Guys, just thought I would share a couple of pics of where my garage will soon be. I am getting the footer dug tomorrow. We will be putting a new house beside it soon too. I always enjoy seeing project pictures on this site, so now I get to add my own:)

Go bigger-BIGGER!!! I can't tell how big it is but,trust me,go bigger! Congrats on the new digs-keep the pics coming.

Sweet. Always exciting to get a new shop. As Peter said, Bigger is always better, but of course your wallet has to be bigger first ;)

Very nice.

Thanks! It's only going to be 30' x 52'. I would have liked to have had 40' x 60', but there is always the, "what I can afford vs. what I want" struggle. I will also have a 2 car garage on the house, so the shop will be mostly for working on my car. Once the garage is up, I will be starting on the house.

:) the wifey will fill it too if you don't whach out......... mine did :(
Larry

That's the reason for the 2 car garage on the house...that is for her...the other is for me:)

30x52 is a nice size. Make her tall enough to put a lift in!

Thanks! It's only going to be 30' x 52'. I would have liked to have had 40' x 60', but there is always the, "what I can afford vs. what I want" struggle. I will also have a 2 car garage on the house, so the shop will be mostly for working on my car. Once the garage is up, I will be starting on the house.

Geesh...my new garage is going to be credit card size....20x21 but hey its bigger than the old 12x18. :)

Kev

Nice idea. I'm surprised the wife isn't jealous.

Yes, I am going to make it tall enough for a lift. I am going to use trusses for the roof and leave out a few trusses over one of the overhead doors and stick built the roof at that point. That way I have an overhead spot for the car to be lifted into. I had thought about doing this a few years ago, but when I had Freddie (BigGearHead) work on my 12 bolt, I got to see his garage and he had done the same thing.

Geesh...my new garage is going to be credit card size....20x21 but hey its bigger than the old 12x18. :)

Kev

Don't feel so bad. I also have a small garage. 15x20. Next year I should be knocking down the brick garage and putting up a 26x30 brick/block garage. Wish I could go bigger but the city lot won't allow it.

Nice site for the new shop.Make it far enough away so the wife can yell and it will go on deaf ears. Also make it far enough so she doesn't want to walk that far or she'll shed some pounds(not implying anything). Get yourself a golf cart to travel back and forth.;)

We love building projects to stick our noses into :D we come up with all sorts of ideas to spend YOUR money on :)
Insulate the heck out of the foundation to keep winter chills from cooling the slab too much. Wires wires everywhere, cable, Cat5, 220v and plugs in every 4' along all walls :D see how easy it is ?

Good to see you have your priorities in line.
#1 Garage
#2 House

I did the same so all of the building supplies can be kept locked up.....at least that was what I said.

That's the reason for the 2 car garage on the house...that is for her...the other is for me

RIIIIGHT, hey honey can you put the mower in your garage I keep hitting it with the car.

Looks like you will have a nice place when done.

Yes, I will definitely insulate it well and wire it to the hilt...that is things I have learned from my Dad, who is helping me build it. He has built 3 large buildings over the years and I have helped him. We have never insulated under the concrete before, is that something that is really necessary?

Maybe not as big an issue in KY as in Minn. but it helps hold the concrete heat to its own temp. In winter the cold will want to come under the foundation and up into the slab but if you insulate the foundation walls and footings you should be ok there. It doesnt get to -20 does it? :D

I used a roll up industrial door for my garage so that an overhead door wasn't taking up any of my ceiling height. I'll get you some pics when I can. Are you going to use scissor trusses for some additional height too, or are you going to need the attic space?

We very seldom see -20 here in KY, but anything is possible. I am not going to have any storage space in the attic...if I had planned ahead I would have, but it never crossed my mind at the time. The footer did not get dug today...we had a rain last night and it is a little muddy now, but the backhoe is up there and ready to dig as soon as it dries up.

