Garage building question

Question for the builders out here, and I'm sorry I don't know any more information than this.

We're looking at houses, and one came up that is pretty close to perfect except it doesn't have a garage. However, there is a "New cement foundation for two car garage in place".

Let's assume that this is true and it is new and everything is perfect. Is it possible to add a slab to it for a 3 car garage? Because if we buy this house, it would be a "forever house", and my forever house is going to have a 3 car garage.

Anything is possible with the application of large sums of money lol

If it's a slab on grade, super easy just extend it. If it's a stem wall and you want to have all 3 bays conected it'll take some doing. Youll have to cut out one wall.

I assume the building isn't up at all?

Where we live, if it was over a certain square footage, it had to have a frost proof foundation. This could be more bothersome, but nothing money can't fix.

In reply to mtn:

I think the bigger concern would be the required setback from the property line for a garage vs. just a parking pad/driveway. Definitely do not trust your realtor for an answer either, you'll need to go to the city's building department.

Physically it's not an issue. Zoning is probably more of a problem.

But yes, you can excavate the side of the foundation you want to extend and drill rebar pins into it and extend the footing around an additional bay. You do the same thing at the floor slab edge if it is exposed. This stops differential settlement.

No No No.

Keep the 2 car garage

Build a 3 car shop in the back!

Just make sure to use strong enough concrete that you can put a lift in the 3rd bay.

Since the garage isn't built yet, I highly suggest having a low cinder block wall built first, then place the wood structure on top. My garage sits on a 4-block high wall and it is awesome. Sure you need to have a brick mason lay the block, but after that the framing crew works as normal. The previous owner who had the garage built was a little wacky, but sitting the garage on blocks was brilliant.

Check the depth of the "2 car garage" as well, because I see a lot of garages get really short and there would be no way to park a car with a bench in front or something.

I am not a builder but I have seen some crappy "2 car" garages.

Super cool though, would be great to get to put the garage together your way from day one. Collect up all your recent classic motorsports magazines, study the garage articles, and get to work.

Robbie wrote: Check the depth of the "2 car garage" as well, because I see a lot of garages get really short and there would be no way to park a car with a bench in front or something. I am not a builder but I have seen some crappy "2 car" garages. Super cool though, would be great to get to put the garage together your way from day one. Collect up all your recent classic motorsports magazines, study the garage articles, and get to work.

It would be more like from day 730 or so--I qualify for a mortgage for the price of the house+price to build the garage (throwing $50k out there as a price), but they won't give you that mortgage--they'll only give you a loan for the cost of the house.

mtn wrote:

Robbie wrote: Check the depth of the "2 car garage" as well, because I see a lot of garages get really short and there would be no way to park a car with a bench in front or something. I am not a builder but I have seen some crappy "2 car" garages. Super cool though, would be great to get to put the garage together your way from day one. Collect up all your recent classic motorsports magazines, study the garage articles, and get to work.

It would be more like from day 730 or so--I qualify for a mortgage for the price of the house+price to build the garage (throwing $50k out there as a price), but they won't give you that mortgage--they'll only give you a loan for the cost of the house.

You never know unless you ask. There are construction loans available and other fun stuff like that. Key in the process is to make sure the house with garage appraises at enough to support the larger loan. They might have some checks and balances (read: hoops to jump through) but they're surmountable. Your bank might not offer it but maybe another one does. I started with 53rd on my current house purchase and they were not able to offer a loan on the house in the condition it was in, so we moved to Huntington who was a dream to work with and got us a perfect loan package.

mtn wrote: It would be more like from day 730 or so--I qualify for a mortgage for the price of the house+price to build the garage (throwing $50k out there as a price), but they won't give you that mortgage--they'll only give you a loan for the cost of the house.

What you're looking for is a bridge loan - they won't lend you mortgage money against equity that doesn't exist yet. But they will lend you construction loan money to build the garage, with the pre-agreement that it will be rolled into the mortgage once the construction is complete. So it will likely be a higher interest rate during construction (and may require debt service / interest payments) but then you essentially pay off the bridge loan by adding that liability to the mortgage balance.

Duke wrote:

mtn wrote: It would be more like from day 730 or so--I qualify for a mortgage for the price of the house+price to build the garage (throwing $50k out there as a price), but they won't give you that mortgage--they'll only give you a loan for the cost of the house.

What you're looking for is a bridge loan - they won't lend you mortgage money against equity that doesn't exist yet. But they *will* lend you construction loan money to build the garage, with the pre-agreement that it will be rolled into the mortgage once the construction is complete. So it will likely be a higher interest rate during construction (and may require debt service / interest payments) but then you essentially pay off the bridge loan by adding that liability to the mortgage balance.

Not gonna complicate it with that. We're already going to be paying PMI. I want that removed before I take on any additional liability (between 1 and 3 years by my current calculations, assuming no job losses).

