Hi

Any advice please on designing/specifying, buying and building a garage?

I am thinking of building a wooden double garage (side by side or tandem) - any recommendations on suppliers and sage tips? Anyone built their own from scratch? Any good plans out there?

Thinking of nothing too fancy (but after years of renting lockups with no light something next to the house with light and power would be a luxury and really help classic car fixing and the Locost build).

Thought of buying something kit/readymade delivered or even erected with DIY digging, shuttering and laying concrete base and the getting the concrete mixed on site by one of those on-site mix trucks. What spec for the base?

I guess build as big as I can will be the advice as well as side-by-side is easiest operationally.

Any thoughts on insulation and what to use? Roofing?

Think I have checked out the planning rules OK for Scotland, but Locosters’ advice always handy.

Cheers
Mike

[Edited on 12/11/22 by Mike Wood]

[Edited on 12/11/22 by Mike Wood]

[Edited on 13/11/22 by Mike Wood]

Not knowing if you are rural or urban location, but if the former, something like this might be what you're looking for (and they're up your way).

https://www.murraysteelbuildings.com/workshops/

When laying a concrete base pay particular attention to getting the damp proofing correct. It takes planning and attention. Concrete takes a surprising amount of time to properly dry out.

Just finishing off my barn 12m x 8m steel frame, clad in larch with box tin roof, this is my second one my first was a purchased oak frame clad in wood with a clay roof tiles 6m x 4m.

First thing is get the base right, previously I owned a house that came with a 4m x 4m wooden shed, it was not large enough for a decent sized car and it had a marginal concrete floor that after a few years cracked.

So invest money in the base, dig it out properly and have a decent level of scalping delivered - contact a quarry and have an 8 wheeler deliver it - local builders merchant = £70 for a jumbo bag delivered, the 40 ton lorry was £17 a meter so a significant savings.

Buy a digger, use it and sell on, arrange for a grab lorry to collect the spoil if you cannot distribute around the garden

Knocking up concrete by hand is a No No, using a cheap mixer - buy one and sell on is also very hard work so lay out the wooden shuttering and get it delivered - ask for agricultural concrete as this has additives to protect from urine etc so is very hard wearing and resistant, it does not cost a lot more.

They will off to add fibres for strength, forget that put in steel mesh.

On the concrete delivery day you will need a few people with shovels to move it around and ramp down.

Wood, forgot B&Q, find a local sawmill and buy direct, larch is a very good choice as it will not rot and will go really hard over time.

My steel 12m x 8m frame with purlins on my latest barn cost £4,500
Tin box profile roof £4,000
Concrete base £5,000 12” scalpings, 8” re-Enforced slab
Larch timber and cladding £4,000
6’ concrete block wall £1,000 for 6” thick blocks
Fixings, screws, bolts, latches £500

So it’s not cheap to do it well, but well worth doing properly.

My oak frame barn 6m x 4m (10 years ago)

Oak frame with roof timber and side timbers all constructed £5,500
6” concrete base mixed by myself, took a day 14 jumbo bags £1,200 with waterproofing additive
Scalpings £800
Second hand clay nib tiles £2,000
Second hand oak garage doors (from a London mews) £1,000
Brick dwarf wall dug down 800mm
Fixings £500

So yes you can do this yourself and save a huge amount of money, the finished products were less than half the cost of having built and to a much higher specification.

Buy a digger, use it and sell it on afterwards, also if you can stretch to it a small dumper.

^^^

There's some experience.

Neighbour dug out for a pool in their garden. Did the digging himself, bought a 2nd hand mini digger and stand on dumper. Contracted a grab truck to remove the spoil.

All kit flogged when finished.

Another vote for self build, I built mine to build my kit in 20 years ago and its still warm and dry, as long as you make sure its waterproof then wood is the best material!




[img]
garage half built [/img]

A fantastic web site is garage journal there is some fantastic built garages
Jacko

My sage advice? Put in plumbing for a sink - I did and I use it *loads*, so handy to be able to clean paint brushes and clean up greasy hands before coming back in the house.

Also - consider the roof space, "room in roof" trusses are well worth the small amount extra if you go down the masonry garage route, which is what I did. I've actually got enough space up there that I put a spacesaver staircase in and have it as a 2nd floor for storage, but even if you've not got enough headroom for that, a clear space across the trusses with no diagonal bracing in the way makes for a much more useable space.

A friend has just built a 7m x 6m sectional concrete garage which he bought via an ebay advert second hand. Concrete base, mini digger, cost of a labourer to assist with panel erection, electricity, insulation has totalled £2,200. Took a while to find, insulation came from a reclamation yard at £10 sheet 50mm Kingspan type stuff but other wise straightforward.