Old Yeller
Jeeper
Its... sitting next to my garage. Poor girl.
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Post by Old Yeller on May 25, 2013 9:54:03 GMT -4
I have a question about enlarging a detached garage. Is it worth it?
I have been house hunting since last fall, and many of the properties that I find myself interested in end up having a smaller garage. (why doesn't everyone have a 30x30 garage? ;D )
Without knowing any real specifics, how difficult is it to convert say, a 20x24 deep detached garage, to a 30x24 deep? Any problems pouring concrete beside the current garage, and building from there to make one large interior space?
I assume this has been done before, and some engineering my need to get involved, or maybe I'm just overthinking it. I am clueless when it comes to something like this. Or would it simply be cheaper to tear down, add to the slab and rebuild?
Rob D
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2013 11:56:09 GMT -4
It isn't that unusual or difficult. If the original is solid and square, you can add a new slab to an existing, which technically should have a P.Eng design the slab. If it has a frost wall, you shouldn't need an engineer's stamp, just a set of drawings to build from. the simple route would be to turn the roof of the addition perpendicular to the existing rather than replacing the existing roof with new 30' wide trusses. The down side to this scenario is that you end up with 2 bays instead of one large one.
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Old Yeller
Jeeper
Its... sitting next to my garage. Poor girl.
Posts: 2,890
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Post by Old Yeller on May 25, 2013 17:08:35 GMT -4
This would be the garage of the latest place I looked at. New in 2009, nice and deep, but only wide enough for one vehicle really. The property line is quite a ways into the woods, so there is lots of room to expand it. I don't know if this place is the place I'll settle on, but most others have a similar size garage. I would almost like to build onto a place like this, but have 12' or so high ceiling on the addition, to allow for a future hoist. Rob D
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Creepy
Administrator
Dartmouth
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Post by Creepy on May 26, 2013 9:37:18 GMT -4
Mine's only 20x24. Don't store crap in it, and you'll have room to work all around a vehicle. Its got open span truss, i bet one of those lifts like C-manMonster would fit.
Having another 16*20 shed, and 2 baby-barns keeps everything out of the shop except the tools, equipment, and the project.
If you need to store stuff, lawn tractor, mower, etc, you'll have no room to work.
My back wall was rotten, (not load bearing), we ripped it out. The gaping hole looked REALLY inviting to lay a slab out the back.
Some lean-to's attached to the smaller garages you are looking at could work too. You don't need heat to store mowers. More economical to heat your workspace if you keep it smaller.
Anyway, just saying 20x24 can work for workspace and a vehicle. You need storage space.
edit - a major advantage to lean to's and add ons, is having power already, just need circuits run. cheaper than panels and inspections. DIY. Hell, all of it. Frig the man, just do eet.
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Old Yeller
Jeeper
Its... sitting next to my garage. Poor girl.
Posts: 2,890
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Post by Old Yeller on May 27, 2013 1:51:44 GMT -4
Right on, I get that you can make the best out of a smaller space, but Ideally I'd like to have a project on one side, and room to do the brakes on my car or whatnot on the other. A shed is a must to keep the garage as a working space, and not storage.
I think my best bet is to find a place below my budget and build the garage I want, but I was curious of the logistics of making a small garage bigger, incase the situation arrises.
Also, what about the legalities of going from a non engineered garage, to being over the size where it has to be.
Rob D
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2013 6:04:16 GMT -4
Usually, a slab-on-grade (like Alan's in Shop Expansion) is the only component of a simple structure for which a building department would need a stamp. This really varies from one municipality to another. If you have a frost wall on footings, there would be no engineer required for anything, as long as the drawings are to code. I know a drafting and design service that does garage plans and the prices are pretty reasonable. ;D
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Creepy
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Dartmouth
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Post by Creepy on May 27, 2013 12:17:37 GMT -4
If you want to get two vehicles in your shop, use two doors. Long narrow shops are hard to lay-out, and eventually you will trap something behind something that won't start of can't be moved without putting it all back together.
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Old Yeller
Jeeper
Its... sitting next to my garage. Poor girl.
Posts: 2,890
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Post by Old Yeller on May 27, 2013 18:22:20 GMT -4
That is the gist of my thread here. To go wider, not deeper. I get that going deeper is easier, but wider just makes more sense.
I may need to get in contact with you BlackPrintz if I ever settle on a property.
I was outside working on the jeep today, in the rain... I am getting pretty horny to get into a house of my own with a garage!
Rob D
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Creepy
Administrator
Dartmouth
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Post by Creepy on May 27, 2013 20:50:37 GMT -4
My roof is pitched the long way, w one door. Wider is hard, but longer is easy. Keep that in mind when shopping I guess. Which way the roof goes. Its a lot easy to modify a non-load bearing wall.
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justajeep
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Valley - VP
Bear River, NS
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Post by justajeep on May 28, 2013 6:58:27 GMT -4
20x24 is more space than you think. You can put 2 vesicles side by side to work on them. If you were doing a project on your Jeep, you could also turn it crossways near the back and still have plenty of room to drive a car in to work on it, even with a bench across the back.
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