New garage build- brick/block or wooden?

[tony g]

Im getting a concrete slab fitted this year and plan on a building a double garage- more for storage and not a workshop. Question is do I get it built with blocks and render or go wooden? My primary concern is damp and condensation. I cant see me heating the place as itll cost a fortune but I'm prepared to splash out on a one off set up. With the carmine car which is likely to spend most of the winter parked up I dont want to make things worse if it has to live in a damp enviroment. My 2nd sprint is have a full shell resto and MUST not go bad in storage after the money being spent to date. I'm not up to speed on building things bricks and mortar wise so any advice is useful atm.

Cheers

Tony

[marko]

A course of blocks around the bottom, dpc them wallplate and studwork. Wrap in the breathable roofing felt stuff and clad in a good thickness of timber. It's worth remembering that a metal roof will drip unless it's laid over ply or something similar but not shiny plastic. My wooden garage replaced the prefabricated concrete garage and is still dry and warm in the wettest of Devon weather.
B&Q isn't a real timber yard!

[Carledo]

I had a wooden garage built to the max size allowed by planning regs for a "temporary" building (which can be errected without planning permission) that is 20' square (or any permutation that gives the same square footage) and a max of 4 metres high at the ridge. Why one figure is in feet and the other in metres, only a council will know. It cost me £2k, without the base or the 2 up-and-over doors, which I already had, was put up in late 2004 and is still watertight so far, though I have had to re-felt the roof once.
If you build in brick or block, you will undoubtedly have to seek planning consent, which takes time and costs money, and the building itself will cost roughly 5 times as much unless you are an accomplished brickie.



Best pic I have, with the Sprint shell in the garage.

Good luck with the project!

Steve

[tony g]

Roof will be wooden and felt or even tiles (as I have a load) . I have a lean to with metal sheets above and it rains condensation so thats a no no

Tony

[tony g]

Steve, if planning is not a problem what would you do?. Is there a downside to brick compared to wooden?

Tony

[Carledo]

Tiles are ridiculously heavy, you would need a massive structure to support the weight of a tiled roof.

I HAD to build in wood (or some other "temporary" material), since the garage is built over the main drain which cannot have any permanent building errected within 10 feet of it.
And since I had already extended the footprint of the house to the max allowed by planning rules, I would have been unlikely to get permission anyway!
The whole business of planning consent is a minefield, best to avoid it entirely, save time, money and hair tearing and go for the best "temporary" structure your budget will allow.

Just seen your last post, If planning is no problem (you are chief of the planning committee?) then I would consider block next and brick last, or possibly even a steel frame with block infill like modern industrial buildings. But all this puts you into another minefield which is building regs, which I am not so familiar with. A brick or block building may well need footings digging, rather than a concrete base and footings on level ground these days have to be a minimum of a metre deep. It's a lot of work! So the steel frame might be the best and cheapest choice as only the posts would have to be set in concrete. The only real downsides to brick, apart from planning issues, are cost and complications from building regs.
Given the choice (and a blank cheque) I would have a 2 storey building, double skinned, heated and well insulated about 40' square with a workshop (or possibly a mezzanine to leave room for a 2 poster ramp) upstairs! We can all dream!

Steve

[tony g]

Cheers for the insight . Ive got a guy who builds popping over tomorrow to price initial work etc. If you saw where it is (or will be) youd take the chance on building brick too shhh

Tony

[Carledo]

Well, if no-one at all will ever SEE it........

Steve

But remember it only takes ONE busybody and the wrecking ball comes out!

[xvivalve]

Permitted Development Rights changed in 2008. (and several times since)

You can now erect detached outbuildings (ancillary to the domestic enjoyment of the dwelling) to up to 50% of the area of your garden, so long as nothing is built forward of a principal elevation of the house which fronts a highway and the maximum eaves height is no more than 2.5 m above adjacent ground level. Maximum height must be no greater than 3.0 metres with a flat roof (10º or less) or 4.0 metres with a pitched roof (>10º), again both measured from adjacent ground level. If however any part of the outbuilding is within 2.0 metres of a boundary, the maximum height reduces to 2.5 metres.

The above is on the basis of the house not being Listed or within a Conservation Area or area covered with an Article 4 direction, where in each instance a planning application would be required.

If your budget stretches to it, go masonry. Besides, it will support a nice lifting beam across the middle

You need to check the minimum pitch requirements for the tiles you have; if they are small format clay, it will be 35º, which will impose geometrical limitations on the size of the garage whilst still following the PD rules above. Concrete interlocking go down to 17.5º

The weight of the tiles is easily overcome by appropriate design.

[gmsclassics]

Interesting that you didn't list a metal building as an option as in NZ 95% plus of barns and detached garaging would be. Either a galvanized corrugated or pre-painted what we call 'coloursteel'. These can be bought as kits or fully built on site.

I'm lucky to live on a few acres and built a barn 9 years ago. The roof is lined with a flexible product that consists of a thin insulating layer sandwiched between what appears to be aluminium foil. Nothing on the walls. Okay, the inside temperature is always within a degree of the outside, but I've never had any condensation from the roof or on the walls. It is fully wind and water tight. We do have a few frosts each year but temperature never gets quite to zero.

Generally I have 4 or 5 cars, car trailer, an old shell plus all my parts along with ride-on and other gardening stuff. Never had anything deteriorate in the slightest.

Photo shows the construction and roof lining.

Barn.jpg (97.96 KiB) Viewed 2607 times

Geoff

[GTS290N]

I love the comfy armchair, it must be great for watching others working!

[tony g]

Cheers Geoff, I had considered metal structure but was a bit wary of the possible condensation, but yours sounds like it works great. Its all stuff to consider at the moment.

Alun, I remember the rules changing a bit as you've pointed out so I'll go through and see where I comply or not

Tony

[marko]

My metal roof is lined with thick itchy insulation and then some 1/4 ply and has never leaked or shown condensation in over 12 years. Worth a trip to a few garage door companies as I got a new roller door, that was fitted only for the client not to like the green colour, for £100! I'm currently having a shed built in exactly the same manner as it works so well with the distance between the garage and shed being covered in the metal roofing too. There'll be enough room to fit my Spitfire, mobility scooter and some parts under cover so that I'll be able to get the Dolomite in the garage to swap the engine and box as well as finish the paintwork. Just a shame that my Nan had to die for me to be able to afford it.

[Englishbull]

Personally, I prefer a wooden garage as they breathe better. However, just moved house ( downsized to a cottage) and I now have a brick built 21x 20 ft garage with a room above .........
I am going to insulate the brickwork though but the room above is already insulated.

Love the new "mancave"

[tony g]

Yes love the cave idea. Must make sure ive got room for a comfy chair like Geoff

Tony