Anyone Built a Garage or Added a Backyard Studio? Curious about costs & city permits (house)

[doodlemagic]

At this point this is just an idea not necessarily something I'm going to act on but was curious to hear from anyone who's added a backyard studio, garage or shed in their backyard.

I recently downsized from a 3000 sq ft house into about a 1000 square foot house. I'm definitely missing some of the space for everything from storage to having some room for workout equipment and maybe some hobbies.

Obviously cost is going to depend a lot on size of a structure as well as if there's electric, plumbing, etc.

Basically what I'm looking to do is put some type of outbuilding in my backyard to be used as storage, to put my workout equipment in and maybe do some hobbies like woodworking or screenprinting and other stuff like that.

I'm in Downers. I already have a 1 car garage. I'm looking at adding kind of a she shed / studio in the backyard. Don't need plumbing. I already have electric in the backyard for a hot tub and a pond so I could just tap into that myself and run a space heating and hookup some music or whatever in a shed or studio. Would probably be looking at something maybe 10x15 or there abouts.

Curious from anyone else who's done a project like this. Is it difficult to get approval from the city and does a shed versus garage versus outbuilding have any bearing on making it easier? Also if anyone wouldn't mind sharing costs of their project I'd be curious to hear that as well

[damba]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

At this point this is just an idea not necessarily something I'm going to act on but was curious to hear from anyone who's added a backyard studio, garage or shed in their backyard.

I recently downsized from a 3000 sq ft house into about a 1000 square foot house. I'm definitely missing some of the space for everything from storage to having some room for workout equipment and maybe some hobbies.

Obviously cost is going to depend a lot on size of a structure as well as if there's electric, plumbing, etc.

Basically what I'm looking to do is put some type of outbuilding in my backyard to be used as storage, to put my workout equipment in and maybe do some hobbies like woodworking or screenprinting and other stuff like that.

I'm in Downers. I already have a 1 car garage. I'm looking at adding kind of a she shed / studio in the backyard. Don't need plumbing. I already have electric in the backyard for a hot tub and a pond so I could just tap into that myself and run a space heating and hookup some music or whatever in a shed or studio. Would probably be looking at something maybe 10x15 or there abouts.

Curious from anyone else who's done a project like this. Is it difficult to get approval from the city and does a shed versus garage versus outbuilding have any bearing on making it easier? Also if anyone wouldn't mind sharing costs of their project I'd be curious to hear that as well

First, what do city and county codes specify? Start by verifying what is permitted by DG.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by damba

First, what do city and county codes specify? Start by verifying what is permitted by DG.

I was more interested in hearing other peoples experiences to kind of form my decision. I see some things in the code about a shed can only be 10 feet but an auxilary building can be 17 feet. Sheds or out buildings 10x10 or less dont require permits if not on a slab.

City looks easy to deal with on a garage but I talked to a neighbor who said he fought with the city for 3 years before he could put his garage in. Doesn't even have to be downers just trying to get a feeling for costs and ideas of outbuildings, if one type would be cheaper or easier than another and anyones experience dealing with the city even if its not my city

[damba]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

I was more interested in hearing other peoples experiences to kind of form my decision. I see some things in the code about a shed can only be 10 feet but an auxilary building can be 17 feet. Sheds or out buildings 10x10 or less dont require permits if not on a slab.

City looks easy to deal with on a garage but I talked to a neighbor who said he fought with the city for 3 years before he could put his garage in. Doesn't even have to be downers just trying to get a feeling for costs and ideas of outbuildings, if one type would be cheaper or easier than another and anyones experience dealing with the city even if its not my city

The problem is local ordinances do vary. Really, only DG would apply other than a very generalized discussion.