Saba007's Detached two-car garage build

[saba007]

Hi All

I am new to the forum and came to learn. Though I/wife will be very involved in this build, it is not a DIY by any stretch of the imagination. My main objective for joining is to ensure that I don't get ripped off by contractors and I don't cheap out on key things because I don't know better. While cost is a consideration, my goal is to have a quality garage built well. Here are the details:

Me: I am a 33 year old marketing executive with little handyman experience. I have done floating wood floors, redone a bathroom (mostly fixtures, vanity, painting but no tiling), patched/sealed a driveway, and small everyday house items.

Location: New Hampshire

Objective: build a detached two car garage (24x24) with 576 sqft of space above it. No plumbing yet but will be on the horizon in the future.

Challenges:
- lack of handyman skills
- I travel 2-3 times a month for work where I am gone 2-3 nights each time
- variance from zoning board required (town requires 35 ft to front line of the property, garage will need to be 25 ft)
- grade at the back of the garage is a few feet lower than the front
- budget: 20-25k (not including the material)

Plan:
- plans: I will purchase ready plans from a design site that come with material list.
- permits: I/wife will be dealing with the town on approving variance. No clue how this process goes but I will find out soon.
- materials: I am buying it.
- concrete/foundation: it will be contracted out
- framing: contracted out to a professional
- plywood/wrap/siding/roof/windows/stairs/upstairs floor/man doors: will be done by a friend of th family who knows what he is doing. He did a great job on my vinyl siding that included a front door install and replacing rotten plywood. He is also handy with aluminum bending and finish work.
- electric: looking to do a subpanel. Definitely a professional electrician. The question is whether I want to connect into my 13kw full house propane generator.
- garage doors: TBD
- plumbing: none planned in the short term.
- heating: not sure yet
- Apt above: not sure if I want to just frame it out or hold off - leaning towards the latter
- Sheetrock work/insulation inside: me and a knowledgable friend. Garage level only. This is not definite but where I am leaning right now.

I will be documenting every development, and sharing pictures and links of everything - whether and work schedule permitting.

First questions:

1- Am I missing anything from the 'buckets' above? Are there any other areas that I need to put on the radar today?

2- Has anyone purchased plans online? And if so are there any warnings to heed?

I look forward to learning from and sharing with you.

I will open a photobucket acct to link pics to starting with a pic of the house today.

Thanks

 

[saba007]

Photos - house and plan

Plan - man door will be on the front

 

[saba007]

First lesson learned - Trusses are to be ordered pre-made from a manufacturer because my Town operates under ICB rules like virtually most towns in US according to the design/plans supplier. Thanks to a little research on GJ, this should be resolved easily.

 

[CNGsaves]

Where's this detached garage going to go??

You knocking down the screen porch and deck or what??

 

[saba007]

Where's this detached garage going to go??

You knocking down the screen porch and deck or what??

Keeping both. Looking at the photo above, I am actually going to widen the driveway about 3-4 feet to the left - towards the mailbox. The garage will be on the right of the driveway, after the tree with the car door opening facing the driveway. If you look down birds eye, it will look like an L with the doors opening the length of the driveway.

It is not clear from the photo, but this driveway is actually 3 cars long.

 

[saba007]

Update

- Plans have been ordered: found out in order to move the man door upfront, I will need to build a door in the back on the inside at the stair landing and it has to be a fire resistant/core door.

- confirmed preliminary quotes on Thursday April 4. Concrete and framing labor only.

 

[saba007]

Update - Quotes and Plans

- The plans are here. To clarify from the photo above - I am not doing the interior walls on the second floor. It will be open for now a big square. No plumbing either.
- I had a couple guys come out for quotes. No $$ #s yet, but I will share those when they come in sometime over the weekend. They're giving me various options between labor only to the skeleton/frame/no walls/roof to full work. Some with material others without. It looks like I am going with 2x6 walls. One of the guys said the roof pitch might be too shallow for snowy NH.
- Both guys don't do trusses, they do frame roofs (2x10). Reasons they gave me vary between strength and cost. One guy said ALL of the roofs that collapsed from our ice storm a few years ago that he worked on fixing were truss roofs. The other guy said trusses are expensive because you need a crane for them. Both will do 10x2.
- Plot plan has been secured from the town. I may not need a variance depending on the position and how much view I am working to part with. To your point earlier @CNGSaves, I might end up going next to the house at a slight angle. We'll see what happens with the permit process. I will make sure I update

Next update:
- Quotes
- More details on the position of the garage on the land plot (maybe)

 

[CNGsaves]

There's a big roof vent out of screened-in porch. What's in there that needs such a big vent??

 

[saba007]

There's a big roof vent out of screened-in porch. What's in there that needs such a big vent??

There is a direct vent propane stove. For some reason they put a 7-8 inch pipe around the 4 inch pipe. As to why, I don't know. It was in there when I bought the house in 07.

 

[Magneto]

Hey Neighbor,

I look forward to following your thread. I'm about to break ground on a 24x28 workshop on the side of my existing attached two car garage.

