Who lives in their garage...literally?

[Mootz]

My wife and I are tossing around the idea of putting up a 3 car/2 story garage and living in the upstairs. This will only be temporary (goal=3 years tops but who knows) and I'd love to see some pics and specs if possible of what is out there. We will build a matching house at some point but we really don't have the scratch to build what we want at this time. This will turn into either a game room/man room or just a little guest apt. for company etc once the house is built. So, got to thinking that if this could be done reasonably, once we build the house, we will have 5 garages total. This will hopefully allow us to save some money back in the meantime and also get all three of our cars inside. Really don't want a pole barn style but it is still a possibility also. I've done some searches but not really finding what I am looking for. Anyone do this? Let's see what you've got. Thanks in advance...

Mootz

 

[W-Cummins]

Mine now has a 1400sq ft apartment that seems to be working "OK" but I want to build the house now.....

William...

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Being a single guy and living upstairs ontop of your garage might have its advantages but I'm sure the female of the species won't find it too interesting

 

[Dave Carney]

This is a divorce waiting to happen.

 

[storts]

My wife and I are tossing around the idea of putting up a 3 car/2 story garage and living in the upstairs. This will only be temporary (goal=3 years tops but who knows) and I'd love to see some pics and specs if possible of what is out there. We will build a matching house at some point but we really don't have the scratch to build what we want at this time. This will turn into either a game room/man room or just a little guest apt. for company etc once the house is built. So, got to thinking that if this could be done reasonably, once we build the house, we will have 5 garages total. This will hopefully allow us to save some money back in the meantime and also get all three of our cars inside. Really don't want a pole barn style but it is still a possibility also. I've done some searches but not really finding what I am looking for. Anyone do this? Let's see what you've got. Thanks in advance...

Mootz

Hellow there,Im new here,,dont know how i found this site,BUT,it Great!!!!!Im in the planning process stage of putting up a new welding shop,on my property,Its legal in "Hooterville" where i live,,The steel building was no bargain,as I got a shafting from US Metal building,as Im in court to get my 4500 dollar deposit back,as they did nothin buy lie to me,You CAN NOT hang ocer head cranes off there frame,As I was Promiced,,,I have found www.mortonbuildings.com that a pole barn I still have to fab the structure to carry my overhaead crane,Nit as US metal building said I could,till the generic dwgs got here,,And in BIG!!!!!!!print,do Not think,of hanging over head cranes from out structure,,which I was told I could!!!

The pole barn seeems to be a much less expensive way to go,and Just as strong,and the insulating factor is even better,,,and help would help,,Sorry for the rant,Ive allways been honest with my customers for 3years,and im fighting a big co,with plenty of attorneys hanging around,I should of Lokked at there track record on BBB first,and the state of fla!!My Fault,,But I sill opperate on a mans word!!Thanks Everyone,and again sorry,but not used to getting shafted on a mans word,Jack

PS,Shue glad i found that i had been a member of this site,,very impressive!!!!!,Jack

 

[carguy123]

I will be living in mine in about 2 weeks. I have a bedroom/office and full bath that is downstairs. Upstairs is a storage loft.

I should only be there for a couple of months until the house is complete so I don't know if that will be a true test.

Direct TV is installing the tv and I will have internet. I will leave both installed. My phones are VOIP

 

[fefarms]

Individual personalities vary, but if we're talking stress on a marriage, you should also consider the impact of DIY work on a substantial portion of building a new house.

If the choice is living above the garage vs. a home at another address, you may be better off (marriage wise) living in the garage. Even if your main house is only a mile away from the new house, you might as well be on the moon. Your wife will never see you for the year or two it will take you to DIY the house. This situation may have more negative impact than living together in crowded, sub-optimal conditions, but on the same property as the construction project. (Obviously, there are certain minimal criteria for this to work, like indoor plumbing and no children).

I've heard this from other men as well. Projects like major car restorations or building kit planes go much better when your "significant other" can walk out of the house and talk to you whenever she likes, vs. jumping in the car and driving over to a remote garage/hangar/construction project/whatever.

