starting to get serious about building a detached garage and i'd like your opinions. i want to store my 17' center console and a full size truck and have room for a work bench and some working room all the way across the back wall. i would also like to have a few feet of storage space along each side wall.

i've got a friend who works at BDC so i'm looking at their packages. thinking in the neighborhood of 30'x32' or 30'x36' with a single 20' door on the front (gable end) and the service door on the side. 3 courses of block. i've found that a 20' door is preferable to two 10' doors, especially since the boat is very easy to manually roll around on concrete. door will need to be 9 or 10' tall to allow room for the center console (and possibly a higher center console if i ever get a slightly larger boat). house is cement fiber board and i'd love to match it, but there's already some vinyl in the neighborhood and it's very tempting to save the money and do vinyl.

does this sound reasonable/adequate? anyone venture to guess on a ballpark price? i'll do the permitting and such myself. got a good/cheap framing crew who did my mom's house who should be able to frame it up in a day. got a couple friends/coworkers who are licensed electricians who can wire it up at a good price. i'll insulate and sheath the inside myself. not sure where i'll go for concrete and masonry work. don't really want to try to do this myself like Jeepman and the other hardcore gayragers did in his garage build thread.

4/21/2014 10:53:47 PM

Nothing to add, but sounds like a solid plan.

I would, however, want to ensure that you have enough roll-up doors - unless it's more of a 'stash' garage and less of a workshop, if you feel me.

4/22/2014 6:56:39 AM

that's one of my concerns as well. i want to keep the cost reasonable, but i also want to make sure i build enough that i won't outgrow.

the idea is half "stash" space for the boat and half workshop, but i'll park my truck there when i don't have a project in the way. i don't mind parking my truck outside. i have a "2 car" garage attached to the house, but it's really more of a "wife's car and a lawnmower" garage.

but back to the roll up doors. i guess another option would be to put the doors on the long side of a 30x36 and have a 10' door for the boat and a 16' door for the project/truck parking space. that substantially increases my concrete cost (i've gotta add to the driveway and widen that end of it) and my roll up door costs.

4/22/2014 4:23:20 PM

here's a 30x32 with a single 20' door. the cabinet/bench along the back wall is 2' deep. i wouldn't actually have a 30' long bench, but i put it there to simulate storing crap along that wall. i think this would work.



[Edited on April 22, 2014 at 9:15 PM. Reason : fda]

[Edited on April 22, 2014 at 9:22 PM. Reason : i made that boat/trailer 23' long, which is the length of mine from coupler to outboard prop]

4/22/2014 9:15:46 PM

i also have to remind myself that i don't plan on living in this house the rest of my life, so i don't really have to build my dream shop. i want to get my truck and boat indoors and have some space to do basic auto maintenance and tinker around.

4/22/2014 10:08:52 PM

looks good, but tight. I'd say make it about 5-8ft wider if possible.

4/23/2014 7:54:19 AM

What's the construction cost of a garage that size?

4/23/2014 8:55:15 AM

^i'm still getting estimates together, but i think i can keep it under $20k. it would be a good bit more if i just hired a GC and had him do a turn-key job.

^^but keep the single 20' door or go to two roll-up doors? this is a 30x36 with a 16' door on the left and a 10' door on the right. this would probably be my ideal setup. it's gonna cost more for that additional 6' of door.



^30x36 single story package is about $6500 after taxes from BDC. add to that grading, foundation/masonry, electrical, and roll-up doors.

[Edited on April 23, 2014 at 9:33 AM. Reason : dasf]

4/23/2014 9:28:39 AM

^I would do that dimension, but that 10' door doesn't do it for me with the boat.

what about 2 12' doors?

4/23/2014 9:50:08 AM

I have 12' doors on my shop and putting the car trailer is not to bad. I wouldn't want to go any smaller though. Unless you have a need for a 16' door, I would think 2 12' doors would work better for you.

Also check out http://www.garagejournal.com I found alot of good info there when building my shop.

4/23/2014 10:05:38 AM

I would think that a 30x36 with a single 20' door would also work. Offset, not centered.