Congrats. 30x52 is a good size barn. Think long and hard about everything you want because it always seems right after you finish there is something you would have changed.
I built my 30 x 42 3 years ago and i am already doing a major overhaul inside so that i can put a lift in. Mine is two stories but i put an 8' ceiling in all the way across downstairs and now i am taking a big section out to raise it up for the lift. Again, plan ahead

Yeah, good point. I am putting 2 floor drains in it, running water, and bringing the electrical up through the floor too. I am also going to make sure everything is correct for a lift.

Building your own garage is great, keep lots of pictures coming. I also spent alot of time over at http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php , A site all about garages and stuff. I picked up a few helpful ideas from there and also saw some very nice stuff.

Looks like you have a really nice garage there Keith...and the Camaro isn't bad either:)

Here are some pics from Today (Saturday). We got the entire footer dug in 3 hours. The trenches in both ends are for the floor drains. Footer will be 12" thick and the floor will probably end up being 8" thick. The next thing we have to do now is put the steel in.

Here are some pics from Today (Saturday). We got the entire footer dug in 3 hours. The trenches in both ends are for the floor drains. Footer will be 12" thick and the floor will probably end up being 8" thick. The next thing we have to do now is put the steel in.

That would be fine for a warm climate, but is that enough frost protection? I would think where you are, the minimum depth of your trench would be closer to 30", plus your 8" thick slab. JMO. Mike. :beers::beers:

The backhoe operator told us that around here most go 10" for a one story house, so we should be fine. My dad has done lots of these and he normally only goes 12" and he has never had a problem. It just doesn't get very cold here in the winter...we are lucky to see temps down to zero, though it does happen occasionally.

A lot of people around here do not even pour a foundation for a garage, they just pour a slab on top of the ground, but personally I don't like doing it that way.

The backhoe operator told us that around here most go 10" for a one story house, so we should be fine. My dad has done lots of these and he normally only goes 12" and he has never had a problem. It just doesn't get very cold here in the winter...we are lucky to see temps down to zero, though it does happen occasionally.

A lot of people around here do not even pour a foundation for a garage, they just pour a slab on top of the ground, but personally I don't like doing it that way.

According to this graph you are correct. I'm surprised no farther south than you are that the frost doesn't get deeper. We had nearly 40" 's of frost this year. Good luck. Mike. :beers::beers: http://webmail.nicolet.k12.wi.us/~Jason_Huber/FOV2-00014049/FOV2-00019020/FROST%20LINE%20MAP.doc?FCItemID=S008262BF

That graph is interesting. My inlaws live in southern Missouri and I know it gets quite a bit colder there than it does here in the winter.

We are hoping to maybe get the footer poured this weekend.

Had to stop last year for winter, but here are some pics of the work we have done just in the last month or so...

:thumbsup:

Sure gonna be a bigun :)



Kev

When I did my 24 x 32 I put a 16' door on the front and built 2 12x12 rooms on one end. One room for a workshop/tool storage and the other with a double door out the end with a ramp for lawn mowers and outdoor tool storage. Still left me 20x24 for parking two cars or comfortably working on one. When you have one big open space stuff seems to pile up, spread and eventually fall up against your pride and joy.

It is 30' x 52'. I wish I had went ahead and made it 40' x 60', but I only have so much money to spend:) I sure will be glad to finally have a good place to store my Camaro.

Have you given any thought to radiant floor heat? I have a friend with it in his shop and you can work in there in the middle of the winter barefoot!

I looked into radiant heat, but it is not used very much in our area and it is very expensive. We basically only see 2 months of cold weather in Kentucky each year...and even then it doesn't usually get below 30 degrees very often. I am just going to insulate the walls and ceiling very good and use a natural gas heater in it. They heat up a space quickly and are economical to run. Maybe I can have AC in it someday:)

Have you given any thought to radiant floor heat? I have a friend with it in his shop and you can work in there in the middle of the winter barefoot!

