Garage cost...are you kidding me?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

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.

Exactly. Lumber products are 20-30% of the total cost of a house, a little higher for a garage. Labor is a much higher cost component. Any cost savings from a slight decrease in lumber prices from their record highs is being more than offset by inflation driven labor and overhead cost increases. At least for my company, in my area, but we're probably not alone.

Everything gets hauled several times on a truck that is now burning $6 diesel to get to the site, which is staffed by crews that didn't walk to work. 200% plus cost of fuel increases have effects.

From a DIY perspective, the 80K quote might look high because true labor cost isn't being taken into account.

[Andrew More]

From a DIY perspective, the 80K quote might look high because true labor cost isn't being taken into account.

Quote was $110K. I'd agree with you if it was closer to $80K. Labor's also harder to judge because it's going to vary a lot more dependent on location. The guy in Vermont was getting closer to $50K for comparable buildings which included a 3-4 man crew.

[Dave Sabo]

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.

No , not really. I am somewhat dismissive of folks who love to say they "read on the internet" or " I saw on youtube" and somehow think the info seen there is the gospel. And while it may sometimes be accurate , often it is not. And even if it were accurate at the time, it's just as likely to be outdated by the time you see it. Especially when talking about prices in today's economy.

And the YT fella in question may be genuine and accurate for his area. But those prices are pretty meaningless in Atlanta, or Cincy, or St. Louis. And in SoCal or SanFran - that excessive $110k you're poo pooing wouldn't get you half a garage. Won't even get you a return phone call from a contractor. You seem to be fixated on lumber costs being cheaper - which should make garages cheaper than a year ago. You also seem to be dismissing that pretty much everything else in the mix has a higher cost that a year ago too. With the biggest part being labor. So, ya "save" a few hundred on wood, but its get clawed back on the other material and you get whacked over the head with a 2x4 on the cost of labor today. Making the whole thing more expensive that your project a year ago.

The prices the OP quote are outside the norm based on all the information presented.

How do you figure ? I'm not sure how you'd even put a number on what the "norm" is based solely on this thread. Your perspective is not the norm. Nor is mine. Nor is Bryan's Or the YT guy's. That price is below the norm in my neighborhood. It's apparently waaaaaaaaay below the norm in Bryan's. It's below the norm in Dallas too. Can't tell ya about St. Louis, which is all that really matters for Robert. Don't let your feelings for what something is worth or priced at in your little corner of the world distort what something will cost elsewhere.

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.

Jim you bring up another current flowing in this discussion. A garage isn't worth $110k to you. Fair enough. Seems others here agree with you. But not everyone. I think you and some other's are very quick to paint contractors handing out inflated prices. You appear to have not accounted for the huge increase in costs (and risk) for running a profitable contracting business. It simply costs more to do business today than it did i June of last year. I know you know this, but it seems you haven't fully accounted for the increase. Which would/could make Robert's quote not unreasonable for St. Louis.

On another note, if demand is up so much that your little garage is not as attractive or profitable as a deck or kitchen addition or whatever -and to make it attractive requires a premium.............then that's the new pricing reality too.

[Adam Herman]

PXL_20220614_212125021 (1).jpg

I have this going up right now, pole barn, 12 ft walls 40x36 with 10 ft porch on one side. going to be around 80k. insulated w/ concrete and garage doors. no electrical or hvac.

[Perry Holbrook]

Since cost are so regional, I don't know if this helps, but I just got my co on my shop today. Stick built, 4" walls, sheetrock. 5 large sliding windows, 8' garage door. personnel door, built on slab, 20x35x9. Built by contractor on cost plus contract. Estimate last March was about $65/sq ft. We upgraded the roofing, and the siding (pvc 12" B & B). Looks like we'll be about $75/sq ft now. Plus $7K for lots of wiring. Mini split will be about $2K. So about $85/sq ft total.

Time to start moving in.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Quote was $110K. I'd agree with you if it was closer to $80K. Labor's also harder to judge because it's going to vary a lot more dependent on location. The guy in Vermont was getting closer to $50K for comparable buildings which included a 3-4 man crew.

OP said the scaled back quote is $80k. Fully finished was higher. I don't know what his definition of fully finished is.

If anyone thinks that is expensive for a shop, $80,000 master closets exist.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I agree that these factors vary location to location. Things cost more in NJ than Nebraska, but may be cheaper than LA. Also with regard to labor, most people get shocked how large of a component that is, and DIY isn’t cheaper, it’s just how much you value your time. I’m sure I could build a pole barn, but me taking six months of my time in the end probably costs a lot more than the company you contract with to have done in 3-4 days.

[John K Jordan]

…and DIY isn’t cheaper, it’s just how much you value your time…

Building it yourself is definitely not for everybody.

Much may depend on if you are completely retired or not. Other factors may be your level of construction experience, electrical knowhow, design skills, energy level and drive, ability to stay focused for an extended time, financial motivation, and yes, patience. A one-man crew will of course take longer.

From clearing and site prep to plumbing the air compressor lines and turning on the cyclone DC took me several years. I wouldn’t have considered it when still working a full-time job. For me, having backhoe, bobcat, and other equipment on hand instead having to hire or rent was also a consideration. But a huge factor for me was not ending up with the sloppy work i’ve seen from some get-it-done “professionals”.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I chose to do the site prep myself...it would have been $5-6K to have someone else do it, so other than my time, fuel for the Big Orange Power Tool and the cost of my Stabila rotary laser, I managed the job for about $3K. I'll also do all the interior finishes, HVAC, etc., as well as all the electrical beyond the basic service. Building the actual structure...not something I'd be up for which is why I hired the company to do it rather than buying a "kit".

