3 Tips for Smart Garage Framing

Matt stops by one of Steve Baczek's jobs to learn about some smart techniques Steve implements when building his garages.

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[tedbellWRV]

With all of us (especially today’s new home customer) getting EV’s, you need a divider wall between the garage bays that’s a foot wider than the house you showed (should be 3-ft minimum). That location between the garage doors is prime real estate for the Level 2 car charger that can reach cars in either bay! The EV charger is another reason to go with two doors in a 2-car garage, instead of one large door.
Also, our builder recommended 9’ wide doors to appease the “F-150” crowd with their large mirrors. We went with a “small” 9’W x 8’H door plus a “large” 9’W x 10’H door - and we are glad we did.
A good idea for how to set up a modern garage for EV’s might be a good video topic. Since EV manufacturer’s have not yet standardized the location for the charging port (front, rear, left, right), it actually might be best to have a post between between the bays halfway down the parking stall to reach all four corners of a possible EV. Charger cords are only a max of 25 ft by code, which is very short.

[moody]

I love watching the two of you together. I have no idea why, other than I want to see how a good quality structure should be built. From a woman in Oklahoma ❤

[tweake]

nice detail on the doors. on my own we had to cut the concrete to fit a replacement door. having a treated timber surround thats also easily replaceable is a smart idea.
also nice job on the roof ties. more the better. nothing like a blown in garage door to lift up the roof.

[elmerkilred]

My only hang-up and pet peeve with this garage build is the amount of space that will be on the drivers side of the car in either parking space in the garage. I think there should be a minimum 24" in the center or either side of the garage specifically, so that you can park your car and get in and out of your car without having to pull some sort of Dukes of Hazzard move. The OTHER reason is that it allows you room to run shelving and 2' counters to work on in the garage, or roll your tool chest against a side wall and still be able to open a drawer when you have your car parked, and the garage door shut in the dead of winter. Or, to be able to store your lawn mower, rototiller, spreader... That 24" on both sides of a garage and center is important.

[eac]

I have a pickup and an Expedition. I need 18 inches of space on each side of my 9 foot wide single garage doors to swing the vehicle doors completely open. This means the divider between the two garage doors is 18 inches (unless you intend to open the doors of both cars at the same time, which I don't). You could accomplish the same thing with a 20 foot wide double garage door, but not the standard 18 footer. I like to store stuff 3 feet deep along the walls beside the vehicles, which means I need 4'6" between the edge of each garage door and the side walls. So the total interior width of the 2-car garage is 28'6". Works great and I have tons of storage.
Interior length is 24 feet which leaves room for shelves or cabinets on the back wall too. I have a separate workshop, so no need to squeeze that into the garage space.

[benzun]

We did that on our new build garage. Also extra tall 9 ft garage so I can park my truck or SUV with Yakima carrier on it. without have to worrying about it hitting the garage door

[Gandzasar]

Any explanation for why we would want the two 2x6s around the door? The video says you SHOULD do this, but it doesn’t (clearly) articulate WHY.

[stuckinmygarage]

I know I'm late, but CONGRATULATIONS on the million mark!🎉🎉👍

[davespargo]

Hey Matt, I just stumbled across this video. Looking forward to seeing what else you have on your page. Thanks for having Steve on. I just took a quick glance at his page that you suggested and it is looking good also. I'm impressed with what I see from both of you.

[bellrisefarm]

Just got done framing our DIY garage. Great tips!! Thank you! 🙏🏻

[fasteddie]

I’m 23 years old and have started my garage door company because I worked for somebody else but then the company got sold out to some no good people and little videos like this are helping me so much especially when talking to builders and having them ask me how they want things framed up and what not really good video

[garyflippin]

Love the 2x12's and 4 ply lvl. Builders around here would TJI w/o beam through middle or sloping flat trusses wall to wall just to cheap out.

[Titanium]

You guys don't explain *why* you add the extra 6". Is it to give more room to swing car doors open? To provide more facing area for trim boards? Is it just about aesthetics or something else? Also agree with the comment to install wider garage doors if you can. They make such a big difference for ingress and egress given the trend towards larger vehicles, and also give you more aisle space to open doors or carry stuff without dinging the vehicles parked inside. I installed 9' wide doors in our custom house, and ended up with a good 4' of aisle space between our cars, and also more clearance on both end walls for shelving.

[Odrunkmonkey]

Partner with Simpson and a do a deep dive on the strong wall. I’ve always done “flag” sheathing inside and out.

[heaven-is-real]

i like the rafters it will be a strong garage roof that's for sure.

[raymondpeters]

Pumicecrete is by far the best building material on the planet Pumicecrete is a mixture of pumice cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick pumicecrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof non toxic and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid poured walls means no critters can live in your walls Pumicecrete can be built for a fraction of the cost and time and pumice is one of the few building materials that can go directly from the mine to the job site ready to use without any additional possessing and zero waste Google all the walls of my house are made of pumicecrete Take care Ray

[stephenridenour]

What is the price differential between 8’ and 9’ garage doors from a builder’s perspective? The difference from a user perspective is huge! Same question for a 7’ high door vs 8’ high door.

[JOHNJACK]

I’m sorry this is a bit off topic and you may have addressed this in a different video. You seal your houses so tightly if it keeps out air and bugs I wonder how well it would do in a flood situation? Just a thought, love your videos

[chipped]

The order of frustration of home owners with garages.
#1 garage door header is too low, if a bonus room is above it...header should be directly under ceiling joists/rafters whatever you call them.

#2 it's too shallow and/or narrow, you need room to open doors, have storage ÷ appliances on side/rear.
#3 elevate garage slab to have slope to keep water from coming underneath.
Notches/curbs are annoying to roll or even walk over unless you live in a high wind area .
Grass and organics blow against driveways and soon its taller than the driveway surface creating a dam.
#4 aesthetically/functionality you need 4ft of wall between doors.
You can have your choice of storage/water hose reel/vacuum/mop sink on the inside, and it looks more balanced on the exterior.
Too narrow/short of a garage seldom see vehicles, because it simply is not functional and water runs underneath from poor slope.

[adrwong]

It's so nice to have a wide garage door. My builder house from the 1990's have two 7 foot doors, inside is only 15 foot wide, so you cannot open driver door if you pull in on the left or passenger door if you pull in on the right. Terrible working space, but what can you do.