Building a Garage - Where to Start?

So, I'll be closing on a house in Louisiana in a couple weeks.  The bad news is that it doesn't have a garage.  The good news is that there's space and budget after purchase to add one and my wife is on board with adding it :)

So, I've been batting around ideas but I really need to know where to start with it.  I've got a decent idea of what I want and my budget (but I don't know if they're compatible).  I need a professional advisor to help guide me through the process.  Do I call a contractor? An architect? City planning?

First - city/township planning to check for code requirements and possible limitations and what permits you may (or may not) need to get.  You might be able to find a lot of this information online through the .gov website.

In reply to scardeal :

What part of the state are you moving to? 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Covington, just north of New Orleans.

Always start with the foundation.  If you start with the roof, it just doesn't work out as well.

I lived in Slidell for a year and a half.  You can have it.  Anyway, check out Future Steel.  That's where I've bought 2 buildings, the A arch type.  I don't think you can put up a shop cheaper, and the things are virtually hurricane proof.  That big one that leveled Galveston a couple years back?  Look at the pics.  The only thing still standing on Bolivar Peninsula was the metal A arch buildings. Pour a slab, buy their "optional" base plates, put it up.  I did half of my 30x46' entirely by myself.  The other one, a 20x30', I did with a helper in 36 hours of work.  If you go that route, there are a few tricks to optimize it.

scardeal said:

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Covington, just north of New Orleans.

Sweet, we should meet up sometime once you get settled in. 

Build as big as you can legally build, that way there's no complaints "I should have built it bigger."

Pay attention to air flow on your property in the evenings; use mother nature to cool the shop down.

Pay attention to sunlight.  Sun through windows heats up the building. You might want that.  I didn't - my only windows face North.

Put the windows up high - you really want them for light, not view. Windows at window height take up wall space, are a point of entry, and a place where ne'er-do-wells see your awesome stuff and then relive you from the burden of ownership.

One large roll-up door has two less vertical leaky gaps than two small doors. Gaps are heat loss.  I'm in Canada.

Build the slab thick enough for a hoist.

You can never have enough outlets.

My build is here: SkinnyG's Workshop

In reply to SkinnyG :

Wow, for a minute there i thought you were building a pool.

I went to Menards and looked at the predrawn garage blueprints hanging on the rack and bought one.   

Ian F said:

First - city/township planning to check for code requirements and possible limitations and what permits you may (or may not) need to get.  You might be able to find a lot of this information online through the .gov website.

Came in to say this.  You may be surprised what you can/can't do on your own property and how many entities will have their hand out for "permit fees", "inspection fees", "zoning variance fees", etc., etc. 

Add concrete curbing around perimeter to get the walls off ground level. That way moisture will not rot your walls. I learned the hard way. 

Have a plan for insulation and ventilation from the start. IE, if you're spray foaming everything, there's no need for typical soffit/ridge vents but you'll need some way to exchange air too. Asphalt roof will need different venting than a metal roof. Framing thickness can limit the amount of insulation, and space between framing members can as well. So on....

If you can, try to keep dimensions divisible by 4 or 8. Since most building materials come in 4ft or 8ft lengths, this can reduce waste and save you time and money.

Height for a lift.  

Columns and beam to handle a monorail with trolley hoist for picking things up and moving them somewhere else.

 At least 2 ton capacity manual hoist and beam span wide enough to pull an engine and trolley it on the monorail over to the bed of a pickup truck.

If  you go electric hoist the cost for this beam goes up due to the CMAA 74 code requirements of it being designed for the full stall force of the hoist which is usually much greater than the rated capacity.   Any competent professional engineer will use this code for its design. Make sure its properly anchored for capacity and side loading with a large enough base plate.

Space for a small man-cave with A/C and TV - unless you plan to A/C the whole thing of course.

Power supply to include 220v  or at least high amp 120v - for a welding machine and other power tools, not to mention the A/C.

You could build a small shelter on the side for an air compressor to keep its noise out of the primary work space and then plan to pipe up some drops in a few places for air inside. 

Some people build their garages as two story and put an apartment on top for a guest room...

I'll bet it will have to be built to a code suitable for hurricane exposure. 

For sure the first think is to visit the city and/or county building dept. 

I agree of finding the code requirements #1. Here's my thread(s) on this: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/dream-garage-help-me-plan-it/131497/page1/

Some friends on the other side of the neighborhood bought plans from the hardware store and are now paying an architect to revise them as they don't meet the village's code. Don't do that.

And congrats!!!

Another thing to consider is flow- both work flow and vehicle flow.

