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I’m at the home-addition drawing board right now, and am looking for a bit of advice.
I recently purchased a 1950’s square 2-story home, about 1100 sq. ft. It has a natural stucco finish, making it look something like a large dirty sugar cube. About 12 feet to one side of the house is a detached garage of the same dimension as the house (look at the property from above, you see two squares of the same size). This 12 foot space seemed at time of purchase to be the perfect place to add to the house. I figured that it would be possible to connect the house to the garage in an non-rigid fashon with a double wall system that would allow the garage to move with frost action while the house remained motionless (different footing depths, right?).
Well, my wife has began to look with longing at the space over the garage as more possible living area, but this entirely screws up my connection plans.
My question is, is it possible to add an addition to the house that envelops the garage that is financially and technically practical?
Tearing down the garage means losing a ton of (entirely used) storage and work space during construction, which I would like to avoid. Which I guess sums up the problem: Which is the greater pain in the ass–building around the garage, or doing without the garage?
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Any chance of getting a photo of the situation ? Might give us all a bit more to work with.
*I hope your garage has enough footing to not move up and down. In fact, it's unlikely it will move up and down, it will just crack, tilt, and eventually crumble if frost heaving moves it. I don't think it will all move as one nice big garage.Dig a hole alongside the garage and see how deep the footing is if you're worried. I've never built a garage that didn't have footings below frost.
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Sorry, no pictures, but I will try to be more descriptive. Both buildings are square, approximately 23' on a side. They have a 12' space between them. The plan is to attach the two-story house to the single-story garage, creating a single 2-story dwelling that is rectangular with dimensions of 23' x (23+23+12)'. The first story would be living area plus garage, second story living area only. Both buildings are plain squares of standard stick construction. Both have pyramid roofs.
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Roger,
Where are you located? I'm less concerned about frost than ever, now that Global Warming has turned Wisconsin into a January tourist destination--people from Florida are crowding us because it's too darn hot there.
Are the buildings covered with gable roofs? If so, which way do the gables face? What if you added in between the buildings and faced the gables the opposite way, create some visual interest? What uses do you have in mind for your addition?
Have you consulted an architect? This could be a good idea.
Good luck,
MD
*Roger - The very first thing you should do is call your local building department, if you have one. If you don't, consider yourself lucky. If you do, there is a chance they will not allow living space over a garage. At the least, you will have to do some detailing to bring it up to code. I have a client who wanted to do the same thing you want. I spoke to the local inspector two days ago and not only will they not allow detached dwellings in that township, but they do not allow even storage space above garages. Go figure.
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Ryan: Never even occured to me that the garage would have footings below frost (5' in these parts). If it does, what are the odds that it is strong enough to support a second story?
Mad Dog: No gables, hip roof all the way around on both buildings. I figured on a single ridge hipped roof as the easiest way. Probably can't afford an architect, but I hope to be able to dig up an engineer, or maybe some smart dude at the building centre.
Nick: Code here does allow for living space above garage, so long as it is attached to the main dwelling. Most of the houses in my area were the same as mine at one point (the whole area was built up by the government as housing for veterans). 90% of these have seen major additions in recent years, as the old vets have passed on and been replaced by young families.
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What is the condition of the garage now? Any signs of past movement? Cracks in the floor slab, separation around the windows? Assuming it is covered with stucco like the house...how does that look? Any cracks that look like they could be structural instead of shrinkage. If the garage is totally sound now, after 50 years of frost, its not going to suddenly start heaving around unless you change the drainage conditions around it.
Dave
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Now that you mention it, the garage is in pretty good shape. Some cracks in the slab, very minor. Exterior stucco seems to be about 20 years newer than on the house, but is in very good shape. Looks like I might be in business after all...
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About the footings being sized to support a second floor: I really can't say. I would say that the first floor loads are now supported by the slab, not the footings. (unlike most framed houses).
If you're concerned, spend an hour with your shovel and you'll get all the answers you need.
*Hey Roger,You mentioned that a majority of houses like yours have received additions. Did you see any that would work for you? If so, how did they handle it?5 feet. What a bite. We have 4 feet here, bad enough.How much overhang on those hip roofs? Will that be a factor?
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The overhang is fairly modest--less than two feet. I don't know under what condtions that would be a factor.
Lots of places here with really nice additions, problem is I can't afford to do any of them. I'm more of a sweat-equity kind of guy. I hope to keep it as simple as possible and have the fact that it didn't fall down be my main aesthetic statement.
I'm hoping to keep it cheap enough that I don't have to resort to vinyl siding. That stuff seems to break off in bits if you even give it a harsh glance in our Canadian winter. (Ok, no flames, I'm sure many guys have had good success with the stuff).
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The overhangs would be a factor if they poked into would be wall space, or create unusual roofing/siding/flashing situations or if they made everything look awkward and ill-designed.
Sounds like you are on a strict budget. Considering the cost, are you sure this is the best way to spend your money?
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It's either spend it on this, or my student loans. :)
*Hi Roger I used to live in a horse barn.Someone before took the top wooden part of the barn and dumped it on a slab on grade,20 ft behind and put a roof on the concrete first floor so I was left with a bungalow and a back yard wood barn.I joined the two with a crawl space addition and added a loft to the barn.Nothing moved or heaved and has stood like this for 15 years(on the shores of Lake Huron)No architect and very little money.My favourite house.Good luck.
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I'm at the home-addition drawing board right now, and am looking for a bit of advice.
I recently purchased a 1950's square 2-story home, about 1100 sq. ft. It has a natural stucco finish, making it look something like a large dirty sugar cube. About 12 feet to one side of the house is a detached garage of the same dimension as the house (look at the property from above, you see two squares of the same size). This 12 foot space seemed at time of purchase to be the perfect place to add to the house. I figured that it would be possible to connect the house to the garage in an non-rigid fashon with a double wall system that would allow the garage to move with frost action while the house remained motionless (different footing depths, right?).
Well, my wife has began to look with longing at the space over the garage as more possible living area, but this entirely screws up my connection plans.
My question is, is it possible to add an addition to the house that envelops the garage that is financially and technically practical?
Tearing down the garage means losing a ton of (entirely used) storage and work space during construction, which I would like to avoid. Which I guess sums up the problem: Which is the greater pain in the ass--building around the garage, or doing without the garage?