Detached Garages

All detached garages built in the City of Sauk Rapids must meet the following minimum specifications:

Setbacks:

  • Frontyard: 25 foot minimum setback from the property line.*
  • Sideyard: Interior sideyard of 5 feet must be maintained. A 10 foot setback is required on a street sideyard.
  • Rear: A setback of 18 feet is required if the garage door faces they alley. A setback of 3 feet is required if the opening does not face the alley.

Height:

  • Detached garages are limited in height to 15 feet.

Size:

  • No detached garage shall exceed 900 square feet in area.

Construction:

  • Polebarn type garages are not allowed in residential districts. Vertical metal siding is not allowed on detached garages in order to preserve the residentail character of the neighborhood.

Trusses:

  • All trusses must be engineered. Owner-built trusses are not allowed by the building code.

Floating slab design:

The design of floating slabs for detached garages must follow these specifications:

  • Three and one-half inch base layer of sand
  • Perimeter footing with a minimum ten inch width and ten-inch thickness.
  • A minimum of two, one-half inch rebar installed over/under around the entire perimeter
  • Treated sill plate
  • One-half inch anchor bolts inbedded at least seven inches into the concrete
  • Plastic fiber reinforcement is not a substitute for wire mesh in a floating slab. 

Materials:

  • Used lumber shall not be used in any part of the structure.

Anchorage:

  • If a row(s) of block are placed on top of the slab beneath the stud walls anchor bolts must extend through the block into the slab. Drilled anchors are to be avoided as they do not have adequate resistance to uplift in high wind situations.

Building Permit:

  • A Building permit is required for all garages. Applications are available at City Hall between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM. Information required is the following:

    • A site plan indicating distance of the structure from property lines, easements or other impediments.
    • Details of construction including but not limited to: size and spacing of studs, type of wall and roof sheathing, type of roof structure (e.g. truss or standard framing).

Building permit fees are based on the value of the construction which includes materials and labor. Standard square foot factors provided by the State are used in determining this value.

*Property Line: