2 car garage designs?

[69bronzeT5]

So, since we're moving, we'll be building our own garage for my cars at the new house. We've decided on a double garage (2 cars) with a loft overhead for a pool table, parts and other storage. Let's see your garages and/or designs

[WingCharger]

Most book stores have design books you could base yours off of.

[6d9 charger]

why stop at  a 2 car , if you have the room and funds go big , you will not regret it ,

[69bronzeT5]

why stop at  a 2 car , if you have the room and funds go big , you will not regret it ,

I'm thinking if it's tall enough...lifts

[Silver R/T]

Ive got 3 car garage and it's tiny to me.

[The70RT]

Ive got 3 car garage and it's tiny to me.

Yep....build it as big as you can afford. I built this 26 X 32 behind my house about 5 years ago and I can get two cars and all the shop stuff and it is tight. I have the same size attached up front and I still need more room. It doesn't matter how big you build because your gonna fill it up sooner or later anyway.

[Foreman72]

you lucky son of a gun...that sounds like its going to be one super shop...man...anything good from your thread about people liking their garages...

[PocketThunder]

Bronzy, i'm just starting to build my own 26x26 detached garage right now.  (Got my permit approved today.)  I'm going to do everything myself and have a budget of $7000. 

First off, find out how much money you have to spend.  Then let us/me know and we can help you get the most garage for your money.  I'm an Industrial Construction Estimator by day.... Jack of all trades, master of none, by night...

PT 

[69bronzeT5]

Hey Paul, any chance you could draw a quick sketch of your new garage? I asked my mom and she says she dosen't know what we're gonna spend.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Cody things are more expensive here as well. I have a 26 x 26 detached and I did all of the work myself other than leveling the concrete. The concrete, rebar and fill cost me 4500. By teh time I am done it will be 20000 canadian.

[mikepmcs]

mmm, more garage space, I wish......

[69bronzeT5]

A quick sketch of how I'd build it. If we actually do this, we'll see. I'm also working on a normal 2 car shop.

[mikepmcs]

only issue i see is the Charger should be labeled car#1 and it should be behind door #1!

[69bronzeT5]

I figure if I need to pull the Coronet out, it would be easy to drive the Duster out then push the Charger

[mikepmcs]

I figure if I need to pull the Coronet out, it would be easy to drive the Duster out then push the Charger

I'm diggin the loft idea.  lift on which side??

[69bronzeT5]

I figure if I need to pull the Coronet out, it would be easy to drive the Duster out then push the Charger

I'm diggin the loft idea.  lift on which side??

Not sure on the lift....we'll see about height. Due to them wanting a loft, there might be room for a lift but it could also make it not possible. Who knows right now

[Old Moparz]

Cody,

Whatever you do with your garage plans, try to build it as big as you can to begin with. If you have the room on your property & a budget to squeeze a few more feet into a certain direction, like deeper or wider, just do it. As for the height with regards to a lift, a standard 8 foot high ceiling won't be enough. If you can get at least 10 feet high, it'll work, but the best height will be around 12 feet.

I measured my cars as well as having sizes of work benches, compressors, tool chest, parts washer, & other things so I knew where things would fit & how they will look. A typical 2 car garage is 24'x 24' & will run out of room fast. Other than a wing car, the typical B-Body is about 6.5 feet wide, by 17.5 feet long. An A-Body is only a few inches less in width, by about 16.5 feet long.

The thickness of the walls have to be considered, so you'll lose a foot in width & depth right there making the 24'x 24' shop 23'x 23' instead. Standard sizes of building materials will determine the overall building size too. Increments of 2 or 4 feet will cut way back on material waste & save on time with less cutting. An odd size, like adding say 3' to one direction will force you to use odd sizes of lumber & make more work.

