[grivera]

I am in the process of shopping to have a metal pole barn garage built. The budget only allows for one of the following:

Option 1: 24' W x 36' L X 12' tall wall with attic trusses. The attic will add 12' W x 36' L storage space.

Option 2: 30' W x 40' L x 12' wall with standard trusses.

There is a huge price difference between standard and attic trusses as the attic trusses include stairs, a landing, plywood and double the amount of trusses as they ae 2' OC vs 4' OC.

Either way I plan a 2-post lift.

Thoughts?

[max 93]

If it were me, I would do the 30x40

[SD455DJ]

X2. Dennis

[linden_gto]

i'd go for square footage also. 12' walls still leave room for stacked storage.

[West Coast GTO]

So the actual footprint of option #2 is only 24 square feet larger than option #1 BUT with #1 you get an additional 432 square feet of storage.

Deduct the floor space for the stair access and you STILL end up with more than 375 square feet of storage plus the same wall height ( 12') . Believe me, the additional storage for light weight items would be used.

Recommend Option #1

[GTOGEORGE]

I have a 4 car garage (2 car wide, 2 car long)......not big enough......go BIGGER!



GT%O George

[grivera]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

So the actual footprint of option #2 is only 24 square feet larger than option #1 BUT with #1 you get an additional 432 square feet of storage.

Deduct the floor space for the stair access and you STILL end up with more than 375 square feet of storage plus the same wall height ( 12') . Believe me, the additional storage for light weight items would be used.

Recommend Option #1

Option 1 is 864 sf (garage level) minus space for stairs and 432 sf attic level - (1296 total)

Option 2 is 1200 sf.

My concern is if option 1 will feel small with the lift. The garage entry on either version is on the short side.

[West Coast GTO]

It is obvious my multiplication skills are currently lacking.
yes, go with Option #2 especially with the floor lift.

Originally Posted by grivera

Option 1 is 864 sf (garage level) minus space for stairs and 432 sf attic level - (1296 total)

Option 2 is 1200 sf.

My concern is if option 1 will feel small with the lift. The garage entry on either version is on the short side.

[craigs69]

Definitely go with option 2.

My 30x40 isn't even big enough anymore. A 40x60 is in the near future.

[The Champ]

I have a 30x40. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to 32' wide - would make parking 3 wide much easier.

Originally, I was going to be 44' deep - but Hurricane Katrina hit be for I finalized my building supplies. The price jump coast me 4' in length (I refused to borrow money for this project. That extra 4' foot would make parking 2 deep much easier. I can park 2 deep - but it's tight.

I went with scissor trusses and 10' sidewalls. Gave me the ceiling height for a lift (yet to purchase) with the shorter side wall. Nearly 15' tall at center.

[STEELCITYFIREBIRD]

I've never heard anyone complain my garage, TV, or engine is to big. Go big now and plan for the future.
Shop, haggle, get everything in writing down to the last detail.
------
CHAMP, like the DLM sheet metal.

[ponjohn]

Largest footprint.

Personally I think attics are only good for light stuff. I hate trucking cylinder heads etc up steps.

[64speed]

Build the biggest you can afford. I have a 30x40 and with a lift and drill press and sheet metal brake and welder and plasma cutter etc I ran out of space fast.

[geeteeohguy]

What these guys said. Big as you can comfortable build it. I have a regular 2 car garage attached to the house, and the house came with a matching 2 car shop (24X32) with a separate driveway and gate. I had the shop extended 10 feet to 42' and raised with 12' walls over the front portion, for my lift. I have a 16' wide by 12' tall roll up door so I can park an RV inside if I need to. Simply adding the 10 feet in length turned it into a 4 car shop with room to spare. Bigger is always better: the less cramped and jammed up you are, the more work you can get done with less effort.

[Bentwheelbob]

Go with option two and use the storage trusses. Delete the OSB, stairs, landing and plan to do those later. Quite simply option one isn't big enough. It isn't deep enough for two cars, and barely wide enough for two cars. The storage will come in handy later when you can afford it. You better check your overall height. 12' clearance is bare minimum for a lift in my opinion unless your a short guy which I am not. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[Va68goat]

Definitely go with something that will fit my car too!

[Sirrotica]

The automotive hobby is basically a hoarding disorder. If you've ever watched the TV show "Hoarders" you have a look into our hobby. Instead of old newspapers, dead cats, etc. we hoard car parts, and whole cars, seen as junk by many many people. We usually don't keep our stuff in our homes, but we will expend resources outside of the house to keep our "STUFF".

It really sucks that cars and parts take up soooooooooooo much room, but they do, never enough room for our stuff.

Build it as big as you can afford to, or even bigger than you can afford to.....................LOL

[grivera]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

Go with option two and use the storage trusses. Delete the OSB, stairs, landing and plan to do those later. Quite simply option one isn't big enough. It isn't deep enough for two cars, and barely wide enough for two cars. The storage will come in handy later when you can afford it. You better check your overall height. 12' clearance is bare minimum for a lift in my opinion unless your a short guy which I am not. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

I will ask about the attic/storage trusses incorporated into option 2 to see what they quote...

[sdbob]

Mine is 30x60. It's full. Disorder,I do not have a problem! I stick built mine with gambrel roof,barn roof, 2nd story.Meaning i have complete 2ND floor 30x60 but rafters lean in for 8ft of height,then steep pitch on top.The only thing I did was not consider a lift.The ceilings are 10 ft downstairs.Didn't want to high now I wish I went 12ft. So think about what YOU want and cost. Figure extras and how much longer it would take to pay for them.You are only going to it once. Enjoy the time figuring it will reward you in end.

['ol Pinion head]

Good rule of thumb with original Muscle Era cars is one needs a minimum 10'6" of celing height with most lifts. Have been in several home garages where the drywall covered ceiling was only 8'6" to 10 ft, and a 4 post lift was installed. In order to install the 4 postlift some serious work had to be performed to the ceiling joists to properly raise them & leave a recessed area where the roof area of the car would clear the ceiling. It was a lot of work. Similar deal with 2 postlifts, still need clearance to walk underneath the vehicle. In two local older big home garages, these large recesses could only be situated towards the front of the garage, as garage door tracks & openers took up too much room towards the garage doors. In one case, situating the recessed area towards the front of the garage even required the removal @ repositioning of the fold down staircase to the attic. In a metal building with welded trusses or pole barn with wood trusses, one can still be battling ceiling height.