Detached building ideas for office/man cave

[375 Ruger Fan]

A friend of mine built a 30x40 trophy above his 3 car garage. Sounds easy, but actually got somewhat complex and expensive. The house was in a nice subdivision and there wasn't space for a stand alone structure. Building codes and neighborhood covenants all had to be addressed. The 3 car garage didn't have sufficient foundation (footings) for adding a second floor above the garage. Tear down the garage, bust out old foundation and build all new. The results were spectacular!

 

[Tgood1]

 

[Tgood1]

After years of consideration I did the detached idea. Love it.

 

[AZDAVE]

This is a great idea generator. I built a small shop (as big as the city will allow with out a large bit of $$$$ in architect/engineering layout etc. Then we built a trophy room that is an addition to the house. Will look at finding a couple online design ideas. You will need to put together a set of requirements. Several posts have mentioned the man cave/ shop/ gun storage/ cleaning/wood work (dust requirements away from everything else), metal work (Lathe, mill, welders etc). What the power needs are and is there any building code for where you will be building. Do you want it as a single or two story building. We will have to have a phone call to talk some in depth on requirements. Looking forward to seeing where this thread leads.

 

[Hunt anything]

For those with the detached buildings. How much time do you spend in them? My current room was a two car garage that we enclosed as we built our house, back then I never dreamed I would ever make it to Africa, I always wanted to go but didn’t think it would become reality. So we thought the closed in garage would be plenty of room for my extensive waterfowl collection and my few deer heads. Now I’m pretty much out of room and would still like to bring selective trophies home from my safaris.
Getting back to my question, I spend parts of everyday unwinding in my room but don’t know if I would spend as much time if it wasn’t attached to the house. Even a short walk in the south Alabama summer nights I can build up a sweat and then back in the shower and back wide awake.

 

[Green Chile]

One of the considerations for me is that I run a small company from home and my wife runs her work from home. Both of us are on a lot of video calls, etc and there needs to be some separation for that to work well without affecting the other person. That's a secondary reason for thinking separate building versus an addition to a home.

I'm considering how I might be able to also create an office space inside of this build, which would also be a tax benefit. A two story is much more complex of a build BUT there is an interesting possibility of having the office be on the 2nd floor of a loft type setup. That's intriguing to consider.

As to Dave's comments, I'm not thinking this would be a workshop setup with dust considerations, etc. The main idea is a work and relaxation area. That being the case, I would probably be there most of the days and some evenings. It would get a lot of use from me if I combined my office space there.

 

[BryceM]

I did something similar 6 or 7 years ago. Construction costs at the time were fortunately much lower. I built a detached building with two large garage bays, an area for a woodshop, bathroom, reloading room, and larger space for a trophy room. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed having the space. Shoot me a PM if you’d like details.

 

[Green Chile]

Shazam that's a big warthog on the wall! PM to you.

 

[K-man]

This is mine during early construction. 32x40 with 16 foot center sidewalls. Post and beam with mortise and tenon joints. One end has a loft with a library above and bathroom gun closet and mini kitchen below

 

[Green Chile]

I love the look of that layout. Please share more photos and details. Particularly interested in how the loft and additional areas are tied into the overall design.

 

[Green Chile]

Related to this topic, any thoughts on gun storage or gun vault ideas to incorporate into a build?

 

[Throwback]

Related to this topic, any thoughts on gun storage or gun vault ideas to incorporate into a build?

I have a walk in room now and love it vs. a gun safe. What I would do if I was buliding a new one tomorrow:
- A safe door for entry as I like the look. If you dont want this exposed in your study area or wherever this is, have a bookshelf door open into a small room where you can then have the safe door open into the actual gun room. Hope that makes sense. I have a similar set up now and I use the small "entry room" to store gun cases and other gear. You can buy just a safe door these days.
- If you are to hang guns on the wall (vs. vertical racks) which I would do, think about how to do that now. There are a few different systems with pegs, etc...
- Figure out the lighting as I think that is major thing in the end
- I would personally run AC into the room so figure out where you want those vents, etc.. I just try to maintain a stable temp/humidity level as possible.
- Determine if you are going to let people in there you dont know such as AC repairmen, maids, or other folks such as that. If not, it may factor in to how you set things up as you will be working on it yourself.

I am guessing you know this outfit but check out Julian and Sons for high end ideas.

Custom Home Gun Rooms & Cabinetry | Woodworking Gun Cabinet

At Julian & Sons, we specialize in creating exquisite custom home gun rooms and cabinetry that blend functionality with unparalleled craftsmanship.

julianandsons.com

 

[Green Chile]

Good info. I need to research the gun vault idea further.