Square, Deep, or Wide?

[czeto]

Close to talking to the architect about my new garage/workspace. I'm limited to 800 sq.ft. by code. I plan on installing at least one four post lift (or two) for car storage. I have two restored cars plus my Jeep and wife's Jetta. We have no basement or attic so I need some workspace. To those who are living with "only" about 800 sq. ft., should I go with 28' by 28', 24' by 33', or 33' by 24'? Thanks

 

[regguy1]

Go deep enough to have a bench in front of the cars and have room behind as I do for the tractor, here's my 26' deep x 30' wide. Don't go 24' deep...go at least 26' deep and as wide as possible.

Photos 26' x 30':

 

[Scout Driver]

Good question. My first thought is to build wide enough to accomodate 3 garage doors. This would let both daily drivers in and out during the day and leave you a bay to stack your resto cars on the lift. This would come out to about 24x32. Like regguy1 says, 26 deep would be nicer.

Is it possible to apply for a variance from the code??

Scott

 

[larry_g]

I have never liked working in a 24' deep shop, it is always cramped but again I work on full size pickups and cars more. If you have smaller late model maybe you can. For the way i work and do things I would go with the 24x33deep. Two 4 post to store the collector cars over the daily drivers and 12x24 work area in the rear.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[chevy265]

I had to apply for variance's from code for my building. Too big, too close to side and rear property lines. From my experience, as long as none of the neighbors complained about my plans, the zoning office didnt have a problem with it. None of them did until after it was built and my neighbor behind me was upset because she couldnt sit on her porch and see every move we made! lol. I would talk to your local zoning office and see what your options are in your area. a little more square footage would really help your situation. If you are limited to only 800 sq ft there may also be heigth restrictions which would make the 4 post lift plan impossible. I would consult zoning before going any further. Good luck!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I'd go 3 bays wide, 33' wide by 24' deep. It's a big pain to have to pull one car out to get to another one. My garage is 24' deep and for my purposes it's not cramped; your Jetta and Jeep aren't that long so you should have a reasonable amount of space in front for a workbench.

 

[czeto]

Chevy265, I have tackled the local board before and I am on their s..t list so no variance. Interesting no one likes square and that was my first thought. I guess that gives you the worst of both worlds. I want it all in only 800 sq. ft. Deep gives you lots of work space but I will definitely need two lifts. Wide gives me parking spaces but little work space. The longest car I have is a 68 Chevelle at 17 feet, the rest are 15 feet. Side note: the look of the garage needs approval of the wife.

 

[monkeyplasm]

Can you have a lean-to, or separate shed for garden tools, ladders, riding mowers, etc?

 

[crewchief888]

i vote deep.

deeper the better.

 

[BillK]

cz,
My detached garage is 24x24 and with my 71 Chevelle in there it really is not deep enough to have a bench in front of the car. If that part does not matter to you, then 24 ft should be deep enough. My attached garage is only 22 ft deep and we keep my 99 Tahoe and my Wife's 84 Riviera parked in it. Its a little tight but not too bad.

I personally do not see how you are going to do it with a lift. The lift will realistically take up two cars width.

What might not be a bad idea is to lay out the outline in your lawn with string lines, then try moving your cars into the area and see how they fit. You can try the different sizes that way.

One more thing, if you dont have a basement, see if they will allow you to build up so you can have a second floor, even if it is only 1/2 the width of the garage. Like you, I do not have a basement and wish I had built my detached garage up into a second floor. Would not have added much to the cost when I built it, but the space would have been priceless now.

 

[chevy265]

pm sent

 

[Rosco]

mine is 26 wide by 30 deep. I am limited to 800 sq ft also, so I built an apartment above for a man cave. Large enough for 2 cars to be worked on, workbench, 1/2 bath and staircase in the back.

 

[Case IH]

mine is 26 wide by 30 deep. I am limited to 800 sq ft also, so I built an apartment above for a man cave. Large enough for 2 cars to be worked on, workbench, 1/2 bath and staircase in the back.

