Your thoughts on these framing ideas please

[timewarp]

You stated you need 4' of setback due to the fact that it is attached to the house, what about not having it attached to the house. After it is built then get a permit to build or just build the covered walk between it and the house. This is only if you can build with less setback if it's detached.

 

[BooUrns!]

You stated you need 4' of setback due to the fact that it is attached to the house, what about not having it attached to the house. After it is built then get a permit to build or just build the covered walk between it and the house. This is only if you can build with less setback if it's detached.

Those setbacks are typically fire separations between properties.

OP, I'm surprised they are allowing you to build a garage that close to the house in the first place. It's usually a 3 or 4 meter minimum distance.

 

[cdottrot]

According to the city, since the garage is considered 'attached' because of the pergola structure, there is no restriction on how close it is to the house.

If we do not have it attached to the house, there is a 2' setback limit and the height cannot be more than 14' 6". However - there is a significant size restriction: 380 sq.ft. is the max I could go (it is currently 390 sq.ft.), and that would make our shed illegal. This is because our property has a maximum of 8% use of total sq.ft. for outbuildings (aka detached garage, shed, etc). 8% of the property is 380 sq.ft.. The shed is currently 6x8', and puts us well over.

Attached to the house, the limitations change from 2' setback to 4' setback, but because it is now part of the house, the max is 40% of the property for house including garage. The house is something like 1100 sq.ft., and I seem to recall 40% of the property being like 2500 sq.ft. - aka no restriction on how large the garage gets, along with the height max being no higher than the house (I think something like 17-18').

Boiling it all down:

Attached: no size limit, max height 18', but 4' setback

Detached: 380 sq.ft. limit (and tear down shed), max height 14' 6", but 2' setback.


At this rate it won't be until the weekend that I'll have time to do more Sketchup, but I'll definitely post up the other options then.

All this interest is encouraging, thanks guys!!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Inquring for a variance, to build into the setback.

To build the WALL into the setback. And I will probably leave variances out of this, if possible - I want the permit part of this process to be as simple as possible - there will already be at least three permits: electrical work, demolition, and reconstruction as attached.

City confirmed today, roof overhang is fine in setback area - setback is measured to the walls.

I have already done plans for a square building, and I may go back to them. I will do some more designs when time permits.

I was refering to Bazz about inquiring for what.

I'd still inquire about a variance though. What happens when your wall or footing falls an inch into the setback ? Depending on who measures from where? If you understand what I mean, contractor, you or the city zoning official.

Asking a question to the officials about the variance only involves a few minutes of time and may save you some headaches as you build.

 

[cdottrot]

That's a really good point, Eric. I had wondered about how much leeway I should give when placing the garage, as the fence doesn't really match the survey. I'll ask them today.

 

[T1320T]

In a situation like yours, where you're really pushing the limits, you could get a land surveyor to come out and stake just your side & rear lines to clear up any possible confusion. I work for a surveying company & we see cases all the time where people build based on where they "think" the property line is... Most of the time it ends up costing more $ to fix a misplaced building caused by their guesstimate than it would have for us to stake it.

 

[cdottrot]

We may have to budget for that I think, yeah. Probably better safe than sorry, especially since the survey we got was done before the house foundation was poured, so the dimensions are off.

Also found out that a pergola does not actually count for attaching the garage. It is a 'roof structure', so it would have to be a legitimate roof.

Hm. Well, have to wait and see what the variances guy says. If that's the case, we may take a different tack with this. Sure glad I'm figuring all this out now, rather than after the crete is poured!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Glad to hear you finding things out before you start.

 

[cdottrot]

After much discussion, we have come to the consensus that backyard space is not paramount, and even though the larger 'attached' garage would cut off some space, she is happy with that. We've also decided that since we're going attached and must have a covered roof, we're going to try and make it look as pretty as possible - a pergola theme will be carried through the whole breezeway area.

More sketchup pictures to come; I wasn't able to get Friday off to work on it, but did get Tuesday, so prepare for a long weekend of Sketchup!

edit: We are using this book for inspiration: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44493&cat=1,46096,46100

 

[cdottrot]

Quick update: The latest theory on how the covered roof/pergola framing will look like. Still have to add the side lattice/fence and gates, and the spacing of it all will change to accommodate a larger gate. The roofline is clear, and will probably stay that way.