The Garage Plan Shop Blog

This featured 1-car garage plan with storage is the perfect addition to any backyard offering parking, storage space and more. The attractive exterior sports vertical siding. When paired with the decorative cupola, it delivers distinctive county charm allowing it to blend with many country style homes. The floor plan offers one oversized parking bay outfitted with an 8’ ceiling and 9’x7’ overhead garage door. You’ll appreciate the workbench at the back of the garage, convenient service entry and the handy storage space on the left side. The storage space works well for storing tools, the lawn mower or the children’s outside toys. Delivering 384 square feet of usable space, this 1-car garage with storage easily converts to a workshop or hobby area for those who enjoy woodworking and tinkering. Enhance your backyard with this practical and versatile1-car garage plan with storage.

View this plan in detail or browse our collection of garage plans with storage. 

Tags: Detached Garage Plans, garage plans, Garage Plans with Storage, storage garage plans

When building a new garage, one of the most important things you can do is control your building budget. With careful planning, you’ll be able to stay on budget, if you need contractors who are cheap and good at what they do, check the construction company dublin website using the link. But be aware, there are many things that may cause you to overspend such as beginning without a budget, making changes during construction, and poor craftsmanship.

1. Often, homeowners who are planning to build a new detached garage need to obtain a loan from a financial institution. This requires careful planning of the building budget up front. Start by estimating how much things are going to cost. Visit a few local lumberyards to find out what materials are available in your area and which ones will best satisfy your needs for your building project. Begin planning your budget by starting with the essential construction elements first such as lumber, roofing elements and foundation materials. If you want a residential roof inspection, roof repair, or roof replacement, a good roofing contractors like the ones from the residential roofing Cleveland services will be delighted to offer you with a quick and free estimate. Ask about buying materials in bulk as many lumberyards will offer nice discounts when materials for the entire project are bought at one time. This tactic can save quite a bit of money. While at the lumberyards, compare budget and luxury items. For example, compare a name brand light fixture with a budget fixture. If both are visually appealing, come with a good warranty, and serve the same purpose, choose the budget item. This is another easy way to slash your material costs tremendously. Using methods like those mentioned above will help you save money, and following your established building budget will help you complete the project without overspending.

2. Next, review your garage plans carefully and discuss the entire design your contractor before construction begins. This includes the floor plan, fixtures, special elements, etc. If you haven’t planned elements such as a floor plan just yet, it’s advisable to hire professionals who offer affordable floor plan services and excel at doing so. Be sure your builder understands how you plan to use the garage as the purpose of the garage may influence some of the construction details or finished elements that are included. It is important to have every detail worked out with the builder or subcontractors ahead of time. Once construction begins, making changes to the garage (either inside or out), can become very costly in a hurry. When changes are made during construction, it often requires the builder to redo or tear down some portion of the structure that was already complete or near completion causing a waste of time, materials, labor and money.  

3. Lastly, while you cannot be control the local labor costs, you can control who you choose to do build your new garage. Interview potential builders, visit jobsites where the builder has worked in the past, ask to see the builder’s credentials, and ask for references from past clients. Researching the builder you hire (and the subcontractors) will help you choose the most qualified and skilled builder you can afford. Your new garage is a major investment that will complement your home or property. You don’t want to ruin the experience of building a new garage with poor craftsmanship. If you end up hiring an inexperienced builder or subcontractors, it is likely you’ll run it to problems quickly. Poor craftsmanship means you’ll be spending more later to repair things that were not properly built, constructed or installed during the construction of your garage. And if you have old cars on your garage that you don’t use anymore, then you may consider selling these to a junk car buyer to fund your new garage.

Following these tips will help you control your building costs when building a new garage plan.

Tags: Building A Garage, Building Budget, controlling building costs

What better way to ring in the New Year than to make a resolution to green your transportation in 2013. There are all kinds of ways to make transportation earth-friendly this year. We’ve listed some of them here for you:

1. 1. Consider working from home. Telecommuting is an easy way to reduce work related travel. It will save you and your company money and time while cutting greenhouse emissions.

1. 1. Buy an eco-friendly car such as the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt. Hybrid and all-electric cars are great options that are environmentally friendly.

1. 1. Car pool whenever possible. Whether you need a ride to work or the kids need a ride to their soccer games, car pooling with co-workers, other parents, etc., saves everyone money and wear and tear on cars while reducing emissions.

1. 1. Recycle your oil and use recycled engine oil. Used oil doesn’t wear out, it just gets dirty. It can be cleansed of contaminants and recycled in a continuous cycle. New engine oil made from recycled oil meets industry lubrication standards. According to the American Petroleum Institute, re-refined oil is of as high a quality as a virgin oil product.

1. 1. Drive responsibly. Irresponsible and erratic driving burns gas at a phenomenal rate. Poor driving practices can dramatically lower your gas mileage. Some aggressive driving behaviors include speeding, rapid acceleration, and heavy breaking. All of these will lower your fuel efficiency.

1. 1. Unload your car. Many of us tend to turn our cars into storage lockers. Every pound your car carries goes against your fuel economy. Get in the habit of removing non-essential items from your car. Every little bit helps.

1. 1. Arrange your errands in order to save gas, time and money.

1. 1. Bike to work and other nearby activities when weather permits. But if you don’t have a bike yet, visit a shop near you or this site https://www.aventon.com/pages/electric-bike-shop-dealer-locator and get one.

1. 1. Turn off the hose when washing the car to save water. Only turn it on when it is time to rinse.

1. Keep your tires properly inflated for the best performance and fuel economy.

For other ideas about living green, please browse our Energy Efficiency and Green Building blogs.

Tags: Green Living, green tips, green transportation