Mag

 

[saba007]

Hey Neighbor,

I look forward to following your thread. I'm about to break ground on a 24x28 workshop on the side of my existing attached two car garage.

Mag

Congrats man... I just joined GJ too. I am really excited about this. After spending time on this forum, I am beginning to feel confident that I can get foundation and skeleton going while I can do everything else with some help from someone with scaffolding and some experience. I will keep you posted and looking forward to seeing your build as well.

 

[saba007]

Major UPDATE

Ok... Sorry I have been silent for a few days. Here is an update:

- I gave up on the idea to be my own GC and decided to go with a company that will do everything.
- After a few quotes including the quote for the original plan where I buy the material and piecemeal everything out, it made sense to go with a local guy for everything. His company has solid BBB ratings and references from customers in my town.
- He will be doing everything from permits to electrical. No driveway/paving, no Plumbing, no finish work inside (Sheetrock, insulation). I attached a statement of work below.
- Contract was signed yesterday. First payment disbursed, and he is out wrangling permits.
- Once he pulls the permit, I will take a picture of the site to show you guys where everything is going.

Still, I am determined to do many other things myself by leaning on this forum. Finish work, heating, inside setup, etc. I hope this goes smoothly first. Fingers are crossed.

 

[saba007]

Permits are pulled. Original site had to be moved back closer to the deck. Refer to the house photo and envision the garage kitty-cornered with the driveway more of it towards the deck. Have to be 35 ft from the front property LINE which is 8 ft from the rd. I was bummed about that, but the chances of getting a variance approved are slim. So I will lose some of my view until I redo the deck.

Contractor will break ground the first week of June. Excitement Level 11.

 

[Magneto]

Hey Neighbor, About time! I thought you were going to be well ahead of my groundbreaking. I'm at the same excitement level. They just poured my foundation walls today.

 

[saba007]

Congrats Magneto. This week or next will be the ground breaking. Putting some carts ahead of the horse though:

- Bought a slate pool table and picked it up yesterday (disassembled in the basement and three season room right now)
- My Dad just retired (mechanic), so I called dibs on his tool box. Should be picking it up soon.

I will make sure to track yours.

 

[saba007]

Snag

We were scheduled to break ground yesterday. But when the excavation guy came out to check out the permit approved site on Monday, it became clear that moving forward will create safety issues as well as potential a lot of unsightliness. Here are photos of the approved site. You may refer to th first post for more perspective about the property. Current zoning laws require35 ft from the front line and I found out that 15 ft or so of my property line is owned by the town. Surveyor will verify this week. Again, it is a cul-de-sac with about 8 houses.

As you can see the grade will create a couple of issues. The first is safety. I have two young ones - toddler and a crawler. To raise the grade (up to 7 ft in some areas) and fill in in front to connect with th driveway, I will have to build a retaining wall to keep the driveway up before paving it. The second issue is that I will have to add to the existing driveway - about 2 cars wide, three cars long - another 28 ft x at least two cars long to allow for turn in.

So I worked with the GC and moved it closer to the driveway, where I originally wanted it. To give you. Better idea, each of the paver steps is about 4-5 inches high. So the lope is not as steep and it is much closer to the driveway.

In order to do so, I have to file for a variance. A couple of notes:
- I only pay for th variance. Old permit fee can be reused
- new spot is 35 ft from the rd albeit much less from the front line of the property
- meeting is on July 18 with decision given that night
- code enforcer seemed pretty laid back and he said safety is a major reason
- if approved we should wait 30 days for potential appeals from neighbors or citizens but he said it is very unlikely and is worth risk of the contractor can start right away.

My other options:
- rip out th deck and three season room and build. A that point, it would be tough to attach a me dck to the house because the property 1.1 acres is long and skinny.
- other side of the house. It will be tough because that's where the septic and leach field are
- all the way down in the flat area closer to the tool shed and make a long paved road down. I will be the only one in the neighborhood who has that, and would lose all the green.

 

[SiGmA_X]

I think moving it closer and applying for the variance is well worth the time/money spent. I'm excited for see the build come together!

One comment - Make sure the GC uses rebar in the slab. And how tall are your first floor ceilings? 8'1"? If so... Well, you won't fit a hoist in there. Just something to consider. I would suggest a 10' ceiling without a question. 12' if possible, really. A 2 car garage makes a great single car shop if done right. Or it makes a great 2 car garage and shop, too!

 

[KELLHAMMER]

The interior bearing wall alongside the stair is shown on a depressed slab. That footing should be built like the exterior perimeter foundation and go to below frost. The slab should be allowed to move separately from the footings. Slabs are still subject to heave and create problems if the structure is supported the way it is shown.

 

[polexican23]

Subscribed and crossing fingers that you get to build this sweet looking garage.

 

[saba007]

I think moving it closer and applying for the variance is well worth the time/money spent. I'm excited for see the build come together!

One comment - Make sure the GC uses rebar in the slab. And how tall are your first floor ceilings? 8'1"? If so... Well, you won't fit a hoist in there. Just something to consider. I would suggest a 10' ceiling without a question. 12' if possible, really. A 2 car garage makes a great single car shop if done right. Or it makes a great 2 car garage and shop, too!

