Widening detached garage

[oogabubchub]

Hey everyone, we're looking into buying our first home and a big factor for me is the garage. We found a house we like, but it has a one car detached garage that's too small for me. I work on my car a lot and need space to move around it, but the inside of this garage is only as wide as the garage door.

How much would it cost to widen this garage a few feet or so? There's a finished room attached to it that sits in the direction I'd want to expand to. I'd also want to open up the wall that divides the garage and the room and use the room as a hang out area for the garage. As in, put a TV, couch, and beer fridge in there for when I'm working on the car with friends or if the kids are hanging out while I work on the car.

Based on the picture below, I'd want to expand the garage to around where the window is on the attached room.

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[The Cobbler]

given that it's block , and therefor on a footing, the cost per sqft will be high, IMO.

 

[oogabubchub]

given that it's block , and therefor on a footing, the cost per sqft will be high, IMO.

Sorry for the stupid question, but is "block" brick? And what do you mean by "on a footing"? (EDIT: Nvm, I googled it and now I know) Can you give a sense for what would be considered high? I have no sense for cost on these sorts of things.

One other thought in my mind was whether the roof would be a problem. Could it be extended out or would the whole roof have to be rebuilt? Since an extension like this is unlikely to add any value to the house and we only plan on staying there for around 5 years, I don't want to spend too much money on this extension.

 

[HotrodHR]

Need better (more) pics

 

[The Cobbler]

wouldn't be able to hazard a guess, but you have a big job for little space . you're looking at roof, trusses or rafters, you won't match the brick or block, so what are you going to do, side the entire building?
what are the dimensions, 3'x8'?
thinking about this,
maybe you could do a lean-to style addition, but even then, you're going to need a beam to support the roof, get below frost line for footings, etc. but that might be a thought, and make it look like a lean to shed from the outside with a man door.

 

[kbs2244]

anything that adds square footage under roof needs a permit because it is taxable

 

[kd3pc]

HOA/POA? It may be quite expensive, I would make sure your local zoning and permits will allow the "front" to be changed and that you have adequate setback and so on.

 

[FANTM58]

Wow that’s a tough one, no,real good options that I can see. Is there any where on the property for,a detached structure.it can be widened a bit but in my opinion not enough
For the problems..

 

[carlosh]

I had an attached 20 x 20 imitation garage when I bought my home. I spent the money to have it expanded to be 26 x 30. Was more than a decade ago, but I'd do it again

Carlos

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[matt_i]

Imo it would be mega money.

Tear off most of the roof
Tear down framing.
Tear down block wall.
Excavate for new footing
Rebuild block wall and front wall of the garage...more blocks are going to be required with associated matching issues.
Rebuild framing
Reroof, again unless its an entire replacement there will be matching issues.

I'm going to guess north of $30k, contracted, assuming we are in a period 6 months ago. The future could have some opportunities.

Rebuilding to match existing is always slow, detailed work vs. building new, and can also lead to customer dissatisfaction. So I think builders put some extra PITA money in there.

 

[38Chevy454]

It almost seems better to just demolish and build new. Probably less hassle and may even be less cost in the end. More pictures and a layout of the property would help.

 

[FANTM58]

Yea I’m going with demo, and rebuild. I’d save the brick”if possible” to use as a 3’ high
Border to match existing structure,,

 

[Monza Harry]

Just for $#!+'s and Giggles go to Habitat Restore and buy some reclaimed bricks or cement blocks 2 or 3 will get the idea across and try removing they mortar so the could be reused to eliminate your matching concerns, as your bump out appears to have the same amount of outer wall just reconfigured so the matching will only be a matter of money/time/labour. I tried to clean some blocks ONCE never again and paying a skilled mason $$$/hr. will hurt more than my hands did after just 4 blocks. The going rate for laying brick/block used to be [20 yrs. ago] the same as the block, [below grade] brick was slightly more as it is usually needing a better quality finish [visible].
Demolition on that will be time consuming as you will likely have to cut each brick/block out as not to damage them for re-use. If you are under 40 yrs. old and willing to be VERY dedicated and have any of the skill sets at least at a medium level that will take a whole summer plus of work after your 40 hr./week job if it isn't to physically demanding, Plus lots if any of these criteria aren't ideally you/your situation. Paying someone will be between $60 and $100 per hour depending on, well everything location how busy your area is and the cost of your area Harry

 

[CombatNinja]

The solution here is simple: buy a different house with a garage that will fit your needs.

The first red flag is the part where you said "We're looking..." which leads me to believe that there is a woman involved here. No woman worth her salt is going to let you expand the garage into the living space. Even if she is considering letting you do it, she will reconsider once she sees the estimates for $30,000+.

edit: just reread the original post and reading comprehension is not my thing today, apparently. I see that this little building is detached so I guess the previous owner finished a room inside it? Still cost prohibitive in my opinion unless everything else about the property is perfect, the housing market there is tighter than a gnat's **** and you have $30,000 that you have no issue dropping on this.