Trying to decide between a separate house/garage or a single garage with loft

[bstein14]

So I'm going to build a house and garage in Northern Michigan with a primary purpose of using the garage for storing 4 wheelers and snowmobiles as well as for storage.  Going to use the cabin in both summer and winter months as its close to a ski resort.  I can't decide between which plans to go with. 

A separate 20x30 1 1/2 with half the upper being loft and half being open as seen in the home plans here and then a separate detached garage(24x24)... or a garage with a loft space above it to live in.

I'm really wondering how energy efficiency is going to be different between the two and the overall cost between the two. If I do a seperate house and garage that's two foundations I'm paying to have poured rather than just one.  Does the entire living space being lofted above the garage make it less efficient as it would be further away from the ground and perhaps more exposed to wind up there or is that an insignificant factor in overall efficiency?

The garage with loft living space I'm looking at can be found here.

ht tp://justgarageplans.com/3739/plan-detail/1014.php





Thanks

(Disabled link Per Adv policy- GK)

[rick91351]

My question is how much snow do you get?  How much winter use will it have.  If it is in real snow country, you then are shedding half your roof to the drive way and garage doors.  Not very good unless you have a lot of snow fighting equipment and time to use it.  By the way I have toyed around with a similar plan but run the gable ends opposite to shed the snow away from the drive and man doors.  This still does not stop the drifting of snow and those types of problems however does not compound them.

[JRR]

My question would be: "How much Benzene, a carcinogen, do you want to breathe?"

[John Raabe]

I think the question to ask is what will the final project scope and size be? If you build the three car garage with guest space above as shown in this plan, then you do not have a cabin but a care taker place, a carriage house, where you can live over the machinery in anticipation of the 3000 sf or so main house that will be built in the future.

There are problems as mentioned when living above things that go boom. You will want to fire protect and vapor seal between the garage and living space. You want them to ventilate separately. You need to have self-closing fire doors.

A neighbor friend of mine started building a living space over his anticipated garage but after he got the basic shell framed up he saw that he was running out of money faster than he anticipated and wouldn't have enough for both the buildings. He stopped, looked around and said "I could live in here"!

He modified the upper level a bit with another dormer and moved in with the budget he had. Later he built a simple garage with a side shed for the garden tools. The final project looks complete and proportional. And he did it out of pocket. He also realized he didn't really want to live in a big showy house.

[rick91351]

My question would be: "How much Benzene, a carcinogen, do you want to breathe?"

  How do you avoid this in every day life?  Fire code would require I believe double sheet rock or that is how the engineer told me he would have to have out spected my plans.  Ventilation would also be good as Mr Raabe writes,  I do not think it is required by code.  That even could be put on a timed circuit or switch. 

[John Raabe]

Yes, fire protection and ventilation are not difficult to do. This type of project is being done all the time. The standard split-level suburban house with the garage under the upper living level has been built millions of times.

[Dave Sparks]

After some time the garage under the living is so full of items you cannot get a vehicle in there to start a fire..

[rick91351]

After some time the garage under the living is so full of items you cannot get a vehicle in there to start a fire..

Dang Sparks you have a good point there.
rlr