Garages Made of Wood

Construction Basics

• Review information on garage construction so that you thoroughly comprehend the steps of planning and building garages. A wooden structure allows for greater design flexibility at a lower cost. For example, if you build arched sections over main roll-up doors, it's a matter of building wooden archways into the framework. Creating these same archways on any type of brick or masonry garage requires labor-intensive steps to construct the archways of block or bricks laid one by one.

Foundation Issues

• Planning the foundation is the starting point. A wooden garage requires a concrete slab or concrete block foundation built on concrete footings. Consider using an eco-friendly steel mesh when pouring the concrete that will protect your wooden garage from termites for many years (see References). You can pour a solid concrete slab that will support the garage wooden framing and exterior siding. You can also build concrete block walls on footings to form the foundation. The wooden framework is secured directly to the concrete wall areas, which are approximately 18 inches high, that run around the garage perimeter.

Design Details

• In finalizing plans, you will need to purchase or draw your plan. You can hurt the curbside appeal of your house with a makeshift garage, so don't use your own plan unless you are well qualified to draw all architectural details. Plans are usually inexpensive, and you can order many online for approximately $50 at time of publication. Draw your house to scale on graph paper along with the garage dimensions. Don't assume that a visually appealing garage will fit with your home's roof lines, however. Make sure by creating several sketches of both structures from various angles.

Framework Concerns

• Familiarize yourself with the basics of framing. Walls require studs installed on 16-inch centers to enclose the structure's shape made of boards measuring 2-by-4-feet. Premade trusses, which consist of sections of wood held together by metal sleeves, provide significant advantages to certain designs. Flat trusses, which are essentially two very long sections of wood held by continual "w" shapes of wood, can fit across a 24-foot garage width or larger. These are used as floor joists for a garage attic so that no support posts -- which would sit on the garage floor and hold up attic floor joists -- are required.

Exterior Materials

• You will need to cover the garage with siding that complements the house exterior. For example, you can use tongue-and-groove boards, if your home has similar wood. Exterior siding made of wood products in large sheets (see Resources) or vinyl siding are the most commonly used siding materials over wood framing. It's best to match the siding to your home's exterior to ensure the garage adds to the home's market value.

Safety Measures

• While a garage of concrete blocks is not impervious to fire, wood is more vulnerable. Working on cars and storing gasoline in all-wood garages requires precautions. Good lighting and fire extinguishers will make the space user-friendly. Be sure to construct wooden work benches and wooden storage shelves for an organized work area. Storing lots of clutter inside a wooden garage may pose more fire safety risks.