Garage Solutions

Garage Solutions

I've had a number of very interesting suggestions from readers about the garage/shop problem. Tuff Shed, which in spite of the name, supplies pre-fab garages. A 20x20 would be sufficient, and cost about $8500, plus permits and the cost of a slab.

Another possibility is to have the current garage extended to the front by 20 feet. There's already a garage apron that covers nearly all of that distance, so it would just be a matter of pouring a little more concrete at the edges, and then coming up a way to have the separate roof line of the garage extension not look too stupid where it met the current garage's roof.

We could move the exterior light fixtures, garage door, and garage door open from the current front of the garage to the front of the garage extension. We also wouldn't need to excavate any trenches for running electrical from our current panel to an outbuilding--and for an extension to a current building, we might not need a building permit. I know that we would need one for an outbuilding.

Because the current garage has garage doors at both ends, we would not be struggling with having to back cars out to get "trapped" cars out.

The only problem is that stick-built construction tends to be pretty expensive--and add-ons worse than new construction. I'll be curious to see what our builder says. If it is even close to the cost of a separate garage, the convenience of having this part of the current house argues for it.