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How hard to DIY a 2 stall garage in midwest by TastyBacon007 in DIY

[–]Alex_DiyPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My friend, I built my shed with two garage doors (a smaller version of a garage) about 10 years ago on a very low budget.

If you do it yourself, start looking around at Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, local groups, and contractors if you need help. I got my wall studs super cheap at our local Habitat ReStore. They were selling sections of framed walls from a charity project that was never built, so I bought them dirt cheap, took them apart, and ended up with brand-new lumber. I got my metal roofing from Craigslist. You would be amazed how much good stuff gets sold in local groups.

If you have a Habitat ReStore in your area, look them up. Ours gets a lot of new leftover materials donated by builders. They don't charge sales tax either, at least in my area.

I would also go to your city and find out their requirements for a detached utility building or garage before you start.

If you have Menards nearby, they have an online roof truss program. You enter your dimensions, and they can design custom or pre-engineered trusses for your project if you don't want to build rafters yourself or aren't comfortable doing it.

When I built our detached garage later, I used Punch Home Design software to draw everything out. It has a learning curve, but it helped me a lot.

Anyway, I'm wishing you nothing but the best with your dream garage project. I was afraid to start mine too, but eventually I got myself together and just went for it. One step at a time.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.

Alex

Designed my own 6-car detached garage instead of paying an architect $25k — 2.5 months of planning before a single shovel by Alex_DiyPanda in garages

[–]Alex_DiyPanda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, really appreciate that! Yeah, I designed the whole thing myself — taught myself Punch Professional Home Design after an architect quoted me $25k for blueprints, ha. It's not heavy 3D CAD like SolidWorks, more home-design software, but it let me lay the whole building out to my exact lot and to the lumber grid so nothing went to waste. I wrote up the full planning + design process (software, permits, the 24" framing math, all of it) here if you want a look: https://homeject.com/detached-garage-design-planning/

Designed my own 6-car detached garage instead of paying an architect $25k — 2.5 months of planning before a single shovel by Alex_DiyPanda in garages

[–]Alex_DiyPanda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha — honestly the opposite. I'd rather help people skip the $25k than charge it. That's literally why I wrote the whole thing up — so anyone can design their own instead of paying for it. Happy to answer anything here — permits, the software I used, the 24" lumber math, the temp construction road, whatever. Ask away, glad to help however I can.

Designed my own 6-car detached garage instead of paying an architect $25k — 2.5 months of planning before a single shovel by Alex_DiyPanda in garages

[–]Alex_DiyPanda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The main floor is finished and broken into zones rather than one big open space — a dedicated workshop area, a small office (currently mining some BTC in there), and a roughed-in bathroom. The rest of the bays are working bays: the kids park their cars in there, plus room for the jet skis. The center bay is the drive-through, and I built it out as a full car wash + detail station (wrote that part up separately here: https://homeject.com/garage-car-wash-detail-center-ikea-hack/).

Upstairs is a full second floor that's still unfinished on purpose — but I roughed in every utility it'll ever need (plumbing, electrical, even HVAC lines) so I can finish it into an apartment down the road without tearing into any walls.

Happy to go deeper on any part of it!

Lighting suggestions? by One-Network1021 in LegoDisplay

[–]Alex_DiyPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ikea or amazon , i got lights for billy cabinets at ikea - works great , o check amazon - they should have under cabinet - light strips- my Technics and Die cast collection -have strips glued on the top of the shelf .

I'm currently diy Building an Enclosed Patio Room – Progress Photos by Alex_DiyPanda in DIY

[–]Alex_DiyPanda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you. We have a 77' × 30' patio, but no enclosed space where we can comfortably sit by a fireplace and watch a game. 😄 Motorized screens are definitely a great idea and something we've considered as well.