Saving for first home - realistic garage idea

[Truckguy24]

Hi all,

Been a lurker here for years and there are some amazing garages here! I am saving for my first home and I realistically would be looking in 2019. I live in Massachusetts and have an idea that I'm curious about. Someday I would like to have a Morton 40x60 pole barn but know that is unrealistic at this stage of my life. I'm a car guy and would like a garage for my truck. I was toying with a small garage idea that would suffice my needs for quite a few years so I could have a nice place to tinker, have my car friends over and also have a small shed like area for snow blower, lawn mower tools etc.

Say you designed a 16' wide x 30' long x10' pole barn and did it yourself. I don't like heights but it's small enough where it's not huge with a massive roof pitch and huge span. My dad has a nice Bx25D Kubota so if I found the right property say .75-1 or slightly more acres, I could make sure the ground is level.

Once the building is up, I'd be ok with a gravel floor until I could save cash for the concrete slab. 16' wide is plenty wide for my f150 and 30' deep still gives me plenty of length. If I wanted to weld or another project, just back the truck out.

It's isn't ungodly expensive I wouldn't think to make and you can insulate over time and add electric as funds allow.

Years down the road, a Morton could be built and you'd be left with a nice man cave, shed etc.

Any thoughts?

 

[Lelandwelds]

That sounds smarter than my approach. I mooched storage in friends and relatives unused cargo boxes and out buildings.

I wish I had built a house with a small daily driver attached garage and a large "shop-garage" detatched. A separate outbuilding for lawnmowers and hedgetrimmers is smart no matter what.

Debt is the modern version of slavery. Save all you can.

 

[TheKidinBuff5789]

Instead of 10 feet high, go more like 15 ft and put a car lift in there. You can always store a car on it too if you ever wanted

 

[stm317]

A .75-1 acre lot isn't very big if your plan is to have a house, a 16x 30, and a larger pole barn sometime down the road. It could get pretty cluttered looking.
I'd try and find a way to atleast get it wide enough for 2 vehicles side by side. That's going to have a lot more functionality while you live there, and resale appeal when it's time to sell. Something around 22x30 or 24x30 would be a nice balance between lower cost and having enough space for an average car guy, or family in a few years. Significant others and kids take up a bunch of space. Better to plan ahead and overbuild now than be stuck working on your truck in the snow because your shop is full of your wife's vehicle and the kids' bikes/power wheels/etc.

 

[bczygan]

Buy the biggest lot you can.

 

[Fastfish]

Good Plan. The real estate market is tough in MA. Wait for the prices to come down. They will. PM me if you want to talk about it. I am in North Central MA

 

[Homerr]

A couple of years ago I was looking for a house and thought I couldn't afford one with a garage, or at least larger than a small one-car. Thought we were going to have to put 100% in to the house portion to get what we wanted. We kept looking for a few months but eventually ran across a great house with a 780 square feet garage.

So maybe have 'manifesting' as Plan A with a build as Plan B?

 

[fourjeepin]

I wish I had bought a piece of land about that size and built a 3 car at the back of the property with an efficiency apartment above it. When funds allow or a spouse is imminent, build a nice house in front. And build the house with an attached garage so daily drivers don't intrude into shop space.

 

[firebirdparts]

If you want to go the dirt cheap route, look at prices for a metal carport. You can enclose them. With walls I think it would still be a lot cheaper than a pole building, but they sure are ugly.

 

[Truckguy24]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I would like as much property as possible, but as Fastfish said, it's a tough market here in MA. Most decent homes near me (around Gillette Stadium - Patriots) are nearly $250-300k for a decent house. Most have very little land.

I'm not one to rush this sort of thing and not in the position to yet, but it is something I like to be thinking of. I have family that moved to NC and I prefer that temperature and general environment, but I have a good job here that is foolhardy to leave for now.

In terms of temporary storage, we have some Rhino Shelters and they have been incredible durable and a high quality product for many years. I would ideally like to find a house that has a garage to at least park in at first and go from there. Just saving in the meantime. I would ideally like as much land as possibly, but like always, it all comes down to cost and location. Doesn't make sense to drive an hour away from my work when it's currently in the town I live in lol. A few towns over is fine, but it just depends which one it is.

