Chevy & GMC Vans

When we bought Ed back in February, the paint was decent; a few scratches here and there. One month in a heatwave and now I have a light blue van instead of a dark blue van. #-o

I'm trying to save up for some new paint, but I'd like to build a single car garage. I figure it'll be a good investment- the house we live in is one of Dad's, but it's too small for my mom, my sister, my niece and myself. Mom is trying to move out as soon as possible as it's only temporary, but when I turn 18 my friend and I are planning to move into it. I figure I'll be living there for about 5-10 years. Definitely worth a garage. Around here you don't need a building permit for small outbuildings, so my friend and I will probably be doing it ourselves. I'm just looking for advice on getting everything level, and where to get cheap concrete. I have an uncle who used to get leftover cement from a construction company (he would bring buckets and scoop it off the dump site before it hardened) but that was about 40 years ago. I'm not sure that they still dump concrete like that.

My plan is to level out an area where I was parking anyway, then dig about six holes and put 4x4 boards in them as straight as I can and pour a bit of conrete into the bottom ten or twelve inches of the holes. When that dries, I can fill the holes the rest of the way with dirt. From there I can start with the rafters and everything, and then cover it with plywood or whatever I can get, put some tin on the roof and make a huge double door on the front that I can drive through.

I'm looking for advice from anyone who's done something like this before.

Check your local codes! I'm guessing anything big enough to house your van, at least with enough room to move around it and work, will require a building permit. And with that comes lots of rules on proper building techniques. In our area, I think the max building size without a permit is 10x20, but even then that doesn't apply to garages.

If you need shelter, I'd look into a metal 2-car carport that has sides and a front wall. You will spend several grand and still need a permit though.

I have a copy of the building permit application from some work I was gonna do a while back, and it says that outbuildings under... I think 200-250 square feet don't need permits. I would consider a carport, but most of them are too flimsy and don't provide much shelter. I can get lots of lumber and stuff for free, too, which is why I'd rather go the diy route.

leftover concrete (aka slag) is a BAD idea. few years down the road, you'll be kicking yourself when it starts falling apart. you also need to do the foundation in one pour- else it will fall apart later on. concrete doesnt bond to hardened concrete.

Lockdoc one of the original members of this and the old site has build god knows how many vans in a metal carport and he lives in PA.So it is not a question if it can be done.

wood frame , some tarps, and a staple gun. ;)

doyoulikeithere wrote:wood frame , some tarps, and a staple gun. ;)

Until the first wind storm!

Last year I had one of those portable garages made of metal tubing and custom sewn tarps. It survived a few heavy winds, and then during one winter storm, my wife heard it blow away in the middle of the night. It actually ended up tangled in our nearby tree and I was out pulling it apart at about 3am. I had done quite a bit to keep it from blowing away by anchoring it down better and using some guy wires running corner to corner so it would retain it's rectangular shape. Wasn't enough.

I sold those canvass car ports(10 x 20's) and even with the reinforcement kit which are basically "U"'s with rods and turn buckles to hold the pole parts together,in small print they say they are not snow rated.The tension of the top is the strength of the enclosure holding it together.

1Gary wrote:I sold those canvass car ports(10 x 20's) and even with the reinforcement kit which are basically "U"'s with rods and turn buckles to hold the pole parts together,in small print they say they are not snow rated.The tension of the top is the strength of the enclosure holding it together.

Snow wasn't involved in the storm that killed mine, but you are right about a lack of being snow-rated. An inch or two of snow would cause big sags that I had to go out and clear. These things work OK in sheltered areas, but forget it when they aren't protected all around... at least if your area has occassional strong winds.

I'm a fan of simple pole barns. They are easy to build and you can start with a dirt floor. When you have the money and the time you can hire someone to come in and pour the floor for you. A friend with a raft company bought a place with a three bay pole barn. He spent a few hundred clams and poured a floor. It worked great for his application and he was able to add barn doors to secure all his stuff. A quick search came up with this, http://www.pole-barn.info/how-to-build-pole-barn.html. Good luck.

tribri1 wrote:I'm a fan of simple pole barns. They are easy to build and you can start with a dirt floor. When you have the money and the time you can hire someone to come in and pour the floor for you. A friend with a raft company bought a place with a three bay pole barn. He spent a few hundred clams and poured a floor. It worked great for his application and he was able to add barn doors to secure all his stuff. A quick search came up with this, http://www.pole-barn.info/how-to-build-pole-barn.html. Good luck.

I looked into a pole building a couple of years back. A decent sized one at 40x60. With four garage doors, one big enough to fit a motorhome, plus a walk-thru, and a small overhang on the front edge, it priced out over $40K. This included a concrete floor because apparently Yakima County requires it or won't issue a permit. (I figure by changing the use of the building, I could probably get around the floor.)

Since then I was told I'd probably be better off to go stick-built because pole buildings use a bunch of concrete to set the poles which is pricey. Didn't price a stick-built, so I don't know what the price difference would be.

I think both are reasonable choices, but there are no bargains in big buildings!

I'm not going for a big building... I was just gonna stick together something about 9'x12' to keep the sun and rain off.

Thanks 'mdmead': I too have had several of the "Portable Garage" metal pole/tarp things, and yes they dont like snow or big winds.

I was envisioning a smaller shed size wood frame structure, with a tarp roof, and thin slats of wood on top of the tarp for the staples to go thru into the wooden truss under the tarp. If the roof is steep, water will have a hard time pooling on it. If it snows, the wood frame building will hold the weight, but the tarp roof should be watched and cleared off during snow storms. Steep enough roof most snow will slide off. Doubt if snow is an Issue in JTalley's neck of the woods though.

Granted it inst permanent, but for the price of some Free Lumber, a tarp and a box of long staples, he will have a pretty suitable work area for a year or two at least, at a very very low cost.
If you get a large enough tarp to double or even quadruple the tarp layers, it will be killer strong enough.

Attaching the tarp roof as I've suggested will help it survive most normal windy days. If you in a tornado or hurricane zone, well, maybe not.

Kind of wish it was mine and then kind glad it isn't.Well renting it has given me a stage that has been long time since I had one before.


Maybe instead of building he could rent a place cheap.

You've got spunk, JT, very cool.

My advice would be to get a job as a contractor's helper. Then work out a deal to have him help you.

Check with your school counselor to see if they offer a carpentry class or if you can take one at a local VoTech school. These are skills you will be glad you have for the rest of your life.