I would go wider with all those vehicles so the opposite of this but otherwise I like the idea

 

[czeto]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. By the way I can not go up since I must not build higher than my house and if I want a 12' ceiling for lift clearance I'm limited to one story.
redguy1 (nice looking garage), I didn't think of the tractor with snow thrower. I need to do more measuring.

 

[PAToyota]

At the very least, sit down with some graph paper. Draw out the various sizes you are considering and draw out (and then cut out) pieces for your vehicles and whatever else you know you want to put in there. That should really firm up some decisions.

Next step up is to use something like the Grizzly Shop Planner. Plug in your size and then under "Other" you can make rectangles the size of your vehicles and such to quickly move things around and play with ideas. If you register and log in you can even save your plans.

Beyond that, download Google SketchUp and do the same. You might be able to even find models of your vehicles in Google Warehouse to use.

By the way, 33' is an odd dimension. You probably want to keep it to something divisible by 4' (4'x8' sheets of sheathing and such) or at least by 2'. Makes framing a bit easier.

 

[Alchymist]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. By the way I can not go up since I must not build higher than my house and if I want a 12' ceiling for lift clearance I'm limited to one story.
redguy1 (nice looking garage), I didn't think of the tractor with snow thrower. I need to do more measuring.

Just a thought: Can you go two story and locate the lift where you can bump up the ceiling just over the lift? Use the low headspace on the 2nd floor for storage.

 

[qdvuu]

Cz, can you have bumpouts? This would enable you to have the foundation at 800 sf with
a little additional room for work surfaces.

 

[spongerich]

Cz, can you have bumpouts? This would enable you to have the foundation at 800 sf with
a little additional room for work surfaces.

They certainly couldn't object to some large bay windows. Make them from smoked lexan and put them at the same height as your bench.

 

[Falcon67]

I'll have to post a pic of my 21' deep garage with two race cars in there. I'm not completely buying the 24' is to shallow argument, having worked in a 24' deep shop for a long time. I can put a 70' Mustang in my old 24' deep shop with a 24" wide bench row + tool box in front of the car and still pull the motor/trans together with a big hoist. Yes, 26' would be better but 24' is certainly workable. I want to go wide, because I HATE moving something to get at something else, especially a car.

Shop Mess - 16' deep 4 door Falcon in 24' deep shop, doors closed. Back bumper real close to overhead door behind the car, yes. Mustang is a bit longer than the Falcon. The big 351C on the stand had just come out of the car with the trans.

 

[thrifty bill]

I would go one double door and wider single door across the front. Work the measurements to keep within the 800 sq ft limit.

I know what you mean about variances. I used to live in a town where variances were just about automatic. Ask for it, and you get it. In my current town, it is just the opposite. No variances. Period. Want a larger shop, tough.

Example, I have a garage that is four feet from the property line. Minimum side yard set back is ten feet. So if I add anything to the garage, I have to jog it inward six feet, so that the addition has the ten foot minimum set back. Ridiculous. I thought I could reason through a variance ("Hey, the addition will be no closer than the existing garage, and jogging the garage just costs more $$ with no benefit." No dice, the rules are the rules.

I would consider putting the lift on the one car door (wide), above it have scissor trusses to maximize headspace, then install attic trusses over the two car section, so have a partial attic if at all possible.

 

[bczygan]

Close to talking to the architect about my new garage/workspace. I'm limited to 800 sq.ft. by code. I plan on installing at least one four post lift (or two) for car storage. I have two restored cars plus my Jeep and wife's Jetta. We have no basement or attic so I need some workspace. To those who are living with "only" about 800 sq. ft., should I go with 28' by 28', 24' by 33', or 33' by 24'? Thanks

It sounds like you are talking about a detached building which will be considered an accessory building and restricted to that 800SF. Is there a way to connect it to the main structure with an enclosed breezeway and have it qualify as an addition to the main structure? This will probably eliminate that size restriction. Check your zoning and zoning rules or talk to your Arch.