[Thomas Colson]

For those saying "Lumber prices are going down!", that has absolutely zero influence these days on construction costs. Labor costs have moved from "silly" to "unimaginable" territory. Insurance/bond costs are up. Anything involving a delivery truck (concrete, a few pallets of insulation) are about doubled. If you're putting electric in there, figure about 3X what it cost 3 years ago. That's if you can actually get the materials. I have detailed plans for adding a wood storage "shed" to the side of my shop with links to all the materials. Every time I get excited that 2 by's went down a dollar, some other component went up 50% (again), and the total price just keeps increasing. When I first planned it a year ago, it was 4400$ in materials, me-labor. Now it's 6800$. Even the inspections are going up, they've figured out they can sustain their budgets with 2-3 red tag visits (which require a 150$ reinspection fee each time) whereas previously they'd "work with you" during the first and only (last) inspection visit. Any decrease in lumber costs are kept by the GC, they are not passing those decreases to you.

I'm at the point now where WW as a hobby is not sustainable for me, cost-wise, and I'm likely going to finish this cabin renovation (hence the need for WW tools and materials) and sell the shop and contents when I'm done, and find a cheaper hobby like getting divorced in Massachusetts or sailboats.

[Bill Dufour]

Does it still apply that for a person doing the work themselves roof trusses are no cheaper then rafters? Of course I mean for a reasonable span like 24 feet or so. It used to be that trusses cost more but cost less labor to install so they made sense for a paid crew.
Bill D

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Does it still apply that for a person doing the work themselves roof trusses are no cheaper then rafters? Of course I mean for a reasonable span like 24 feet or so. It used to be that trusses cost more but cost less labor to install so they made sense for a paid crew.
Bill D

With truss prices tripling here, we're going back to hand framing roofs where we can as it is now cheaper and more importantly no 6 month lead time. This is with a full crew.

[Jim Becker]

I could see a truss shortage being a big issue for businesses like the post frame company I'm working with, but they have been making their own for a very long time, AFAIK.

[andrew whicker]

I'm bidding a 24ft x 24ft garage w/ bonus room and it's coming out to ~100k. ($135 / sq ft ish)


We have a huge concrete shortage here in UT because one of the concrete companies had a huge fire. Great.

Our truss prices are also high. So are lumber prices. So is everything.

[Ric Jones]

while new here am not to woodworking or construction, been a GC in Phoenix, Az for over 42 years and before that ran a family biz that was started in ''46'' here building homes.

any event, i started my shop (36x28 with a 12ft x36 ft covered patio on south side. 10ft walls, trusses, foamed underside of roof, walls 2x6 with r19 covered interior walls with 5/8;'' ply (got a deal from a vendor on a couple bunks, used it for everything it happened to be CC ply .
half dozen windows, one roll up 8x8 door, two man doors, did install a restroom ,and inside made an 8ft x20ft clean room so to speak, separate from the work space, and an after thought i added an 8ft x 5 ft x 9ft tall lean too add on to house air compressor and dust collection, so i wouldn't have to hear it inside, insulated it for sound, and gave it fresh air intake and exhaust.
i did put a dual zone mini split in the shop, 2 ton unit, and a almost 1 ton unit in the clean/office room)
electrical outlets approximately every 4-5 ft, opposite sides of building outlets are on same circuit as opposite side, chances of me using both sides of a 28 ft deep building outlet is slim, it allowed me to have different circuits every four feet, about 8 220 v outlets, installed, led lights hanging one almost needs sun glasses at my age, light is bootiful. one cieilng hung air cleaner, trusses are open i put two 60 inch ceiling fans up inside trusses, and the office area is a mezzanie, framed to 8'6'' finish outside, and supports a lot of the wood stash. bathroom with wash sink and water closet. 125 amp panel was all i could get and available. and i know way too many large outlets but being a one man shop its no issue, i'm always aware of the possible over load if using more than a few 220 v outlets at once, while there is chance of an overload it is quite remote


i figure i'm into it for about 80k, i had planned it, but got nailed just as prices started to rise, go figure, waited a life time to build my own joint and get hit with the high buck costs.
my only regret is letting the other half talk me out of an additional 10ft in length of shop, i'm still figuring out the flow, and organizing, i have a 4hp griz dust collector to finish installing, and as noted struggling with locating my major tools.
i have two wood lathes, two 10 inc table saws one with a sliding table, two band saws, 2 floor drill presses, router table, chop saw on stand, misc. roll around flip carts, having moved after i sold my building near us from 2k sf ft. to my new to me shop.

I'm slowly getting it figured out, even though i had a few years to plan it, once i got it enclosed, the struggle began, my friend Tom who has a shop about same size, says he still moves things to maybe adjust the flow, lol,
so i'm leaving the crap on wheels at my age three quarters of a century moving a cabinet saw sucks.

remember build it big, once and don't look back,

i'm shutting down my biz in july of this year ,and well my new home is air conditioned, and packed with so called dust making projects.

I opted to go with quality products, my best move was to foam the underside of roof, its 106 today, and inside with no ac building is 85 degrees, i can cool it to 80 degress with ac in about 40 mins. just comfy
ok ,sorry for long story, but just wanted to share that being a professional builders i still struggled with products, materials and prices, and for contractors the days of a great deal or discounts have been long gone, and sometimes one can just buy better material at the big box stores rather than a lumber broker, just not timely though.

good luck to those that wanna build a dream shop. just plan on moving crap regularly or ...........

rj in az