Bank Barn style garage 4 car (2 up, 2 down)

Piston · Sep 18, 2011

I did a lot of searching and can't find too much info on bank barn style garages. My wife and I are planning to build a home in NH in the next two years and my dream has always been to have a 2 level bank barn style garage. By 'bank barn style' I mean one end of the garage would have 2 garage doors and be driven into as normal, say on the same level as the driveway/house, then, since our home will have a walkout basement in back, I will have another 2 garage doors on the backside of the garage, and underneath the 'normal' parking level.

I'm trying to find more info on these types of garages? Does anyone know if they are called something different that would help me in my searching? I have been frantically searching google images for pictures of what I'm looking for and can't seem to find much. If there are any pics you could point me towards, or post yourselves, I would greatly appreciate it.

As of now, we are still in the 'dreaming' phase but are hoping to talk to a bunch of builders this fall/winter to nail down a design of our home.

Just as a reference, we are planning a timber frame home with walkout basement underneath, and attached garage (via breezeway) which would ideally be the bank barn style. The reason i want this style is because I want the garage to look proportional to the house size wise, and still be able to fit 4 vehicles in there (actually, a pontoon boat and tools/work area below, and our daily drivers up top). I don't want a 4 car garage attached to a smaller home. We are planning on around 1800 square feet for the home, so a large garage would look awkward for what we are going for. (Although, my ultimate dream is for my garage to be bigger than the house but she won't go for that )

I've also posted this on garagejournal but only had a few responses (ironically:laughing

I found a couple other terms such as 'suspended concrete floor' garage and 'capped garage' but still not too much info from actualy owners.

I would like some details from anyone on here who owns one, such as the size, the ceiling height in the bottom floor and top floor, what you used for the suspended floor (wood/spancrete/flexicore) and possibly pics, and if you feel comfortable, a rough idea of price.

Thanks guys :thumbsup:

Duffster · Sep 18, 2011

Is expense an issue? Because that is one of the most expensive ways to build a garage.

You can make the heights whatever you like. I don't think you would want to use wood for the floor. I have done the precast and poured in place. I prefer the poured in place.

ultrarunner · Sep 19, 2011

A car collector I know built what you describe as a barn...

It has three levels... ground level with 24 garage doors on the back side

Middle level with 20 garage doors and a shop area

Upper level has loft doors on the end and staircase inside...

Looking at it from the main house you would never guess it has the entire lower level.

The middle and upper level are all wood frame with no concrete.

I have something similar on a much smaller scale...

My garage is 22 x 30 with a concrete slab supported by timber frame with the same 22 x 30 walk out garage underneath... from the house and street it looks like a single story and matches the 1720 square foot home nicely.

The garage doors are in the 22' sides and the walk out a 7' 2" headroom

BeezFun · Sep 19, 2011

My next door neighbor has what you describe. It was built by a contractor for his business, on one side he drove his trucks in the lower level. From the other side he drove his tractors in on the top level. it was built with concrete foundation and steel on piers to support precast concrete panels for the floor above. The lower level is 10' ceiling, the upper level is about 14' and has a loft above. My neighbor now uses it as a barn and put stalls on the lower level. He parks the truck in the bottom and lawn tractor on top. It's a big building, probably 40'x50'. It's way heavier than you would need for cars, but same idea. An architect or civil/structural engineer would be able to help you draw up plans for a building like this. Most home/garage builders probably don't have experience with this kind of building, and wouldn't have right skills to design from scratch. A commercial builder would be more likely to have experience and the right equipment to do it.

slowzuki · Sep 19, 2011

There are lots of them around here, but not as garages, they were built to bring haywagons in level on the uphill side, and access to the animal area was level on the downhill side.

Neighbours had 4x8" planks for a floor, 4 ft spans. The joists were 3x12 or so spanning about 12 ft bearing on another set of joints (12x12 or so) that spanned 8 ft centre columns.
We used to drive the tractors right inside.

Another neighbour has one but the lower level is just storage. I think he had a big steel beam spanning the middle.

forgeblast · Sep 19, 2011

Same here slowzuki, the bars were built into hills, with the cows on the lower end, and hay lofts on the upper end that way you didnt have to haul the hay into a loft just drive right up to it.

Piston · Sep 19, 2011

forgeblast said:
Same here slowzuki, the bars were built into hills, with the cows on the lower end, and hay lofts on the upper end that way you didnt have to haul the hay into a loft just drive right up to it.

That's where they got the name "bank barns" because they were built into the 'bank' of the hill.

That's great some of you have seen or had experience with this style garage.

Ultrarunner,
That HUGE shop you describe is just what I'm looking for :laughing: Except I haven't hit the lottery yet!

Do you have any pics of your 22'X30' garage? I would love to see some general pictures of the inside/outside.

Cost may certainly be an issue, depending on how much of the cost is made up by labor. I have a friend of the family who owns a business doing foundations/footings for large commercial buildings like the big box stores and similar. He will help me by doing the labor for the cost of food and fuel which will be minimal. I will of course have to pay for all materials which I know add up fast. I have seen that a general rule of thumb is that the labor is about the same as the cost of materials, so if it's a 15,000 dollar job in material, they may charge another 15k or so. Anyone know if this is close to reality?

DAY · Sep 19, 2011

PA Germans built lots of the bank barns here in Pennsylvania. I once lived in one, and now have a ceramic studio in another. ( hence the sat dish!)
They face south, and, dug into the bank, the lower level (where the cows are) is always cool in summer and warm in winter.
The upper level usually has four bays, the two center ones just long and wide enough for a team and wagon to enter and unload the hay or shocked grain into the mows. Often a steel rail runs along the ridge, with a pulley and hay tongs to make unloading easier.
The upper level is plenty big enough and strong enough for modern vehicles, and many folks now keep their cars and trucks and tractors up there.
Do a Google search for Pa bank barns, and you can find lots of detailed information on their construction. Or you can hire a modern day Amish crew to build you one!

ultrarunner · Sep 19, 2011

Just looked and don't have a picture on my "New" computer... never moved the files from my Windows 98 old computer...

I bought the home with the garage... although I was around when the garage addition was built in the mid 70's.

Basically, it is situated on a down slope... drops 8' in 30'

Standard 2 x 4 cripple walls with a wood beam running down the center with 4 wood posts.

The floor joists are 22' long and support the concrete slab.

If the garage were built today... it would be much different due to all of the California Seismic Codes...

There are many hundreds of down slope homes in the Oakland hills where the garage is street level or below with several floors of living space under the garage... the view ordinance doesn't allow new construction to block the bay and city views from the roadway... so everything must be built below the view plane...

The timber supporting the garages in these new homes is massive compared to mine done over 30 years ago.

Will see if I can find any pictures to scan.

slowzuki · Sep 19, 2011

Problems with bank barns:
-here since cattle were in the bottom, they never froze in the winter. Without cows, the field stone and mortar walls are damaged in the winter from frost. If more drainage or non-frost susceptible fill was used they would survive much better.
-moisture in the bottom level. The centre posts rot on the bottom leading to sagging floors.
-Existing barns have low ceilings on the first floor. Not much good for anything except animals.

Most of this doesn't apply to a modern version of the barn. If I were to do one, I'd be tempted to try a poured steel pan floor. Deep fluted pans have some good spans. Definately good foundation drainage needed too.