are the pros and cons? Thanks in advance for any help
Question for builders
- Thread starter Jeepguy95
- Start date
This is one example. But the legality will depend on where you settle.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345776
There are other builds like this in the Garage Gallery subforum
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345776
There are other builds like this in the Garage Gallery subforum
rusty1
Well-known member
...there will be many "tears" in your life.
nadogail
Well-known member
With enough time and money you can build anything.
Houses over Garages sound like a Shade Tree Mechanics Dream Home.
Houses over Garages sound like a Shade Tree Mechanics Dream Home.
Lynden
Well-known member
Google Images...
https://www.google.com/search?rls=e...oAhXNvp4KHdaSBLQQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1124&bih=991
Basement garages...
https://www.google.com/search?rls=e...oAhXJl54KHTMcAyoQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1124&bih=991
https://www.google.com/search?rls=e...oAhXNvp4KHdaSBLQQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1124&bih=991
Basement garages...
https://www.google.com/search?rls=e...oAhXJl54KHTMcAyoQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1124&bih=991
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The Tool Tyrant
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Now THAT was funny...and yet true!
Metallitubby
Well-known member
I'm yearing up just thinking about it.
PAToyota
Well-known member
An issue would be fire separation - generally easier for a vertical wall (garage and living space on the same level) than for a horizontal assembly (the floor/ceiling between the garage and living space). You'd also need to provide access to the living space that does not go through the garage space - either direct to grade or an external stair instead of a stair in the garage space. These issues would depend on local codes.
pmiranda
Well-known member
Fire separation might not be required by local code (as in if you have no building codes locally), but they're pretty universal and something worth doing.
Beyond that, if you have enough space to build house separate or adjacent to the garage I think that's the best way, since you can build the garage higher to allow for a lift or storage more easily if you're not also having to support living space.
Plus most people don't like having to climb stairs to their house every day, and if you ever get hurt, get old, or know anybody that does, you'll appreciate ground-floor living space alot.
Of course location is everything... if this is a beach house or just in a low-lying area, then putting living space up high is a feature! Also if having a higher vantage point gets you a nice view over surrounding trees or buildings that's a big bonus.
Beyond that, if you have enough space to build house separate or adjacent to the garage I think that's the best way, since you can build the garage higher to allow for a lift or storage more easily if you're not also having to support living space.
Plus most people don't like having to climb stairs to their house every day, and if you ever get hurt, get old, or know anybody that does, you'll appreciate ground-floor living space alot.
Of course location is everything... if this is a beach house or just in a low-lying area, then putting living space up high is a feature! Also if having a higher vantage point gets you a nice view over surrounding trees or buildings that's a big bonus.
matt_i
Well-known member
This might be an obtuse way to look at this. It makes a lot of sense "right now" but you have to look down the road abit.
Eventually your life will probably change and this current plan won't fit with it.
Put yourself at the point where you have to sell your house/property and move elsewhere. It has to be attractive to a buyer. You don't want to be waiting around forever for that one special buyer to come who is in alignment with your vision. Its been said that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, usually it is not the garage although you are in a subset of people who would potentially prioritize that. Tl;dr: you don't want to create a white elephant that is going to require steep discounts to bring in a buyer. The real estate process is already grand-theft of your equity, you don't want to go any further into that hole.
A really good deal is to buy a property with a building already there. The second person thru typically gets the better deal unless one is lucky enough to live in a place for a very long time.
Another tactic is to look at it with a lens like this: build a small house and whatever sized shop with the idea you'll rent the house eventually and keep the shop space for yourself. If you can keep it rented someone else is building the equity for you, even at a break-even point.
Eventually your life will probably change and this current plan won't fit with it.
Put yourself at the point where you have to sell your house/property and move elsewhere. It has to be attractive to a buyer. You don't want to be waiting around forever for that one special buyer to come who is in alignment with your vision. Its been said that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, usually it is not the garage although you are in a subset of people who would potentially prioritize that. Tl;dr: you don't want to create a white elephant that is going to require steep discounts to bring in a buyer. The real estate process is already grand-theft of your equity, you don't want to go any further into that hole.
A really good deal is to buy a property with a building already there. The second person thru typically gets the better deal unless one is lucky enough to live in a place for a very long time.
Another tactic is to look at it with a lens like this: build a small house and whatever sized shop with the idea you'll rent the house eventually and keep the shop space for yourself. If you can keep it rented someone else is building the equity for you, even at a break-even point.
kd3pc
Well-known member
banks also take a dim view of "non-standard" houses and will likely not provide loans for their construction.
most counties will not let you build a separate structure, until the home is built, and many properties are not zone for two homes.
most counties will not let you build a separate structure, until the home is built, and many properties are not zone for two homes.
firebirdparts
Well-known member
It's very ordinary to have a house on top of a driveunder. That is mainstream. What you really notice from that is your wife hollers at you a LOT to stop whatever you're doing. Like always and constantly.
pmiranda
Well-known member
Yeah, fire safety is the minimum requirement for an attached garage. Noise and smells are also a problem for alot of people, although most things you do for fire safety help for the other two.
Bessy
Well-known member
To that point, next door to my parents' place, the neighbor built an over/under garage/house combination. He's a concrete and excavation guy to begin with, but the lower level is built into the hill walk out basement style to the road (rear) of the property. Lower level to the rear is about 2/3 sign business, boat storage, with the rear 1/3 of the building serving as flex space. Above to the rear of the building is a modest 2 car garage. With living space to the front 2/3 of the building.
Not the style I would ever go with, but it turned out very nice and it really works with the lot. Second point is regarding fumes, smells, dust, etc. You want to really make sure you can protect the living space from contamination.
