Workshop planning process - suggestions welcome

[mschoo92]

Hello everyone,

Back in 2022 I purchased my current home. I had two “non-negotiables” going in to my search; I needed a flat driveway, and I had to have a garage. Months of searching, countless open houses and several overlooked offers later and I found my home, sloped driveway and not a garage to be found…

I’ve attached a sketch over the property survey showing the current layout of my yard (also several photos to help visualize the space). The driveway extends past the side of the house (where ironically the main entry door is, hence the “front” porch annotation). I have a relatively clear space beyond driveway to the backyard - there is currently a 10x12 shed that is in decent condition and is where I store everything. There were also a metal shed and vinyl shed on the property corners when I purchased the house but both were in poor condition and have since been removed along with the “hedge row” as shown in the sketch. Fortunately I do have a basement that can serve as a workshop, but anything related to car maintenance or even larger furniture projects have to be done outside.

Which brings me to my mental project over the last couple of years; how can I maximize use of this space to serve as a workshop? A little background on me, I am a diy-er and try to do as much as I can myself. I work on cars regularly, and as much as I’d love a big shop with a lift I don’t see it happening anytime soon given the constraints I need to work around. I’m looking to build a space where I could wrench on my car, and if possible also have room for at least furniture assembly.

Here’s where I’m looking for suggestions. Given the space I have to work with, how would you approach this? Some options I’ve considered are as follows:

1. Be satisfied with what I have now, utilize the 10x12 as a tiny workshop and level out an area of driveway so I have a flat space to work on car. This will require me getting a second shed to put mower, lawn tools etc so that the shed can be a dedicated tools/workshop space.

2. Build a garage between the vinyl fence and leach field. One unfortunate part of buying this house was the septic failed. When the new system was installed, the leach field takes up a giant portion of the back yard. Before this my original thought was to build a detached 2 car in the rear corner of property, but with the leach field there and only 20ft between that ship has sailed. What I probably could still do is build a 12x20 or possibly 12x24, but talking to zoning this will require a variance as side yard setback is 15ft, and I believe 5ft from leach field.

3. Erect a carport, possibly in conjunction with option 1. Gives me a covered space to work, still would require a variance but may have more leniency versus a permanent structure like a garage. Never used a carport before so I’m not sure how feasible it is as a workshop type area, but this could also serve as a covered area for entertaining so I’m thinking it could be nice.

Of course, these are just the options I can think of and I’m open to suggestions - frankly I’m hitting a mental roadblock when it comes to making use of this space, and while I don’t think this is my forever home I don’t see myself moving anytime soon either. With that in mind, if you needed a place to serve as a workshop with these limitations, how would you approach it? Thanks in advance!

Lot sketch:


Front of house from street


Rear of house


Rear right corner where “vinyl shed” and “hedge row” used to be

 

[d300]

Such a skinny lot does not give many options. Were it me, I'd use the 25' between the house and drainfield and build a shop full width of the lot. Yup try for a variance, sometimes 'they' aren't so bad.
Put OHD on both sides of the building so you can drive thru to the back.

 

[mschoo92]

Such a skinny lot does not give many options. Were it me, I'd use the 25' between the house and drainfield and build a shop full width of the lot. Yup try for a variance, sometimes 'they' aren't so bad.
Put OHD on both sides of the building so you can drive thru to the back.

Yeah, I hear you regarding the options - not ideal, but I'm going to make the most of it and still thank God I was able to buy a house in the first place.

The 25ft between house and drainfield is an idea, I hadn't considered utilizing that space since the small deck and patio are in that space. If I am able to get a variance and build on the RH side of the lot that's also a great suggestion with the double OHD, I want to make sure I keep access to rear of property with the truck when needed.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[dave*99]

I got 2 variances on separate occasions on my old house (also in NJ) The land use coordinator in the zoning office was very helpful. He explained what was likely to be approved and helped me with the application.

When he said I had to demonstrate hardship, I was perplexed. But he had good advice. Have you met your neighbors? Be nice. The town will require you to notify them of your application. They can oppose.

 

[mschoo92]

I got 2 variances on separate occasions on my old house (also in NJ) The land use coordinator in the zoning office was very helpful. He explained what was likely to be approved and helped me with the application.

When he said I had to demonstrate hardship, I was perplexed. But he had good advice. Have you met your neighbors? Be nice. The town will require you to notify them of your application. They can oppose.

