Building a temporary 1 car garage

[68angrypony]

Anyone have any experience with building a garage? I am looking to build a temporary garage on the side of my house. Not sure how much longer I will live here and don't want to go through the permit process expense etc. My car is almost back from paint and I want to build something to house the car and protect it while I put the car together. I am in Southern CA so I don't have to worry about heavy floods/snow etc. I was thinking of making a structure that could be taken apart in 4 pieces essentially. The roof would be a triangle shape and would come apart in two pieces. The structure the same thing. I was thinking of using ply wood for the sides and roof and just running tar paper and shingling the whole exterior for protection. Maybe a sky light, but besides that just a one car aluminum rool up door. Was thinking of making a wood floor, its going to sit on concrete, that way the weight of the car would hold it in place if we get some strong winds etc. I was giving some thoughts on aluminum siding etc. Any input? cautions?

 

[FordDude]

If it is only temporary and next to the garage...

Just a suggestion. Use the garage to help support it and make sure you anchor it to the ground. I have one in my driveway that has been blown by the Santa Ana winds into my back yard 3 times. :hs Now the Santa Ana winds only rip the plastic tarp up now. Next cover is going to be canvas, and I only cover the top and not the sides.

fd

 

[B67FSTB]

Something like this in mind ?

 

[68angrypony]

With how money has gone into the car I don't want
The portable garage canvas type. Want to know the car is
Isolated from the elements as there is no glass etc. always want to
Be able to cool/hear the space if needed. I dealt something that looks like a permanent building
But isn't permanent. That way if I want I can take it
Down and move it to my next house. The
Tenants make me cringe with the thought of a big gust
Slamming it into the car or it shifting etc lol

 

[Horseplay]

What you are describing is a permanent structure as defined by just about any municipality. A wooden enclosure complete with walls, ceiling and a door sure sounds like a building...doesn't it?

Why not make a real garage, if you can afford it? You would surely get the cost back at time of sale.

 

[Flysure1]

What you are describing is a permanent structure as defined by just about any municipality. A wooden enclosure complete with walls, ceiling and a door sure sounds like a building...doesn't it?

Why not make a real garage, if you can afford it? You would surely get the cost back at time of sale.

Kind of what I was thinking--just because you are calling it temporary doesn't mean the inspectors will.

 

[Grabber70Mach]

Have you considered a prebuilt shed/garage? I know around here that companies build them, deliver and setup, then when you are ready you could have it moved to your new place.

From infinity and beyond

 

[AzPete]

I use a couple of the shelter logic units. They are good protection but are very tight to do any work in. If used, just do not pull the cover to tight like I did....caused it to split at the contact points in a year.

Many locations also have rules concerning the temporary shelters also. Here, they cannot extend past the front line of the house but you can have as many as wanted.

Check the local regs before doing anything.

 

[68angrypony]

If it isn't permanently attached to the ground it would not be considered a structure needing a permit. That is why I was going to do a solid floor in which the weight of the vehicle would hold the structure in place and not using a method to secure it to the ground. I also need to get it up in a short period of time and going through the local permit process and building inspectors etc would not line up with what I am trying to do. I also don't see it being worth it to pay probably 1000+ in permits inspections etc for something I hope to build for around 1000. Once I get it built and able to move I can find another place to store it if need be. Just basically want to create a temporary place to build the car.

 

[Horseplay]

I think the biggest problem you will have is space. You need room to move around a car when putting it together. Doing such in a one stall garage sized enclosure is not conducive to either fun or success.

For the cost of putting something together you might be better off looking around for a rental space you could use. Probably cheaper and potentially better suited.

 

[68angrypony]

no rental in so cal would be cheaper than building something myself. Its going to have a 1 car roll up door butt should be about 12-14 foot wide depending on what I want to do. That should be more than enough. I am going to put the bumpers and little stuff on right away. The main part of the car will be the interior and the engine bay items. all the suspension components I should be able to put on within a day or two.

 

[Horseplay]

You seriously cannot find a rental garage somewhere close for less than a few thousand dollars a month (time to get the car assembled? A wooden over-sized one car shelter with a shingled roof/sides and roll-up door is going to cost that much. Have you priced plywood lately? Draw out a simple design and count the number of sheets you will need. I think you are looking at over a grand just in plywood. Then you have the framing and hardware. The door and track, etc. Roofing and siding...

Plus, you could never build it in a simple four panel or more easily de-constructible design. Especially cheaply. The weight of a wooden side panel of say 8' x 20' would not be manageable. Plus, how would you move it?

I'm not trying to be an ass here just helping you to see how your scheme is not feasible. If you are set on doing it on site at your house I think your best bet is a temporary tent structure. There are plenty that utilize strong pipe frames that can be ground anchored and would give you the enclosure required.

 

[Horseplay]

Here is such a company I would look at in your shoes. They have a 12 x 20 x 8' high unit for under $500 that you could temporarily anchor to the drive or bolt into a wooden floor structure on top of concrete as you alluded to earlier. Hell of a lot cheaper. Effective and easy to break down when ready.

http://www.sheltersofamerica.com/

 

[Ponyman66]

If you haven't already done so, I'd STRONGLY suggest drawing out a set of simple plans and figuring a materials list (e.g. total amount of studs, sheeting for roof and walls, shingles and tar paper, trusses), for what you'd like to build. Then take the materials list and get a price total on it. I think you'll probably find you're not going to be able to build what you want for the amount you've stated.

I would concur with going for a portable unit. I currently have had my coupe project under one for the past three years. The cover is is just starting to deteriorate where it bends over the side supports in two spots. They were damaged though when I assembled it. I had it mostly complete on the first day, but not tied down. A wind blew it into the side of the house and the brick veneer scuffed the covering pretty good. Even with that, it's held up this long. After anchoring it down, it's survived some pretty bad weather. I just bought a second one (it's a 10x17 unit), several weeks ago from HF for $179!!