Help with garage design!

[stryped]

I am needing/wanting to build a garage about 24x30. (but am open to other sizes). I need to do this myself. I don=92t have the money right now for a concrete floor. I live in the country.

I have been toying with ideas trying to do this as cheaply as possible. (And still look halfway decent). Anyway, what do you guys think in terms of price the difference between vinyl siding/shingle roof vs all metal building? Metal where I am is about 3.08/ft. I think I priced vinyl siding at 70 bucks a square a Lowes. (Although I may be able to find tan siding cheaper somewhere else).

I had been thinking pole barn was the cheapest. I am struggelign with roof trusses vs building my own too.

One thing I was wondering, I sort of like the gambrel type roofs and was reading a shed building manual last night. It had a plan where you assembled gambrel type ribs on the ground, then assembled them togther to form a building. It got me wondering, could a person assemble a gambrel rib for a building such as this made of 4x4 posts on the ground then somehow lift it into pre dug post holes? It seems the roof and everything would be right there and it would have increased headroom because of no trusses. Maybe using a pole or something to get it up? (I could maybe get acess to a tractor with a bucket on it.) I kind of like the gambrel roof look but it may be harder to do, especially the roof.

Appreciate any help from you experts

[Dioclese]

Just a few questions.

I can't tell if you want a storage building, or, a garage whose primary purpose is for parking/storing a truck or car.

Does your county or parish have any building codes?

Is there any concern about a frost line regarding the foundation due to your locale?

Any intent for electrical in the building?

[jloomis]

Where abouts? Metal would be cheaper..... Vinyl needs backing like plywood. as well as the roofing. Metal can stand on its own.Roof and sidewall.

Pole buildings are great as long as the poles are treated in a way so they do not rot in the ground.

Gambrel Roofs can be built and lifted.... Oregon Barns have designs for such. (or have had) I built Oregon Barn Design in the past.

I am needing/wanting to build a garage about 24x30. (but am open to other sizes). I need to do this myself. I don?t have the money right now for a concrete floor. I live in the country.

I have been toying with ideas trying to do this as cheaply as possible. (And still look halfway decent). Anyway, what do you guys think in terms of price the difference between vinyl siding/shingle roof vs all metal building? Metal where I am is about 3.08/ft. I think I priced vinyl siding at 70 bucks a square a Lowes. (Although I may be able to find tan siding cheaper somewhere else).

I had been thinking pole barn was the cheapest. I am struggelign with roof trusses vs building my own too.

One thing I was wondering, I sort of like the gambrel type roofs and was reading a shed building manual last night. It had a plan where you assembled gambrel type ribs on the ground, then assembled them togther to form a building. It got me wondering, could a person assemble a gambrel rib for a building such as this made of 4x4 posts on the ground then somehow lift it into pre dug post holes? It seems the roof and everything would be right there and it would have increased headroom because of no trusses. Maybe using a pole or something to get it up? (I could maybe get acess to a tractor with a bucket on it.) I kind of like the gambrel roof look but it may be harder to do, especially the roof.

Appreciate any help from you experts

[HerHusband]

Around here, a pole building is about the cheapest you can build, and our building department doesn't even require building permits for those. A quick peek in the local NickelAds will show several companies who will come out and bang one up for 3-10 thousand (depending on size). But unless you live on a farm, a pole building looks like, well, a pole building... And while pressure treated posts will last many years, they'll never last as long as a good concrete foundation.

Back in 2001, my wife and I built our own 24x28 garage for under $13,000. I had the slab poured by a contractor, but we did everything else ourselves. We poured a concrete stemwall foundation (6" wide x 24" tall on a 12"x6" footing). We framed a 2x6 studwall on top of the foundation with 1/2" "roughsawn" plywood sheathing/siding. It's like T-111 without the grooves. We were originally planning to do a simulated board-and- batten look, but found we were happy with the look without the added battens.

For the roof, we spanned the 24' distance of the garage with 2x12's at

16" OC, and framed rafters with 2x6's (8/12 pitch). This gave us a very nice storage attic above the garage and free space down below without any posts or beams getting in the way.

That $13000 included a lot of extras though like full electrical, insulation, sheetrock, upgraded insulated garage doors, upgraded lighting, a T&G ceiling in the attic, etc. You could reduce costs by skipping or downgrading these options and postponing the interior slab till later.

The roughsawn plywood with an opaque redwood stain suits our area nicely (we used the same thing when we built our house), but it leaves the possibility open if we want to add a different type of siding in the future. Remember that most siding materials still need a structural sheathing underneath (i.e. plywood), so the roughsawn plywood accomplishes both goals with one product.

Also, if you are flexibile on the size of the garage, keeping to modular sizes will help reduce waste and make building easier. For instance, go with a 28' or 32' garage rather than 30', to be able to make the most of

4' wide plywood sheets without cutting. It also helps when spacing studs, rafters, and ceiling joists at 16" OC.

Obviously, the more work you can do yourself the more you'll save. But if you don't have the skills, tools, or manpower to accomplish a task, it's better to hire out than mess it up. For example, we hired out the slab pour, and even with four guys working they were really earning their pay. My wife and I would never have been able to pull that off successfully working alone (even though we have poured our own stemwall foundations).

Good luck!

Anthony

[stryped]

I live in the country in south central kentucky. I plan to park cars in here and to concrete it someday, but not immediately. Actually my thinking was to put up the poles and roof and park my cars under there until I could afford to do the rest. Yes I plan on having electricity in there when it is finished.

[dpb]

stryped wrote: ...

If that means an actual agricultural area, it's undoubtedly possible to buy pole barn kits or even installed on site cheaper than you can buy materials from any number of sources.

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[butwhat]

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You could find a building that can be moved or disassembled and reassemble it on your property. I've been involved in these types of deals several times. When fuel was cheap you could move a building for almost nothing. A friend of mine took down a crib and built a garage out of the lumber.