By Paul Bianchina
If you happen to be in need of storage for your car, truck, boat, or motorcycle, or your collection of cardboard boxes that date back to the Eisenhower Administration, maybe you've been thinking about adding a garage. But if you've also been thinking that this was biting off a little more than you'd like in the way of a project, take heart. With a wide range of storage solutions from portable shelters to pre-cut garages in a kit, the solution may be easier than you'd thought.
Garage Kits
If you're looking to construct a "traditional" detached garage, you might want to consider a pre-cut garage kit, available from many larger lumberyards and home centers and from some online sources. Garage kits contain everything from plans to roofing, and simplify everything from the permit process to the actual construction. About all you need to supply that's not in the kit is the foundation.
Garage kits are typically available in several standard sizes, which, to save wasted materials, are almost always in 4-foot increments. For example, 20 by 24, 24 by 24 and 24 by 28 are all common sizes. The term "kit" may be a bit misleading since there are some parts that require site-cutting, but all in all you'll find a lot of the design and preparation work has been done in advance.
The typical kit includes plans approved for your area; all framing lumber; roof trusses; siding and sheathing; roofing materials; and usually a roll-up door, a swinging door, and at least one window. The package is delivered to your site in stages - typically the lumber and siding package, the trusses, the roofing, and the window and door package - and as much of the pre-cutting as possible will already be done. Wall studs are pre-cut to length, sheet siding is sized to the wall heights, and trusses are sized to the width of the building.
Make no mistake, this is still a serious construction project, and may be a little intimidating for the beginning carpenter. But most kits are pretty well laid out and come with plans and some sort of instructions, so you and a couple of helpers can do the work with basic carpentry skills and tools. The garage will require a building permit, site preparation and a concrete slab to the specifications provided with the kit.
Portable Storage Shelters
Looking for a faster, easier, and considerably less expensive alternative? Then perhaps one of the popular, portable metal and nylon "shelter kits" is more to your liking. Shelter kits, which resemble a big camping tent, come in a variety of sizes, and can be assembled in a day with a minimal number of tools. They require no slab, and, since they are not a permanent structure, in most areas don't even require a building permit.
Shelter kits consist of a series of straight galvanized steel framing poles for the sides and curved or pitched ones for the roof, all of which slip together with a simple locking mechanism for fast on-site assembly. Once the frame is assembled and is set up in the desired spot, special tie-down anchors secure the frame to the dirt or lawn. The anchors, which either screw into the ground or are driven into place, have a surprising amount of strength, although you'll need to discuss specific stability issues with your dealer if you live in a high wind- or snow-load area.
Once the frame is erected and secured, it is covered with a special UV-resistant, reinforced nylon cover that offers excellent protection from the elements. The shelter may be open on one end, or may be equipped with a roll-up door of the same material.
Portable shelter kits are available from many home centers, lumberyards, discount outlets and other retailers.
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