I just joined here. I've been reading for a while getting ideas. I just got started on my 24x24 garage build.
I've owned the property for 2.5 years now. It's 2 acres, mostly wooded with a long driveway through the woods and a clearing way back from the road at the rear of the property. It's about 4 miles from the ocean, which is nice and I'm surrounded on 3 sides by a nature preserve so nobody will ever build next to me. It came with the singlewide and a 12x16 wood floor shed/garage thing. The singlewide was in decent shape. I've been living in it for now, it's not too old and it's great not to worry about a mortgage. I'm planning on building a house on the lot in a few years and selling the trailer, the whole no mortgage thing makes it easy to save for the house.
The old garage was in rough shape, it had a lean to it, all the siding was rotten and the wood floor had a huge opening where it pulled apart. I fixed it up 2 years ago, I probably should have just torn it down. I pulled it back to plumb with a come along, replaced a lot of the wall studs, and pulled the wood floor back together and bolted it up where it pulled apart. Then I resided it with some smart siding sheets. It's useable now. I was able to store my car in it for 2 winters, but it's not something you can work on cars in.
Now it's time to build a real garage and just use the old one for storage.
This was in the spring figuring out where I wanted to place the new garage. There is a drop off the left that limits where the garage can go. I would have liked it a little farther from the trailer but oh well.
Sitework started yesterday. Lucky for me the previous owners of the property brought in lots of fill and made a pad about halfway up the drive, probably for another trailer. We decided to just dig that up and use it for the garage pad. It worked out fine. My sitework guy finished this morning.
Here is the pad all prepped. The mesh and rebar for the slab got dropped off this afternoon. My concrete guy is supposed to pour on monday.
The location and size are set now. I'm still working out the final details this weekend.
I sort of want a lift, which means 12 foot walls. I'm nervous about my ability to raise walls that tall. Everything I have built in the past has been 8 foot. I'm also worried about setting trusses that high up. I'm leaning toward 8 for ease of building and staying in my comfort zone and forgetting the lift. I have access to a lift at work every other saturday for 4 hours if I need it.
I have to choose door sizes and location by monday so the anchors can be set in the concrete.
I'm thinking of putting a man door on the front wall closest to the trailer, then building some steps inside and framing out a door opening lined up with the trailer door about 3 feet up in the wall, then just a freestanding short hallway between the trailer and the garage. I won't physically connect them because of the frost heaves we get here. Just **** it up close.
I can't decide on garage door sizes. 2 cars will be kept in it most of the time. My 95 Subaru Impreza and my new 15 F150 that I have on order. In the winter when it snows, I'd like to be able to jam my girlfriends Impreza inside as well. They are small cars they measure 5.5' x 15 feet. So mine that is stored for the winter could be turned and pushed against the back wall and still leave room for hers to pull in. I like the idea of a 16x7. But I could also do 2 doors. One would have to be a 9 to get the truck in without folding the mirrors, the other could be an 8. I don't know if a 32" man door and 2 9 footers will fit on the 24 foot front wall what with all the extra jack studs for that many doors.
Roof is going to be shingles, metal would be nice, but I've never done it. I've done plenty of shingle roofs and am comfortable doing it.
Siding may be vinyl. I've never done it before, but it looks easy. I might do the smart side 4x8 sheets, I like how fast they go up and they take paint real well.
Progress will probably stop for a while after the slab. I sold my old truck and trailer in anticipation of getting my new one. So I've got nothing to haul supplies in until it arrives. I have a week vacation this summer and probably will take it once I have the new truck and start framing.
I'm very open to suggestions, feel free to make them.
I've owned the property for 2.5 years now. It's 2 acres, mostly wooded with a long driveway through the woods and a clearing way back from the road at the rear of the property. It's about 4 miles from the ocean, which is nice and I'm surrounded on 3 sides by a nature preserve so nobody will ever build next to me. It came with the singlewide and a 12x16 wood floor shed/garage thing. The singlewide was in decent shape. I've been living in it for now, it's not too old and it's great not to worry about a mortgage. I'm planning on building a house on the lot in a few years and selling the trailer, the whole no mortgage thing makes it easy to save for the house.
The old garage was in rough shape, it had a lean to it, all the siding was rotten and the wood floor had a huge opening where it pulled apart. I fixed it up 2 years ago, I probably should have just torn it down. I pulled it back to plumb with a come along, replaced a lot of the wall studs, and pulled the wood floor back together and bolted it up where it pulled apart. Then I resided it with some smart siding sheets. It's useable now. I was able to store my car in it for 2 winters, but it's not something you can work on cars in.
Now it's time to build a real garage and just use the old one for storage.
This was in the spring figuring out where I wanted to place the new garage. There is a drop off the left that limits where the garage can go. I would have liked it a little farther from the trailer but oh well.
Sitework started yesterday. Lucky for me the previous owners of the property brought in lots of fill and made a pad about halfway up the drive, probably for another trailer. We decided to just dig that up and use it for the garage pad. It worked out fine. My sitework guy finished this morning.
Here is the pad all prepped. The mesh and rebar for the slab got dropped off this afternoon. My concrete guy is supposed to pour on monday.
The location and size are set now. I'm still working out the final details this weekend.
I sort of want a lift, which means 12 foot walls. I'm nervous about my ability to raise walls that tall. Everything I have built in the past has been 8 foot. I'm also worried about setting trusses that high up. I'm leaning toward 8 for ease of building and staying in my comfort zone and forgetting the lift. I have access to a lift at work every other saturday for 4 hours if I need it.
I have to choose door sizes and location by monday so the anchors can be set in the concrete.
I'm thinking of putting a man door on the front wall closest to the trailer, then building some steps inside and framing out a door opening lined up with the trailer door about 3 feet up in the wall, then just a freestanding short hallway between the trailer and the garage. I won't physically connect them because of the frost heaves we get here. Just **** it up close.
I can't decide on garage door sizes. 2 cars will be kept in it most of the time. My 95 Subaru Impreza and my new 15 F150 that I have on order. In the winter when it snows, I'd like to be able to jam my girlfriends Impreza inside as well. They are small cars they measure 5.5' x 15 feet. So mine that is stored for the winter could be turned and pushed against the back wall and still leave room for hers to pull in. I like the idea of a 16x7. But I could also do 2 doors. One would have to be a 9 to get the truck in without folding the mirrors, the other could be an 8. I don't know if a 32" man door and 2 9 footers will fit on the 24 foot front wall what with all the extra jack studs for that many doors.
Roof is going to be shingles, metal would be nice, but I've never done it. I've done plenty of shingle roofs and am comfortable doing it.
Siding may be vinyl. I've never done it before, but it looks easy. I might do the smart side 4x8 sheets, I like how fast they go up and they take paint real well.
Progress will probably stop for a while after the slab. I sold my old truck and trailer in anticipation of getting my new one. So I've got nothing to haul supplies in until it arrives. I have a week vacation this summer and probably will take it once I have the new truck and start framing.
I'm very open to suggestions, feel free to make them.
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