I'm going to build a new house with a walkout basement and was wondering if anyone had a basement as a garage or part of the basement. Thought it might save a bunch on building a seperate garage, not sure what codes require nowadays though.

 

I have seen many houses constructed that way. Codes require fire resistant walls and ceilings. Check with your local codes officers or an architect.

 

When I was a kid still living at home, I used our walkout basement as a workshop, but not a garage. Well... The lawnmower was there, I did an oil change on it. Uh, I kept my mountain bike down there too. But after my dad died, I kind of migrated to my buddy's garage down the street.

But now, I'm of the opinion that a basement is part of the house, and a garage is where the car is parked and serviced. I think you'd have to get plans made up where the garage, while still in the "basement", is separate from the rest of it.

 

I have a walkout basement with six foot wide french doors. It's not considered a garage as far as all the codes go. I do keep my motorcycles down there though. I don't start them until I back them out on the patio and I've got a CO detector down there. Only drawback is that my girlfriend says she can smell gas sometimes. She has a bionic nose though because I can't smell a thing. If you were going to go official, you would need a firewall separating any living space from the garage which basically means fire retardant sheetrock on the walls and ceiling and a fire door for access. I don't remember off the top of my head what the specs are on that. It's supposed to remain intact for so many minutes when exposed to a fire. I think it would be worth the extra steps to make it compliant.

 

They actually have names for that type of home in the KC area, they call them raised ranch or split entry homes.

Listings:
http://www.tonitygart.com/MyHomeDtl....&HomeID=546873
http://www.topix.net/classifieds/gre...VMGRVLNSPSRS1D
http://homes.point2.com/US/Kansas/Jo...al-Estate.aspx

 

Yeah, Iv'e lived in what's called around here as a bi-level for 30 years. We built it with a two car garage back then, but just recently added on to the front of both levels. I went out the front and extended the garage too, giving me another 4 cars capacity. Our house is on a hillside giving me few other options. I just use the front part as a "project shop" and the original two car for the wifes Jeep and my other truck.
Good luck, Phil

 

Some of those pictures, I'd call the houses split level. But since I can't see inside... Does the garage access the house through the basement? We got lots of those around here. My cousin has a place like that, only instead of an enclosed garage, there's a carport. Others have their garage like the ones in the pictures, but it's more or less separate.

My house has the garage door in the front of the house at grade. There is a basement below grade, but nothing under the garage. And there is a full top floor with 2 bedrooms over the garage. Not a walkout basement, but definitely a walkout garage.

 

A friend of mine in upstate NY built his house from scratch, minus the foundation. The foundation was made of pre-fab walls that have tongue-and-groove interlocking sides, for a nice seal. The basement walls are 12' high.

The house is absolutely massive, and there's not one pole in the basement. The entire house is supported by these curved composite beams that run across the pre-fab walls, that lose their curve once the house was built and the weight of the house puts them into compression.

Attached to the side of the house, on a slab, is a 3-car garage. The garage bay closest to the house has a concrete ramp that goes from about mid-way the length of the garage (which is an extended length garage - two ford taurus could fit in each bay, lengthwise, bumper to bumper), down into this basement. There's just enough turning room at the bottom of the ramp to swing his crewcab around the bend. It's tight, but it can be done.

Anyway, his garage is where the family cars are stored, and the basement is the "shop". It must be nice having under-house workspace that has full climate control seperate from the rest of the house, in addition to a plethora of amazing machinery one never finds in a home. Sunnen honing machines, huge engine lathes, etc etc etc.

I know I didn't answer your question, but it reminded me of my buddy's "ideal basement".

 

That sounds like a super sweet setup.

 

I have seen several basements converted into garages or workshops over the years, and the biggest probelm they ran into was the fact that fumes sometimes got into the house. Usually the furnace is down there and that adds to the problem. Everytime the heat or a.c. kicks on it pumps any smell in the garage through out the home.

Unless you want to upset your family you might want to forget painting or any other such activity in a basement garage.

 

I personally wouldn't store anything flammable in the basement, especially gasoline, propane and items with heavier than air vapors. The vapors collect down low and can migrate over to the water heater, furnace etc. Besides, having the garage and the basement both means more workshop space.