Talk me into (or out of) building this shop/garage

[Andy J.]

I want a place to park and work on DoubleMint that's out of the weather. Plus, wifey doesn't like truck parts stacked up on the back patio and my current 2-car is full of tools/lawn equipment/junk that needs a home so we can actually get two cars in there. Wifey wants a screened-in patio too, so I'm trying to kill two birds here. There is a possibility of purchasing an adjacent piece of land and building a detached further from the house, but that's going to be a budget stretcher. This one, on my current property, could be a built without the 'connector' screened in patio. However, if the opportunity is there to incorporate it for not alot more $$, it would be mutually beneficial.

Concerns:
1. Only a .47 acre lot. I would lose most of my usable yard (not that we use it much anyway, but it looks nice).
2. I'd lose my street view from the kitchen and living room.
3. I'm already one of the more valuable houses in the neighborhood. Would this put me over the top, limiting my equity increase upon sale? Note: This probably isn't our forever home, but we will be here a few more years at least.
4. I will lose a lot of the daylight that's coming in through the patio doors into the kitchen and possibly some loss though the adjacent living room windows as well. I would put skylights in the screened in part of the patio roof to try to offset this, but not sure how much impact there will be.

Here's a rough sketch of the lot and plan. Note: That wooden deck under the extended patio area is no longer there.

 

[Blaze]

I scaled up the drawing and drew a 30x30 in there, it's a lot bigger than you'd think. Do you know your setback requirements?

 

[Andy J.]

Blaze, you draw better squares than I do! It might be confusing, but that middle line would be the ridge line. I did not do my drawing to scale, but the current garage is 30' across, so I tried to sketch it about the same width. It's also worth noting that the north side of the lot there has a steep slope to it off the side of the neighbor's house that levels out into my yard. I can take an actual measurement of distance from house of flat yard tonight.

ETA: I don't know the setback requirements for the City of Winston. I'll have to look that up.

 

[Blaze]

Well, I did do mine in ACAD so I could get the scale correct.
You might actually be better than you thought, here's it with my square up against the house.

 

[Andy J.]

Setback requirements:

 

[77GreenMachine]

More details about the additional property?

I realize that will hurt the budget, but that will add a lot of value to the property for resale later and give you more options. Perhaps you space the stages of the project out.

Buy the land
Build the wife her patio at the end of the year.
Then get your shop middle of next year?

Timing depends on your budget, but time goes by fast and some patience may pay off. Doing it this way increases your property size and doesn’t crowd your current lot.

If you build connected to your house it would need to be stick built and bricked to match the house I assume. You may be able to go with a steel building all trimmed out to match the house still, and save money by building detached on the other lot. Assuming you have an HOA that would allow this or you just don’t have one.

Lots of assumptions and opinions from me. Just a lot of worthless hot air I reckon...

 

[DSM Turbos]

I'd worry a little about resale if you did a garage right there, the front of the house from the street would basically be a giant garage, would people find it un-attractive?

 

[CasterTroy]

ETA: I don't know the setback requirements for the City of Winston. I'll have to look that up.

Within 7ft on one side...I think 20 on the combined. Need to check.

You plan to sub this out? If so you're gonna crap at the estimates

 

[rockcity]

Inside city limits? Septic or city sewer? With a .47ac lot, if you have septic it’s very likely you don’t have room to add this without encroaching intonthe repair area.

Check zoning. Zoning may not allow this added garage. You’ll probably need zoning approval.

Resale? I don’t think it would benefit. It’s kind of like a pool. Some view it as a want and an asset, but most consider it a feature that takes away from the value of a home.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

I'm no help but I have a 30x30 shop if you want to get a feel for how large it will be and how small it is when you pack it full of shit. It may kill the budget but I'd buy the property next door.

 

[YJJPWrangler]

I'm in the same boat. Wife wants to be able to park again in the garage and I'm needing more space for tool/storage. My plan was to build a 15x20 with an attached lean-too on the side. I estimated it out to be about 5k or so. No slab, no electrical. It would just be a space to store lawn equipment, material, tools/parts etc. I've gotten quotes for about 45-50k for a 30x30 with a slab/electrical...

 

[Andy J.]

More details about the additional property?

I realize that will hurt the budget, but that will add a lot of value to the property for resale later and give you more options. Perhaps you space the stages of the project out.
<snip>
If you build connected to your house it would need to be stick built and bricked to match the house I assume. You may be able to go with a steel building all trimmed out to match the house still, and save money by building detached on the other lot. Assuming you have an HOA that would allow this or you just don’t have one.

The adjacent property is .37 acres and is wooded. I certainly agree regarding property value and space, that this is the more attractive option. No HOA here, but a metal building would stick out like a sore thumb. However, I could easily get away with a vinyl (or similar) sided building with some brick accents on the adjacent property. If built right next to my house, it would need to be 100% brick without looking out of place I think. I have no idea what the price difference would be between the two, but you could make an argument towards lower construction costs offsetting land price.

I'd worry a little about resale if you did a garage right there, the front of the house from the street would basically be a giant garage, would people find it un-attractive?

I'm slightly concerned about this also, but there is a single house in my neighborhood with double oversized 2-car garages in the exact configuration I drew and the same corner lot layout as mine. It just sold for way more than I would have paid for it.

Within 7ft on one side...I think 20 on the combined. Need to check.

You plan to sub this out? If so you're gonna crap at the estimates

Yeah, I ain't got time to build this. I've been thinking of ways to keep the costs down (like minimum plumbing, common trusses, I finish out the interior, etc). I'd like to sub everything except floor coating and paint, but if that blows the budget, I'll consider doing some myself. The magic number I have in mind is $40k max, done and dusted. Budget drops a bit if I go with the adjacent land option or I can do as Phillip suggested and wait another year.

