Planning a Garage Reno

[PRY4SNO]

The woman and I just purchased 10 acres east of the city. Original farmhouse was gutted down to studs and rebuilt, but the out buildings need work. First priority is a comfortable shop by winter.

I am currently soliciting people's suggestions. Rough budget is $10k. As much DIY as possible (I can do the framing/roofing/plumbing and basic electrical). Building in question is 20x24 in size, has 10' ceilings.

Current state of the building is a bit rough:
-- needs new roof, shingles
-- not insulated
-- no power
-- dirt floor

Wishlist:
-- high test concrete suitable for a 6000 lb two-post lift
-- 12' ceilings
-- insulation
-- 220v power and sub panel
-- wired for wifi
-- natural gas & electrical rough-ins for heater
-- storage loft
-- LED lighting


Not sure yet if my best bet is to raise the garage on a concrete pony wall (2-3 feet high), or remove the roof, add to the walls then redo the roof.



Am I totally out to lunch on something? What am I missing?

[Lucky]

I have a two post setup and it sits right at the ceiling studs the hoist is 12' high. The electrical and hydraulics on mine run over the top of the hoist. You could consider getting one of the hoists that run the electrical and hydraulics on the floor with a drive plate over them. I think you can get ones that are around 8 feet high. I rarely put the hoist to full height 10 feet is doable if you cant raise the roof although I am around 5'9" if your taller you may need the extra height lol.

To raise the roof if the walls are strong then an addition may not be too expensive (probably the cheaper option) however if you are pouring concrete anyways it may not be too expensive to add in the pony wall. A good thing with the wall is any liquids that spill will be contained in concrete and not be absorbed into the wall studs.

For the power and WiFi, if you are burying them make sure you run two separate cables you can get interference on the cat5/6 cables if they are right beside the power lines. I ran the lines for my garage buried for approximately 50 feet distance. If you go the buried route put your fittings and the cable run in before you pour the concrete floor then they will be sealed in place underground. I didn't and had to drill spots for my wiring and dig out under the pad to run the wire.

For the hoist pad around 4-6 " (mine was 6")is all you need for the hoist. If your crafty you can have a deeper base where the hoist will be and shallower over the rest for some cost savings.

You have a good base for a start 20x24 is a nice size, I have a 16x30 and can only fit one car comfortably due to it being narrow. Two if they are small and bumper to bumper.

[PRY4SNO]

Good call on the interference, hadn't considered that, thanks!

Went out for the home inspection yesterday, had a better look at the garage. Came up with a plan.








Building sits on 8x8 Fir beams. The bones are in good shape. Plan is to just update the garage as-is, and when more space is required we'll build an addition. So no lift for now, but I've somehow managed to survive this long so another year or few won't kill me.

The build out at the back wall is about the right size for a workbench and tool boxes. Which is nice, because the garage footprint stays at 20x24.

Basic plan from earlier stays the same:
-- concrete
-- electrical/gas/wifi rough ins
-- insulation
-- roof and shingles, gutters
-- overhead doors & openers
-- lighting

Outside is rough, yes, but it'll stay that way until the house gets new siding when we'll do both so they match.

[Silverswift85]

Did you push through with the renovation?

[PRY4SNO]

No, we take possession Feb. 1st.

[dana]

Not to be a deutshenbag, but I would knock that shit down and rebuild exactly how you want it. Fuck renovating old shit that needs everything. I would also go bigger. My shop is 24 x 32, and I wish it was at least 40' long. Also, I personally HATE garage doors that are under the roof edge. I think doors should go in a gable end, but that is just me.

Just glancing at the pics, I don't see much worth saving really. The finishing of things is what costs the big bucks. You dont save a whole lot by re-using a bare bones structure.

Perhaps the knock down is a permit issue? Not sure what kind of shithead government people you have to deal with in your area. I am lucky that my tiny town is still fascism free (for the most part), so getting permits is easy. Maybe its different for you Canjans?

[PRY4SNO]

Haha Dana you basically nailed it.

It's a tear down, unfortunately. It will basically just serve as a good supply of aged wood to sell to hipsters.

For now I'm going to use the equipment shed as a workshop and keep the garage as a car port. Once I move my tools from the city, at some pointin the future. Likely going to finish the stroker build in town first then move everything. Sucks to be between two work spaces like that but it is what it is.

We plan to build a nice 3 bay shop in a couple years. As long as the new building is set back 100 metres from the centre line of the road I don't need permits as it's agricultural zoning.

For now getting the farm up and running takes priority.

[dana]

Nice! glad to hear it. Buying old property and getting it set up takes some time, but its fun to do! My shop is REALLY starting to shape up lately, but its taken 4 years.

I am about to tear my house down to the ground, so let the shitshow begin. Best of luck!