Building a garage.

[StoneHeartFarm]

Alan40

24 is a common size, when I ordered the materials for my pole barn, every Yard I checked had 24' trusses in stock. Anything else they order for you. Took about a week to get em. (It was a long drive from the Truss Manufacturer-- almost 3 whole blocks /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif).

I went with 2- 10' doors rather than one large door for a couple of reasons: A. One larger door would have been harder for me to install in the likely event that I wind up doing it myself. B. There was some concern about the ease of backing a vehicle out when there is already another vehicle and who-knows-what-else in there. With 2 10' doors, we eliminate any problems associated with backing up, blind spots and learning curves.

SHF

 

[hwp]

Let me add a couple of comments. First re doors. I have had it both ways and I recommend one large door, the larger the better. Second, put a vapor barrier and insulation under the concrete floor slab. This will stop a lot of moisture from entering your garage and the rusting that goes with it. Third, as you are going to heat your garage, put in as much insulation as you can afford. If you plan to use stud walls, use 2x8 studs and 8" batt insulation. If you plan to use pole barn construction (my preference as there are no sills to rot), use 8x8 poles and 8" insulation batts. The initial cost of the framing and insulation will be a little more but it is worth it in the long run. Also use roof trusses so that you do not have any interior obstructions.

I have a 30' x 40' pole barn garage with two 16' x 7' doors plus two man doors. This lets me store 3 cars and my wife's winter beater as well as my ATV and tractor in the garage in the winter and still have room to move around. My truck gets to stay outside. In the summer the ATV and tractor stay outside as well (with covers) so that all vehicles in the garage can be in service. I heat my garage with a regular house oil furnace in the attic. It works well. I only turn it on when I am working in the garage. The garage is sufficiently well insulated that it never freezes even when the furnace is off for a week or more. I am thinking about putting a 25' x 30' extension on the garage so that I can keep my truck inside and have a service bay with a hoist. If I do this, I will put a 20 foot door in it.