Opinions wanted on this garage for my bus

tomhamrick · April 07, 2014, 04:39:31 AM

When my garage was built in 1996 I ordered it with 14' doors so I could get in whatever I brought home.

The carpenters that were going to frame our house also put up the building and it was not until after the trusses were up that I realized that what the building company had sold me was 14' siding which game me 13' 1" clearance trusses and 12 foot doors. At the time I had a stick built motor home so it was not a problem and even later when we bought the Eagle we just used basement A/C and still no problem. But when we brought home the Prevost that is 13'3" to the top of the A/C I knew I had a problem! What we did was to remove the 12' garage door and replaced it with a 13'6" barn style sliding door. After consulting with the truss manufacturer, we made plywood gussets for the trusses and notched out 4.5 inches of the bottom cord of each truss. Engineer told me the truss was actually stronger than before.

luvrbus · April 07, 2014, 05:55:47 AM

Trusses like Tom said can be modified easy without costing a bundle I would not let that discourage me from buying if I liked the place lowering the floor I would pass

belfert · April 07, 2014, 06:30:01 AM

I went and read city code today. I don't think I could raise the height of the garage if I wanted to because city code says the garage cannot be taller than the house. It appears the garage is the same height as the house as it sits.

I'll check on the whole truss thing. I doubt I can find out who originally made the trusses. I'm trying to see if I can get the blueprints for the house, but I don't know how much information that will give me on the trusses.

luvrbus · April 07, 2014, 07:06:21 AM

That sounds likes Scottsdale AZ I moved to this valley because the City of Scottsdale and the HOA wanted my bus shop to match the house height and the outside finish it was going to cost me 150 grand to meet their requirements to build a shop in my own yard

belfert · April 07, 2014, 10:57:41 AM

I live in a major metro area and almost all cities restrict sizes of garages and outbuildings if you want to be within reasonable distance of downtown Minneapolis. Things have gotten much worse over the last decade or so. I built my current home in 2001. At the time you could have a garage and another building up to 1,500 square feet. A few years later the city restricted total size to 750 square feet. You can barely build a decent three car attached garage in 750 square feet. I looked at a house with a 40 foot garage in 2008. The city would not allow it to be expanded as zoning code has changed since it was built in the 90s. I would be 40 miles out before I got to any place that allows large outbuildings with minimal or no restrictions.

The bad news is the house already has two purchase offers and I'm not prepared to make an offer yet so I have to pass on it. I will never find another house like this one. It would cost well over $300,000 to build a house like this and this one is listed at $209,900 and will probably sell for under $200,000.

My budget is so low that the chances of finding a decent house with an existing building for my bus is slim to none. The main issue is being within 25 to 30 miles of downtown Minneapolis. I don't want to spend my whole life commuting. Traffic is horrendous here and within 20 years it is predicted we will be #1 in the nation for traffic congestion bypassing both Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Lin · April 07, 2014, 12:59:52 PM

I do not know if this would apply, but many city/county ordinances do not cover tents. Therefore, I have seen tents built on concrete slabs and with I-beam frames that are insulated and quite permanent except for the walls being soft. If they are not restricted, you might be able to find a place with enough space to put one. They even come the size of airplane hangers!

belfert · April 07, 2014, 03:12:40 PM

I know exactly what you are talking about with the fabric covered structures, but I imagine the city or county would have a fit if I did that permanently.

Lin · April 07, 2014, 03:55:22 PM

Brian- those that I know that did it were very rural with neighbors highly unlikely to complain. Maybe your area is just too crowded, but it may be worth asking the county what their position is.

belfert · April 07, 2014, 04:04:50 PM

Quote from: Lin on April 07, 2014, 03:55:22 PM
Brian- those that I know that did it were very rural with neighbors highly unlikely to complain. Maybe your area is just too crowded, but it may be worth asking the county what their position is.

I live in a metro area of three million people. The suburb I live in has 25,000 people. My current lot is 1/3 acre which is part of why I am moving.

If I was in a rural area where no neighbors could see a fabric structure I would be in a rural enough area that I could build a standard pole barn with no issue. The problem is such areas are upwards of an hour and a half commute during rush hour. I don't wish to spend three hours in my car every day and $75 to $100 a week on gasoline. On a snowy day it could take three or four hours to get home.

Utahclaimjumper · April 07, 2014, 05:33:31 PM

Sounds like grounds to LEAVE the small minds of Minnysota,, Utah comes to mind.>>>Dan

Fredward · April 07, 2014, 05:46:13 PM

It's too late now but the Coon Rapids Park n Ride is not that far from Ham Lake and then you could ride the bus downtown. Also how about looking up past Ramsey a ways? lots of rural stuff up there and you could ride the train.
Fred

Fredward · April 07, 2014, 05:47:27 PM

It's too late now but the Coon Rapids Park n Ride is not that far from Ham Lake and then you could ride the bus downtown. Also how about looking up past Ramsey a ways? lots of rural stuff up there and you could ride the train.
Fred

Charles in SC · April 07, 2014, 06:21:30 PM

I think it is a sin to build a nice house with a garage that small. All my life folk's toys have been getting bigger and bigger. Builders need to keep up!

belfert · April 07, 2014, 06:57:05 PM

Quote from: Utahclaimjumper on April 07, 2014, 05:33:31 PM
Sounds like grounds to LEAVE the small minds of Minnysota,, Utah comes to mind.>>>Dan

I'm not going to leave the state. I have a job I like, a lot of friends here, and my parents and brothers live here.

To answer Fred, I don't really want to live as far north as Ramsey. The traffic out that way is terrible and it is a long way from work. The train was so unreliable this winter I don't know if I would ever want to ride it. I will need to start taking the bus or train evntually as my cheap parking goes away a year from now.

belfert · April 14, 2014, 02:51:11 PM

Unfortunately, my house sold a week or so too late for the house I posted about. I still think it is the best house I have seen for being fairly new, having a big garage, the right price range, and the right part of town.

I am going to go look at a house tomorrow with a 40x50 pole barn, but it is probably 10 more miles out than the other house. I hate to spend an extra 20 to 30 minutes a day in the car plus the extra gas. It isn't perfect as it looks like no master bath.