New Garage Options

[MinnesotaMike]

I NEED to build a garage at the lake. I am trying to decide between a slab/garage or a pole type building.

It will need to be at least 24 x 24 and with a slab that will be the top end of my budget.

If I build a Pole builing I can build a bigger garage, bigger is always better when it comes to garages, right. I'm not sold on the dirt/class 5 floor though.

I will be storing a pontoon during the winter and misc. stuff during the summer.

Anybody have experience with pole buildings?

Thx,

Mike

[BoxMN]

I would highly recommend going with a 28' depth, even if that means making it slightly narrower. Just my opinion though. I have a 28x28 at cabin and a 28x36 at home. The extra 4 feet gives more room for trailer tongue, and also so you don't have to "pack" things in so tight.

If I could build a pole barn at cabin I would, but they limit us up there to no pole buildings... but with that said, I put my pontoon on dollys so I can roll it around the garage (on slab) and that works great. Also works great for sleds in winter on dollys too, so I can see where having concrete under is nicer than class 5, if you ever need to move anything not on a trailer.

If you do a slab, make sure to give it a slight slant to drain water/moisture out the door, rather than having it flat. In 28' mine drops about 2.75" over the 28', both at cabin and home - works greats, no puddling.

Last little thing that I would recommend, if you go with traditional built over pole barn, get storage trssuses instead of regular. Will cost a bit more, but you will regret it if you don't do it. I do

[Macgyver55]

"Size matters"!

Myself, I'd go with the bigger building. You can probably add a slab later easier than adding more building (and more slab) later. You could also do like my buddy did and slab part of it for a work space and leave part class 5 for storage.

My pontoon takes up a lot of room and its only a 20 foot. Put it in a standard garage and it leaves little room for anything else especially if you want to get around it.

[CAMAN]

I would definetly go with the biggest pole building you can afford and save up to add a slab at a later date. Just let the builder know that's your plan incase they need to do anything different with the foundations or walls.

[Pooh]

concrete is gonna be one of, or close to, the biggest expense. i have a 24 by 24 foot garage. the only thing its good for is parking cars in. no shop no work bench, nothing. i had a motorcycle i got rid of that, because of space. I've got my gas grill and push mower and very little room around my pickup and wifes car.

good luck with your decisions.

[luckey]

BoxMN, Good point on the storage trusses! Basically they have 2 x 6 bottom cords. Also, if you go with them, plan to leave out one truss some place (They will make the trusses on either side with 2 x 6 top and bottom cords. This will leave you with close to a four foot opening for access. Other wise you end up with an access max of 22.5 inches. Not very functional.

[muchowja]

You should be able to get a larger shed than a stick framed garage for the same amount of money. You can always just finish a portion of a shed in concrete also and finish the rest at a later date.

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