Just curious - what does a detached shop structure cost?

[Victor Robinson]

I'm probably not going to be doing this for another 10+ years, but I'm just curious.

My wife and I may be moving out of the city soon and you can bet your pants one of the features I'll be looking for in our new home will be a bit of land to build a detached shop on (if the garage or basement isn't large enough or suitable).

I'm curious how much a detached shop actually costs to build from the ground up, assuming professional help for the "tougher" parts (bringing in utilities, pouring foundation...) but DIYing as much as possible over time.

I know the cost can be as high as the shop is grand, but let's just assume a modest space, not necessarily a "dream" shop. Would the cost be around 20K? 40K? 75K?

If you're comfortable posting what ballpark yours was in, that would be great. It's just some information I'd like to have in the back of my mind... ;)

[Roger Jensen]

I don't think you can build any legal/permanent structure (with permits) for less than $15K by the time you get it ready for move-in. I spent more than that, but I'm in Northern California so my costs are probably higher because I had to meet seismic-related building requirements. I did everything myself except pour the foundation and install the sub-panel from my main panel. It is a pretty small footprint - 14ft x 19ft.

Roger

[Victor Robinson]

I don't think you can build any legal/permanent structure (with permits) for less than $15K by the time you get it ready for move-in. I spent more than that, but I'm in Northern California so my costs are probably higher because I had to meet seismic-related building requirements. I did everything myself except pour the foundation and install the sub-panel from my main panel. It is a pretty small footprint - 14ft x 19ft.

Roger

Thanks Roger. I'm in Norcal as well, so I would also be feeling the pain of a higher cost. Do you find 14x19 to be big enough? Were you limited by space?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I just went through the pricing process for my area, western Nebraska, very rural, no zoning issues, but plently of wind/snow load requirements, and came up with about $50,000 for a 30x40 metal building with room in attic trusses. It was actually a kit from Menards, plus cement, and assembly. That would be without electrical or plumbing.

[Greg Portland]

Victor, I was in a similar situation as you last year when I was moving. In my area, the cost of land (and taxes) were prohibitive. Keep that in mind when looking for your home (initial shop cost may be minor versus the tax penalty for land + outbuilding).

The big ticket items tend to be electrical, concrete, and any large beams (if required). IMO $15k will get you your permits, a subpanel with a few circuits, a concrete pad, and DIY framing + roof (no heating or cooling). Doing the framing, roof, insulation, walls, and pulling the electrical wire can save you quite a bit of money. I would budget $30k for a 20x30 climate controlled shop.

You should look for homes with an extra garage, this gives you a pre-built space. You will probably only need to add more lighting and electric circuits (<$5k).

[Roger Jensen]

If you live in a city you'll have 'green-space' requirements, i.e. you can't have a building take up your entire backyard. Every city will vary. I could have gone a little bigger, but for aesthetic reasons (and two giant redwoods I couldn't touch) I shortened it.

FYI - I built mine using a kit from Costco ( now only available at http://www.homeplacestructures.com/specialty_buildings/Keystone_Garage). I had to shorten it for my space and I moved the doors. It was nice to use a kit for the first one, but if I did it again I'd just buy a plan. I also had to work with the building department to meet seismic code requirements. No big deal - the city was a big help.

[Roger Jensen]

The cost of concrete is worth mentioning. The cement pad cost more ($7K) than all of the raw materials for the rest of the shop. I was shocked.

Roger

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Victor,

I joined the Creek when I started the build on my detached shop. I hired a contractor to build the empty unpainted shell. It's 24'x30' with 10' walls. It has 3 3'x4' thermopane windows, a 10' insulated garage door and a 36" walkin door. It has a poured footing, poured wall poured floor with 2x6 construction. It was roofed with 30 year asphalt shingles. It was sided with Hardi-board cementous siding.

Empty, unpainted 5 years ago IIRC it cost me $16,000.

I installed it's own meter and 200 amp service and wired it. I installed R-19 in the walls and hired the ceiling insulated to R-40. I installed 1/2" plywood on the walls and 5/8" sheetrock on the ceilings. The LOML gave me a Lennox NG furnace and had a gas line run to the shop and the furnace installed.

The cost will be vary by the construction costs in your location. At the time I had mine built, local construction was slow so contractors were looking for work to keep their workers busy.

[Bob Winkler]

I'm in CT, and last year year it cost me about $42K for the 24x32 shell. That is vinyl sided, two story with 12' dormer, and 10' ceiling. That included site prep, permits, a posted foundations with slab, and 2x6 construction, overhead doors.

Not included was electrical or sheetrock (I did it myself), or foam insulation (I contracted it out).

My shop looks like a nice small house in my backyard, which pleases me and my neighbors.

Bob

[Scott T Smith]

You might want to look at this a little differently.

First, figure out what your fixed costs will be. Examples are permitting, electrical service, access roads, grading, etc. These will cost you the same whether you build a 400 square foot shop or a 4000 sq. ft shop.

Then, figure out - on a per square foot basis - what your construction costs will be, based upon the construction style. An example is that a pole barn may only cost you $15.00 per squre foot, but a typical baloon framed structure may cost $35.00 per square foot with you doing a lot of the work.

Take your budget, subtract the fixed costs, and you'll know how much building that you can build.

[Josh Bowman]

I have at least 28K in my 30x42 shop. 1/2 underground therefore block on 3 sides. Better roof than my house and garage door.