My wife and I are tossing around the idea of putting up a 3 car/2 story garage and living in the upstairs. This will only be temporary (goal=3 years tops but who knows) and I'd love to see some pics and specs if possible of what is out there. We will build a matching house at some point but we really don't have the scratch to build what we want at this time. This will turn into either a game room/man room or just a little guest apt. for company etc once the house is built. So, got to thinking that if this could be done reasonably, once we build the house, we will have 5 garages total. This will hopefully allow us to save some money back in the meantime and also get all three of our cars inside. Really don't want a pole barn style but it is still a possibility also. I've done some searches but not really finding what I am looking for. Anyone do this? Let's see what you've got. Thanks in advance...

Mootz

 

[Mootz]

This is a divorce waiting to happen.

-This is funny! It's really weird, I actually think my wife may be more interested in this idea than I am at this point. I think she sees it as a step closer to getting her new house that she really wants. The land is free and it's in a good location. We are 28 years old and when we build a house on this property, it will be our final home throughout retirement etc...so, we will be investing in our future and beginning our goal of building our dreamhouse etc...I don't like to think of moving into a small apt for a few years but if it gets me a step closer, I may be all for it.

Mootz

ps-we will figure out where the house will be built etc. before building this garage. It will be on the same 1-2 acres as the house so it will be close by. I'm not much of a do-it-yourselfer so I would be contracting the building of both the garage and the house out(mainly because I want it done right).

 

[mleichtle]

I've had the same idea. I'd like to build an apt garage for the mother-in-law. and also build a new house on this property and rip down this old defunct farm house. I have 6.5 acres, plenty of room for building. So build the garage first and move in. A small apt is cheaper to heat so I'd be moving faster to my goal. But of course the town will have no part of it, so good luck to ya, hope it work out for one of us.

 

[tech]

i will be doing this as well, except i will stay in the apartment and be renting out the house. it will be a very nice apartment

 

[Mootz]

I've had the same idea. I'd like to build an apt garage for the mother-in-law. and also build a new house on this property and rip down this old defunct farm house. I have 6.5 acres, plenty of room for building. So build the garage first and move in. A small apt is cheaper to heat so I'd be moving faster to my goal. But of course the town will have no part of it, so good luck to ya, hope it work out for one of us.

Mine will be in the country, no approval from anyone needed.

Mootz

 

[bmwpower]

Don't laugh... I fell asleep under the rear of my truck while changing the diff oil. Woke up like 5-6am wondering where the hell I was...and with the nasty smell of gear oil in my nose for hours. I almost got sick when I stood up.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Don't laugh... I fell asleep under the rear of my truck while changing the diff oil. Woke up like 5-6am wondering where the hell I was...and with the nasty smell of gear oil in my nose for hours. I almost got sick when I stood up.

Only when the weather is nice

My brothers BIL, built a metal building (barn/garage) and finished the back half as a house. Lived in it, without supplied water for a couple of years.
Burt Munro did it (see the Worlds fastest Indian). Less to clean.
My sisters second apartment, was above a building, built as a commercial garage. It had two 1200 square foot apartments up top, and had been converted to a 2500 square foot house down below.

The only issues I see are, Are you going to stay on track for building the house (main reason spouse would do it)? Is it going to be a decent place (not a Munro shack)? Is it going to be EASY to get in and out of (Sisters place was a MAJOR pain to get furniture in).

 

[boostaddict]

http://www.coolhouseplans.com/garage_apartment_house_plan/index.html

Have you seen this place yet? It has alot of Garage/apartment plans.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

We are 28 years old and when we build a house on this property, it will be our final home throughout retirement etc....

Don't ever think this. People die, people remarry, people lose their jobs (furloughs, terminations, etc) people find much better paying jobs elsewhere and move unexpectedly.......... never say never..........

Now for myself............. I'm not moving for ANYTHING. House is paid for, if I lose my job, I'll get a job digging ditches or something.......