I have a ~1000ft garage, and two doors down, my neighbor has one that's closer to 900.  Both are 4 car- mine is 4 in a line (two large doors) and his are 4 square.  

Which means I can get any of my cars out whenever I want, he has to take out the front cars.

I'd also strongly consider the work flow, too- where you put the cabinets and the working area, where you might put a lift, etc.  And what kind of lift matters, too- a storage lift can be kind of out of the way, a work lift should be next to the tools and benches.

Have fun!

EDIT- storage matters, too.  Half of my garage is gabled so I can have a lift, the other half has structural trusses so that I can store stuff in the attic long term.  Lots of wall storage options out there, too.  Do that right, and you have more space for the cars.

When I built my garage I had to get planning board approval.   All sorts of things like set back,clearance from property line and other structures.

These seemed more important than the actual design of the building.

iceracer said:

When I built my garage I had to get planning board approval.   All sorts of things like set back,clearance from property line and other structures.

These seemed more important than the actual design of the building.

In most cases, local ordinances cover the former, state codes cover the latter (sometimes with local additions).

Go as big as you’re allowed to by the code. 

How many outlets are you planning? Triple that. Every three feet on the wall. A bunch on the ceiling. 

How many lights are you planning? Make them all LED and put in 4 times as many as you were planning. 

I would say that you should at least get the pluming set up for a toilet and shower, even if you don’t put them in immediately. Same for washer and dryer. 

In reply to scardeal :

Several have spoken about regulations.  You need to understand them. There are endless rules that say you can’t do things.  There are ways around that.  

The city threw endless objections and problems up to prevent  me from doing what I wanted.  Then I ran for mayor and the city couldn’t wait to give me a permit for whatever I wanted to do.  

Restrictions where I live are layers deep.  But somehow a builder got to violate dozens of rules to build two houses on formerly protected land.  Somehow the New Mayor ran a extremely well funded campaign for a position that doesn’t pay enough to buy a decent meal at a local restaurant. 

My point is there are ways around the rules.  

Get past records of builds. Pay attention to permits granted in spite of the rules. Talk informally to inspectors away from the office.  With no witnesses around.  Talk to  contractors  who regularly work in the city the same way. 

The ways around the rules may not require things that aren’t legal or improper.  Inspectors and contractors might be helpful with that.  

I'm hoping that red tape will be the least of my worries, but I'll definitely have to check in with the city.  I'm glad I don't have to deal with a HOA.  So, assuming that I don't find any bewildering gotchas with the city, where would I go from there?

I'd look around your area to see what types of designs and construction methods seem to be most common. There's probably a reason for that, be it sandy soil dictating a particular foundation, or certain materials handling the heat/humidity better than others.

The size and shape should be determined by what you will use it for, and how much space you have on your lot (obviously, budget and government restrictions come into play here too, but we're assuming those limitations have been well defined by the time you get to this stage).

I looked at a lot of google image results for "garages", "shops", and "pole barns" to find a style and layout that I thought would work well and be complimentary to our home instead of distracting. Local home improvement stores will usually have books with designs too.

You'll get more accurate quotes when shopping contractors if you have a pretty defined plan and can show them pictures or plans of what you want instead of saying "I want a garage X ft wide and Y feet deep."

1. Make it match the house appearance, roof slope, shingle style, etc.

2. Resale improves

3. Profit!

In reply to scardeal : usually that is the case, lack of red tape.  Cities usually want growth and go out of their way to help but find out first!   

Before you have a set of plans drawn up that you spend money and time on, go  find out!  You don’t want to put the cart before the horse.  Don’t assume anything.  Go to city hall and ask!    Contractors, neighbors, well intentioned  friends won’t know that there is a height restriction that applies only to your property. Or an easement that gives a neighbor/ city say over something you want to do.   

Like I said,  ask first.  You can easily adjust your plans before hand. Not so easy when plans are drawn, bids are sent and a contractors selected.  

Any  change after the contract is signed will cost you a more.  

Ask  and in all probability  they will go overboard being helpful.  Afterwards?  That’s why some places get a terrible reputation.  

It wouldn’t hurt  if you ask at city hall for recommendations for a preferred contractors list.  They may offer you a hidden gem, the guy who does great work at a minimum cost.  The neighborhood go to guy.   They may have a list.  

Covington, LA Building Code.  I haven't read the whole thing, but it looks like guidelines for minimum slab, building height, setback rules etc.  I build a 24 X 42 footer but farmed out the foundation work.  Build everything you can as it saves money and makes you familiar with the workings if something goes bad years from now.  Also look through the BRM back issues, Tom built one and published the build.

Dan