Shop / Home questions...

[TWINCAM666]

I know some of you have built home/shop combos or Barndominiums.

I have found a 2 ac lot and was wondering since I want to put up 3500 sf metal sided shop building to start and eventually live in it too!
I'm going to attempt to do a lot myself since $$$ are always a concern.

Now first off I never done anything home/carpentry wise more than a 16x12 porch and basic home maintenance. But I have about 5 friends that are real handy and ones an electrician that will be helping.

My wants are to get the building up and all electric and plumbing laid out and in time finish the living quarters (1500sf).

I would like 14 or 16 ft high in the shop so I can have a lift and want the living area to have 10ft ceilings also.
I plan on bricking the front wall with recycled brick if I can get it.

So my first question is do I go with a wood frame, red iron or pole barn since we will be building it ourselves?

 

[green.bubbly]

That was my initial plan. One large red iron building. Then I discovered how much erectors charge to erect. I ended up doing a separate garage which I could erect myself.

I had my house erected and it has been sitting there for over two months now while I finish up my garage. One thing I will tell you is that it is a lot more work than you imagine. Make sure your five friends will be there during the entire build or you might find yourself overwhelmed.

Other than that, good luck and have fun with it.

 

[HuskerMedic]

Does the area you are planning on building in have any zoning oversite?

A friend of mine wanted to do a similar project but got squashed about halfway into it by the county zoning board.

First thing to do is make sure what you want to do is legal.

 

[TWINCAM666]

I can do it, it's out of city limits and county is fine with metal buildings..there are several around here...

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Its the living in it part that the county might have issues with. Do they have a minimum sq ft area requirement for living space? Of course the living space will have to be separated from the shop/garage area with a firewall (4 hr?) and fire proof doors with closers, etc. to meet any kind of codes.

Charles

 

[blue dog]

4 hr firewall ??????????

 

[John in OH]

Twincam666, you don't tell us where you are located so it's a little difficult to give advice (edit your personal GJ profile to add your location), but Charles (in GA) is right on ... make sure that what you want to do will be OK with the county or township building regulations. Even rural areas often have specific building standards that must be met if you are planning to live in the structure.

 

[Grumpy365]

There was a post a while back that kinda revolved around this.

While I didn't agree with a lot of the thread you should read it.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90854&referrerid=47711
It adressed the possible insurance implications as well as the possible catastrophe that would result from an accident such as a fire.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I'm looking at a shop that is selling in a few weeks, and planning on doing just that. If I get it, I'm going to do a 2 story apartment in it, I think.

 

[darkk]

If zoning and regulations allow it, I would do a steel building and construct a living area in one corner. There is a guy local here that has a 60x100x25 block warehouse with a dwelling in one corner.