Yeah, seems like a variance is definitely the way to go if I want to build anything given the setback. I started a conversation with the zoning officer a while back to confirm setback, maybe I’ll run this past him and see what he thinks could pass as far as usable space goes. Thanks!

 

[mschoo92]

Just an update; I’ve renamed this thread to “Workshop planning process - suggestions welcome” as I intend to provide updates as I plan this out. Hopefully by documenting the process it will be helpful to anyone else in my situation of trying to plan a workshop on a narrow lot. As the title suggests, I’m still open to any suggestions.

With that out of the way, step one for me was to reach out to the town. I got some useful input from the zoning officer, and it sounds like as long as I adhere to the setback from the septic that a variance for side yard lot line won’t be out of the question. I think a 12x20 or 12x24 garage will fit the space nicely, but with the shed in its current location it was hard to visualize.

In the corner of my lot there was this gravel shed foundation in a state of disrepair as it was overgrown with weeds and much of the gravel had been eroded away. I don’t seem to have a good photo of the before but this is from Fall 2024 when I decided to remove the weeds and the thin remaining layer of rock to have a clean slate to start with.



Fast forward to this spring, and I decided to pull up the old 6x6s to lay in new 4x6s and build the pad up so that it was level with the higher points in the yard.





Once this was built up and anchored with some rebar stakes I backfilled the low spots with dirt and got 2 yards of gravel delivered. Between the shed location and not wanting a truck to drive over the drainage field I had to have the gravel delivered at the top of the driveway - it was a workout to be sure, but I was just grateful the driver was able to make it up the driveway with his tri-axle.

 

[Cougar]

How about a double deep attached garage.

 

[dave*99]

I'm in NJ also. When I built my shed, the town required up to a 12x12x12 shed to be 3' minimum off the property line. Larger sheds had to be 10' off the property line. Might be worth checking that out since your garage will require permits.

 

[mschoo92]

I first laid out landscape fabric in the new shed foundation, then began transferring the gravel in one wheelbarrow at a time.







I filled about 2 inches of gravel then used a hand tamper to compact. After that I spread another 9 wheelbarrow loads full. One thing that helped with leveling was trying to distribute the gravel piles evenly. From here it was just a matter of raking each pile out, then using a long 2x4 as a screed to see where any high or low spots were.



Once the foundation was filled I spent about a week of going out for a half hour to hour at a time and compacting, then adding more gravel where it settled. I’m sure a plate compactor would have been easier but I was getting work done in the hour or so of sunlight I had after work and gym, so it was preferable for me to just do this over several days.

 

[mschoo92]

With the foundation set, the next step was to move the shed.

I moved the shed using 2” pvc pipes as rollers and several boards of 2x construction lumber I had laying around as tracks. A tip for anyone wanting to move a shed this way, it would probably be a good idea to go with at least 3” or 4” pvc, the 2” pipes would sag under the load of the shed which made moving it more difficult than it needed to be.



Getting started was the hardest part; between second guessing if I was going to be able to do this move by myself and dealing with soft soil from where my groundhog “friends” had been making their home (the main impetus to me getting started with the move since their dirt mound was making a permanent wet spot on the floor) I had a tough time getting the shed moving. Once I made it out of groundhog city and onto solid dirt it actually moved relatively easily.










Once the shed was on the gravel pad it was just a matter of leveraging the shed into location and using a jack to get the rollers out. Since I didn’t want any critters making their home underneath the shed, I spent some time this weekend adding trim boards to cover up the gaps under the shed. I’m hoping between this and the compacted gravel nothing should be able to make a home underneath but time will tell. Cocoa was on site to make sure I didn’t slack off and got the shed blocked off so she wouldn’t have to chase any more groundhogs!



And that brings us to now: still need to do more planning, but I’ve got more of a blank slate.




Next up will be continuing landscaping efforts to clear out the rest of this side yard and from there seeing what I can build, and what it will cost so I have an idea of when I can get started. I’ll share more updates as available; thanks and a blessed and Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate!

 

[mschoo92]

How about a double deep attached garage.

That’s an idea; I like the idea of attached except that it would block any vehicle access to back yard. Not that I necessarily need that access so it’s something to consider, and the depth would be a nice plus since it’d count as the principal structure footprint and not be limited to 35% of house footprint for max square footage.

