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New "garage" in the works

very nice, key words to remember when remodeling spray foam insulation, costs alot worth it, seals uneven surfaces HELPS keep critters and bugs out.works well in old houses. one layer 5/8" required with firestop caulk on any penetrations on lower ceiling, here in michigan varies from state to state, and even township to township. been dealing with that stuff for 28 years. good luck, I would jump on it in a second.
 
Awesome RC, one of my dreams is to get a very large warehouse and place a loft up in one corner. Every other bit of space is for cars and car stuff. If my wife ever kicks the bucket I will be sad and grieve, but then I'm building a large barn on one of our 11 acres and fill it with MOPARs.
 
If my wife ever kicks the bucket I will be sad and grieve, but then I'm building a large barn on one of our 11 acres and fill it with MOPARs.




Why do I get the impression that there won't be a long grieving period? :icon_jokercolor:
 
Great Idea RC. I am contemplating the same scenario here. I built my 35x45 garage shop on my homes property, with a 1600sf apartment above it. 2bdr 2 bath, laundry room,living and kitchen area. Been renting it to my youngest son for some time now. He is wanting to buy his first house, so he will be leaving at some point in the future. I am thinking that Mama and I install a stair lift or elevator and move in it. Then I can rent my too big house and 3ac to someone else to take care of. Maybe I can talk to you about a lift system down the road. But we are only 58 right now. LOL
 
In my business and at my age, I have come to realize that one floor living is the way to go. My current home is a 2 floor cape with the washing machine in the basement. Think of it, you make all your laundry mess upstairs and schlep it to the basement and then schlep it back up to the 2nd floor again...how stupid is that? Also, between knee & hip replacements & other medical conditions, we've all seen our parents have difficulty with stairs & now it's getting to be our generation's turn.
 
In my business and at my age, I have come to realize that one floor living is the way to go. My current home is a 2 floor cape with the washing machine in the basement. Think of it, you make all your laundry mess upstairs and schlep it to the basement and then schlep it back up to the 2nd floor again...how stupid is that? Also, between knee & hip replacements & other medical conditions, we've all seen our parents have difficulty with stairs & now it's getting to be our generation's turn.


Most new construction has laundry on the same floor as the master. most people go for all bedrooms on the second floor with a first floor spare room that can be used as a master in the future if stairs become an issue, I put my laundry in the full bath between my sons bedrooms, I always insulate inside walls of bathrooms but also use sound barrier in laundry rooms, it seems washing machines got louder in recent years, them high efficiency washers spin like a 440... We were going to put the laundry in our master suit BUT I decided against it because when the kids were old enough to do their own laundry i didnt want them to have to walk through our room to get it done.....

The most important thing is design, make sure it makes sense for you first and then worry about if someone else would buy it..
 
Yes, most new (larger) homes do have separate laundry rooms upstairs, or at least on the 1st floor, but just about all older homes, like mine (circa 1976), have the washer & dryer out in the open basement. Insulating the room is a good idea. Thanks for the tip.
 
Everything on one story is the way to go. We are thinking of making a move and have been talking to realtors and they tell us our one story house will sell faster than two story houses of the same size because it will appeal to retired people too. i won't even consider anything with two stories in the next house we purchase. My mom can barely get around and when my parents visit, we wouldn't want them cut off from half the house.
 
Single stories are definitely the way to go, the reason at least around here for multi floor builds is the cost per sq. Figure that second floor is almost free, it shares a foundation, shares a roof and service runs are generally more efficient, for things like electrical hvac and plumbing. So when going over prints and budgets, if someone needs a 2800 sq foot home, it is much less per sq for 2 floors vs 1. I did a 5200 sq foot single floor french provincial for a family, that build cost more than some 8K sq foot homes we did!!!!

I personally like 2 story homes with bedrooms and a loft on the second and kitchen, dining, living, office, guest bedroom, etc on the first... but when I get older we are going to sell this house and move full time to the lake house which is all 1 floor... Just depends where you are in your life... after the ids are gone you need much less space and dont want stairs, lol..
 
