Attached Garage Construction

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I have built many garages both attached and detached. I own Core Outdoor Living which is primarily porch additions, but we have done many garages and basically a gable porch is a garage addition with screen walls instead of stud walls. Only difference is bracing calculations for solid walls which aren’t necessary for open walls. Also what BK is saying as well, that you need to have a firewall between the garage and home to meet code. That can be done in a few ways.

I’d be happy to help you design it. I have two attached garage situations at my house in Alexandria. Both are different bit common circumstances of how you do it. Sunday this weekend if you wanted to stop over, and bring photos of your house situation I can help you significantly to get your project pointed in the right direction. 703 975 7127 is my cell and I’ll see text more reliably than posts to MUD.
 
Tikicruiser said:
I have built many garages both attached and detached. I own Core Outdoor Living which is primarily porch additions, but we have done many garages and basically a gable porch is a garage addition with screen walls instead of stud walls. Only difference is bracing calculations for solid walls which aren’t necessary for open walls. Also what BK is saying as well, that you need to have a firewall between the garage and home to meet code. That can be done in a few ways.

I’d be happy to help you design it. I have two attached garage situations at my house in Alexandria. Both are different bit common circumstances of how you do it. Sunday this weekend if you wanted to stop over, and bring photos of your house situation I can help you significantly to get your project pointed in the right direction. 703 975 7127 is my cell and I’ll see text more reliably than posts to MUD.
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I really appreciate your advice and support.

I'm a bit swamped with work. But, I'll shoot you a text.
 
Does your lot force you into going with an attached structure?

I have both, the attached was built when the house went up and then we built a large detached a few years ago. Detached has a lot of advantages.
 
rrc swb said:
I don't know to be honest. That's why I'm asking.

A lot of people has told me to forget about it because all of the red tape fairfax makes you go through.
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Time to move!
 
Yes, time to move. lol

But seriously, a detached is likely to have fewer hoops and red tape.
 
I can always upgrade my single car garage to a 2 car garage in a jiffy. :rofl:

2cargarage.webp
 
I would much prefer a detached garage than an attached. When you use your garage more than just to park and storage. The fumes come into the house more with an attached garage.
 
The starting point is to find the plat of your property and talk with the zoning department to determine your setbacks. That will give you the allowable building envelope. Do not use information from friends or a cousin or a know it all across the street. You want reliable information to determine where your allowable building envelope is.

Even if you build a detached garage, sometimes the zoning or covenants will require it to look similar to your house or it can only be so big.

Do your homework before you go down a path too far

then plan on $300 a square foot. If you aren’t scared away yet, now you have a budget and you will be within it. Yes, I know $300 a square foot is high, but it is easier to add things into a big budget than to add things into a blown budget.
 
bkfj40 said:
The starting point is to find the plat of your property and talk with the zoning department to determine your setbacks. That will give you the allowable building envelope. Do not use information from friends or a cousin or a know it all across the street. You want reliable information to determine where your allowable building envelope is.

Even if you build a detached garage, sometimes the zoning or covenants will require it to look similar to your house or it can only be so big.

Do your homework before you go down a path too far

then plan on $300 a square foot. If you aren’t scared away yet, now you have a budget and you will be within it. Yes, I know $300 a square foot is high, but it is easier to add things into a big budget than to add things into a blown budget.
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This is good information.

But, It looks like I cannot build either one.
 
$300! You live in the wrong area lol!!!

I have not totaled my new garage out yet, still waiting on a few invoices. I am going to imagine it is in the $60-$80 range per sq ft. I was working with a friend who is a GC and I paid Cash money for a lot of subs to get discounts. BUT yes plan your budget high, then try to stay under it. IF you plan for a low budget and then blow it, you may get stuck and not get it finished.

Like BK said, check zoning and your plat to see what you can and can not build and then go from there with your budget in mind. Good luck!
 
$300 a foot would have put my detached garage right at half a mil.
I'm probably at about half that when I add back my labor for finishing the interior and doing the minimal site work myself. Maybe a bit over with the insane headache the tile floor has been. And we're talking 2X6 construction with residential-grade finishes. Two biggest costs were the stem wall/flatwork/brick veneer and then bringing in electrical service from another building. Permits are probably a bit less costly out here, but most of the subs would be the same guys doing work in Fairfax.

I know material costs are way up since my build in 2017, but $300 sounds totally insane. Lucky to get ten or twenty cents on the dollar on resale.
 
Well I'm not letting my wife see this thread. I'll never get my 44x48ft barn built if I float a $300/ft budget number at her.
 
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