 

[Truckguy24]

I always wanted to move south and I will be moving to North Carolina in a few months. Life has a weird way of working out. I've had on my eye on that state for years and visisted a bunch really scoping it out. Keeping my New England job so setting myself up for a nice house and a garage will not be an issue.

When I eventually buy something after renting for a year or two, I'll be sure to show off my garage

For less than the cost of a Massachusetts home, I can buy a 3-4 Bedroom 2 Bath 2-3 garage ranch/cape house on 1+ acres in a very nice area and eventually build a 40x40 Morton building and still be under the cost of most Massachusetts homes. It's nuts. Home prices are exploding down there but it's still much cheaper in terms of housing.

 

[yeldogt]

I always wanted to move south and I will be moving to North Carolina in a few months. Life has a weird way of working out. I've had on my eye on that state for years and visisted a bunch really scoping it out. Keeping my New England job so setting myself up for a nice house and a garage will not be an issue.

When I eventually buy something after renting for a year or two, I'll be sure to show off my garage

For less than the cost of a Massachusetts home, I can buy a 3-4 Bedroom 2 Bath 2-3 garage ranch/cape house on 1+ acres in a very nice area and eventually build a 40x40 Morton building and still be under the cost of most Massachusetts homes. It's nuts. Home prices are exploding down there but it's still much cheaper in terms of housing.

If you can keep MA wages on NC living costs you will be way ahead .... it's really amazing what the cost of living in a given area equates to living standard if you can maintain income when you move. Even with a very good income in many areas of the north east and west coast the housing costs eat up lots of income.

 

[6768rogues]

Sounds like a good plan and you are smart to buy as you can afford it and not go hugely in debt to have it all now. With a fairly low pitch roof, the roof will be walkable and it will be easy to build.

 

[reader2580]

Make sure the city would even allow such a building. Where I live it is nearly impossible to find a city that allows pole barns unless you have five acres or more. Height on garages is also an issue here. It is common to only allow 10 foot sidewalls or limit to height of house which is issue with single story.

 

[Mr. D]

All good advice, my .02;

1) Don't buy in a HOA
2) Don't buy in the city limits.

 

[bad_idea]

Where in NC? I'm just a few miles outside of Elizabeth City in Pasquotank County. The county is easy enough to get along with in regards to building a shop. Gates County was much more lax, was my first choice, but the wife vetoed that. There is NOTHING in Gates. Not even a real grocery store, just a family owned small grocery store with limited choices.

HOAs aren't very common here, but just about any development has covenants. Basically a set of rules the developer submits to the county when the subdivision is built. No one enforces them until you piss a neighbor off. Then they can cry to the county about your violation and the county has to enforce it. Read the covenants closely and make sure you can live with it. My subdivision has a set of covenants I can deal with. Things like 'garage must match style of house' and 'no unregistered cars to be stored in driveway'. My Camaro hasn't been registered since I bought the house last year. One of the neighbors has a carport with plywood doors on the face of it. Life in the county is definitely more laid back.

 

[Falcon67]

20~24' wide would be 100% better than 16' IMHO.

 

[matt_i]

I would look at building in stages as funds become available.

E.g. Start with a 25 x 40 and then increase in 40' wide increments as money becomes available. Many garages and barns etc have been built exactly like this over the years.

Keep good records on suppliers and dimensions, the worst thing that can happen is siding and roofing can look slightly different due to aging.

 

[bad_idea]

I am in process of building a 30x40x10 now. Before you commit to a pole barn, compare the cost of stick built. I don’t want to deal with a gravel floor, so the concrete cost is similar between the two types. The cost to go stick built to match the house is close in cost compared to pole barn. Assuming you build it yourself, the savings is negligible.

 

[Truckguy24]

Figured I'd update this... I have an apartment with a garage here in NC. Pretty amazing and it fits my truck! Approximately 12' Wide x 21' Long with 10' Walls.

May get a Quick Jack lift next year haha. Make some little jobs easier when I have to do tire rotations, and brakes etc.

My daily driver Taurus sits outside in my driveway here. No door dings at this place since I have my own driveway. Really happy with this so far.

