When the mechanic retires, the museum goes with him

That was @JohnBloom talking about high school vocational programs that have ceased to exist in many parts of the country.   Definitely related.   But also fact that modern HEI cars that 99% of the mechanics work on have little in common with the battery ignition cars prior to 1975.   So modern shop classes won't help the problem as we need specialized help.

Maybe a Morton?

Looks like a Morton.  But I've have studied this list and don't remember it.
https://mortonbuildings.com/project-catalog

AJ, you shouldn’t show me buildings like this. I have a cleared lot and a site plan done for a 50x80 steel building. What holds me back is that I’d have to fill at least part of it with more work.

I've  gone through even one of their 1500 builds.  For me it has to have the "right" barn look.   That requires a steep roof pitch and overhangs with the right sized doors.  Minimum 12' side walls with 13 or 14 better.

For me this one has the right look,  but it needs to be deeper.
https://mortonbuildings.com/projects/jim-stephanies-garage

Another good one.  But I would add at least one more bay.  If I'm building in an industrial area than lots of metal buildings work.  If I'm putting it in my back yard it can't look like an industrial building.

https://mortonbuildings.com/projects/scotts-garage-4

Last one.  This is a great look but I would have to upsize in every direction.

https://mortonbuildings.com/projects/jims-garage

I really like that red one.

Scott’s garage is a good one. Best way to get more bays in that is just add a side overhead door toward the back of the building. Plenty of depth to have two cars in sideways in the back bays. Individual bay doors are the way to go. Far less car jockeying than with a center door.

At 42 deep I would probably want them back to back coming in the front doors, so with an additional stall a fairly comfortable 8 car garage.  12x21 per car is a nice foot print.  The issue comes in when you start loading up the side walls with benches and tools.

Yes, definitely changes things when you add tools and actually trying to work on them in the space. My body shop building has roughly the same footprint and door layout as that and realistically, five cars is about all you’re going to work on without tripping over each other.

There is a difference between storing cars and working on them and driving them.  Doors become a big thing.  In my town we are limited to 5 garage doors total on the property.  Although I have not paid attention to the requirement in a long long time to understand the exact details.  But when my brother built his barn, he had 3 doors on the garage attached to the house and the built a barn with one large overhead door but 3 ornamental doors along one side to make it look like a carriage house that you could theoretically open but it was a pain in the ass.  The town flipped out.

There’s always some problem with the zoning, whether it’s legitimate or somebody just has a bee in their bonnet.

My brother's house was down a 1/4 long drive and the nearest house was 800 feet away.   Nobody could see anything and the barn was nicer than a lot of houses.  So this was not legit.

On the other hand,  I have a friend that dropped a 60x40 metal building in his backyard with high sidewalls that was looming over the neighborhood.  Neighbors were not happy and I didn't blame them.

This keeps showing up in my Facebook feed.  Looks to be 30x50,  36x60?  I could work with it.  It would look nice in a suburban setting.

@hupp31 I've found that most zoning problems are someone wanting a payday. I had some issues with bylaw about the house I used to live in. They didn't like that my truck bumper was over the sidewalk when the front bumper was butted up to the siding.
I pointed out that had someone at city hall in 1976 had not been greased by the builder and allowed the house to be built closer to the property line than their own bylaws say it should be, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
The problem went away after that.

@alsancle Stop posting these great looking buildings. I just talked myself out of building a new shop that I can't afford.

Shawn,   this is the same as the car stuff.  Looking but not building is the same as looking but not buying.  It just takes discipline.   My dad was 70 when he finally built is 40x36 garage.  He screwed up because he wanted to be able to park his trailer to the side so he didn't go the full 40x40 which would have eliminated that.   I would be happy if I finally get my garage at 70.   Every time I've gone to do it I've bought a useless car instead.

Yeah, I thought of you.   Most museums do rely on volunteers for a lot of the labor, which basically means retired guys.