Your sketch shows 2 cars deep on one side, is that the plan? Making the building "L" shaped could be more expensive than a square or rectangle. Things like the concrete foundation & floor will need a more intricate form built before the pour. The siding & trim will have extra outside & inside corners & require more labor. These aren't drastically more expensive items, but when you add a large number of these "extras" the entire building price goes up.

As for Pocket Thunder's budget of $7000 for his garage, that's a very tight, or very conservative number. I'm not saying it can't be done for that, but I don't think it's entirely accurate or he's leaving things out of the initial construction to keep the cost down. (Or maybe his wife reads the forum & he wants her to think it'll be $7000...LOL) You should poke around on the garage forum for some ideas or money savers.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php

[69bronzeT5]

Your sketch shows 2 cars deep on one side, is that the plan?

Well, that's just how I'd build it if I could however, we probally won't do that. I'm just throwing out ideas and sketches. Thanks for all the advice too!

[69bronzeT5]

Okay, so after doing some searching. I found a cool website where you can pick how many floors and what size you want and etc. I typed in 2 floors and 30x30 for an approx size. These are more like the garage we'll end up building...

[bear]

I have a design that I drew up a while ago that I could send you but its in Google sketch up. Its a 3 car garage that 24'x36' I think.

[69bronzeT5]

Is there anyway you could open the program (I assume that's what Google Sketch-Up is?) and do a screenshot of the screen (like some of us do for the wallpaper thread)?

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Okay, so after doing some searching. I found a cool website where you can pick how many floors and what size you want and etc. I typed in 2 floors and 30x30 for an approx size. These are more like the garage we'll end up building...

Do you have the link to the website?

[69bronzeT5]

http://justgarageplans.com/

[Aero426]

It all depends on what you want to spend.   Assuming you are going to have it built, my experience is that when you start getting into custom builds, the cost rises substantially.    You are really talking about adding a second level here, versus a single story with attic storage trusses.   That's a big difference.   Stuff like a pool table is a lot of weight, and that will have to be taken into account as the building is engineered.   Prices are all over the map depending on where you are at in the world, so you just have to go ahead and get quotes in hand.

I had this garage built in 2006, and it was roughly 18k USD.   The reason I have a standard 8' ceiling and a lower pitch roof is mainly, well, I couldn't afford more.   I also knew I still needed to get it wired and make it functional inside.   The wiring was a very thorough job taking into account ample outlets on each wall, a 220v circuit,  a couple ceiling fans (cheap but a nice luxury) door opener circuits for some day, and outside outlets.   This was another $2600.   It all adds up fast if you are not doing the work yourself like Paul is.

It came down to a list of things that are "nice to have" versus things that are "must haves", and if they were luxuries, were they cheap to add.   You will have to decide what these things are for your situation.    When you see the dollars in front, you know what direction you  need to go. 

[69bronzeT5]

Well yours is 4 cars I assume? Ours will end up being 2 car but 2 floors.

[mikepmcs]

Exactly what Doug was saying above Cody. It will be most likely a custom build so that means FOOSE prices.   

Go to a lumber store and have them rough you an estimate based on one of your designs.  I did that once and they had to revive me with smelling salt.

[69bronzeT5]

Well Mike, I was actually meaning it'll end up being a standard square garage with a loft room up above (like what I posted in the 3D pictures from the internet). 2 car garage with the loft room up above.

[Aero426]

Well yours is 4 cars I assume? Ours will end up being 2 car but 2 floors.

Mine is a tight 4 car,  36 x 22.    I have three full size and one small car in there.    But...adding a legitimate second floor on to a two car will make a difference in the price.   Maybe Paul can comment on the concrete requirements and how they might change for a second level.  I am no engineer, but I would think you'd need more than a simple 4" slab to have a real second level.   As a compromise, for a single level, you can get something called attic storate trusses which allow you to put some heavier items up in the rafters without obstruction.   You can easily get up there with a pull down ladder.   This will cost more than regular roof trusses, but I'm sure it would be ALLLOT less than a second story.

