Building a garage and retaining wall

[interlude]

Hey all,

I recently purchased a house and I am looking to build a detached garage ASAP! I will also need a retaining wall for the garage. Does anybody here have any experience with companies in town that can do this work for me?

I am currently shopping around for general contractors and garage builders.

Any help would be awesome! Thanks all

[ALBERTA_IS]

Derrick with Gecko construction is a great guy. It sounds like you need a pony wall. Get prepared to spent around $5k for that and around the same for the pad. Have you thought about building it yourself? Really not that hard and you can save yourself a ton of cash.

[interlude]

Originally posted by ALBERTA_IS
Derrick with Gecko construction is a great guy. It sounds like you need a pony wall. Get prepared to spent around $5k for that and around the same for the pad. Have you thought about building it yourself? Really not that hard and you can save yourself a ton of cash.

Thanks I will keep Gecko in mind. It turns out the current owners and my future neighbour is actually a concrete contractor. There is actually a ton of concrete supplies in my future yard we asked them to move. So I might ask them how much they would charge. Plus, if they fuck it up.. I know where they live :guns:

I have contacted a couple garage builders and general contractors. What price range should I be expecting for:

1) Triple car garage (double and single garage doors)
2) Double with a concrete RV parking pad next to the garage
3) either one above with a patio on top of the garage

Thanks All!

[raceman6135]

Originally posted by interlude


3) either one above with a patio on top of the garage



Those aren't legally allowed any longer. As per http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Pages/Home-building-and-renovations/Garage-or-shed/Garage-or-Shed.aspx


- A detached garage cannot have more than one storey.

- A detached garage must not have a balcony or a deck.

Also check that web page for possible restrictions on how big your garage can be.

Would hate for you to do too much planning before finding out just how large you're allowed to build.

[ExtraSlow]

What is max size on a detached garage in the city these days? Lady behind me has built the garage I want. Three cars inside (possibly four), and massively tall. Door is probably 12 feet, total hight of the structure is 16 feet at least. It's a beast.

My little one and a half car garage is making me jealous.

[403ep3]

I was recently in the market for a garage and the best quote I got was from AAHI.

You might be SOL building a massive garage project this year as most companies are booked till next year and a lot of them won't build past mid-late october.

[interlude]

Originally posted by raceman6135


Those aren't legally allowed any longer. As per http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Pages/Home-building-and-renovations/Garage-or-shed/Garage-or-Shed.aspx



Also check that web page for possible restrictions on how big your garage can be.

Would hate for you to do too much planning before finding out just how large you're allowed to build.

Thanks for the heads up! I was told its still allowed in some communities. Guess they were wrong :banghead:


Originally posted by 403ep3
I was recently in the market for a garage and the best quote I got was from AAHI.

You might be SOL building a massive garage project this year as most companies are booked till next year and a lot of them won't build past mid-late october.

AAHI? I have some "hookups" they might be able to squeeze me in. I have been reaching out to alot of people this week. Hoping to get it done before winter hits. I do not want to go through my first winter without a garage

First World Problems

[410440]

I would also recommend Derrick from Gecko, he lives a few houses down from me and has built my garage, my parents garage, and a few family friends as well.



Derrick
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 403.532.8787

[speedog]

Originally posted by raceman6135
Those aren't legally allowed any longer. As per http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Pages/Home-building-and-renovations/Garage-or-shed/Garage-or-Shed.aspx

Then please explain how 1426/1428 Russell Road NE came into being in the past year - patios over rear drive garages. Note that all of the following images/video were scraped from the web - I just remember reading a piece about these two homes and thought they were kind of neat in their back yard amenities.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/mrp-listings/9/3/6/32644639/f68b133c26542fab62bce6a2ad75e947.jpeg

http://0613b38759254b79fe51-2889c41367763b93625b21b2c5c60db1.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/rb_photos_0002~C3C8B6D4_229567_635035279057658746_800x600.jpg

http://0613b38759254b79fe51-2889c41367763b93625b21b2c5c60db1.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/rb_photos_0002~C3C8B6D4_229567_635035279058908746_800x600.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/mrp-listings/9/3/6/32644639/e0e32836693ddb57b2882b7c28668ccd.jpeg

w5aKeicmXY8

[ercchry]

Originally posted by raceman6135


Those aren't legally allowed any longer. As per http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Pages/Home-building-and-renovations/Garage-or-shed/Garage-or-Shed.aspx



Also check that web page for possible restrictions on how big your garage can be.

Would hate for you to do too much planning before finding out just how large you're allowed to build.

i dont read that as "no roof top patios"

cause a balcony or a deck would be hanging off the side of the garage :dunno:

[speedog]

Originally posted by ercchry
i dont read that as "no roof top patios"

cause a balcony or a deck would be hanging off the side of the garage :dunno:
Dunno - the city states "A deck is not permitted to be constructed on the roof of a detached garage or carport" in this brochure, link (http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Documents/brochures/detached_residential_garage.pdf), and yet 1426/1428 Russell Road NE were built in the past year or so and do indeed exist. Maybe there are loopholes that can be found.

[ercchry]

perhaps the privacy wall makes it an "attached" garage? :rofl:

[gogreen]

Interesting. Didn't think that was legal either.

There is a stipulation in the deck brochure for maximum height:

http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/DBA/Documents/brochures/wood_decks.pdf

It states 1.5 m unless it's located above a walk-out basement, which the Russell Road properties appear to have. Max height of a garage is 4.6 m. So if you were to just add a deck on top of a garage that otherwise met requirements (say you have a flat-roof garage at about 3.5 m high, to account for a handrail) you'd be well over the max height of a deck. It does say for decks above the height requirement that a development permit may be required though.

So perhaps the builders had to apply for an extra development permit and/or get a design stamped by a P.Eng. The garage/carport brochure also mentions two-storey garages needing foundation piles 1.2 m below grade or a foundation design stamped by a P.Eng, so maybe the Russell Road property falls under that category.

I know when we had a garage built in Red Deer the maximum allowable area was expressed as a percentage of the lot area, and width could only be 2/3 the width of the lot. However several people in the same close built full-width garages (just 3 feet from the property line on each side) at around the same time. One guy had a house with a walk-out basement with the deck only about a foot or two away from the eaves of the full-width garage. And his neighbour also had a garage the full width of his lot, right next door. I can only assume they applied for variances from the city (or bypassed the permit process altogether, lol).

[interlude]

Originally posted by 410440
I would also recommend Derrick from Gecko, he lives a few houses down from me and has built my garage, my parents garage, and a few family friends as well.



Derrick
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 403.532.8787

Thanks, I will be calling Derrick right now to check on his availability