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58Yeoman
Well-known member
And you'll have to be carrying EVERYTHING up stairs to bring anything into the house. All your furniture and groceries, for starters.
Kevkx125
Well-known member
Here's one I rented as a apartment but basically it was a house over a garage. It had 3 bays and a toilet stall and heat. Upstairs it had two bedrooms and a full bath and ok sized kitchen and nice sized living room and also a low ceiling height attic for storage. Not a bad example of what you are looking for.
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pmiranda
Well-known member
As with most threads, location matters... is this at the beach? in an area where you have to excavate 6 feet for a foundation? on a hillside? in a swamp?
Work with what you've got. The more you fight it, the more expensive and time consuming it will be.
Work with what you've got. The more you fight it, the more expensive and time consuming it will be.
Falcon67
Well-known member
"Barndominium" - most of those are configured like that. Keeping fumes out of the overhead house part becomes an issue if you have things like hot rods/race cars that don't use modern evap control systems.
dcg9381
Well-known member
First house I built was "upside down" - it was 3/4 garage downstairs, living area upstairs - simple stick and brick construction.
Look up Barndominimum. A few airports around here have "homes" located in the upper spaces of the hangers... So sure, it's possible.
It's best to "plan" for what you want though - 2nd stories often require that you're designed for those loads (if you're using the exterior walls as load bearing structures).
Jinks
Well-known member
Of course you can build a house on top of a garage. The important question is the pros & cons.......
A water front lot across the street from me was too small to build a house AND have a septic system on. Along comes a family of six that wanted water front property.....
They built a garage with two stories stacked above it. Pros: They got a house on the water...
Yard is so small it takes 15 minutes to mow....
Cons: STAIRS!...
The house is mostly stairs. The parents are late 30's, so it's not a problem today, but wait till they age some or want to sell. Probably not a big market for a house full of STAIRS & small rooms.... Maybe they should have invested in an elevator.....
Sewage! They had to install a complicated system to store sewage, then pump it across the street into a high pressure line two or three times a day. What could go wrong?
Four kids with no place to play!
No room on the lot to do anything else. What you see is what you get. If it becomes too small, too steep, too anything, they'll have to sell & move. Not going to be an easy sale. We have quite a few houses built without regard for future sales in the area. If you're old & wealthy, that's a personal choice. But if it's not the home you're going to die in you might want to think about the future.
A water front lot across the street from me was too small to build a house AND have a septic system on. Along comes a family of six that wanted water front property.....
They built a garage with two stories stacked above it. Pros: They got a house on the water...Yard is so small it takes 15 minutes to mow....
Cons: STAIRS!...
The house is mostly stairs. The parents are late 30's, so it's not a problem today, but wait till they age some or want to sell. Probably not a big market for a house full of STAIRS & small rooms.... Maybe they should have invested in an elevator.....Sewage! They had to install a complicated system to store sewage, then pump it across the street into a high pressure line two or three times a day. What could go wrong?
Four kids with no place to play!
No room on the lot to do anything else. What you see is what you get. If it becomes too small, too steep, too anything, they'll have to sell & move. Not going to be an easy sale. We have quite a few houses built without regard for future sales in the area. If you're old & wealthy, that's a personal choice. But if it's not the home you're going to die in you might want to think about the future.
bwringer
Well-known member
You usually only see these in crowded areas.
And yeah, if the only access is stairs, you lock yourself out of a HUUUUGE chunk of resale value, and quite likely you'll lock yourself out of your own house if you ever have surgery, get seriously ill, or get injured. Building into a hill so that there's ground-level access to the living area is one possible solution, which of course depends on the property.
Don't discount this; when I broke my leg in a motorcycle accident, I was able to go home much sooner because my house is all ground level and I have a walk-in (well, hobble-in) shower.
My office is a very old building with five stair steps to get in, and it took a while longer to be physically able to climb those stairs with a walker and return to work.
And yeah, if the only access is stairs, you lock yourself out of a HUUUUGE chunk of resale value, and quite likely you'll lock yourself out of your own house if you ever have surgery, get seriously ill, or get injured. Building into a hill so that there's ground-level access to the living area is one possible solution, which of course depends on the property.
Don't discount this; when I broke my leg in a motorcycle accident, I was able to go home much sooner because my house is all ground level and I have a walk-in (well, hobble-in) shower.
My office is a very old building with five stair steps to get in, and it took a while longer to be physically able to climb those stairs with a walker and return to work.
CraigStu
Well-known member
Lynden's basement garages link shows all you need to know. Mostly it depends on the layout of the lot you build on. Best is sloping down to the rear but sloping down to one side can work out too. When we built our house a year+ ago we almost went this route but the final lot didn't work out. Talking to the builder though, it was no big deal. Fire rated drywall, a steel door to the house and a few other things that were not very expensive was all that was needed. Again depending on the lot, I have seen a house where the garage was down to the rear but the driveway had a leg that went over to the front door so that solved the groceries problem except when weather was wrong. We live is SW Virginia which is in the Appalachian mountains so houses are built like this quite often due to the hilly land. 35 years ago we lived in a split level. The unfinished basement had a sliding glass door. The project car I had at the time would fit through the rough opening. So I pulled the slider out as a unit, put a 7 ft garage door there and worked on that car for 5 years. Welding, grinding etc. No problem except noise bothering the baby limited what I could do at times.
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Dustball
Well-known member
fourbyford
Well-known member
When I built this, the plan was to live in it while I built the house. Upstairs, living area of approximately 1,500 s/f... lower shop/garage area approximately 3,100 sf. In my area, requires fire rated rock on ceiling of garage and a fire rated door on the entrance... more than one route of egress... all do-able.
...D
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...D
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