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  March 2, 2011 1:47 p.m. TR8owner Reader

  LOL.!! A good friend of mine is moving back into our area after being away for 15 yrs. He emailed and wants me to help him find "a garage with a house attached". I'm going to have a lot of fun doing the preliminary work for him with the real estate agents. He has three classics to worry about.

  Years ago a friend of mine got divorced. He had five or six Triumphs in various states of repair from show cars to parts cars. His wife kept everything except his Triumphs. He found an old service garage shop that had a small eating area that looked out at the shop through a large glass pane window. He bought the place and converted the eating area into a small bachelor's apartment. Every night when he went to bed he could look at at his cars in the garage through the glass pane window. The perfect set up for a newly single auto enthusiast. :-)

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  March 2, 2011 1:53 p.m. John Brown SuperDork

  TR8owner wrote: I need a garage with a house attached.

  You and me both brother...

  Internationally known as The Brown Stig

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  March 2, 2011 1:55 p.m. monsterbronco New Reader

  last April i closed on a 1050sq ft cape cod, with a 1200sqft detached garage :-) all my friends are still jealous

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  March 2, 2011 2:09 p.m. tr8todd Reader

  When I was looking for my house I had the same criteria. Found it easier to buy a house and then build the garage. Buddy of mine just put up a 32X48 pole barn for under 30K. He still needs to run electric, but at least he has lots of space.

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  March 2, 2011 2:11 p.m. nocones HalfDork

  Where? I got one for sale in Appleton Wi...

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  March 2, 2011 2:52 p.m. fasted58 New Reader

  An old fire station w/ living quarters on the second floor would be great. Also, an old warehouse or hangar where you could build a loft... or just throw a cot in the corner. Old filling/ service stations can be a little risky as the tanks and soil contamination become your re$pon$ibility. I've seen quite a few of these buildings but never had the money as I was just into a fresh mortgage.

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  March 2, 2011 3:09 p.m. spitfirebill SuperDork

  fasted58 wrote: Old filling/ service stations can be a little risky as the tanks and soil contamination become your re$pon$ibility.

  Not necessarily. Many states have trust funds that cover the cost of assessment and remediation up to a max. But, you could be sued by an off-site landowner whose property has been impacted by a release from the property, even though you never had anything to do with operating a gas station. You could also screw the pooch if you buy a old, old station that never had the tanks registered. We do environmental assessments of property and see a lot of old gas stations. I still want one too, but would be sure I was covered.

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  March 2, 2011 5:13 p.m. iceracer Dork

  My garage is too small, sorry.

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  March 2, 2011 6:18 p.m. Fletch1 Reader

  Me and my dad are working on "attaching" a new house with a 36X60 Morton,all dri-walled and tile floors. Legal stuff is no fun. That would give me 2160 sqft of awesomeness and 1145 sqft of new home to the wife. I'll be too tight by then to buy something to put in it though.

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  March 2, 2011 6:24 p.m. BoxheadTim SuperDork

  There's a place for sale just down the road from where I live, 2000 sq ft house with a 10k sq ft workshop and a couple more garages. Lucky for me I'm lacking the necessary funds, otherwise I'd be talking to mortgage brokers right now.

  Sanity is vastly overrated.

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  March 2, 2011 6:27 p.m. Woody SuperDork

  When I was building my house, I found my father out in my garage with a tape measure. He told me that my new garage was going to be bigger than the house that I grew up in.

  It's still too small.

  I lift things up and put them down.

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  March 2, 2011 6:30 p.m. fasted58 New Reader

  Some things will always be too small. Your shop, your engine, your bank account and your...well, uh... you know.

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  March 2, 2011 7:46 p.m. Ian F SuperDork

  BoxheadTim wrote: There's a place for sale just down the road from where I live, 2000 sq ft house with a 10k sq ft workshop and a couple more garages. Lucky for me I'm lacking the necessary funds, otherwise I'd be talking to mortgage brokers right now.

  I hear ya... there's a house a few miles from my g/f (who has a decent size garage herself) that is an old farm house.. probably about 1200 sq ft... but behind it is a huge barn/shop with room at least 8 cars (plus second floor storage).

  Unfortunately, even if we could afford the $450K asking price, the taxes in this area would be murder..

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  March 2, 2011 8:10 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

  I have a house with multiple garages. I currently have 8 cars inside and 6 outside.

  Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax. Jackie Stewart

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  March 2, 2011 8:17 p.m. peter Reader

  I need an apartment with a garage attached. In Manhattan. Highly unlikely, so I'll just be jealous of y'all.

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  March 3, 2011 10:37 a.m. Conquest351 Reader

  I drew up a floor plan for a friend who wanted a steel building of 80x100. He wanted half as the garage and half as the house. I need to find that file and upload it for ya. It can be scaled down because the furniture and stuff I used was the largest I could find in the program. LOL

  When you can leave black marks from the exit of one corner to the entry of the next, THEN you have enough horsepower!

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  March 3, 2011 11:36 a.m. wvumtnbkr Reader

  My fiance and I just bought a house that is 2600 sq ft. The HEATED detached garage/ workshop is about 1700 sq ft. AND the garage has stairs to an upstairs attic type room that I can walk in standing upright.

  I cant wait to move in and start working in a larger space. Right now my garage is so small that I have to move the car to the right side of the garage to work on teh left side, then move it back to the left to work on teh right side!

  There are plenty of these types houses int eh Latrobe PA area. If anybody needs some info on them, shoot me a note.

  Rob

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  March 3, 2011 12:11 p.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  Woody wrote: When I was building my house, I found my father out in my garage with a tape measure. He told me that my new garage was going to be bigger than the house that I grew up in. It's *still* too small.

  garages always will be too small

  Real cars only have one header!

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  March 3, 2011 12:20 p.m. ZOO SuperDork

  I've doubled the size of my garage with my new house. I know it's too small, still. But I think if I am creative I can get two Miatas and an Elise in it :)

  1990 Miata, 1998 M3, Locost in progress

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  March 3, 2011 12:45 p.m. Raze Dork

  go to garage journal, but brace yourself, if you garage doesn't have a bunker underneath, a room overhead, a kitchen, bathroom, heated floors, walls, ceiling, 3 15' garage doors and is made of brick, tiled floor with custom cabinetry, has a bar, game room, and seats 12, all while parking your 6 cars, 2 on lifts, and a boat, then it's not big enough...

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  March 3, 2011 1:38 p.m. Conquest351 Reader

  Raze wrote: go to garage journal, but brace yourself, if you garage doesn't have a bunker underneath, a room overhead, a kitchen, bathroom, heated floors, walls, ceiling, 3 15' garage doors and is made of brick, tiled floor with custom cabinetry, has a bar, game room, and seats 12, all while parking your 6 cars, 2 on lifts, and a boat, then it's not big enough...

  +1

  That forum is friggin AMAZING!!!!

  When you can leave black marks from the exit of one corner to the entry of the next, THEN you have enough horsepower!

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  March 3, 2011 1:44 p.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

  I'm mad i didn't get this.... The garage was bigger than the house, and could have EASILY swallowed 7-8 cars, and was tall enough to put a full on loft up top.

  

  SCAVENGE THE SEA FLOOR FOR NUTRIENTS

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  March 3, 2011 7:10 p.m. Teh E36 M3 HalfDork

  I just built a 16x20 with a loft overhead- walk up stairs and should be good for a game room. I wanted bigger, but then thought- heating/cooling a larger garage? Cleaning it? Filling it with E36 M3? No thanks. 16x20 keeps one car project in there. I don't need more than that. I've got the upstairs for playing cards and drinking beer with buddies. It's gotten over the top (a/c, heat, water, possible toilet, vct floor, etc), but half of the fun I'm finding is building it. Garage forums is a dangerous place to go and get ideas!
  

  My brother just bought a house with a 5 car garage. That would only mean trouble for me.

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  March 3, 2011 8:28 p.m. Ian F SuperDork

  Teh E36 M3 wrote: I wanted bigger, but then thought- heating/cooling a larger garage? Cleaning it? Filling it with E36 M3? No thanks. 16x20 keeps one car project in there.

  I have similar plans, although I'm hoping for a little bigger than that. Partly because I'm hoping to dedicate one side to a project car (my crusty ES) and the other side to a wood shop, figuring that work in both areas will be rather dusty. General repair work (that I'd want to keep away from excessive dust) would be done in the attached garage.

  Indoor storage, however, is still a bit of a problem..

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  March 4, 2011 8:56 p.m. stan_d Dork

  i lost my shop 35X54X14 barn just finished floor then wife wants divorce and wants the house and barn in spite. the judge is on her side even without kids.

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