Charles

 

[wilbilt]

Hey, Mootz...I think it's a great idea. I have been thinking about a similar arrangement to be able to build a "real" house to replace our "manufactured home" that will fall apart long before it's paid off.
Our oldest kids have moved out, and the young one would consider it an adventure...

Was that your big old lathe I contributed to "saving" awhile back on another board?

 

[Mootz]

Hey, Mootz...I think it's a great idea. I have been thinking about a similar arrangement to be able to build a "real" house to replace our "manufactured home" that will fall apart long before it's paid off.
Our oldest kids have moved out, and the young one would consider it an adventure...

Was that your big old lathe I contributed to "saving" awhile back on another board?

Wasn't mine, I don't have any cool tools. My wife is really excited about this. We are looking at the plans for one that has around 900 square foot of living space. It may be way out of the price range, we'll just have to see. We lived in a 700 square foot apartment in KC a couple of years back and we have a 1700 square foot house now but only use around 1000 square feet of it. I'd really like to see some pics of the inside of one. Floor plans can only go so far...

Mootz

 

[russlaferrera]

I have a 30 X 50 X 16 garage, with a 16 X 50 apartment upstairs It is heated by elect. baseboard and cooled by a window unit. The apartment has 8 skylights. This was built by the previous owner, so I did not have any input into the design. There is a full bath downstairs in the garage area.

I think it is a great idea to build an apartment. The only problems are WHO is the renter. The wrong renter can cause big problems.

My recommendations would be to make it as large as you can afford, as high as you can. By going high you can put a lift in and still use a 20X 30 room for the 2nd floor (bathroom and kitchen)

The 20 X 30 in the garage could be used for another bathroom for the shop heating unit, workshop/tool room, staircase, and storage.

As smart as I think I am. I still have yet to figure out how to upload photos

 

[wilbilt]

Wasn't mine, I don't have any cool tools. My wife is really excited about this. We are looking at the plans for one that has around 900 square foot of living space. It may be way out of the price range, we'll just have to see.

Huh. It must have been another Mootz. I think he was actually SMootz.

The space and cash factors are definite limiters. With the way my 100'x225' lot is set up (well and septic system), the only way to build would be to remove the existing home first.
It would be preferable to have a comfortable living space ready before beginning such a project. Much better than living in a trailer for the years it will take to complete.

 

[Anthony 98 GTS]

Over the years I have spent a few nights in the dog house.....but never lived in the garage.

Seriously, I you go this route expect the house to be finished at least 1 year after you think it will.

 

[Falcon05Dad]

I'm about to break ground on this garage that will be my "home" while I contract out our new home on five acres of rural property my wife and I purchased in middle TN.

http://www.cadsmith.com/garage_plans/rv_garages/rv-3242.htm

It'll have a small bathroom with a corner shower stall on the upper level. The planning/bid/sub-contracting process has taken longer than I had hoped, but I was probably a bit naive about being an owner/builder. It's been good to learn these lessons on the garage, before starting the house.

 

[chaingang]

Mine will be in the country, no approval from anyone needed.

Mootz

Don't be so sure about no approval needed. Most places have restrictions on multiple residences on one lot. Even 2 acres is not enough land in my very rural GA town to build two " homes" on (this is how zoning sees it). Current zoning here requires 2 acres for any home in the country that will not be served by water or sewage. Need enough land to get required seperation of well and septic. You may get a larger lot subdivided and build it as you want. My situation is on over 7 acres and I can have my upstairs finished as an inlaw suite but if I ever wanted to rent it out later there is no way it would fly. One address per lot unless special zoning is approved.
Chaingang

 

[Mootz]

I'm about to break ground on this garage that will be my "home" while I contract out our new home on five acres of rural property my wife and I purchased in middle TN.

http://www.cadsmith.com/garage_plans/rv_garages/rv-3242.htm

It'll have a small bathroom with a corner shower stall on the upper level. The planning/bid/sub-contracting process has taken longer than I had hoped, but I was probably a bit naive about being an owner/builder. It's been good to learn these lessons on the garage, before starting the house.