I'm in NJ also. When I built my shed, the town required up to a 12x12x12 shed to be 3' minimum off the property line. Larger sheds had to be 10' off the property line. Might be worth checking that out since your garage will require permits.

Definitely - I’ve already reached out to our zoning dept and in our area side yard setback requirement is 15 feet, plus 5ft setback off of the septic. In other words, this project will require a variance regardless of which route I go unless it’s a temporary structure like a shed which has much more lenient setback requirements.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Cougar]

That’s an idea; I like the idea of attached except that it would block any vehicle access to back yard. Not that I necessarily need that access so it’s something to consider, and the depth would be a nice plus since it’d count as the principal structure footprint and not be limited to 35% of house footprint for max square footage.



Definitely - I’ve already reached out to our zoning dept and in our area side yard setback requirement is 15 feet, plus 5ft setback off of the septic. In other words, this project will require a variance regardless of which route I go unless it’s a temporary structure like a shed which has much more lenient setback requirements.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Could put an overhead door on the back.

 

[908Jim]

I'm in NJ as well, so I appreciate your struggle!
I was bidding on a house with a collapsing garage and had to do a bunch of research to figure out what was possible. I eventually lost to a builder, but what I learned was that even in this densely populated and strictly zoned affluent town was that the required setbacks were based on the square footage of the garage, so ask the zoning board to clarify this point for you. Setbacks for above 200 sqft were larger than for below. Your town may have similar rules you could work within. Your lot also appears to widen in the rear, so I'm wondering if you can get a 12*20 in the back of the lot without violating the leech field setback.

I would also check to see if your setbacks for houses are different than for garages, because you may be able to get away with a deep pull through attached garage to preserve access to the back of the yard, or an open porte-cochère and a shed.

You might need to get creative by running power to the shed for a compressor and an underground air line in either scenario.

My plan "A" in your shoes would be to seek a variance with the neighbors for 1 car towards the back of the lot and add a few extra feet to the back for a work bench/tool box and allow for quick Jack longitudinal shift when lifting.

 

[mschoo92]

Could put an overhead door on the back.

This is true, I hadn’t considered attached but seems to be a common recommendation from the responses so far. My dad visited yesterday and that was his suggestion too - attached with double doors.

I'm in NJ as well, so I appreciate your struggle!
I was bidding on a house with a collapsing garage and had to do a bunch of research to figure out what was possible. I eventually lost to a builder, but what I learned was that even in this densely populated and strictly zoned affluent town was that the required setbacks were based on the square footage of the garage, so ask the zoning board to clarify this point for you. Setbacks for above 200 sqft were larger than for below. Your town may have similar rules you could work within. Your lot also appears to widen in the rear, so I'm wondering if you can get a 12*20 in the back of the lot without violating the leech field setback.

I would also check to see if your setbacks for houses are different than for garages, because you may be able to get away with a deep pull through attached garage to preserve access to the back of the yard, or an open porte-cochère and a shed.

You might need to get creative by running power to the shed for a compressor and an underground air line in either scenario.

My plan "A" in your shoes would be to seek a variance with the neighbors for 1 car towards the back of the lot and add a few extra feet to the back for a work bench/tool box and allow for quick Jack longitudinal shift when lifting.

I’ve been discussing this with zoning via email and it sounds like the only setback exception is for storage sheds, otherwise there’s a set number for the lot lines. With that said I’ll ask explicitly, maybe it’s just not documented and they hold different standards for different sizes.

The rear corner of the lot would be the most spacious so that’s where I was eyeing, although I had been sketching it originally with the garage further forward. Now seeing the yard more open with the shed moved, I think if I do detached I’ll push it as far back as possible to keep a nice open yard.

As for the Porte-cochère I feel that would be the option with the most curb appeal, and I’ll admit for that reason I’ve definitely been considering it! It’d also add a cover over the entry door which would be nice. Only unknown here is how practical a workspace that would be, I imagine in inclement weather it’s better than being outside but less preferable than an indoor work space. Although as is consideration with all these options, there will be compromise of some sort regardless so it’s a worthwhile consideration.

Thanks all for your feedback so far, it’s much appreciated.

 

[CraigStu]

Attached w/ a single door in front to help offset the cost of a door to the back yard. Rather than making the garage symmetrical from side view, you may be able to have the front wall and roof section shaped as if symmetrical but push the rear wall back. You could get extra room that way while keeping it looking typical from the street. I'd recess the front of the garage 2 ft back from the front of the house.