Can i build a garage + apartment?

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drumgod

New Member
I am looking to build a garage with an apartment on top. Something around 1000 sq feet or so. I have some plans in mind.

I dont know if i can legally do so. I live in newburg (charles county) and i dont know the building codes/regulations. I have 10 acers of waterfront property zoned AC. there is currently a house on the property now.

An alternative to this would to build a guest house / in-law suite.


Does anyone know if I can build this, legally. And if so, does anyone know the rules, regulations, or guide lines to build a garage with an apartment (or guest house).

Im open to recommendations to buiders + pricing as well if anyone has done this and has experiences they can share.

Thanks!

Drum on .. .. . . .
 
BadGirl

BadGirl

I am so very blessed
We were looking to build a similar set-up in St. Mary's and had a few plans in mind. We actually wanted an addition (a garage/apartment with a new laundry room/mudroom bridging the new construction to the existing house). We thought the plans, below, would do a good job of taking addressing most of our needs and wants.

Design Connection, LLC - Garage Plan

Plan W88334SH: Carriage House, Garage House Plans & Home Designs

We had a wide range of price estimates :shocking: , and realized that we need to site tight for a little bit before taking on that kind of expense.

We did do some investigative work at the local Planning and Zoning office and discovered that it wouldn't be too difficult to put on this addition.
 
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drumgod

New Member
BadGirl said:
We were looking to build a similar set-up in St. Mary's and had a few plans in mind. We actually wanted an addition (a garage/apartment with a new laundry room/mudroom bridging the new construction to the existing house). We thought the plans, below, would do a good job of taking addressing most of our needs and wants.

Design Connection, LLC - Garage Plan

Plan W88334SH: Carriage House, Garage House Plans & Home Designs

We had a wide range of price estimates :shocking: , and realized that we need to site tight for a little bit before taking on that kind of expense.

We did do some investigative work at the local Planning and Zoning office and discovered that it wouldn't be too difficult to put on this addition.
Click to expand...


Good info. what did you find about the zoning regulations? Do we need any special permits or anything like that? Also, PM me and let me know what cost estimate you got and whom you got it from, if you dont mind.

Thanks!
 
sockgirl77

sockgirl77

Well-Known Member
drumgod said:
Good info. what did you find about the zoning regulations? Do we need any special permits or anything like that? Also, PM me and let me know what cost estimate you got and whom you got it from, if you dont mind.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You do need a building permit. Why not call Planning and Zoning and ask them all of the questions? :shrug:
 
Vince

Vince

......
I had one built a few years ago. Cape Cod style. 2 1/2 car garage with an upstairs that I can turn into an apartment if I desire. Don't care what county you live in, you need a building permit and if you live in a protected area (near water) you have to run it by the environmental folks too. It doesn't take much. The building inspectors can be a real PITA. I put in elect. garage door openers and ran the wiring through the same holes in the joists as the regular elect wiring. Had to move it and make all separate holes for the door opener wiring. That's only a small example of building inspector problems that I had. There were alot more holdups from those guys.
 
kom526

kom526

They call me ... Sarcasmo
10 acres of waterfront? You shouldn't have any problems with building this structure on that much land. Just make sure that you set aside enough money for landscaping, I mean the government mandated landscaping required to satisfy critical area rules.

When you are ready to do your site plan find a surveyor that has critical areas experience. You will find that a good survey company can be very helpful in this process. (Much more so than the ticket punchers at planning and zoning.)
 
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drumgod

New Member
CC.ORG Permits website info

For all thoses interested, i was able to turn up this site from Charlescounty.org.

Publications, Forms, Documents & Guidelines

Its got a section for "Permit Guides-Residential Detached Structures" You have to be a lawyer to understand it though... Typical government BS, but it has some helpful information.

I had no idea that getting a garage buit took sooo many FREAKN permits.. Why do i have to have 12 different permits to build 1 structure.. Another reason why i dislike maryland.

Well if anyone has any information of builders / cost, id really like to hear about it!

thanks for your responses
 
kom526

kom526

They call me ... Sarcasmo
Your builder should pull the permits for you. A lot of times they can get your permits pulled quicker than you can because they'll show up @ Planning and Zoning and say, "I need to talk to so and so." therefore bypassing the whole sitting around waiting for someone to finish their game of minesweeper.:lmao:
 
fredsaid2

fredsaid2

New Member
I was told, in St. Mary's, a garage can generally be done by the owner walking the permit through and you can have it that day. My future garage was noted on the site plan, that may be the difference. I think where the additional time and paperwork come in is the desire to add living space and bathrooms. As I understand it, the county specs your septic based on bedrooms/bathrooms. I don't know how much leeway they factor in for an additional bathroom if any.
 
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OldHillcrestGuy

Well-Known Member
Several years back my neighbor added a garage and a bedroom on top to his split foyer, with bath and they made him add another drain field to the septic system. (St. Mary's)
Last year when I added only a garage to my house, my contractor walked the permit through himself same day.
 
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Booboo3604

Active Member
kom526 said:
Your builder should pull the permits for you. A lot of times they can get your permits pulled quicker than you can because they'll show up @ Planning and Zoning and say, "I need to talk to so and so." therefore bypassing the whole sitting around waiting for someone to finish their game of minesweeper.:lmao:
Click to expand...

A word of advice, pull the permit yourself. Don't let the builder do it. Anyone can go down to Charles County on a Thursday and pull a same day permit. You may sit for a little bit but it can be done same day. By pulling the permit yourself, you are not tying the contractor to the permit. We were lucky and when we had to fire our contractor, because we had pulled the permit, we were able to wash our hands of him and find someone else to complete the job. We were told by other contractors that a lot of them will not finish work on a permit pulled by another contractor. The fired contractor can also go right back down to the county and have the permit revoked as well. We choose to be in control of our permit and it turned out to be a blessing we did. Just take that into consideration as no one really plans for their experience to go bad.
 
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