3 stall garage question

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straightlinespeed

straightlinespeed

Sometimes I pretend to be normal
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Uvita, Costa Rica
Hello guys! We just bought our house back in Sept. The previous owner had the 3rd stall of the garage turned into a wood working shop. There is a wall that is built between it and the other 2 stalls, has a raised insulated floor, and heated. There is not a garage door installed to the outside to pull a vehicle in, just a walk thru door.

We wanted to build a second garage on the property but found out that the city will not allow this. I really didnt want to turn the shop into a garage stall but I dont have any option now, especially with the little **** that is going around slashing tires, over the past month.

So here is my dilemma and wondering what you guys would do if you were in this situation.

Do I cut a garage door in so I can pull a vehicle straight in, which would also require me to pour concrete to extend the driveway to that side. But limits working on the vehicle there since its only 11' wide with the wall still in place.

Or do I take down the insulated wall which has power in it and use the regular garage door to pull a vehicle in? Which would give me more room to work on the vehicle. But would be tough trying to get a car squared up and would probably have to use a jack to move the car over into its place.
 
You could buy wheel casters from Harbor Freight that would allow you to easily roll the car over into the third slot.

Taking down the wall would probably be the least expensive option.
 
Would the city allow you to build on to the shop?Building a second garage and adding on are two different things.By the time you install a door and remove the wall you might be real close to the cost of adding a stall.
 
Chk with city and see if you can install a double carport[metal] with gravel floor,if so install it wait for 3 mths and close it in,just dont concrete it or it makes permanent structure,anchor it with re-bar rods driven into ground at angle.....
 
I use skates in my garage to push a car into the stall with no door. Made the mistake of buying cheepo HF ones....spent more time lifting the car back up after it fell off them then I did moving the car. Bought a decent set, keep them well lubed and now my wife can push our Explorer around by herself...
 
rklein383 said:
You could buy wheel casters from Harbor Freight that would allow you to easily roll the car over into the third slot.

Taking down the wall would probably be the least expensive option.
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I have thought about that, but its not very convenient. Having to do this every time I take the car out, but it is a option

mopar410 said:
Would the city allow you to build on to the shop?Building a second garage and adding on are two different things.By the time you install a door and remove the wall you might be real close to the cost of adding a stall.
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No, We are allowed a max of 1000 sq. ft. garage and mine is already at that point. I thought about adding a additional stall onto that side of the garage and discussed that with them. Thats when they told me about the max sq. footage.

Im not to concerned about the cost factor, since we were budgeting for a whole other garage. I would be doing all of the labor myself and my friend would be doing the concrete work.

rbdart said:
Chk with city and see if you can install a double carport[metal] with gravel floor,if so install it wait for 3 mths and close it in,just dont concrete it or it makes permanent structure,anchor it with re-bar rods driven into ground at angle.....
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No city ordinances call for anything like that to have a permanent surface. Like if we were going to store the camper next to the garage it would have to be either asphalt or concrete. As for it being a separate structure we are limited to 120sq ft. So that is not big enough either.

That is why Im stuck with with two options that I mentioned.

Thank you everyone for your input so far
 
Is it attached to the house? If it is, is the shop on the outside end or between the house and the other stalls? I assume you have two drivers and the project car for three cars total and that is why you need a third stall?

We use dollies under our projects because even though I have two stalls, it's not wide enough to park a car and then work on the other so I pull out my Dart and roll the project over when we work on it. To be honest it's kind of a pain and there's times that I just don't feel like dealing with it and forgo working on it. If the car is already on the road, there would be days that you'd like to drive it but might just say, too much trouble. If possible, I'd leave the wall up (if there's still enough room to work on the car) and put a garage door on it. That way if you use it for body work or whatever and you can keep the other cars and bikes and other garage stuff from getting dusted up.

I guess it depends on what kind of work you have planned, how much room you need, how often you plan to use the extra car, what kind of access you want for it. If you decide you don't need the shop space for a car then I'd keep it intact for engine building and parts storage.
 
Sounds to me like it's time to gather the natives and change some city ordnances
 
Robj said:
Is it attached to the house? If it is, is the shop on the outside end or between the house and the other stalls? I assume you have two drivers and the project car for three cars total and that is why you need a third stall?

I guess it depends on what kind of work you have planned, how much room you need, how often you plan to use the extra car, what kind of access you want for it. If you decide you don't need the shop space for a car then I'd keep it intact for engine building and parts storage.
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Yes, its attached to the one end of the house. I have a large 18' door for the normal 2 car side. The shop is attached right next to this. We could fit a 9' door to the outside and drive right in. Of course the insulated plywood floor would have to come out. Yes, we have 2 drivers and in a few years a 3rd.

My car is driving so not a whole lot of work is needed. I know I would not be able to open up both doors wide open if I had to but if that was the case I would switch vehicles and put that car on the big side.

I like the fact of keeping the wall to separate the stalls, but if I remove the wall it opens up a ton more room at the same time. LOL, this shouldnt be such a tough decision but I cant decide!
 