[Jim Laumann]

Victor

Here is the link to a post of mine on what I did - a detached 40x60X12 pole frame building. Shop space is 40x30X12. Contains pics and various cost #'s, and some of the why's as to what I did.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?152198-The-saga-of-the-Money-Pit...err-shop-(pix)&highlight=pics

Hope this helps

Jim

[david blakelock]

Victor, I just completed a detached shop. It is 25x40 so a 1000 sq. ft. I had it roughed plumbed as well as electric runned from the main and had them put outlets through out the shop. It has a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. It also has an oversized garage door even though it won't be used as a garage, but I did that for resell. I also ran a concrete driveway from my existing driveway back to the shop. It is insulated and has plywood for the interior walls and drywall on the ceilings. I did none of the work myself. The total cost for everything was right at $45K. I could have done it cheaper but we wanted the style of the garage to match the main house, thus we have nice siding on the garage as well as certain architectural features which drove up the costs. So to answer your question for a 1000 sq. ft. detached workshop the cost is right at $4.50/sq. ft. As has already been pointed out the main cost was the slab. Down here in Texas we have a problem with the ground swelling so I had to do a post tension slab rather than just a regular slab. That was not cheap. Good luck!

David

[Don Bullock]

I went a different direction than most. After getting very high quotes from builders, even after the economy went south, I had Tuff Shed build me a custom 24' x 40' shop/garage building. The actual structure was about $12,000 and the slab was another $10,000. In my area fire code required fire proof siding on top of the "stock" siding which was included in my price as well as paint. The siding matches what we have on our house so for us it was a plus. I had to have fire sprinklers installed. There were two choices, copper pipe or PVC with fire rated drywall. Since I was planning on finishing the interior I had the building insulated and the interior covered with drywall. I don't recall the actual total for the entire build, but it came in a lot less than what local contractors wanted and it worked for us.

[Victor Robinson]

Thank you, gentlemen. Exactly what I was looking for!

Thankfully, it seems like there are a lot of different ways to get this done. My first choice will be to choose a home that has a suitable extra garage or basement, but it's nice to know the feasibility of building from scratch if the land is there.

Should I ever embark on this all-consuming task in the coming years, I will of course look to you all for advice and support.

[Tom Clark FL]

My 40x60 shop cost a total of $34,000 12 years ago. As I remember it was about $10,000 for concrete, including the 16x20 extra pad for an RV. The steel building was $13,000 plus $5,000 for installation. They all say you can do it yourself, but I said no way. The balance went for insulation, heat and air, and a small bathroom - sink and toilet only. I imagine today it would be $10,000 more./Users/tomclark/Desktop/shop.jpg

[Todd Crawford]

I've got $1700 in my 20 x 30 poll shed with concrete pad underneath.

I plan to build the same size and general construction (enclosed of course) this spring for my dedicated shop. I did all the work on my poll shed myself, and plan to do the same for my shop. I've got about $5000 estimated for materials so I'm thinking that will be close.

[Scott T Smith]

Victor, I just completed a detached shop. It is 25x40 so a 1000 sq. ft. I had it roughed plumbed as well as electric runned from the main and had them put outlets through out the shop. It has a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. It also has an oversized garage door even though it won't be used as a garage, but I did that for resell. I also ran a concrete driveway from my existing driveway back to the shop. It is insulated and has plywood for the interior walls and drywall on the ceilings. I did none of the work myself. The total cost for everything was right at $45K. I could have done it cheaper but we wanted the style of the garage to match the main house, thus we have nice siding on the garage as well as certain architectural features which drove up the costs. So to answer your question for a 1000 sq. ft. detached workshop the cost is right at $4.50/sq. ft. As has already been pointed out the main cost was the slab. Down here in Texas we have a problem with the ground swelling so I had to do a post tension slab rather than just a regular slab. That was not cheap. Good luck!

David


David, I think that you misplaced a decimal point.... don't you mean $45.00 per square foot, and not $4.50????

[david blakelock]

Scott, yes you are correct I missed a decimal point. I wish it was $4.50 per sq. ft. not $45 per sq. ft. Good catch.

[Thomas Bank]

I think that asking what a detached shop would cost is like asking what a car would cost. Entirely too many variables to get an apples to apples comparison. I know one person that recently had a prefab shed delivered and had his nephew run power to it and came in about $8500. That works for him. My shop is about 12 years old and I did nearly all the work myself. I've got about 1600 s.f. and two stories and my costs were just over $35000. A neighbor had a 1200 s.f. single story shop built for them and spent $85000 for it.

My best advice would be to get an idea of what you want (square footage, any specialties, types of buildings you'd consider) and then go from there to get some estimates.

[Van Huskey]

I am planning a ~30x36 to start any time now and my budget is set at 30K to cover budget creep, my actual number is 25.

This includes:

site prep
concrete
stick built 10ft walls
200 amp electrical
insulation
drywall
paint
vinyl siding
17' garage door
one man door
4 windows
concrete coating
trim
paint
30 yr shingles

All the exterior work to be contracted all the interior including electrical will be me. I can build it as a "shed" with no inspections.

[Victor Robinson]

I am planning a ~30x36 to start any time now and my budget is set at 30K to cover budget creep, my actual number is 25.

This includes:

site prep
concrete
stick built 10ft walls
200 amp electrical
insulation
drywall
paint
vinyl siding
17' garage door
one man door
4 windows
concrete coating
trim
paint
30 yr shingles

All the exterior work to be contracted all the interior including electrical will be me. I can build it as a "shed" with no inspections.

Oh man...with all the good advice/help you dish out here Van, I'm expecting one hell of a workshop. Better post progress photos/updates... :)