Repair or Replace Detached Garage
Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I’m in a dilemma and need some good advice/professional opinion. I’m currently looking to add an addition to home. I have a 2 car detached garage in my rear yard. I’m going to find out in 2 weeks if I can keep my old garage with the new addition. My old garage is 22w by 24l. Needs some additional work (pictures attached) needs siding, new doors, new loft floor, insulation and drywall, and a few repairs here and there. Roof is brand new and only 2 years old.
My other option is to tear it down and rebuild smaller to gain yard space. I have about 21 feet width of grass opposite of garage. I’m grandfathered in for position of old garage so I would have to move the new garage over 2 1/2 feet right and 2 1/2 feet feet forward. I would replace with a 12×20 1 1/2 story prefab garage. I would gain about 7 1/2 feet of grass opposite garage. That would cost me 20-30k without electricity or insulation and drywall.
So here’s where I need advice:
1. Is it worth rebuilding to gain the additional yard space?
2. Is restoring going to cost me more than starting over. I need to repair siding, add loft floor, insulation, and replace garage doors along with what looks like repair along the roof line.
3. What is more valuable for my home, large garage less grass space, brand new garage with smaller footprint.
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Replies
Need more info
maybe a plot plan
more overall pics of garage to better determine overall condition
having a garage adds value, not as much as interior space, and a two car garage does not add twice the value of a one car.
Unless you are me.......
While applying for a variance is akin to hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, sometimes if you are lessening the amount of impingement into the setback, it is not too painful
If the garage structure and foundation is solid, usually cheaper to just re-side. Installing siding on the new garage or re-siding this one is about the same work just a bit more cost because of the extra sqft.
If the structure has issues (ie walls directly on dirt with 1" concrete slab between), usually best to tear it down and start new as it will cost too much to fix properly.
There is no ROI on a new pre-fab garage that is smaller. Very few people care about extra yard space but most would want a large garage, if not for cars, than for storage.
As for setbacks, you can usually reclaim some of the lost space with "creative" roof design. For example the extra setback space can now become a covered shed for yard tools or firewood storage.
On this forum, I suspect just about all of us would very happily trade lawn (and lawn mowing) for more space in the garage. With a 2-car garage, you might actually be able get one car into it, when you're between projects.
So if I am able to keep garage with addition I will have to do a full restore of garage. I will def be asking for advice on forum, have to see if possible first
I always prefer repair over replace. That’s working from the assumption that framing and foundation is solid/repairable. Lumber and concrete both are crazy expensive right now, do yourself a favor and buy as little of both as possible, while keeping the same amount out of the landfill.
Questions 1 and 3 are highly dependent on your personal preference and local market conditions. You might be better off asking a local realtor.
Question 2 really depends on the condition of the garage and the cost of replacement, which are things that are hard to gauge over the internet. If you're serious, get bids for restoring the garage, and for tearing it down and building a new one.
Regarding the garage...IT IS A GARAGE. How nice does it need to be? Yes, it does need to be a little nicer than it is right now, but some scraping, paint and basic carpentry will get it back to good old functional garage status without breaking the bank.
Stop watching HGTV.