Like I said, builders will do ANYTHING you want, as long as you can pay for it.    The simple designs are the least expensive, because they can slam them up very quickly.  Once you have quotes on what it will cost, your decisions will be made crystal clear.    New garage projects are exciting.

[bear]

OK I found a way to get the pictures out of the program. Basically its a 24'x36' with a 9' high ceiling overall it is about 16' tall. Each door is 10' wide. I sort of designed it to attach to a house but I'm sure it could stand alone if it needed to.

[Old Moparz]

Cody, you can save a bunch of money by building what is called a "Pole Building" or "Post & Beam" instead of a standard, or typically framed one. My garage is a pole building, & it saved me thousands of dollars. I'll give you a comparison in the actual cost of the difference between the two types of structures. Why I did this, was that the quotes I got for the concrete foundation & floor were insane. I had 3 mason contractors give me prices that ranged from $6000 to $12,000 (in 1997) without the excavation that would probably cost at another $1500 or so.

Both types of structures will need walls, but they are slightly different. The biggest difference is that the pole building has heavier lumber for the vertical poles & the beam that runs along the perimeter at the top of them. That cost is nothing compared to a concrete foundation though. The 20 vertical poles cost me $39 each in 1997 which is $780.00 total. The guy who augured the holes to place each pole in charged $400 for a half day's work. I rented a mixer & bought bagged concrete mix to pour a 12" high footing in each hole for the poles to sit on.

20 Poles  ................................... $780.00
2 x 12's for beams  ..................... $495.00
Auger holes  .............................. $400.00
Mixer rental ................................. $75.00
Bagged Concrete ........................ $270.00
5" Concrete floor & labor  ............$1900.00

Total ....................................... $3920.00

That's close to a $4000 savings from the cheapest foundation & excavation estimate I got. Another plus, is that not only did I save money, I have the basic frame up for the entire first floor. I would still need to frame the walls up if I had a concrete foundation.

Here's a good site to browse through to get an idea of what can be built with a pole building method:

http://www.conestogabuildings.com/

Customer page with some nice photos: http://www.conestogabuildings.com/customercorner.htm

[PocketThunder]

I will have a new thread with pictures of my build as i get a little further along.  Not to exciting to see a bunch of pictures of me shoveling dirt and sand around right now.  I'll hopefully be pouring concrete in two weeks though so look for my thread after that. 

My super tight budget of $7000 is with me doing all the work.  But Bob has a better idea of going with a pole shed if you have room on the land you move to and the local building codes allow it.  I was not allowed to put up a pole building where i live.  I would certainly do the pole building if you can just to save money.  Concrete is expensive.

Paul

[69bronzeT5]

I've been thinking 28x30 with a 12 foot ceiling so I can fit a 4 post lift in it.

[2Gunz]

I think i would skip the Loft and just make the main level bigger with a sectioned off room.

Lofts are a pain.

And I would suspect it will add a bunch to the construction cost.

Besides that plans change.  While A loft now might seem like an awesome idea,
maybe a year from now its not so fun and doesnt get used.

At that point you could just take down the wall and use it as more garage or an office or something.

And as other have said BIG as you can.

And LOTS and LOTS of shelves.

My Garage is full of them and I still need more space.

[Foreman72]

I think i would skip the Loft and just make the main level bigger with a sectioned off room.

Lofts are a pain.

And I would suspect it will add a bunch to the construction cost.

Besides that plans change.  While A loft now might seem like an awesome idea,
maybe a year from now its not so fun and doesnt get used.

At that point you could just take down the wall and use it as more garage or an office or something.

And as other have said BIG as you can.

And LOTS and LOTS of shelves.

My Garage is full of them and I still need more space.

loft/studio would be awesome bro...i think you'll use it a ton

...but gunz is right...all the space you can get...

[ds440]

No loft, but this was a design I did for a client recently.

