Anyone had a garage built? Any advice?

[Zebra]

I think DH and I are going to finally take the plunge and try to build a garage.   We've been discussing it for close to 20 years, but we're at that point where our backs/health just can't take the snow removal any longer.

I'm just completely overwhelmed by the thought of it.   I don't want to waste money I don't have, I don't want to go through what seems like an exhausting process.  We can technically fit a garage within the city setbacks, but our driveway is a hill, surrounded by ledge.   So I'm worried that it won't be a straightforward process.

I've asked around, and anyone who has had work done, either didn't like the company or the company has shut down.   I literally have NO IDEA who to hire.

If you have any BTDT advice I would appreciate it!     

 

 

Do you have any BTDT advice?   

[fairfarmhand]

It’ll be ok. They can do a lot with a dozer. 
 

We built ours 2-3 years ago. It was fine.

 

go to a local lumber yard and start asking them for a recommendation. Not Lowe’s or Home Depot. A smaller lumber yard.

 

[Ottakee]

My suggestion is that get an 18 ft door over a 16 ft door.  Makes it so much easier to park 2 cars 

[catz]

We tore down an old 1 car garage and replaced it with a 3 car with storage in the attic.  We used a contractor.  Contractors can be hard to work with in any case.   Is it attached to your house or detached?  The nice thing about doing a garage is they aren't in your living space.  

I'd ask hard questions about schedule and a payment schedule before starting.  Local recommendations are priceless.  We see lots of post about this kind of thing on our neighborhood facebook pages and newsgroups so that might be places to search/ask if you have local resources like that.  After you get names, google on them further and make sure nothing unexpected pops up.  I'd recommend getting 2-3 bids if possible.   Make sure you keep the upper hand with payments to get the work pushed through.  

[barnwife]

My parents tore down their small, old garage (with doors that slid to the side, so you had to open them by hand...oh yeah, and half was too close to the house so you could only park one car in it) and built a huge, amazing garage. It easily holds two cars, their pop-up camper, gardening supplies, snowblower, etc...And that's just the first floor. They really went all out and built a 2 story garage!

My dad became famous around his small town for telling people "bigger is better" when it comes to building a garage. And multiple people have said they are happy to have followed his advice. 

I have no advice on who to hire, as they used the contractor they've used for pretty much everything since I was born.

[Tap]

A few things to think about: 

You mentioned city setbacks, but have you also looked for easements? We have probably 20 feet from our house to the property line one side, but there is a city easement that states the city can tear up a certain portion of that land if they chose to.  It is no big deal to us, because it is just a gravel parking pad, but it would be a bid deal if we planned to build there. 

One friend found that adding a garage, meant that the wiring and plumbing (bathroom) meant that all the wiring and plumbing in the house had to be upgraded to be able to handle the current building codes. The old construction was grandfathered in, but the new standards couldn't connect to the grandfathered house's electrical and plumbing system.

Unless you only get a few inches of snow....won't you still have to shovel the driveway?  

Think about the roof line if you do build, make sure that rain/snow slide off the side of the garage, not by the exit door. (We have seen more than one house with a roof line like this).

Always go wide. What constitutes a 2 car garage, if not really big enough for 2 cars unless you drive compact/mini cars. In my neighborhood of 100 houses, I only know one family that parks 2 cars side by side in their 2 car garage (young couple without kids/bikes/freezers/exercise equip or storage). They have 2 Civics, a lawnmower, a few totes of gardening supplies and an otherwise empty garage It isn't just about the size of the car, but doors opening and people passing by them. Adding storage space is great, and is really, really nice if you add a door that accesses that space in a logical way. ie it isn't preferable to drag bikes out of the back, if they have to squeeze past cars. A side or back entrance can be a wonderful option. 

One neighbor has an extra long garage, with a room in the back with shelves for storage. 

If you imagine the space with bikes hanging of the walls, freezers, shelves, etc....make sure you put that into the plan when you draft it. You may want extra space on one side or the other, instead of an even split. 

Make sure it looks like it belongs to you house. Some add-ons, look a bit off. If you know what your floor plan was called, sometime you can look online and see if it had a garage option. There may already have house plans with the architects stamp on it, which can save you money if you are considering drafting you own.

Sometimes the laws are more favorable to have an attached building (may count as a remodel) or a detached garage (may count as an independent construction). Also talk to your insurance agent to see how adding a garage will affect your rates.  Find out what the inspection fees/licenses and related expenses are before you start! 

Good luck!!!  I hope it turns out amazing!!!

[Zebra]

I'm not going to have to shovel the driveway, we need to hire a plow.   Around here it's difficult if not impossible to hire anyone to do anything but plow.   I can manage the walkways, but I just can't do the whole thing anymore.  I've struggled for years as my DH's back problems have gotten worse.  You can't plow without getting your cars out of the driveway...which makes it feel like that fox/birdseed/chicken in a boat situation!

Thanks for all the thoughts.   We are in a difficult situation, and just out of other options at this point.    

 

[Zebra]

47 minutes ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

We live on a hill and plow our drive, too. Our garage was built a couple years before we bought it. I think it’s important to ask about the slab, to make sure it doesn’t crack in the freeze/thaws. Do you need a window? We have a sloped shingle roof but would like to replace it with metal someday. Do you need space for a work table, if so then make sure there’s electric outlets nearby.

Ours is  built into a slope, with tons of small rocks sloped on two sides, instead of dirt. One side wall and the back wall is concrete. 

And once it’s built, watch out for winter-time mice. We stored the bags of bird seed in there in a plastic can and the mice found it. Really dumb of me. They crawled into the air conditioner filter of our ToyotaRAV repeatedly, but were never able to get into our ancient Volvo. One winter our cat slept in the garage, had a raised bed and a heat lamp. When I disassembled it that spring I found that a family of mice had signed a peace treaty with her and had constructed a tiny castle under her warm bed.

Okay, so it can be done, building a garage on a slope.

Are the rocks like a retaining wall or something?   

I am concerned that the excavating the hill plus a retaining wall will just simply cost too much.   I tend to assume the worst and then be pleasantly surprised...🤣

Why do you want a metal roof?   Is it sturdier?

I also would be thrilled if the mice moved from in our house to the garage.  So maybe I should have built a garage years ago 😁.

Again, you all are bringing up a lot of things for me to think about.  

[PeterPan]

If all you want is to cover vehicles for snow, no storage, no security, then a carport might do. 

Yes, start asking around for contractors till you find someone with a good reputation. They'll give you estimates and handle everything. In fact, if you take pictures of the situation with your phone, they can probably get you somewhere close pretty easily. 

Garages can cost all you want to spend, but there's no need if a carport or something simpler will do. Also ask questions like how adding a type of building affects your taxes. 

[BeachGal]

If you’re putting in a concrete slab/driveway, take the time and spend the money to get a legally-binding spalling clause added to your contract. You don’t want to eat the cost or deal with the hassle if the slab/driveway begins to fail. Insist on this because it can be very expensive to re-do. 
 

Make sure you can easily get your snow blower and whatnot out. You don’t want to back out your car in order to get your snow blower out. (Or lawn mower, bike, etc).
 

Think how you’d like the interior’s electrical outlets and lighting.

Resources like Houzz can be helpful.