 

[Andy J.]

Inside city limits? Septic or city sewer? With a .47ac lot, if you have septic it’s very likely you don’t have room to add this without encroaching intonthe repair area.

Check zoning. Zoning may not allow this added garage. You’ll probably need zoning approval.

Resale? I don’t think it would benefit. It’s kind of like a pool. Some view it as a want and an asset, but most consider it a feature that takes away from the value of a home.

Inside city limits and on city sewer. I figured it would add roughly 10-15k worth of value just based on internet research, but I do think it's one of the first thing buyer's compromise on to get into a lower price range.

I'm no help but I have a 30x30 shop if you want to get a feel for how large it will be and how small it is when you pack it full of shit. It may kill the budget but I'd buy the property next door.

Thanks! I think I have a pretty good idea, but I may still take you up on that if the idea doesn't die first.

I'm in the same boat. Wife wants to be able to park again in the garage and I'm needing more space for tool/storage. My plan was to build a 15x20 with an attached lean-too on the side. I estimated it out to be about 5k or so. No slab, no electrical. It would just be a space to store lawn equipment, material, tools/parts etc. I've gotten quotes for about 45-50k for a 30x30 with a slab/electrical...

Whew. Thanks for that data point!

 

[rockcity]

I’ll go ahead and burst your bubble. The city is not going to let you build a stand alone 30x30 garage on that .37ac lot in a residential area.

You will need to consolidate the lots into one large lot before you could even think about doing a building on that “lot”. It’s not difficult, but can be costly and time consuming. If your house and lot is financed, good luck getting the lender to play nice to join the lots.

 

[Andy J.]

I’ll go ahead and burst your bubble. The city is not going to let you build a stand alone 30x30 garage on that .37ac lot in a residential area.

You will need to consolidate the lots into one large lot before you could even think about doing a building on that “lot”. It’s not difficult, but can be costly and time consuming. If your house and lot is financed, good luck getting the lender to play nice to join the lots.

I'm good with bubble bursting, that's why I started this thread! I've never tried to combine lots before, so I have no idea what's involved in that. Any insights? You mean that if the empty lot is financed and the house is financed = no go, right? If I pay cash for the empty lot, combining with my current financed house lot is feasible. Is that correct?

 

[Stuntman Autoworks]

If your only going to be in it for a couple more years I'd get a nice storage building to put behind the house and store parts and everything in the garage in it and make your garage your shop.

No need to build a shop that isn't going to add to your resale, cost alot of money and then move and not have it anymore. Spend what you would on the project towards your house and have that as equity when you sell.

 

[rockcity]

It’s feasible either way. But either lender is not going to want to be subordinated by the other, so you are likely going to need to pay cash or use the same lender as the house.

The lot and legal description is what the lender is using to secure the loan. Getting that updated by underwriting is possible; how easy it is depends on how easy your lender is to work with. I have seen some lenders require refinancing, which costs $ and can change interest rates.

And remember, consolidating 2 lots into one single larger lot does not mean the total of the two lots is valued the same as the one large lot. The large lot is going to be worth less per acre as the two individual lots. Depending on LTV, this may affect financing to a certain degree.



If this isn’t your forever home, I’d either find a shop to rent or buy or just buy a decent storage building to put everything in. You can always reinforce the floor enough for light vehicle use/storage.

 

[BigBody79]

Is your mind already made up?

 

[CasterTroy]

I think (2) 20ft shipping containers sitting side x side would look GREAT in the back corner on the property line

 

[77GreenMachine]

I would agree that if this isn't your forever home, just shelve this idea until then. $40k is not going to get you a matching attached 30x30, hate to burst that bubble but I don't see it happening. Maybe if its bottom of the line lowest quote and its not even finished inside, but the masonry alone will run you a hefty tab, not to mention the concrete and footings needed for permitting.

I would go with a matching storage building like mentioned for less than $3k, free up space in the garage. Give the wife her patio room which will add nice value to the house without costing too awful much. Happy Wife=Happy Life. Then in a few year remind the wife that you done without and sacrificed your building to wait and give her what she wanted.

Hang on to your cash and plan for buying what you truly want and plan to stay in down the road. Me and the wife have been seeing a lot of older homes with plenty of land for a good price if we're willing to do a full update. In the last few years I went from .25 acres to 1 acre and 3 years of being here I realize now just how small 1 acre is when you own 4 vehicles, have septic, and no parking and no room to put a shop on.
3+ acres is the minimum in my opinion.

 

[Andy J.]

This is all great stuff and thank you all for the advice! I am open to exploring any and all options, even if that leads to doing nothing.

 

[Tom@Hilltop_Machine]

Have you checked with zoning to see if a 900sft building is allowed? I initially wanted a 1000 sqft building when I was going to build mine. I am on .59 of an acre. Zoning said largest allowed was 850. A little bit of a bummer but built an 850 sqft one.

 

[rockcity]

Spend $3500 on a good sized shed for tools, lawnmower, etc.

Take the $ saved and pay someone to finish your rig so you don’t need a huge place.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

I'm no help but I have a 30x30 shop if you want to get a feel for how large it will be and how small it is when you pack it full of shit. It may kill the budget but I'd buy the property next door.

Size matters. My 40 by 40 is full I gotta get on the Cutler program of things have a place. In much better but it's a progress.

 

[Andy J.]

Have you checked with zoning to see if a 900sft building is allowed? I initially wanted a 1000 sqft building when I was going to build mine. I am on .59 of an acre. Zoning said largest allowed was 850. A little bit of a bummer but built an 850 sqft one.

I haven’t considered this. I’ll have to investigate!