The owner's space was somewhat limited, plus he really isn't the type to be restoring classic cars.  He's more the 'buy-it-restored' type.  But, he is a sportscar racing fan and was looking to have a garage that looked like a pro race shop or a LeMans/F1 garage.  He was pleased with the design, although I'm not sure if is going to have it built.

[69bronzeT5]

Beautiful garage design DS

[Old Moparz]

I have these photos & drawings of my "pole barn style" garage posted in another thread, but here they are again to give you an idea of how things can fit in a garage space, & not just a sketch or rendering from a garage plan website. Don't mind the shape of my 1st floor, the rear wall is staggered because of my property line, & you won't have to do that. I also have my lift on an angle because the garage is tucked slightly behind the rear of my house & too hard to make the turn. Also note the dimensions so you can see that 2 B-Body cars will fit into half of the shop at only 18 feet wide. This isn't good for a work area, but it is plenty for parking.

Layout before the 4 post lifts & a fourth car squeezed in one winter:


Current layout with both 4 post lifts in place:


Second floor layout which is not crawlspace, but a full height celing:


During Construction:


First Floor Framing:


Center Room of Second Floor:


Right Side Room of Second Floor:  (Don't let anyone say you won't use the loft space, this is only 25%....lol)


Front After Completion:


Before the Second Lift:

[69bronzeT5]

Car 3 ('68 Charger) looks like a Daytona Thanks for posting those Bob! If you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost to build?

[Old Moparz]

Car 3 ('68 Charger) looks like a Daytona Thanks for posting those Bob! If you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost to build?

Cody, The Charger I have is a '68, but I have the Daytona parts for a conversion. That color "paint" sketch was something I did when I was slow at work.....lol

I don't mind talking about the cost of the garage, it's not a big deal. You have to remember though, that other than the concrete floor, having someone auger the holes in the ground for the poles, & a friend doing the electric, I did most of the work myself. My wife helped as much as she could, & a few friends stopped over when I needed them, like getting 20 sheets of 3/4" thick plywood up the ladders to the second floor.

I never added up the exact cost, but a rough number would be somewhere between $14,000 & $15,000 including the concrete. This was all around 1997 & 1998 prices, so materials will be more now. My original "estimate" for a budget was $10,000 but I made changes along the way & also had some oversights I missed. One last thing to remember that's very important is to get several prices on materials & labor from different suppliers & contractors if you can.

For example, the 20 pressure treated poles I bought were 6x6's at 16 feet long. I paid $39.00 each, but one lumber yard wanted $59 each. That's a huge difference for just one item. 

[69bronzeT5]

If you wanted to, you could totally put insulation and drywall on the downstairs part right? Is the structure all wood or do I see a steel beam there?

[Old Moparz]

If you wanted to, you could totally put insulation and drywall on the downstairs part right? Is the structure all wood or do I see a steel beam there?

Yes, I can insulate & drywall, but there's more I want to do before I ever get to it. I stubbed a sewer pipe up through the concrete floor before it was poured, & also stubbed an empty conduit to slide a flexible water line in later. I already have 50 or 60 amps of electric, low voltage wire for phones & other options, & also coaxial coming in underground from my house. The coaxial cable actually feeds my house from the satellite dish mounted on the garage.

In New York, the energy code states that if I want to heat any space I have to insulate it first with the R value that will fill a 6" wall. I have 8" & will be fine. The heating system I want to put in will do both levels, but I'd still like to rough in all the electric, water, & sewer to the second floor before I do that. I did insulate & drywall one area that I am making dead storage for hoods, doors, & other heavy items, so instead of moving things to insulate & drywall, I did it first.

There are 2 steel I-Beams supporting the second floor so I don't have any columns in my way. I also bought an I-Beam trolley & have a chain hoist which is very handy. The steel beams were not that expensive, & were $650 for both of them delivered. I also had them pre-drilled so I can anchor them to the walls with lag bolts & bolt wooden 2x6's to the tops of each as nailers.