This week I have availed myself of the services of a glazier, a drain unblocking chap, a boiler fixer, locksmiths who offered professional locksmith services, a car mechanic, and an ordinary plumber. That’s not counting the architect who is consulting a structural engineer on our behalf.
Is it some sort of construction karma for someone who building a garage without bothering to open an account at the local cement emporium?
Perhaps there’s a celestial tally of home improvement short cuts. Crikey, what’s going to happen when they realize the coat cupboard hooks are stuck on with glue and the cobwebs don’t get dusted because the hold the wallpaper up?
Need some workshop space, a fortress of solitude, or a place to house your beer fridge? A new spacious garage is the answer, and this is the Instructable to make it possible. As a new homeowner and avid DIY type guy, I was up against a big challenge when tackling a brand new construction of this magnitude. Let my mistakes and sage advice steer you clear of pitfalls and heartbreak. Read on for a step by step guide to building a new garage and hiring a towing service like Towingless to move your cars.
The general process can be summarized as consisting of the following steps.
1. Understand your local rules and make a plan
2. Get the appropriate permits
3. Get quotes and contracts from any subcontractors
4. Order materials (don’t forget beer)
5. Begin construction. Getting periodic inspections as required.
6. Get more materials
7. Continue construction
8. Curse your incompetence
9. Get more materials
10. Repeat steps 7-9 ad nauseam
DISCLAIMER: While this Instructable details my experiences building a garage, your mileage may vary. Use your brain, at your own risk.
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Step 1: I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!
The key component of Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith’s favorite saying, “I love it when a plan comes together!” is the plan. Take that to heart and you will spare yourself a lot of trouble when building a garage. You will need to plan the layout of the new garage within your lot, plan the size, shape, and look of your garage, plan the materials needed, plan the subcontractors, plan the permits and inspections, plan the zero-cost (beer compensated) workers, plan the timetables, plan the weather… well you get the picture. If planning is not your cup of tea, then maybe you should just write a check for ~$25k to get it done by a crew of folks who will do a fine job without you learning a damn thing.
So step 1 is simply this: do the legwork and get a plan together. Easier said than done.
Key areas to consider:
1. How big do you want the garage to be?
2. How big can the garage be (city ordinances!?!)?
3. Where and how many doors and windows?
4. What type of roof?
5. What parts are you going to subcontract?
The plan will depend on the rules in your local municipality. Since I undertook this project under the rules of a major metropolis, my example will be on the more restrictive end of the spectrum. If you live in the sticks, then you can probably build as big and awesome a garage as you like. Not me. 🙁 So from this point forward I will be presenting the garage-building process from the point of view of a homeowner in the city of Minneapolis, which should transfer in large part to any city in the US of A.
The first thing to do is visit your city’s website to learn about the permit and building plan process as well as any special restrictions in your area. Click here to go to the Minneapolis permit page.
Take the time to talk with your neighbors as well to give them a heads up on your plans for dominating the landscape with your new garage. If they don’t like it then at least they can get used to the idea while you get underway. If you live in a neighborhood controlled by a homeowners association, you may need to talk to them as well. They really know how to put the ass in association. In general, as long as you do not require a “variance” or exception from city rules on such things as garage height, placement, and so forth you can build regardless of objections from neighbors.
In Minneapolis, we have alleys behind the houses in a lot of neighborhoods and very deep narrow building lots. As a result I didn’t have room to expand the existing attached one-car garage. So I decided on building a detached two-car off of the alley in the backyard. The key municipal codes of interest were the required distances that must be maintained between the new structure and the property lines, adjacent structures, the alley right of way, and other urban features. Click here to read the relavant document (PDF).