That looks like a pretty good setup. This is the one I keep going back to. I have a house picked out that would have a very similar look.

http://www.eplans.com/house-plans.hwx/Q/Plan.HWEPL09607

Mootz

 

[Mootz]

Don't be so sure about no approval needed. Most places have restrictions on multiple residences on one lot. Even 2 acres is not enough land in my very rural GA town to build two " homes" on (this is how zoning sees it). Current zoning here requires 2 acres for any home in the country that will not be served by water or sewage. Need enough land to get required seperation of well and septic. You may get a larger lot subdivided and build it as you want. My situation is on over 7 acres and I can have my upstairs finished as an inlaw suite but if I ever wanted to rent it out later there is no way it would fly. One address per lot unless special zoning is approved.
Chaingang

Actually, this is my parent's land. It is 150 acres and most is CRP ground with a little row crop. They are the coolest parents in the world who are planning on giving us around 2 acres. So, it will actually be on 150 acres, 2 of which will be ours, make sense?

Mootz

 

[bgarrett]

For more than 30 years I jave wanted a warehouse with living quarters built in the upper level. The safety/insurance people told me that with cars, flammable liquids and materials downstairs, I would need to be very concerned about fire, or more properly---SMOKE. Any fire or smoke will invade the living space and can kill you in your sleep. They say smoke can creep thru the smallest spaces and that is almost impossible to prevent. Smoke detection/sprinklers are a MUST.
...................... I still want to do it. ...but now I want it all underground.

 

[zilla1]

I have to agree, that would be the perfect situation for me too.

 

[BooUrns!]

I was planning to build a new garage this year. I had extensively looked into the city bylaws regarding the construction of secondary and garage suites. There are a lot of zoning 'hoops' to jump through to get building approval but I think my latest plans fit within the city requirements.

While taking an installer course on ICF forms I came across a new flooring system that uses icf foam blocks and steel channels to span an opening up to 24' across. The floors can be engineered for parking cars on them.
That was it, I upgraded my plans to a garage with a basement and a garage suite on the second story. The city only cares above height above ground, not depth in the ground. I came home from that course and looked online to see if anyone else had done this, that's how I found this forum, from the bunker garage thread.

The garage suite was an attractive option as we live on a large lot in the core of the city that is one block from part of the university campus. The current house is close to 100 yrs old and only has a footprint that covers 9% of the lot. We plan to tear it down and rebuild a larger home. The garage suite is an attractive idea as it would give us a home that is larger than the current house. After the garage is completed, it could be easily rented out to uni students to pay for construction costs until we are ready to move in and rebuild the main house. Since the floors and walls would be icf concrete, the fire issues are mitigated (code requires a one our fire barrier here).
The 'mistress' can't wait to have a modern kitchen and I can't wait to build my version of 'the bunker' garage. We put construction off this year because I have learned firsthand from doing another infill project that the development approval process could take over six months and up to year. This is definately a summertime project as I'll be doing all the major construction myself.

 

[kbs2244]

Following the housing shortage of WW II, in a lot of the blue collar “rust belt” cities you will see houses that are a collections of add on to a “24x24.” (Some more stylish then others.)
It was not unusual for a newly married couple to build a 2 care garage with a water and toilet hook up and live in it until more money became available.
The same thing was done with basements. If they could afford a basement, but not a house, they would dig the basement, back fill it and build the first floor deck. A little shed to protect the door at the top of the stairs and some tar paper to make it all water proof, and you were good to go for a year or two.
You did have to be in love.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Your 28 and there was no mention of kids. I think you have a good plan. I've known several couples that have started out in an apartment over a shop/garage and gone on to build a house. I knew one couple that lived in a mobile home while they built there garage/shop/apartment. And then they built their dream house.

 

[e-tek]

Don't ever think this. People die, people remarry, people lose their jobs (furloughs, terminations, etc) people find much better paying jobs elsewhere and move unexpectedly.......... never say never..........

