Do-It-Yourself Garage

Planning and Laying Foundations

• 1

  Dig a trench 18 inches deep and 12 inches wide around the perimeter of the intended garage area, using a spade. Compact the ground in the trench using a plate compactor.

• 2

  Prepare a batch of concrete. Pour the concrete into the trench 6 inches deep. Wait 72 hours for the concrete to set.

• 3

  Mix a batch of mortar. Coat the bottom and one side of a brick with mortar. Lay the brick to one side and parallel to the middle of the trench. Repeat until the entire trench has a row of bricks in it. Lay another row of bricks adjacent to and an inch away from the first. Lay two rows of bricks on top of the first rows, with bricks sitting over the mortar between the bricks in the first rows.

• 4

  Continue laying bricks to 6 inches above ground level, except on the side of the garage where the doors will be, which requires a gap from ground level up and equal to the width of your car plus 12 inches.

• 5

  Lay damp proof course over the bricks, covering both rows without a gap. Lay a row of bricks to hold the damp proof course in place. Dig out the ground inside the walls to 6 inches below ground level.

• 6

  Cover the brickwork from the bottom of the wall to ground level in sheets of damp proof course. Fill the trenches on both sides of the wall with hardcore to 6 inches below ground level; compact with the plate compactor. Fill the trench on the outside of the garage, and the ground inside the garage, with sand to ground level. Compact with a plate compactor.

• 7

  Lay flagstones over the ground inside the garage. Fill gaps between flagstones with mortar. Fill gaps around the edge of the garage floor with sand, to allow for expansion and contraction in temperature extremes. Allow 48 hours for the mortar to set.

Building the Brick Walls

• 8

  Prepare a fresh batch of mortar; continue to lay bricks on both rows to 84 inches above ground level. Every four rows, place a wall tie across the two rows of bricks on each side of the garage, and on both sides of the wall where the door gap stands, ensuring the two rows of bricks hold together.

• 9

  Lay a final row of bricks on the outer row on each side of the garage. Measure the length and width of the garage from one outer edge of the inner row of bricks to the outer edge of the opposite inner row of bricks, using a tape measure.

• 10

  Cut 2-by-4 lumber to the width of the garage and stand one 2-by-4 on the inner row of bricks at either end of the length of the garage, and an additional 2-by-4 every 6 inches in between. Lay bricks between each 2-by-4 on the inner row of bricks.

• 11

  Build up both rows of bricks in one of the long walls an additional 18 inches. Build both wide walls in a right-angled triangle, tapering from the 84-inch wall to the 102-inch wall. Cap each wall with a row of bricks across the top of both rows.

Building the Roof

• 12

  Measure the width and length of the garage, from outer edge to outer edge. Add 6 inches to account for roof overhang. Cut two 2-by-4s the length of the wall using the circular saw.

• 13

  Hold one 2-by-4 with one 4-inch wide face flush against the top of the inner edge of the 102-inch wall. Drill through the wood into the wall every 6 inches, using a hammer drill. Insert wall plugs into the holes. Screw the 2-by-4 to the wall using 6-inch screws. Screw the second 2-by-4 to the top of the 84-inch wall in the same manner.

• 14

  Cut 2-by-4s to the width of the wall to stand one at either end of the lengthwise wood braces, and every 6 inches in between.

• 15

  Balance the pieces as roof joists on top of the braces, with the 4-inch faces vertical. Draw a vertical line where the pieces connect with the wall braces, using a plumb line. Draw a horizontal line through the middle of each vertical line.

• 16

  Cut out the notches formed by the lines you drew, using a jigsaw. Stand the joists on the braces again, with notches flush against the braces. Screw the joists to the braces with countersunk 6-inch screws. Divide the length of the joists by 4 to find the number of beams you need to cut to hold the roofing tiles.

• 17

  Cut as many pieces of 1-by-2 lumber to the width of the roof as you need beams. Screw beams to the bottom and top of the roof using 2-inch screws, with the 2-inch faces against the joists, and screw the other beams between the first two, with 2 inches between each beam.

• 18

  Cut strips of underfelt to the width of the roof. Nail the first sheet across the bottom of the roof using a hammer and clout nails. Nail the second sheet above the first with a 1-inch overlap. Cover the whole roof with sheets of underfelt.

• 19

  Nail a row of slate roofing tiles across the bottom of the roof using 1-inch roofing nails. Overlap the second row of tiles above the first row by 1 inch. It is unnecessary to nail down alternate rows as the row above will hold them in place.

• 20

  Nail the third row to the roof, overlapping the second row 1 inch. Alternate rows of tiles to the top of the roof.