4/23/2014 10:41:15 AM

I'd do two ten foot doors personally if you don't want to go with a 10 and a 12. So long as the entrance into the side you put the boat on is straight at least.

[Edited on April 23, 2014 at 12:27 PM. Reason : adf]

4/23/2014 12:27:33 PM

i'm not sure why i hadn't really considered two 12' doors. i think that's actually going to be cheaper than a 20' door.

Quote :

"So long as the entrance into the side you put the boat on is straight at least."

this brings up something else i'm struggling with. the dumbass way my driveway was installed.



i don't know why they felt a need to make it so crooked and curvy. anyway, i think the best layout would be having the garage parallel with the straight end of the concrete (not squared up with the house).

4/23/2014 1:07:45 PM

why not have it and the end of that pad, so kinda 45 degrees to the house

4/23/2014 1:33:43 PM

yeah, that's what i've been leaning towards

4/23/2014 1:41:44 PM

like this:



parking the boat on the right should be ok.

4/23/2014 1:45:36 PM

That's the way I would do it. And i'll throw in another vote for 2 12 ft doors also.

4/23/2014 1:47:57 PM

^^That's what I'd do. Get more concrete poured so the entrance straightens out some. Not a big concern with a 17' boat, but I know damn sure my 19.5' is a basically impossible to move once it's off the truck.

[Edited on April 23, 2014 at 1:48 PM. Reason : ^]

4/23/2014 1:48:19 PM

i can push mine anywhere i want if it's on pavement

4/23/2014 1:49:06 PM

I'd also look at maybe doing a floor drain to a sewage/sump pump so you can wash the truck/boat in the garage, and clean yourself up before going back in the house.

4/23/2014 1:51:01 PM

For future reference my boat with a t-top will not really clear a 9' tall opening. Get at least a 10' tall door on that side, which means the ceiling or bottom of the rafters needs to be at least 11' above the floor.

4/23/2014 1:54:03 PM

^^no. i do have a budget and i've gotta draw the line somewhere. i've been washing my dad's boat and now my own boat in the driveway for 20 years. it'd be nice to do it indoors, but this is a workshop also and all my tools and such would get wet.

^i have no plans for a t-top, ever. garage door prices (installed) look like this:

8' tall x 20' wide = $1575
x 16' wide = $875
x 12' wide = $710
x 10' wide = $525

10' tall x 12' wide = $1005

that's a big difference and i want to make sure i really need the extra clearance before i fork up an extra $600. it's easy to let the price of this thing balloon up and i'm trying to prevent that.

4/23/2014 2:50:05 PM

Damn that would be a nice setup

4/23/2014 3:03:11 PM

Your garage has more square footage than my apartment. Like 240 sq ft more.

4/23/2014 5:40:47 PM

i've said many times that if i wasn't married i would've bought some land in bumfuck, built a huge 1.5 story garage, and lived in an apartment upstairs.

[Edited on April 23, 2014 at 6:00 PM. Reason : would've been a lot cheaper]

4/23/2014 5:57:23 PM

Are you going to have air in the garage? I would build a separate area (i.e. a room) for the compressor...

4/23/2014 8:51:13 PM

that's a 30x36 with (2) 12' doors on the long side. 2' between the doors. that's a 3' bench on the side and a 2' bench along the back to simulate crap along the walls. i forgot to show the personnel door.

i think this is a pretty good balance of cost and functionality.

4/23/2014 9:10:35 PM

I like. Would there be any issues with the 2' section of wall as far as construction/codes go?

4/24/2014 7:22:20 AM

i don't know

i'd assume i'd have to span the whole thing with a header and that little wall would only really be for the door tracks.

[Edited on April 24, 2014 at 8:31 AM. Reason : dsfa]

4/24/2014 8:23:25 AM

If I were to do it I would essentially build a 30x36 3-car garage but with only 2 12' garage doors and a wall separating the third bay. The third bay would be split in the middle with the front half having exterior access by a roll-up door on the side facing the rear of the property to serve a purpose like a shed (dirty room) and the back half would have the work bench and tools (clean room). Later you can add hvac to your clean room.