It's a little late for radiant heat. Radiant heat would be installed prior to the pouring of the slab. I too have a friend that has it in his shop and it is awesome, but if you don't need it, why spend the money. Mike. :beers::beers:

I have Wirsbo slab heat and its awesome but hard to justify in a mild climate like KY. It really is the perfect heat system and we do walk to the garage in our stocking feet in January when its -20 outside :)

I'm in KY and during the "dark months" I sure wish I had something better than the forced air heat. I originally had 2 (unvented) gas infrared units installed and ran into MAJOR moisture probs. When gas is burned one of the main byproducts is water. The entire ceiling of my 30 x 60 building would sweat, run down to the nearest purlin, and "rain".
Went to the forced air and it dried out nicely but tends to stratify.
I considered in slab before we poured concrete but during July it seemed unnecessary.

Sure would be nice to work in short sleeves and sneakers.

ss

Where are you located at in Kentucky? I am close to the border of KY, TN and only about 90 miles from Nashville.

Where are you located at in Kentucky? I am close to the border of KY, TN and only about 90 miles from Nashville.

Louisville. Beautiful country where you are.....I pass that way to Nash-Vegas often.

ss

I have a sister that lives in Louisville...I am up there quite often. I missed the swap meet this year, but I will make it next year. It does get quite a bit colder up there than where I am at. Most severe weather seems to always pass us by in the area I live at.

I hope to get all of the framing done on the garage this weekend...then I will be ready for some metal. I can't wait!

Basically all I have to do now is get the rest of the nailers put on and I am ready for some metal. If you look closely at the pic you can see the rafters we built on the left side to allow more room for a car in the lifted position.

Jason are you using the 'hurricane clips' on the ends of the rafters right above the top plate? They are twisted gal. metal pieces that tie the rafters to the top plate so that strong winds wont pull up the rafters in a storm. Easy to install and cheap. If you dont have them, get them :D

Yes, I already have them installed with screws...they were only about .50 cents a piece and I think they are good insurance. Definitely a piece worth adding if you are looking at building any new structures. I also used a lot of 3" screws when tying all of the bracing together. A nail will hold a lot, but a screw will hold a lot more.

That's really nice Jason! It makes my 28 x 32 shop look small.

I know I am slow, but I will finally start putting metal on it this weekend.

Lookin' good. Keep the photos coming.

Looks great:thumbsup: It will start taking shape real fast now :yes:

Looks good -- now you'll need more toys and tools to fill it up!

Thanks guys...I think I have enough stuff to fill it up already:) I just hope it is big enough for me. I know you can never build them big enough...you just have to strike a balance between the structure size and the pocket book size:)

Put attic trusses in. The cost is a little more but the storage space you create is great. 22X36 shop with 960 square feet of storage in attic is well worth the extra cost of the trusses. Get a sealing pull down ladder and you are set.

His Trusses are already in place, kinda late to change them now but those Loft trusses do add alot, for next to nothing cost wise.

Looks good, but as any garage it have one defect already. In two weeks it wwill be too small!

Jeff
Off to planning & developement to beg for permit for mine.

I checked on attic trusses, but to really get any additional room up there I would have had to have went with a higher pitch. I stayed with the 4 pitch. I can still store stuff up there, it just won't be as convenient.

Looks great, love seeing progress pictures. Keep it up...:thumbsup:

Got all of the roof on this weekend! It went pretty fast and we did it in the early morning hours to avoid the heat of the day. We will start putting the metal on the sides next weekend.

Looking real good Jason!! Keep the progress pics coming.

Here is pics from today. I am waiting to get my overhead doors so I can match the paint on them to the paint for the walkthrough door. Once I get the walkthrough door painted, I can put the rest of the metal on the front and finally finish up. Then it will be time to wire, insulate and put something on the walls:)

Well, I am just about finished with the outside. All I need now are some gutters installed. I will start wiring soon...after that insulation and then something on the walls and ceiling.

:hurray:

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