Should I build 1 or 2 garages?

[A34]

Hey Guys,

I am getting closer to pulling the trigger on a garage. I was initially thinking of a 4 or 5 bay garage with an office, compressor room, storage room and an attic upstairs for whatever. That winds up being a fairly large building. My wife suggested building 2 garages instead. One garage could be for the restored cars, say a 2 bay and have the office in it. The other could be the working garage and be 3 bays.

One of the advantages of this for us is the display garage could be closer to the house and stay inside the property lines while the working garage could be put further back on the property. So, I'm wondering cost wise, would 2 garages be substantially more money than building one monster garage? I would like to hear from you guys on the pros and cons of this idea. I have not made up my mind which way to go. I'm still trying to find plans I like.

Thanks !!
Randy

 

[turbowoodworker]

By no means is my opinion authoratative but I like the idea of separation, clean/dirty, display/working. From a cost arguement, it may depend on the use of HVAC. I would think the actual frame componenets would not be that different. One other alternative would be one building with an interior wall.

 

[brickG-man]

Two is always better than one!

 

[fourjeepin]

I would build one with a wall between them to separate the clean from the dirty. I have two now (or will once I can afford doors for the new attached/drive under) and am realizing that I need to either have two of everything or walk between the two a lot.

YMMV, but that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[Nostraquedeo]

I have two detached garages. Both are large two bay garages. One houses the wife's car and has wood working tools in it saws, sander, etc. That is more for her as she likes to refinish old furniture. I end up doing the major work and she does the sanding, staning, painting, knob install, etc. The second one is for my motorcycles, it is more mechanical in nature. Drill press, compressor, motorcycle lift, bench grinder, welder, etc. It also has a small 8X8 paintbooth for small paint projects. It also has a 8X8 shed on that back side, that is only accessible from outside the garage. It's basically a shed built into the garage. It is for my tractor, shovels, yard stuff. I love having the separation. My wife and I are the only one's that have the key and code to "my" garage, so it keeps little paws outta my tools and away from my bikes. Mine were built 8 years apart, so the cost was not an issue per say, but I would think doing this at the same time, it would be more cost effective to do one big building. Again, I love having two different buildings for two different uses. They are also perpendicular to each other and share the same driveway. From corner to corner they are 15' apart. I wanted to build a breezway between the two, but the city gave me some grief about it. Fire separation issues. Wasn't worth jumping through the hoops.

 

[RVDan]

I say compromise

Three!

 

[boiler7904]

The correct answer is two (or more) 4-5 bay garages. If you build it, you will fill it.

 

[gary0006]

I would do two separate garages if I could.

Hey Guys,

I am getting closer to pulling the trigger on a garage. I was initially thinking of a 4 or 5 bay garage with an office, compressor room, storage room and an attic upstairs for whatever. That winds up being a fairly large building. My wife suggested building 2 garages instead. One garage could be for the restored cars, say a 2 bay and have the office in it. The other could be the working garage and be 3 bays.

One of the advantages of this for us is the display garage could be closer to the house and stay inside the property lines while the working garage could be put further back on the property. So, I'm wondering cost wise, would 2 garages be substantially more money than building one monster garage? I would like to hear from you guys on the pros and cons of this idea. I have not made up my mind which way to go. I'm still trying to find plans I like.

Thanks !!
Randy

 

[kbs2244]

Two will cost more.
If done at the same time not as much, but still more.

But if you have a need for storage/display and a need for work in progress,
I vote for two.

Two different needs.

 

[NUTTSGT]

We have a house garage for the daily drivers, riding mower and a few other things. Then I have my garage which is seperate.

If you already have a attached garage on the house, I'd rather have one garage with some type of seperation between them if you desire. I'd think building two garages with the same sq ft as one would be more expensive. Once you take into account the extra building material of 2 extra ends walls. . . . footers, block work or poles, windows, insulation, wall sheating and whatever type of siding you're using.

 

[A34]

Good input, thanks guys !!

Still not sure what to do.

 

[Always_Thinkin]

Not knowing the size of your home, I would vote for two separate garages. One large garage might architecturally over power your home. Also it would be easier to keep the show room garage cleaner and less cluttered than the project garage. My 2 cents.

 

[ODIS]

This set-up has worked well for my needs. Office/show/work space on one side and woodworking/dirty on the other side which is adjacent to a large covered porch area where if grinding/welding/paint removal/media blasting/painting and any other related work that does not belong in the other spaces. My Sketch-Up renderings built off the drawings. Have a great time planning your work space.

French Doors in the shop space are large enough for car access.

Ody.

 

[Garage Dog]

The correct answer is two (or more) 4-5 bay garages. If you build it, you will fill it.

I can attest that this is true and then some.

Building two is definitely more expensive making a few assumptions, but I like being able to separate daily drivers, from storage space, from project space.

There is an advantage to separating the different space if you can.

 

[BD1]

If money isn't a real issue, go with two. Nothing better then having a clean storage for cars and office.
The other is a ''working shop'' with all those toys that create dust and debris. Less chance of tracking that to the car storage and office area.

 

[A34]

I'm liking the 2 garage idea.

 

[lametec]

You'll need twice the tools with two garages.

Sure, the one garage will be for restored and working cars, but there will be times you'll want to "just do this one thing" to one of the cars, and all the tools will be in the other garage, and the other garage will also be full of projects, so no room to move the other car in.

 

[mpraddict]

Build one garage with an open breezeway (roofed) between clean and working sides