Now for myself............. I'm not moving for ANYTHING. House is paid for, if I lose my job, I'll get a job digging ditches or something.......

Charles

OMG Charles - I've dug ditches (cleaned out corners for irrigation systems) and it's something you NEVER NEVER want to say you'll do

 

[e-tek]

I can't believe how many people live on top of their garages!! No wonder birth defects are on the rise Just kidding - I'm just jealous I never thought of it before! But now that 've been enlightened, maybe I'll have to build one soon because at the rate I'm spending money on my shop and cars, I'm soon to be kicked out!!

 

[trovato]

Actually, it's pretty normal to have a garage below the living space in colonials, raised ranches, etc. At least here in the northeast. So I guess you could say I live above my garage. I think the important thing is what the living arrangements are really like. I can envision living space above a garage that would be amazingly luxurious. I can also picture a small, nasty space more suited to storage. I think you have to decide where your plans fall in the spectrum to decide just how much of a sacrifice you're talking about.

 

[wachuko]

Don't live in one at the moment... but that is the long term plan (when we retire). We are in the initial phase now and have an appointment with the architect Thursday. And yes, the wife is onboard with all this... huge workshop/garage area and enough living accomodations for the two of us and when the children come over to visit.

 

[rmgaiss]

Hi,
I may have another perspective. I live in a hanger home community in North Central FL. My hanger is 2500 sf, and the apartment upstairs is 700 sf. The layout could be better, but I like it. I have a small living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, but for 1 person, it works just fine. Something to think about.

 

[jetnow1]

My better half has always said that the perfect place would be a 4 car garage with a 1000 ft. living space above it. Of course she then complains the garage I built is basically the same size as the house, (60 sq ft smaller). Zoning would not let me go any bigger, had to get a variance to build what I did.

 

[kaymccampbell]

My house looks like a small barn. Once we dried in the first floor with poly, it became the shop that we built the second floor and finished everything from. The first floor is still the shop, after 35 years, the second floor is where we still live. It's about 1000 sq ft per floor. Raised two boys n 6 dogs in it. Not moving.

 

[sberry]

I have watched a fair amount of skirt climb the ladder. I always go after.

 

[dw1]

Me and my wife lived in our barn while we built a new house on our property, I finished one end of the barn, it has a mini split, wood stove, wifi and cable TV, the biggest issue to my wife was that the bathroom (Shower and Hot Water) was on the other side of the barn, we lived like that almost a year before the house was done, we have been in the house about 9 months now, she never complained once and the temps dipped down into the teens several times and did get a little chilly in there a few times. I would do it again!!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I'm always curious about how people can find 12 year old discussions to comment on...

 

[driftpin]

I'm always curious about how people can find 12 year old discussions to comment on...

Most of the time, assuming it's not a troll, probably a new site member, doing a specific 'search' by-topic, and they post. Then the others follow-suit because they're GJ people, they have something to contribute, and the age of the thread doesn't concern them.

If the post is worthwhile, and it gives me a perspective on something I've been contemplating, or something in-which I'm interested, I don't care when it was originally-posted.

My shift supervisor lived in a home-above garage, he was married, and had two daughters, he had the house built from new. The downstairs was probably 45 ft W X 36 ft D and the footprint was the same up as down. The entry was in the front middle, and a stairs to the living quarters. He did mechanical work downstairs, I don't recall vehicle painting. He did have portable fire extinguishers up & down in multiple locations, and detectors, as he was a fire officer. It was a good set-up, of course, your spouse has to be in-agreement when you start planning.

The 'dig the basement first, and install a above grade entry to the downstairs' method is one I recall from being a teenager. My best friend's family, w/3 kids, did that. Come spring, the house was built, and I learned a lot about building by being over there nearly every day during the summer, once school was out. Come the next fall, they were in there, a well-built house, a ranch-style, the wife, now a widow, is still in-there, and has to be about age 90. The house is probably age 50+.

Another friend did the basement living quarters in rural south-central MI. He built some small outbuildings, though no bathrooms/kitchens were allowed in the outbuildings (zoning).