 

[Jeepster04]

If you have any knowledge of building something, a 16x30 pole barn should be very easy and quick to throw up. After building a 40x64 pole barn with help from my dad/friends, I feel like we could pop up a 16x30' in 4-5 days.

Should be able to get a small post hole digger for that kubota.

Personally I would go for it. Im not really happy if I dont have a garage....

 

[Truckguy24]

Thanks for the insight guys, but in my recent posts, my situation completely changed. I live in NC now and have an apartment with a garage and with the real estate down here, a garage/shop is no longer an issue since they're everywhere haha. Enjoying my new found freedom and in time, I'm sure I'll have a house with a nice garage.

 

[Truckguy24]

Took me just about 5 years but have been in my house for a year and a half now. 24x32 with 8 ft ceiling shop. Carport attached to the house, and a basement garage which gives me nice bonus space . Currently stores my mower and what not until I build a nice large shed in a few years. It's Funny looking back at my early post and how everything worked out lol.

The previous nearly 30-year long owner of the house from had passed almost 2 years prior. As I've gone through the home, he definitely was a guy that like to do things his way.

Currently have no power to the garage other than a drop cord from the house. Knucklehead did a really dumb way to get utilities to the shop so once I had the house repaired, I've just been saving up to do the 200 amp service upgrade to the house. Then I'll have a 100 amp feed run over.

Good thing is the garage was wired well by someone else, so other than adding a few circuits, it should just be a matter of my electrician and myself bringing over the new feed along with a nice new panel. The cords are just my temporary power for now to run lights and what not I have hanging there.

Just really amazing having my own space and will be much better once I have proper power brought over to really enjoy it.

Future plans:

- putting a metal ceiling in instead of the foam board he had done probably 15 years ago when he built it in 2009 2010 time.

- do LED bulbs with the bypass kits to replace all the fluorescent bulbs.

-do bat installation in the ceiling and put some plywood down for light storage for mostly factory car parts I have off my vehicles.

 

[LB-1911]

Took me just about 5 years but have been in my house for a year and a half now. 24x32 with 8 ft ceiling shop. Carport attached to the house, and a basement garage which gives me nice bonus space . Currently stores my mower and what not until I build a nice large shed in a few years. It's Funny looking back at my early post and how everything worked out lol.

The previous nearly 30-year long owner of the house from had passed almost 2 years prior. As I've gone through the home, he definitely was a guy that like to do things his way.

Congratulations!
Thanks for the follow-up.

 

[mike93lx]

What condition is your main panel in now? 100a service can sometimes cover a house and shop. If you haven't, doing a load calc would be worth it.

 

[Truckguy24]

What condition is your main panel in now? 100a service can sometimes cover a house and shop. If you haven't, doing a load calc would be worth it.

It is an outdated panel without enough room and the entire house is electric. It's just not enough amperage since the HVAC unit was converted to be fully electric instead of the original 1970s era propane systems.

I've been going through everything starting fresh bringing it up to today's standards for peace of mind and making sure things are proper. It'll be worth the wait for sure to do it right and know that everything is up to current requirements.

 

[mike93lx]

It is an outdated panel without enough room and the entire house is electric. It's just not enough amperage since the HVAC unit was converted to be fully electric instead of the original 1970s era propane systems.

I've been going through everything starting fresh bringing it up to today's standards for peace of mind and making sure things are proper. It'll be worth the wait for sure to do it right and know that everything is up to current requirements.

Sounds like the upgrade is definitely worth it

 

[nadogail]

Putting in a large panel the first time around is more economical than adding the larger panel you need later.

Sometimes we are bound by economic constraints and first just “ Get it done, and fix it later”

When my house was being built, I asked the developers electrician how much additional would it cost for a 200 Amp panel. He said I don’t do 200 Amp panels.
25 years later I had the house upgraded to a 200 Amp Service and both the main and sub panels were replaced.

We work with what we have at the time.

 

[Truckguy24]

For sure, that's why I'm taking my time with this. Unfortunately the gentleman liked to do things his way and it's been a process unwinding that stuff but it's worth it to have it be correct.