Need help with garage design

> I'm trying to get together a design for a 1 1/2 bay free standing garage
> and I need a couple of questions either answered or directions on where
> to go to get the answers (I've been told where to go on several occasions
> but that place doesn't seem to have what I need now :)
> The garage will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 foot wide by 24
> foot deep with a 15 foot ceiling. The height is for a future car lift so
> I can change oil and tires on my vehicles in my old age without bending
> over :)
> First things first, before I can really get into this I have to get a
> working draft of the plan that I can submit to the local code thugs so I
> can find out if where I want to put it will be allowed. Real pain in the
> behind since if they wont let me put it where I need to put it then the
> entire project will have to be scrapped. :( So needless to say I wont be
> spending money on a 'bought' plan since there is a chance I'd never get
> to use it.
> So I'm starting out with the basics, the foundation, after digging around
> a bit I'm kinda stumped as to what I need. So here are the questions.
> 1. How deep will I have to make the footer if our local frost line is 32
> inches and my soil is very heavy clay. Do I have to make it like an
> inverted 'T' or can I just go straight down.
> 2. This will be a framed building with plywood sheeting and siding on the
> outside and sheetrock on the inside. How wide must I make the footer, 4,
> 6, 8, 10 inches???
> 3. My soil is a very heavy clay do I have to put drainage around the
> bottom of the footer?
> 4. I want to dig and pour the footer first then later after the building
> is up have the floor poured, mainly since I plan on doing all but the
> slab myself I figured it could be the last thing I do budget wise and I
> could even hold off if money was tight and still get use from the
> building. Should I make a 'lip' on the inside of the footer and pour the
> slab on over it or can I just pour it to butt up against the footer.
> Sorry to be long but I'm kinda stuck here until I can get this figured
> out. If I was out in the boonies like my Dad I'd just put up a pole barn
> and be done with it but here in civilization I have to do better.
> Thanks
> Bill

<snip>
>
> Sorry to give this answer but you had better check first with the
> building department where you live. You will probably need
> an architect/engineer to do the design and you will have to apply for
> a building permit. Once that is done you can build it yourself if you
> like. At least all the answers to the questions that you are asking
> will have been answered.
>
> Good luck...
>
> CID...
>

>> Sorry to give this answer but you had better check first with the
>> building department where you live. You will probably need
>> an architect/engineer to do the design and you will have to apply for
>> a building permit. Once that is done you can build it yourself if you
>> like. At least all the answers to the questions that you are asking
>> will have been answered.
>> Good luck...
>> CID...
> According to the local code police all I need is a plan they can check
> and sign off on, it doesn't have to be from an architect or engineer.
> Most of the building design software I've looked at will default to
> something that will meet code but none of them could tell me about the
> footers I'd need to pour for my area. Once I can determine the
> footer/slab combo I can come up with a plan that can be checked by
> whoever does so on our local code police board.
> I did go back and re-read the original email I received from the code
> police and realized I'd blurred together two lines, after all it was two
> years ago when I got it originally. I had thought it had said I had to
> submit a plan and give them an idea where I wanted to put the garage
> before they could tell me if I could put it there, what was actually said
> was I could submit the plan to them for approval and that they needed to
> know the zone I was in to let me know if the setbacks I wanted were
> allowable. I blame my mother for this, I got her memory, I forgot was
> was said and managed to rearrange things to make it harder. I've since
> emailed them back with my location and where I want to put it so I'm
> hoping to find out if I SOL or not in the next day or so.
> Bill

>>> I'm trying to get together a design for a 1 1/2 bay free standing garage
>>> and I need a couple of questions either answered or directions on where
>>> to go to get the answers (I've been told where to go on several
>>> occasions
>>> but that place doesn't seem to have what I need now :)
>>> The garage will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 foot wide by 24
>>> foot deep with a 15 foot ceiling. The height is for a future car lift
>>> so
>>> I can change oil and tires on my vehicles in my old age without bending
>>> over :)
>>> First things first, before I can really get into this I have to get a
>>> working draft of the plan that I can submit to the local code thugs so I
>>> can find out if where I want to put it will be allowed. Real pain in
>>> the
>>> behind since if they wont let me put it where I need to put it then the
>>> entire project will have to be scrapped. :( So needless to say I wont
>>> be
>>> spending money on a 'bought' plan since there is a chance I'd never get
>>> to use it.
>>> So I'm starting out with the basics, the foundation, after digging
>>> around
>>> a bit I'm kinda stumped as to what I need. So here are the questions.
>>> 1. How deep will I have to make the footer if our local frost line is 32
>>> inches and my soil is very heavy clay. Do I have to make it like an
>>> inverted 'T' or can I just go straight down.
>>> 2. This will be a framed building with plywood sheeting and siding on
>>> the
>>> outside and sheetrock on the inside. How wide must I make the footer,
>>> 4,
>>> 6, 8, 10 inches???
>>> 3. My soil is a very heavy clay do I have to put drainage around the
>>> bottom of the footer?
>>> 4. I want to dig and pour the footer first then later after the building
>>> is up have the floor poured, mainly since I plan on doing all but the
>>> slab myself I figured it could be the last thing I do budget wise and I
>>> could even hold off if money was tight and still get use from the
>>> building. Should I make a 'lip' on the inside of the footer and pour
>>> the
>>> slab on over it or can I just pour it to butt up against the footer.
>>> Sorry to be long but I'm kinda stuck here until I can get this figured
>>> out. If I was out in the boonies like my Dad I'd just put up a pole
>>> barn
>>> and be done with it but here in civilization I have to do better.
>>> Thanks
>>> Bill
>> Sorry to give this answer but you had better check first with the
>> building department where you live. You will probably need
>> an architect/engineer to do the design and you will have to apply for a
>> building permit. Once that is done you can build it yourself if you
>> like. At least all the answers to the questions that you are asking will
>> have been answered.
>> Good luck...
>> CID...
> Coming from Tyrantland, I too thought that.
> Only later did I find out that I could have just asked the guy across the
> road and he would have told me to just go ahead and build whatever I want,
> like everybody else does around here.
> It all depends on your familiarity with the area.