Thanks Sig, our thoughts exactly. 8'1" is the height. I need the apt above and don't want it to be higher than the house ans all the neighbors' homes. No need for a shop. My brother has two shops 5 miles away. And he's the mechanic. 2 cars plus storage and a sweet mantown with potential for an apt. Balcony will look sweet. I will double check with the contractor on the slab. I know we have to go 4 ft down here in NH.

 

[saba007]

The interior bearing wall alongside the stair is shown on a depressed slab. That footing should be built like the exterior perimeter foundation and go to below frost. The slab should be allowed to move separately from the footings. Slabs are still subject to heave and create problems if the structure is supported the way it is shown.

Thanks for the heads up Kell. The plan I have up top is just for the structure. The foundation will be more like a house I think. I will bring this up to the GC though. Appreciate it. These are the type of comments that drove me to sign up for this forum originally. That and ideas for the inside hopefully soon enough, I get to play in there with DIY insulation, Sheetrock, flooring, set up. Can't wait.

 

[saba007]

Subscribed and crossing fingers that you get to build this sweet looking garage.

I will keep you posted for sure. Thx for the encouragement.

 

[saba007]

Major update

Variance was approved last night. Talk about a gorilla being lifted off my back. Going to the town today to see if I need a new permit. They told me to wait 30 days in case of aggrieved parties come forward. But the zoning director told me that it is a risk he would take if he were me. Hoping to finally break ground this month. It would be nice to get it done by August 10 - son's bday party. But who knows.

Needless to say, my contractor is happy. Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

 

[saba007]

Re: Major update

No need for new permit since structure hasn't changed. Excavation guy should tell us Monday when he can come out and break ground.

 

[Magneto]

Yeah! Time to get this project rolling.

 

[saba007]

Just heard back from the Contractor. Dig Safe will have to come back out again since it has been more than 30 days. Looking at Monday 7/29 for breaking ground.

 

[Magneto]

Just heard back from the Contractor. Dig Safe will have to come back out again since it has been more than 30 days. Looking at Monday 7/29 for breaking ground.

Yeah, you just never know if those aliens or your own government dropped in overnight and secretly installed underground cable for listening or behavior programming devices..... Go DigSafe

 

[saba007]

HA. Pretty sure I saw a drone hovering. Day 1 progress:

- ground = broken

 

[saba007]

Days 2 and 3 Update

Footings are in, forms are in. Town inspector couldn't come out today. Most likely tomorrow. Foundation walls will be poured tomorrow hopefully.

 

[Magneto]

FINALLY! Woot woot....

 

[SiGmA_X]

Nice!!

 

[saba007]

Foundation concrete

Is being poured right now.

 

[saba007]

Foundation is in. You can see where the man door and the car door will go.

 

[saba007]

Forms are out. A couple of loads of fill have been delivered. Couldn't do much today as we are waiting for the town to inspect the walls. Looks like a decent pour.

 

[saba007]

Thank god for rain

I was traveling this past week. Some progress have been made.
- Town approved the foundation
- Fill was delivered, poured inside and around
- At the end of Thursday the excavation/fill guy took his equipment home.
- Rain was in the forecast for Friday so the slab is scheduled for tomorrow

Thank God, however, for the downpour on Friday. The fill dipped down significantly (see pics, last one shows the most drop). My question is, what am I supposed to make sure my contractor does in this situation? Add more and tamp it? Add more then just pour slab? Just pour slab and the concrete will compensate? Any advice is welcome.

Other than that, everything is going according to plan. The GC underestimated the fill we needed by a bit. Quoted 6 trucks, we needed 13. He said the other 7 will be given to me at cost and if we feel it blew the budget he would pitch in.

 

[saba007]

Nice Progress

I was traveling mon-thurs of this week, but my wife updated me on the progress.

On Monday: the excavation/fill guy came out and added the fill where it dipped and tamped back down.

On Tuesday: the slab was poured.

On Wednesday: lumber was delivered.

On Thursday: they worked from 7 to 6 and did this.

Then yesterday they did this.

You can kinda see the front wall framed out with the two windows and the opening for the French door that open up to the cantilevered 4x8 deck. Made the decision to stick with PT instead of Azec to save 1600 dollars. Didn't think it was that expensive.

 

[Magneto]

Looking very nice. You have a 2nd floor. It's time to set up that slate pool table you bought a few months ago.

 

[Sunbimmer]

Nice this one, please keep us updated

 

[saba007]

Nice this one, please keep us updated

Thanks Sunbimmer. Hoping they're done before the long Labor Day weekend. I am planning on a DIY ****

Looking very nice. You have a 2nd floor. It's time to set up that slate pool table you bought a few months ago.

Ha. Definitely an example of cart before the horse. Couldn't pass up the deal though. Ordered some other special things. Stay tuned.

 

[saba007]

I was on the road again this week. Got home this afternoon to some great progress. Correction on a previous post: the second floor balcony is 4x16 not 4x8. Not surprised about the Azek quote.