1 to 2 car garage- where to start?

nebben · 01-31-2007, 03:49 PM

I apologize if this type of thing has been addressed several times already.

I've got a 1 car garage, roughly 20' long by 10' wide. It has cinder block walls, and wood roof structure with galvanized roofing. The slab that it is on has some cracks, but our inspector said they weren't a problem. The whole structure is between 40 and 60 years old.

Our yard is thin, but long. The garage is almost on the property line, and has a couple feet on its corner that are eclipsed by the house. We don't want to sacrifice our yard by cutting it in half with a 2 car side-by-side structure.

So, what order should things be looked at? Extend the current cinder block garage another 20 feet with cinder block? Raze the garage and have a turnkey of some sort put up? What kind of person would be able to tell me if the garage is suitable to be extended/modified, or whether it should be torn down and rebuilt from scratch? If possible, I'm also looking at cost- extend with cinder block or wood? Would an extension be 1/2 or more of the cost of a demolished/rebuilt garage from the ground up? Or, would it be better to add onto the house? Is there one person that can answer these questions?

<-Blue line is property line, blue behind garage is possible expansion.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 01-31-2007, 07:24 PM

Step one:

Get your property plot map and go down to the local building inspector's office and find out if you even CAN do the choices you are thinking about.
Even if your garage is where it is now, this doesn't mean that the town will let you 'add' onto it if it is too 'close' to the property line now.
Town laws change, and alot of structures that existed 40-60 years ago, would not be able to be built or added on to, where they now sit.

Just about every town has a minimum amount of space or footage that they want between any new additions or new structures ..... and the property line itself.

When ever we get a call or are asked to look at adding on, this is the very first step we ask the home owner to look into, before any planning starts.

There are other factors as well to consider: underground power lines, sewage lines, septic systems, leach fields, neighbors drainage slope, etc ...
These too must be a minimum distance away from additions and structures in order for a town to issue any kind of building permit.

troubleseeker · 01-31-2007, 09:47 PM

Sounds like it would be easier to knock it down, and reform the slab, toppig the existing and extending the new area,and frame up a wood structure which would be more attractive imo than cinder block.

But before anything, see if you can even touch it. The old age (built before most current zoning regulations existed ) and your description of "almost on the property line" sounds like you may have a non-complying structure, in which case you would not be allowed to rebuild it without relocating the footprint to the current set back requirements. Dig out your property survey and visit the building dept first.