Bill
Designer in Detroit

 

[Serj]

how tall is your house? is there any regulation on the type of roof your garage can have? You might be able to get away with a 26w x 30.5d in a 2-story. just make the second story a partial loft, then you can have the ceiling open to the roof where the lift is, and your actual workspace (benches, tools, etc) be your standard 8' height. You might even be able to get a little creative and store limited use and seasonal stuff like the mower and snow-thrower upstairs.

 

[bill9860]

I would go deep...and did. Not quite 800 but 26'w x 28' deep (that is outside dimensions). Worked out well. I have a 2 post lift on the left and even room for a 4 post on the right if I want it later. Plenty of room in the back for the bench tool boxes etc. I have a friend whose garage is about the same size sq ft wise but wider and shallower. One of our mutual friend who actually works for a living out of his garage likes the narrower deeper version. Thinks it is more functional. But we would all like an 80x120 either way.

 

[mikeyr]

all the answers so far assume that you want your daily drivers in the garage, do you ?

My daily's live outside, the garage is for working. I have the 2 cars I care about in the garage, the Dino and the Singer I am restoring and the garage is sectioned off with a "clean" space to protect the Dino and a "dirty" area where I work on the other car. My space is 44x20, with the door on the 20ft. wall, I drive the Dino in and park it, walk to the back where I effectively have have a 24x20 garage just for working on.

Daily drivers (motorcycle for me and car for the wife) stay in the driveway. My S2000 and GMC get parked out of sight on the sideyard.

 

[bczygan]

You can do NO planning without knowing the zoning of your property, the zoning regulations that apply and any easements.

 

[Chris Adams]

I went with 24x28, preferred the long and not as deep.
I can get a one ton dually with extended cab into 24 feet with the door closed and have room to work on the front, but it is tight. I use a folding bench on the 24 side, with a fixed bench along the 28 side. I like having the extra room at one end.
I have another garage for the daily drivers, but lately I have been parking two in the shop, need to keep 4 of 6 vehicles in out of the weather. But with the longer shop I still have room to work on stuff with two cars in the shop. If the space was in front of the cars I wouldn't really be able to do much without pulling a car out.

 

[Falcon67]

Some reference material LOL. Cars are 12" off the door, garage is 21 x 21. Snug but usable. 3' more in both directions would be huge.
Left Side

Right Side

The Old Place - 23 4" deep x 19 4" wide

If the budget holds, the next shop will allows 12' width per car for 3 cars plus 12' of work space, all 24' deep. The dailies will go in the house garage.

 

[sneezer41]

If the zoning is garage related, rather than lot coverage etc, consider adding a bedroom, library, sewing room and later blowing the wall out, or simply adding a door. use it as the workspace keeping the precious 800 ft as garage

 

[Old Moparz]

You didn't mention what kind of work you'll be doing on your cars. Will you be rebuilding, restoring, or swapping motors in them, or is it more basic like repairs & maintenance? A 22 foot depth is very workable, but when you get into heavier projects more space is desirable. My shop is staggered with different depths because of the septic system & property line locations. It's 810 sf, 36 feet wide, with one side at 20.5 feet deep, the center at 22.5 feet, & the other side is 24.5 feet & where I work. (the extra 6" on each dimension was a last minute thing I cheated on when I built it....lol)

The 20 foot depth is more than adequate for parking & moving around the vehicle. I have a 17 foot long Plymouth Road Runner parked there, & have room to stand in front & open the hood if I have to. The lift also fits there, so you could definitely consider this depth for parking & car storage. The 22 foot area has shelving in the back & leaves me the same 20 foot depth. The 24 foot end is a decent depth to work in, but my work bench is along the wall & not in the back.

You could consider 36 feet wide & staggering it once, not twice like mine. You'd have one side at 18 feet wide x 20 feet deep for parking, & the other half at 18 feet wide x 24 feet deep for working.