[Processing61]

Hi,

I’m looking to get a “budget” garage at some point and I was wondering about construction and sizing. It looks like from top to bottom in terms of what’s best: brick work, breeze block, wooden garage, insulated metal garage and then a concrete sectional garage. I’m not after anything super fancy or expensive.

I am looking at either a insulated metal garage or a concrete sectional garage as wooden, breeze block and brick is way over my budget. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with metal or concrete garages and if they would recommend them or not? I often see the metal and concrete garages come up for sale second hand too so looks to be good for some money saving. I understand you can’t really hang anything on the walls which I wasn’t really planning on doing, but I may well insulate and then board the internals so you could hang things if needed.

Size wise I was thinking that it would be nice if the internal useable dimensions are 6-6.5 metres long and 4.5-5m wide, the concrete pad obviously a bit bigger and roughly 6-7 inches deep.

My main requirements is for it to fit one medium sized car (currently have e90 330d, but would like to fit estate size cars into there too like e91 and be able to comfortably work on all areas of the car without it being too tight. I would look to use either quick jacks or a small “portable” 2 post lift like the maxjax. I would have electrics and eventually will have some kind of heating but wouldn’t be concerned with that at the start.

Any advice is much appreciated

[1 AKY]

I have no experience or advice to offer, but the first 2 things that spring to mind are 'location', and hence 'security'….which may determine external materials and type of construction.

[Processing61]

Originally Posted by 1 AKY

I have no experience or advice to offer, but the first 2 things that spring to mind are 'location', and hence 'security'….which may determine external materials and type of construction.

It will be on the property, in the front garden, which is surrounded by tall hedges and has a gate for the drive. So I felt a concrete sectional or a metal garage would be fine as it is somewhat protected and not right in view

[Processing61]

I am thinking a 6mx6m external would be good. The standard size for a double is around 5.5m wide by 5m long. So 6x6 would be a nice size. I just need to understand what the useable dimension would be inside the garage of a 6x6. I am not planning to keep anything else big in there apart from my toolbox/chest.

You could comfortably fit two cars in there. But it would be intended as a "workshop" for one car. So one car in there should leave enough space around the sides, the back and the front to complete work.

The height would be the main concern as I know the ridge measurement where the trusses are is relatively low and flat. A quick jack lifts the car off the ground by 18 inches I believe and a small/portable two post lift like the max jax would be considerably more in the height it needs to be positioned and the height it can lift the car. So that would be the next thing, would I want something taller. As that's one of the reasons for going for one of these concrete sectional garages, I wouldn't need to get planning as its classed as a semi-permanent structure/portable and the height is low

[Sheepy]

One thing to take into consideration when erecting a building like this are planning & building regulations, last year I built a 6m x 4m log cabin in my rear garden for a games room and due to the height & proximity of the building to my boundary I had to get both planning permission and building regs. The rules can be even worse if building in the front garden.

[Processing61]

Originally Posted by Sheepy

One thing to take into consideration when erecting a building like this are planning & building regulations, last year I built a 6m x 4m log cabin in my rear garden for a games room and due to the height & proximity of the building to my boundary I had to get both planning permission and building regs. The rules can be even worse if building in the front garden.

I have been doing some reading and I'm not seeing anything about it being worse if in the front garden. But I may have missed something. So what I've found is it looks like I would be building over a drain/sewer and a water line. If it's a private drain then I can build no problem, if it's a public sewer/drain then I need to get approval from the sewer company (about £200). I would imagine that would be the same for the waterline.

In regards to building regs, you are right. Based on classed E; it cannot exceed 50% of the total area of land around the original house, cant be self-contained (cannot live in there), must be single-storey with a max eaves height of 2.5 metres and max overall of 4 metres with dual pitched roof (3 metres in any other case) and if the building is within 2 metres of the property boundary line the height cannot exceed 2.5 metres in height total.

I would need to check the deeds and find the exact measurements for the property line/boundary line but I would imagine one of the sides will be less than 2 metres from the boundary line for sure. One side will be around 2 metres and the other two will be way within. So looks like I will need planning permission as 2.5m total height wouldn't leave me much room really, so I may as well look at something taller and apply for that seeing as I would need to go through planning anyway.

Food for thought anyway

[Caradayz]

To build a garage, you need a concrete strip foundation. You can build garage walls from brick, cinder block or aerated concrete. Wooden roof slab. Use metal tiles as roofing material. Choose the size of your garage and calculate how much these building materials will cost you. On the Internet, you can easily find calculator services. Plan your garage electrical and wiring well. I also recommend using something from the smart home system: smart sockets, Wi-Fi lamps, etc. In such cases, IoT development will be very relevant and useful to you in the future.