[Edited on April 24, 2014 at 10:21 PM. Reason : -]

4/24/2014 10:16:23 PM

that sort of arrangement would be nice, but i wouldn't do it on a 30x36. maybe on a 30x50. i'll keep that in mind for the future. like i said, i don't plan to live in this house the rest of my life.

also, i have a finished room over my attached garage that is essentially my "clean room" workspace. i do my gunsmithing and reloading stuff up there in the HVAC.

i plan to insulate the detached and put in one of those small propane heaters that hangs on the wall.

[Edited on April 25, 2014 at 8:56 AM. Reason : asdf]

4/25/2014 8:52:25 AM

update

decided on a 24'x36' with two 12' doors

trying to get all the bullshit documents together for the permit. local government hires scum of the earth.

8/5/2014 8:36:36 PM

bullshit documents for the county is where i'm stuck at the moment, too.

hopefully we'll be building in a couple of weeks.

8/5/2014 10:57:46 PM

NRR what county/city?

if raleigh/wake i'm used to those guys and may be able to help.

8/5/2014 11:57:23 PM

^nah, he's in bumfuck.

8/6/2014 8:39:47 AM

Pender County. the only fucking thing this shitty little county has going for it is the real estate at the beach, so they do their best to capitalize on folks building shit every chance they get.

8/6/2014 8:49:10 PM

we bought a "kit" garage for my parents a few years back, came with all the engineered plans and everything already complete and then you just pick out your architectural finishes. can't remember who it was from, but it made permitting a breeze.

8/6/2014 9:18:26 PM

yeah, i'm doing a kit from Builder's Discount Center. it comes with a generic framing plan, wall section, elevation drawings, etc., but you still have to draw the foundation plan. that wasn't difficult. you also have to provide a plot plan showing distance to existing structures, setbacks off the property lines, and the location of your septic and any overhead utilities. the problem i had was with the setbacks. they had info online that i used when i sketched up the plot plan (i mostly had to guess at the actual values because i'm on a cul-de-sac and my house isn't squared up to anything), but when i got there they informed me that i have to have much larger setbacks because i'm in a residential/agricultural zone. i spent some more time measuring shit in the yard and i'm still good, but just to get them to shut up and move along i'm going to get my surveyor dude to draw me a plot plan. he's coming by tomorrow. i think an official drawing from him will also eliminate the need for a foundation survey.

essentially, the inspections dept wants to make it a real pain in the ass for folks who don't hire a contractor to encourage folks to hire their GC buddies. they're all in cahoots together.

8/6/2014 9:30:36 PM

$75 for the health dept to look at a fucking piece of paper and make sure i'm not building my shop on top of my fucking septic tank

8/8/2014 10:54:14 PM

breaking ground tomorrow

8/22/2014 7:47:50 PM

8/23/2014 9:00:40 AM

Nice, are you going to watch and be sure they dont fuck up anything or just take a laissez faire approach to it and let them deal with the repercussions?

8/23/2014 2:09:06 PM

got my permits...

8/23/2014 5:13:19 PM

^^i'm not hawking them or anything, but i'm making sure it's done the way i want it done.

huge amount of rain fell after they got it dug. i now have a moat.

[Edited on August 23, 2014 at 5:34 PM. Reason : adf]

8/23/2014 5:33:12 PM

build a drawbridge and rock that mofo.

8/23/2014 9:12:06 PM

Where in pender county? I grew up in rocky point.

8/24/2014 11:01:08 AM

currie/montague just south on 421 from johnson's corner

8/24/2014 3:29:27 PM

R602.10.3.3 describing the portal frame hold down method is about fucking stupid. making a second attempt at a footer pre-pour inspection tomorrow

8/28/2014 8:23:15 PM

passed footer inspection and poured it. laying block tomorrow.

8/29/2014 7:22:29 PM

here in FL, if it's your property and you're the one building it, you don't have to have anything expected if it's 600 sq ft or less, in terms of structure. You do have to get separate permits and inspections for electrical and plumbing (although I won't have plumbing).

8/29/2014 10:25:38 PM