Most of our year is apartment buildings and commercial work, but every spring the homeowner calls start: a detached garage before next winter, a shop with a loft, an ADU over the garage for a parent or a renter. This is the straight version of what we tell every one of them — what matters in the framing, what an ADU really changes, and where the money goes.
Garage framing: decisions to make before the slab is poured
- Go bigger than you think. A 24x24 fits two vehicles; it does not fit two vehicles plus a workbench, bikes, and a snowblower. Most people who build 24x24 wish they'd built 26x28 or 28x32. The added framing cost of going bigger is modest — the slab, roof, and siding scale, but the labor barely changes.
- Wall height is cheap now and impossible later. Standard 8-foot walls limit you to a 7-foot door. If you ever want a taller door, a car lift, or real storage racks, frame 9- or 10-foot walls. It's one of the cheapest upgrades on the whole project.
- Headers are engineered, not guessed. A 16-foot overhead door opening in a load-bearing wall wants an engineered LVL header sized for your snow load — and central Minnesota snow loads are nothing to freelance. This is where DIY garages most often go wrong.
- Attic trusses are the best value in the building. If you want storage or a future loft, order attic trusses up front. Trusses are built to order; there's no changing your mind after they show up on the truck.
What makes an ADU different: it's a dwelling
An accessory dwelling unit isn't a garage with a bed in it — the code treats it as a house, and the framing has to support that from day one:
- Egress. Any sleeping room needs a code-compliant egress window, which means framing the right rough openings at the right sill heights the first time.
- Insulation depth. Minnesota's energy code drives thick wall and ceiling assemblies. That can mean 2x6 walls, raised-heel trusses, and framing details a basic garage never sees.
- Fire separation. An ADU attached to or above a garage needs rated separation between the two — specific assemblies, not just an extra layer of drywall wherever it's convenient.
- The floor over a garage is structural and mechanical. Living space above parking usually means engineered I-joists or floor trusses sized for the span, with plumbing runs, heat, and ventilation planned before we frame, not after.
Permits: call your city first
ADU rules vary town by town across central Minnesota — some cities welcome them, some cap the size, some only allow them attached, and a few still don't allow them at all. A garage permit is usually simple; an ADU permit involves zoning, utilities, and sometimes a separate address. One phone call to your city's building department before you spend money on plans will save you weeks.
What it costs
Broad rules of thumb, because every site is different: a straightforward detached two-car garage — slab, framing, roofing, siding, overhead door — commonly lands in the mid five figures around here once everything's in. An ADU costs dwelling money, not garage money: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, insulation, and finishes push it several times higher per square foot than a garage shell. Framing itself is usually only 15 to 20 percent of a total project budget, which is exactly why it's a bad place to cut corners — everything else attaches to it. Our ballpark estimate calculator will put a rough number on your project in a couple of minutes.
Why hire a commercial framing crew for a garage?
Because speed and straightness are habits. A crew that frames apartment buildings and commercial projects all year will stand your garage in days, not weeks, with walls plumb enough that the overhead door installer and the drywaller both have easy days. We slot garage and ADU projects between our larger jobs all season long.
Thinking about a garage or ADU this year? Reach out for a free quote — bring a sketch, we'll handle the rest.