Anyone built a steel building to use as a combo garage/shop & living quarters?

[CobraJohn01]

I'm wondering if this idea would be a sensible one. Since metal buildings are supposed to be relatively cheap, and when we build our new house we'll want a separate living area for my dad so he's not living in the house with us, I thought this might be a good idea. I'd have wanted to have some kind of additional garage separate form the main house, ideally something that'll fit at least 2 cars and have at least 10' ceilings. This wouldn't be a huge building.

If anyone here has done this, I'd be curious to get your thoughts on it. Anywhere from the cost vs building a normal building that would fit this bill, if it was any harder or more expensive to finish the living quarters so it didn't look/feel like you're living in a steed building once inside, etc.

 

[carrrnuttt]

I'm wondering if this idea would be a sensible one. Since metal buildings are supposed to be relatively cheap, and when we build our new house we'll want a separate living area for my dad so he's not living in the house with us, I thought this might be a good idea. I'd have wanted to have some kind of additional garage separate form the main house, ideally something that'll fit at least 2 cars and have at least 10' ceilings. This wouldn't be a huge building.

If anyone here has done this, I'd be curious to get your thoughts on it. Anywhere from the cost vs building a normal building that would fit this bill, if it was any harder or more expensive to finish the living quarters so it didn't look/feel like you're living in a steed building once inside, etc.

I've never done it myself, but have looked into it, as I plan on buying some land in a rural area in Northern AZ and eventually building on it.

Some have called them "barndominiums":

Barndominium: All You Need to Know

I've seen videos about these on YT, and they can range from the simple, to essentially mansions.

 

[PhoenixM3]

I can't give advice on them, but ensure that you can actually build this on your property. If it has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom it is considered a residence. I'd advise looking into this. Good luck

 

[Mojo88]

Buddy of mine did that with a large metal building. He rented out commercial spaces, had huge garage/shop and lived in it. It was awesome.

About 10 years ago, I was within inches of buying a 30,000sf warehouse. I had a dyno guy ready to move in, plus I was gonna build living quarters for myself, with plenty of space left over to rent. It was a bidding situation and I lost the bid because the guy I was bidding against was buddy-buddy with the estate judge that was selling the property.

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[CobraJohn01]

I can't give advice on them, but ensure that you can actually build this on your property. If it has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom it is considered a residence. I'd advise looking into this. Good luck

Hmm... Good call. I'll have to check and see if the town we bought the land in would allow it. And if they won't, if there's a way I can get creative... lol

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Always thought this was a cool idea. I always wanted a garage with a house attached to it . I seen this video and thought I would love to have something like this.

Guy gives a really good overview and provides his opinions and costs involved. Kind of long, but interesting for someone who is actually looking to do this.

 

[SVTdreamin04]

Several buildings around where I live just like you’re asking about. The good thing about something like this is there are no load bearing interior walls to worry about. You can reconfigure the inside fairly easily.


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[quad]

Always thought this was a cool idea. I always wanted a garage with a house attached to it . I seen this video and thought I would love to have something like this.

Guy gives a really good overview and provides his opinions and costs involved. Kind of long, but interesting for someone who is actually looking to do this.

He talks about insulating the garage. He should have done it on the outside of the building with 2"-2.5" rigid foam insulation. That way it covers the framing and eliminates thermal bridging that occurs when you place insulation between stud cavities.

Or he could have gone with 4x8' SIP panels.

It will be a big job now for him to add insulation.

https://www.housesandbarns.com/structural-insulated-panels-sips/

 

[quad]

Barns don't have to be ugly. If I ever did something like this I would do a barn with a steep roof pitch (12:12 or even 14:12)

 

[lOOKnGO]

Here is our detached garage that looks like a barn. 2 1/2 bedrooms full living quarters in center section. With additional living off both sides if finished off. 12 foot ceilings in center garage. Building designed to fit 6 cars comfortably.

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[ShelbyGT5HUN]

This. Check with your zoning officer. You might be restricted to a single dwelling unless you live in the middle of nowhere.

I can't give advice on them, but ensure that you can actually build this on your property. If it has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom it is considered a residence. I'd advise looking into this. Good luck

 

[lOOKnGO]

You can inquire about a variance in the zoning ordinance under the family hardship clause.

Research attic truss construction. That is what allows a garage below to have unobstructed work area ( no beams or posts) and living area above. I used those on the side wings of the garage and clear span TGI floor system for the center section.

