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Thread: Garage cost...are you kidding me?

  1. #16
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    Jan 2008
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    Whidbey Island, WA
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    Robert, I'm with Zachary and Jim and some others, about looking for alternatives to "normal" stick built structures. A garage can easily (and for less $) be built well using pole method for example. That could take a chunk off the cost. For your inititial estimates, they seem within reason, maybe on the high end of reason, at least for around where I live.
    JonathanJungDesign.com

  2. #17
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    The one downside to waiting to commit for a year is that it will invariably be two years before your shop building is completely up and functional. I started with the process in January and my physical build isn't until mid-September. From there I have to do the interior and get things setup. So in essence, it's a one year project from decision to do something with things like zoning/permits, waits for resources, etc.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan Hall View Post
    I was quoted $750 a square foot for an unfinished shop this year. Hard pass on that.
    Around here you get that kind of bid when the contractor doesnt want the job but still feels like he needs to respond to the customer's request for a price. I dont know if it's like that anywhere else.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    Wisconsin
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    Building costs are up in last 12 months significantly based on my experiences. We built a new home of about 2500 square feet starting in Dec 2020, final cost per square foot was about $204/square foot, with me building all the cabinets, installing all hardwood and tile floors, and building the mantels and staircase parts. We moved in last July. Same General Contractor is building a similar home now, at about $258/square foot. It would cost me $137K more to build my same home now. The home we sold last august is now valued (on paper) at 100K more than we sold it for. Just had a concrete floor done in my new pole building, concrete guy said fuel surcharges have now increased his price of concrete $15/yard from a redi-mix truck. Built my 24x40 pole shed this spring. With concrete floor and electrical work I have about $30K into the building. Not insulated, just storage for my tractor, implements and snowmobiles.

    A reputation for craftsmanship is a responsibility
    to never take lightly.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
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    Modesto, CA, USA
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    9,885
    How have ICF concrete building costs done? Lot of rebar cost in them.
    Bill D

  6. #21
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    Jan 2008
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    Western Nebraska
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    How have ICF concrete building costs done? Lot of rebar cost in them.
    Bill D
    Concrete is looking pretty good right now. I keep hearing rumblings of price increases though, so that will probably change. Foam products are horrible, so the ICF themselves are double what they were a couple years ago. Then you have to put a roof on it. Engineered components, trusses and joists, are the major glitch in my area. I can't even find TJI reliably right now, and when I do they are 3x the cost of 2 years ago. Trusses are unobtainable for practical use, like 6 months delayed and 3x the old price. Rebar and steel are higher, but not price gouging higher.

  7. #22
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    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Robert, can you do any of it yourself? That can save a bundle, of course, in labor costs. It takes a lot of time but being retired and having existing temporary shop space might make it feasible.

    That’s what I did. When we moved to this farm in ’04 I went from a small dedicated shop building at the previous place to 1/2 of a 2-car garage for woodturning and a few flat wood tools. (very tight!) When I decided to build the shop after I retired I didn’t have a fortune to spend so I did almost all of it myself, from clearing the land to wiring the lights. It did take a few years but the cost wasn’t much more than materials. Of course, being on farm property out in a rural area eliminates a lot of the bureaucracy likely encountered in many areas.

    After putting up the post and beam structure I did hire a builder friend to put up the trusses with a crane and install the roofing. I also passing another guy to pour and surface the concrete after I did the forming and installed all the rebar. I dug a trench and ran power underground and paid a a utility guy (after hours) $100 to put in a new meter base and connect the power. I installed a heat/air system and paid a company to plumb, pressurize, and test. I hired agutter guy to install seamless gutters. Everything else I did myself. I did have the advantage of my own dirt-moving equipment, the ability to haul and move all the materials, plenty of tools, and considerable construction and electrical experience (personal only, not professional). I did almost everything with a Bosch glide miter saw, cordless power tools, welders, and a variety of measurement and hand tools, including a rotary laser level. (I tell people I built the shop with my bare hands but I lied. I used tools.

    I ended up with a 24x62 building with small office area, woodturning area with two lathes, flatwood tools: cabinet saw, drum sander, planer, jointer, etc., cyclone DC and air compressor closet, small welding/metal-working room, tiny machine shop, three commercial insulated garage doors, and room to dry and store a massive number of turning blanks plus incubators and brooders for raising peacocks, guineas, and new this year, turkeys! What’s missing is a bathroom and little kitchen but those are a planned addition.

    Besides the huge cost savings, building it myself insured everything is done right and exactly to plan and to my own schedule, plus providing a level of satisfaction.

    I realize this way is not for everyone but it might be worth considering. Even if a number of things need to be hired out you can be the contractor and save a lot as money.

    JKJ



    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hartmann View Post
    I retired from the Air Force close to two years ago. It took us until now to find the house we wanted. So, I was ready to finally have a space dedicated for a wood shop instead of cramming into here or there as we moved every three years. We have a great house with some land and a perfect spot for a detached garage. I received the first estimate and about died. I was hoping to have a fully complete ~32x24 garage built. It came in at $110k which didn't include any heating or cooling. I asked for a scaled-down 2-car size with an option for no electric (other than run a 100 amp box), insulation, drywall and only french doors. It still came in at over $80k. I have another contractor working on an estimate at this time.

    I had also requested the drive be extended (about 10x40 of concrete) in front of the garage.

    Is this the going rate for those that know? If so, looks like I'll be stuck in the attached garage for a while.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Atlanta
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    Fellas , well those of you that think Robert’s quote is outa line - have you been to a store lately ? Any store ?

    Gas & oil prices have doubled in the last two years. Lots o building material made from petroleum. And they need to be delivered, even the ones not made from oil. Metal prices have soared too. Lots of building materials made from metals. And they need to be delivered. Labor costs have skyrocketed too. And those folks have to be delivered to your worksite in vehicles using gas that costs 2x what it did pre-Rona.

    Financing costs are up too, which adds to a project’s overhead whether or not you are borrowing to fund the project. Coupled with strong demand, a backlog of work , and the above mentioned - stuff costs more today. A LOT MORE. Even if the bottom drops out tomorrow demand and backlog will still be present and any kind of price correction wouldn’t be seen for at least a year or two, if at all. The people left working if there is a contraction aren’t going to work for less $ all of a sudden. Would you ? And labor is a huge percentage of a project’s cost. Prices aren’t going down anytime soon. They may stabilize, but Robert’s garage & driveway isn’t going to cost $75k ever.

    We had to up our overhead costs 9% to net the same effective rate we charged last year. And I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Which means my customer saw a ten point increase in what he pays plus the additional material costs. But, we’re not making any more money at the end of the day.

  9. #24
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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sabo View Post
    Fellas , well those of you that think Robert’s quote is outa line - have you been to a store lately ? Any store ?
    Yes. I seem to go to the Home Depot about every other day, one of the joys of an older home.

    I also built a 16'x24' extension to the front of my garage/workshop last year about this time. Prices are up (unless they're down, lumber futures have been doing a yo-yo, currently back to pre 2019 prices), and I could not find ANYBODY to pour the concrete footers needed. However, Walmart, Target and Kohl's all said they had excess inventory, which means discounts (deflation). Oil has shot up, and is likely to remain elevated for a while, so I'd expect higher prices for gas, unless the layoffs start cutting into that. (Hasn't impacted gas demand yet)

    All that having been said $100K still sound excessive for a building of that size, partially from watching a guy on YouTube, and partially from my own experiences. My project came it at around $15K for materials, when lumber was actually higher than it is now. I also installed a metal roof over the entire garage (40'x24'), over did the electricals, and installed fiberglass + 1" XPS, covered in drywall. I don't think $50-75K is unreasonable, but $100K sounds excessive to me.

  10. #25
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    Nov 2007
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    NW Indiana
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    3,078
    I bought some pressure treated at HD this week and the cashier said the price has gone done about 10%. I also just checked a price index for construction limber and it is down from the high last March. With the increase in costs and interest rates, the rate of new construction will slow and maybe the price of lumber will go down.

    Screenshot_20220614-184917_kindlephoto-382987836.png

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Dave, yes, I've been to the home center nearly daily and material prices have been decreasing. I'm also in the middle of a shop build project and costed out multiple building types while making my own decision. While some materials are still elevated, hard to get or even "unobtainium" and labor rates are up because it's the only way to get help, I still feel that the OP's quote would have been a big "no" for me, too. It may very well be like someone suggested...the builder who quoted bid high because they either don't want the job or are so busy that they wouldn't be able to do the job if they wanted to within some reasonable period of time. My builder has me scheduled for mid-September at the earliest and I signed the contract in March.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Frank View Post
    I bought some pressure treated at HD this week and the cashier said the price has gone done about 10%.
    Yes ~$600 is a much more normal price, but it takes a while to work through the system.

  13. #28
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    Nov 2006
    Location
    Atlanta
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    Ah….. my favorite - a guy on youtooob said.
    I also read on the internet about a turnkey garage for $25k.

    You make it seem like lumber is the biggest component in a garage. It’s not. And while it may be lower ; wire, concrete, shingles, receptacles, panels, and insulation are not. And one of the biggest components , labor, is way up, everywhere.

    A contractor costs a job based on your specs (or his) for a given market. Doesn’t matter what the price is in VT, or VA, or OH if I live in ATL , L.A or the Lou like the OP does. Seems like $145/sq.ft. is the cost there - which includes the additional 400sf of driveway. Be tough to get that done for that price in my neighborhood. But it’s certainly a bargain compared to Bryan’s hood where that garage would be half a million buck plus.

    Things cost what they cost wherever you are and we all make value judgements on them everyday. Just because the price is higher than you value , doesn’t mean it’s outa line.

  14. #29
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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sabo View Post
    Ah….. my favorite - a guy on youtooob said.
    You seem pretty quick to dismiss the rest of the first hand information, and the answer to your question. And the guy on YouTube builds garages every single day of the week, all month long, all year long, posts all the costs, and has a few videos diving into his rationale for the prices he charges.

    When I built my garage concrete was pretty normal, the metal roof was about twice the price, the electrical equipment was pretty much the same, wire was about 2x, insulation seems about the same. We focus on lumber because that's the main material costs, everything else with relatively insignificant.

    Sure you can pay whatever you like, but that's not the subject which is what is a price that's within the ranges of most people's experience. The prices the OP quote are outside the norm based on all the information presented.

  15. #30
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    Aug 2015
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    Wentzville, MO
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    John, I considered doing some of the work and still might go that route. I'm reluctant to though due to the time factor and without friends or family in the area would be on my own. I started late on the family and have three kids still in the house, so I would prefer spending time with them or woodworking. My cost analyst wife also said I need to work a few more years (since I like my toys and to travel), so I have a day job.

    I'm still waiting on the other estimates. For now I set everything up in one bay of the garage and will make due. I was hoping prices would stabilize by next spring, but some comments here make me think that won't happen.

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