I have tons of plans, but most of them are custom foundations with key ways and walkouts or drive ins, etc.. When I did homes for older couples most of them had what I labeled secondary use, so say it was a 2500 sq foot home, I would design them with a primary area which was a 1/2 bath, kitchen, living room, office, and master suite with a full bath and walk ins, then a secondary area had a dining room, another full bath, and a couple bedrooms, all separated by a pair of french pocket doors... SO when you have guests you can open that area up but for the 99% of the time its just 2 adults you dont have to deal with that area, the heat can be lowered, less dust with no use, etc...

With that building rc is looking at, I would use a design to make use of them windows, that gambrel roof you are limited to windows on the ends of the house, unless you put dormers and then still pretty limited for the area you have. If you are going to cut in dormers I recommend what I call a double intermediate dormer, which is 2 smaller dormers that are connected in the middle, vs 1 large dormer, your construction will be less and they look nicer.. I will try to find a picture of one...

heres one http://i45.tinypic.com/5yg7t1.jpg how some of them roofs are made you have a vert support (web) at the second angle going from the floor joist to the top chord, this takes a lot of your space away and when you look at it you think you can remove it but you cant. Well you can but you need to add gussets in all 3 angles on the roof and tie your second angles together... so you would use double plywood gussets at the A of both angles and the center, then put engineered beams or 2 x's from the below the center of the second angle to the other side... you would have to do this at every webbing assembly... Now if its built like a hay loft and just wide open with the angled boards all the way down, you have more options, but make sure what ever it is make sure you get your local building dept on board...

I like the idea though, cant wait to see what it turns into..
 
Years back I drew up plans for a 2 story home with columns going the full length to the roof with full length windows for the 1st and 2nd story out front making it look like a full 2 story home. The garage would be all of the 1st floor with rear entry garage doors and that's when I got to thinking about hot cars parked inside below my home along with my cutting and welding rigs, solvent/cleaning vat, paint supplies, gas and oil and you name it. My first place had a detached garage and now my 2nd home does too. When a detached garage/shop, no smells from the shop end up in the house plus if a fire ever broke out in the garage, my home won't be placed in danger too. Another plus with a detached garage is very little noise from the shop enters the house. The downside to a detached garage is going from it to the house in bad weather. My first place had a breezeway but this place doesn't have one. My wife isn't real crazy about that but oh well lol.
 
You know..I don't know you but I don't like you. I don't know if it is because you are from Taxachusetts or the fact that you have such nice cars and seem to find even nicer ones. But, you sir, are a bad, BAD man. ;-)

Seriously though, nice find. I hope it works works out for you and the Mrs. Looks to be one helluva spread!
 
Lot size is a big factor in determining whether a multilevel home vs a 1 floor home is viable. In my area, land prices are a fortune. Half acre lots are north of $700k WITHOUT a house on them. Many homes are built on 7500-10000 sq ft lots. So zoning laws will determine the biggest footprint you can put on them. A 2500 sq ft one story vs a 5000sq ft multistory on the same footprint makes for a poor investment around here with land prices so high.
 
Lot size is a big factor in determining whether a multilevel home vs a 1 floor home is viable. In my area, land prices are a fortune. Half acre lots are north of $700k WITHOUT a house on them. Many homes are built on 7500-10000 sq ft lots. So zoning laws will determine the biggest footprint you can put on them. A 2500 sq ft one story vs a 5000sq ft multistory on the same footprint makes for a poor investment around here with land prices so high.


Some parts of NJ are just insane with their residential values, my wifes uncle sold a hous he bought for $40K in the late 70's for 1.2m last year!!! Its funny how it works, a 2 acre lot near me is WORTHLESS, because we have 3 acre development minimums (some ares are 5!!), but this keeps the area rural. I made a lot of money playing these curves, a few years back I bought a lot just short of 2 acres for $12K, lol... It was a probate sale.. 3 months later I bought 2 acres off of a gentleman next door (he had 15 acres so easily cut me a piece) with the verbal agreement I would not build or touch it for that matter until he passes, He is in his late 80's so I bought it to give to my son, its beautiful land, hopefully some day my sons will build his first project there....

Never underestimate what bare land can be worth...
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article39337311.html
 
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