 

[bosscj]

Like others have said check zoning and building codes. The company i work for has built several of these types of buildings. In our area the fire marshals always want a fire wall between the shop and the living quarters, which means extra layers of sheetrock, special fire rated caulking along the perimeter of the wall, and fire rated doors. But if you can do a lot of the work yourself you can keep cost low

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[quad]

You can inquire about a variance in the zoning ordinance under the family hardship clause.

Research attic truss construction. That is what allows a garage below to have unobstructed work area ( no beams or posts) and living area above. I used those on the side wings of the garage and clear span TGI floor system for the center section.

Portal frame - Wikipedia

portal frame building - Bing images

 

[CobraBob]

@quad, I like that one. It doesn't look like a metal building. In the end, what can or can't be built will be determined by local code. Up here, the Code is strict and restrictive. Often bordering on nonsense.

 

[lOOKnGO]

There are up sides and down sides to every thing. I have built all types commonly used. A post and beam wrapped in metal is most certainly the cheapest route. However, if you skip getting quality metal that is less then 24 gage and lacks a quality Kynar finish, you'll just have expenses deferred down the road. If you foam insulate metal it is superior in r- value and insect and rodent resistant. It also adds ridgeddy to the structure. BIG however! Metal that is sprayed can't be removed or replaced without total destruction. Foam insulation adheres to the panel and makes removal extremely labor intensive.

Decide how big you need the space upstairs and the garage downstairs and I can recommend a layout.

This is a rendering I recently did for a potential client that wants an efficiency above horse stables, tack, feed and wash room.

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[1slo5ohh]

If you foam insulate metal it is superior in r- value and insect and rodent resistant. It also adds ridgeddy to the structure. BIG however! Metal that is sprayed can't be removed or replaced without total destruction. Foam insulation adheres to the panel and makes removal extremely labor intensive.

Also can have issues with panels rusting through from the panels sweating and moisture building up in small cavities between the foam and panel.

 

[quad]

@quad, I like that one. It doesn't look like a metal building. In the end, what can or can't be built will be determined by local code. Up here, the Code is strict and restrictive. Often bordering on nonsense.

Yes I agree. Insulating the cathedral ceiling is also not an issue. It does not have to be vented because the entire space is conditioned. You can achieve a high R rating with a cathedral ceiling. The fascia board in this example looks to be at least 8" thick or more so perhaps they were able to squeeze in 6" of rigid insulation between the sheathing which would yield around R30. Up to R60 is recommended for some places near Canada.

The fascia board would be thicker as the R values go up. Long screws are required to anchor the insulation to the sheathing and builders place solid blocking at the eaves to prevent the assembly from sliding down. The lowest layer of sheathing is anchored to the roof structure. As I mentioned another option is to get it all preassembled as SIP panels.

SIP panels can also bring problems. The sheathing can decay / rot if moisture enters the assembly. Same goes for the manual installation of the insulation panels that I mentioned above. The entire assembly needs to be air tight and stay airtight. One advantage of older homes is they leak air and while this is bad from an energy / insulation point of view it does allow for the inner cavities to vent and moisture to evaporate because air just flows from the interior to the exteriors and vice versa lol! Once older homes are made air tight and insulated it becomes crucial for unconditioned attics and knee attics to be ventilated properly or else moisture could build up and take over in those areas.

How to Protect Structural Insulated Panels from Decay - GreenBuildingAdvisor

 

[quad]

Here is another example of a modern take on the traditional. I really like this design. Not quite what the OP is going for but it shows how attractive simple forms with steep roofs can be. This might not be everyone's preference but I am sure some can appreciate this.

More photos and plan views in this link below.

Contemporary take on the warm country home

 

[quad]

Also can have issues with panels rusting through from the panels sweating and moisture building up in small cavities between the foam and panel.

Vertical sleepers would help by creating an air cavity behind the metal panels. Sometimes vertical sleepers are installed on the substrate and then a second layer of horizontal sleepers over that. This might be needed if you wanted to install your siding vertically. Since the vertical sleepers goes down first it helps promote drainage down the substrate. Or the sleepers could be installed diagonally.

This is sometimes referred to as a Rainscreen. I would place insect screen at any open joints to prevent spiders and bugs from making a nice home in the air cavities. You can imagine what kind of mess this would create over 20 years.

Rainscreen - Wikipedia