Or buy the house then take a second to build the gar.. shop. Then refinance and roll it all into one?

bentwrench wrote: Or buy the house then take a second to build the gar.. shop. Then refinance and roll it all into one?

That would be the plan, but down the road a little bit. I just want to know if it is possible. I'm curious why they built the slab for the garage (and it is clearly intended to be a garage, not a parking pad) without finishing it. Just kinda odd.

In reply to mtn:

Could be a number of reasons. They may have underestimated the cost of pouring a slab and didn't have money to finish the rest. Or some emergency came up that redirected funds. Poo happens...

Regardless, while every township is a bit different, if a 3-car garage is really that important to you, take some time and go to the municipal offices and do some investigating. Find out if the "new" slab shows up on the plot plan in the twp files. You might be able to find out if a permit was ever pulled to build a garage. If not, you may need to pull one to finish it. They may also be able to answer questions about whether a 3-car garage will be allowed. I know of towns where they are not, as silly as it may sound.

Ian F wrote: In reply to mtn: Could be a number of reasons. They may have underestimated the cost of pouring a slab and didn't have money to finish the rest. Or some emergency came up that redirected funds. Poo happens... Regardless, while every township is a bit different, if a 3-car garage is really that important to you, take some time and go to the municipal offices and do some investigating. Find out if the "new" slab shows up on the plot plan in the twp files. You might be able to find out if a permit was ever pulled to build a garage. If not, you may need to pull one to finish it. They may also be able to answer questions about whether a 3-car garage will be allowed. I know of towns where they are not, as silly as it may sound.

I've looked, three car garages are permitted. If you have living space in the garage, it cannot be more than half the garage space. The question is if it is allowed with the lot lines. Based on other houses in the area it is, but I'm not taking that as a rule.

In reply to mtn:

Before you assume it is true, you'd better have some documentation/ verification.

Most existing slabs I've seen are not adequate to build a building on.

You said it was new, so maybe. But that depends on what it was intended for. It it was built as a building foundation (proper thicknesses, footings, turn down, anchor bolts, etc). Then maybe. It would still depend on the building design (for example, if you building has clear span beams that need support footings, but the building it was designed for had a distributed load, then it wouldn't work)

If the slab was built as a parking pad but not as a building, it won't work.

If the pad was built out of level, or the wrong strength of concrete, or without approved inspections.... There are a LOT of reasons the existing pad might not work.

If you are getting a set of approved plans for the building with the purchase, AND can verify the recent inspections, THEN you are safe.

Anything else, and you might be looking at demolition costs to get rid of that old slab before you start.

I would certainly not credit any value for the slab.

But yes, as Duke noted, you can add on to a slab.

Yeah - the garage at my ex's house (built in 1978) would not be permitted under the current coverage and set-back rules in her township. When added a 10x10 shed, we had to submit a plot plan showing the shed 8' off the property lines. Her existing garage is less than 8' that. The garage also exceeds current square footage and height limits.

x2 what Paul said.

The pessimist in me says the reason the garage was never built is because the slab isn't up to snuff. I'd want a concrete expert to look over the pad before assuming you can built anything on it.

I discussed extending a slab once with my civil engineer (Ret.) friend, PapaDoc. He said that the best way to do it is to bust up the edge of the existing slab until you get to rebar, then tie in the new slab's rebar to the existing rebar and pour it.

Codes are fun. When planning my two car garage ,I had to shorten it from 24ft to 22 ft. due to set back and distance from property lines. 10ft from any other home. We poured an "Alaskan" slab. Probably due to frost restrictions. Never heard why. concrete block foundation on top of the slab, then wood. Oh, we had to take the plans before the planning board after getting the OK from the codes officer. Fun, but ended up with a nice two car.

a good contractor helped a lot.

slefain wrote: Since the garage isn't built yet, I highly suggest having a low cinder block wall built first, then place the wood structure on top. My garage sits on a 4-block high wall and it is awesome. Sure you need to have a brick mason lay the block, but after that the framing crew works as normal. The previous owner who had the garage built was a little wacky, but sitting the garage on blocks was brilliant.

Why? I ask because I hope to build a detached 3 car garage in the not too distant future.

Go poke around and see if that "garage slab" turns down or has a masonry wall below it. If not, it's basically a driveway.

Chicago frostline is probably 3-4' below grade. With a few exceptions, any above grade structure (ie. not a driveway) needs a foundation extended below the frostline.

dyintorace wrote:

slefain wrote: Since the garage isn't built yet, I highly suggest having a low cinder block wall built first, then place the wood structure on top. My garage sits on a 4-block high wall and it is awesome. Sure you need to have a brick mason lay the block, but after that the framing crew works as normal. The previous owner who had the garage built was a little wacky, but sitting the garage on blocks was brilliant.

Why? I ask because I hope to build a detached 3 car garage in the not too distant future.

For one, it allows for a taller ceiling height while still using common (cheaper) lumber.

Second, it keeps the wood and wall covering a nice distance from potential water sources.