I added on to my garage but the original size is 16x28 and it is separated by a wall and a step down on the floor so I see your dilemma.Some times I wish it was open but I use it as an extra separate work space.I agree with ROBJ it depends on your intentional use.If your doing body work by all means leave the wall up and use some car dollies to move the car over for room and work one side at a time.If its just storage for the most part leave the wall also.Only reason I see to take the wall out is for access to engine lifts,stands or other large objects that you don't want to drag around the outside.If you added the door for now and seen how you like it you can always take the wall down later but once you take it down its more work putting it back up if you decide you want it later.
 
straightlinespeed said:
That would be nice! The person at the city I talked to said if I didnt live in such a heavily developed area it wouldnt be a issue.
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Go to a council meeting and see about getting a waiver or an exception or something,explain your situation and the fact you are a taxpaying member of the community,the more people you take this problem to[mayor/council] the more apt to get a positive review,not just one person can make this decision...this sucks and is why I live in a hayseed town of 700 away from all the BS of the home building gestapos who think they have to dictate everything you do on your own property...whos paying for it? aint them...good luck man...I know it's wearing on ya...
 
mopar410 said:
I added on to my garage but the original size is 16x28 and it is separated by a wall and a step down on the floor so I see your dilemma.Some times I wish it was open but I use it as an extra separate work space.I agree with ROBJ it depends on your intentional use.If your doing body work by all means leave the wall up and use some car dollies to move the car over for room and work one side at a time.If its just storage for the most part leave the wall also.Only reason I see to take the wall out is for access to engine lifts,stands or other large objects that you don't want to drag around the outside.If you added the door for now and seen how you like it you can always take the wall down later but once you take it down its more work putting it back up if you decide you want it later.
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I have a two car garage and when I built it I extended one end for a photo studio. I'm retired from that now but I've left the wall up for some storage and as a work area. It's nice because it's really well lit, insulated, has a wall ac unit. It's temporarily become completely storage for all my folks stuff as they've passed away but we're going through all of that and opening it back up an area at a time for work space.

I never really thought about it but I could put a door on the front next to the other garage door and also make it a parking/work stall.....hmmmm.
 
If the wall between the stalls is a load bearing wall, you may not have any option but to put a garage door on the front. It sounds like it might be since the 3rd stall was added to the original 2 stalls.
 
Put in a lift and double park on the two car side. Keep your insulated and heated space for winter projects. This is the set up my friend has. Parks 4 cars in a three car garage. He had to change the tracks for the garage door but that didn't cost too much and the lift was a little over 2 grand after freight.
 
mopar79sean said:
Put in a lift and double park on the two car side. Keep your insulated and heated space for winter projects. This is the set up my friend has. Parks 4 cars in a three car garage. He had to change the tracks for the garage door but that didn't cost too much and the lift was a little over 2 grand after freight.
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I kick myself often for not building my garage tall enough to accept a lift.
 
straightlinespeed said:
Hello guys! We just bought our house back in Sept. The previous owner had the 3rd stall of the garage turned into a wood working shop. There is a wall that is built between it and the other 2 stalls, has a raised insulated floor, and heated. There is not a garage door installed to the outside to pull a vehicle in, just a walk thru door.

We wanted to build a second garage on the property but found out that the city will not allow this. I really didnt want to turn the shop into a garage stall but I dont have any option now, especially with the little **** that is going around slashing tires, over the past month.

So here is my dilemma and wondering what you guys would do if you were in this situation.

Do I cut a garage door in so I can pull a vehicle straight in, which would also require me to pour concrete to extend the driveway to that side. But limits working on the vehicle there since its only 11' wide with the wall still in place.

Or do I take down the insulated wall which has power in it and use the regular garage door to pull a vehicle in? Which would give me more room to work on the vehicle. But would be tough trying to get a car squared up and would probably have to use a jack to move the car over into its place.
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i would move.i wouldnt let a city tell me i couldnt build a garage.what is this china or russia?seriously,hard for me to imagine someone telling ,no you cant build a new garage.wow
 
jdsduster said:
i would move.i wouldnt let a city tell me i couldnt build a garage.what is this china or russia?seriously,hard for me to imagine someone telling ,no you cant build a new garage.wow
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LMFAO, ya thats a option. I have a 3 stall garage already. I was looking at building a additional 2 car. Its not that I dont have a garage that isnt useful. Obviously you dont live in a Suburb with ordinances, or you have so much money that you can just up and move from your home.

That was not and is not a option. Especially considering we just bought this house in Sept.
 
Hey SLS I've been wanting to ask about your dog photo. I crack up so bad every time I look at it. It's perfect! Is that your dog?

What's his opinion on the garage? Oh wait, I think he's thinking that we're all whacked!
 
Robj said:
Hey SLS I've been wanting to ask about your dog photo. I crack up so bad every time I look at it. It's perfect! Is that your dog?

What's his opinion on the garage? Oh wait, I think he's thinking that we're all whacked!
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LOL, Actually it is not my dog. I sure wish it was!

I find funny animal pictures and make them my facebook profile photo. My daughter cracks up every time I put up a new one. I like this one so much that I decided to use it on here.
 
straightlinespeed said:
LMFAO, ya thats a option. I have a 3 stall garage already. I was looking at building a additional 2 car. Its not that I dont have a garage that isnt useful. Obviously you dont live in a Suburb with ordinances, or you have so much money that you can just up and move from your home.

That was not and is not a option. Especially considering we just bought this house in Sept.
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hehehe,yea i live in the country.city life must suck.hey move to indiana ill help ya build one
 
Seems to me the only solution is to add a garage door. And then you could always take down the wall later if you want. Got to be able to get the car in and it's way too much of a pain to skate the cars around. I feel for you, buddy. Here in the People's Republic of California, you're lucky to be able to do anything, even without CC&R's. They want a permit to install a lousy water heater! Not in my lifetime! There are lot of places (usually "gated communities" where you aren't even allowed to park in your own driveway for more than a few minutes, and not on the street at all. I rather think they would frown on pulling an engine!! That's why if I ever move again (and I won't), my first condition laid on the real estate agent is - if it has CC&R's, don't waste my time...
 
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