What would you do? Tandem or seperate shop?

[popper]

I found that it was actually cheaper to build a seperate structure. I did this about 8 yrs ago. Bought a property then added an area to turn my attached into a three car garage from a two. Then built a seperate 24 x 28 for a small shop. It cost nearly as much to add on to the house as it did to build out building. This due to having to tie in the foundation with the house foundation and the roof tie in. Check it out first.

popper
John Lynch

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd rather have the detached shop or attaching it to the current house garage.


Don't worry about a fire engine being able to get through the yard to reach in case of a fire, they carry plenty of hose for that. Besides, if you don't have a driveway, they're not going through the yard.

 

[budl]

I thought about increasing the depth of my attached garage and I'm sure it would be cheaper but then I would have to move my and my wife's "every day" cars out to move my "toy" cars around and that could be a PITA in some cases so i'm going to detach.
Bud

 

[Kevin54]

I found that it was actually cheaper to build a seperate structure. I did this about 8 yrs ago. Bought a property then added an area to turn my attached into a three car garage from a two. Then built a seperate 24 x 28 for a small shop. It cost nearly as much to add on to the house as it did to build out building. This due to having to tie in the foundation with the house foundation and the roof tie in. Check it out first.

popper
John Lynch

Not always because it's a trade-off. You are only building three walls, so the material saved from building the wall goes into the roof.

A lot depends on local code to. If code dictates that you have to have a foundation equal to the house foundation when attaching a garage to the house then that will dictate a higher price compared to a detached where you might get away with a slab.

 

[5lima30]

+3 on attached...cheaper, easier to heat, cool, and improve property value+++!

 

[dragginbalz]

Wow it has been a while!

I saved some cash and I think I may be ready to pull the trigger this year. I actually had a contractor come out to look at and shoot me an estimate, but I guess he wasn't interested since after a few follow up emails, he still hasn't responded and that was in October..

I am sure now I want to go tandem. For aesthetic reasons, I think continuing the hip roof line would make the garage fit in more with the rest of the house. My question is, the valley created in red in the pictures below, seems like it will create a a problem with snow accumulation and drainage. When the contractor was out, he mentioned to just snow and ice shield that whole area of the roof. Is that a good solution? Does anyone more creative than me have a better idea for the roof line to tie into the existing garage and not look too much like an "add on"?

Once again, I appreciate all of the input! You guys are the greatest!

Thanks.

 

[kbs2244]

In your case I go with Big A's fathers solution.
As a shop you only need occasional drive in access.
Depending on the type of projects you plan the only problem may be the height of the current garage doors.

 

[My Old Tools]

Attached was more expensive for me by the time you remove brick, tear into existing roof, etc, and that would only get me a walk through door into the rear area. To really open it up would require tearing off the roof and the back wall, and I wanted more headroom. So, my 30x40 is 6 feet behind the garage and the two doors are lined up and a walk in betwwen.

 

[Eatbeef]

I've had both on different properties. Noise and fumes are the main downside to attached. We raced at the time and had small children. Often times I had to schedule work around nap and bed times as quarter mile cars seem to be loud, you could even feel the vibrations though the house. We have a large detached now which was great when we raced but hobbies have changed and I think I would rather have the close, covered access now. I would agree with previous posters that attached with breeze way would be the best of both worlds.