Estimate for new garage, advice needed

[magallanas]

Okay, newbie here. I realize prices have soared since Covid, and I should brace for sticker shock. I received an estimate for a garage (mainly to be used as a woodshop) I will detail below, nothing super special here. It is a 40x24, plans are attached here. Thoughts and advice would help. I have a friend who will install a larger air-to-air heating colling unit, so add on another $8k to the below price. Here is what the contractor outlined:

• Install insulated monolithic slab • Trench utilities • Backfill with stone and rough grade around site - $48,600
• Frame 2x6 wall system using CDX plywood and self adhered WRB. • Frame roof using scissor trusses -- 4/12 interior pitch 8/12 exterior pitch • Install vented roof assembly. • All header sizes TBD (assumes LVL) - $51,391
• Garage doors: TBD • Install windows & doors. • Allowance for entry door: $4,000 • Allowance for double doors: $6,000 • Flash all windows and doors. • Garage door install by others. -
• Install Coravent Sturdi Battens 16" OC for rainscreen. - $14,405
• SIDING: TBD SPEC - ALLOWANCE ONLY • Install siding and trim per plan. • Install metal flashing details around foundation base, windows, doors, and garage doors - $23,400
• Install standing seam metal roof per plan. $21,840
• Allowance for electrical service, rough-in, and finish • TBD ELECTRICAL DESIGN : $18,300
• Install smart vapor control membrane on all walls and roofs with taped seams. • Install wood fiber batts in walls and loose fill wood fiber in trusses. - $15,457
• Install 5/8" Sheetrock on walls and ceilings with fire taped finish. - $12,000
• Provide dumpster • Two week telehandler rental • Fuel allowance- $3540
TOTAL: $213,223

 

[manwithtools]

Yes prices have gone cray, but not that crazy. I'd keep shopping. Also the allowance for doors seems low.

 

[carlaisle]

There isn't enough detail to know if this estimate is reasonable. The slab price would be exorbitant for installation on an existing mostly flat plane with no rock work but would be cheap if an outcropping of bedrock had to be removed for site prep.

That said, a few things stick out. Is that $4,000 "entry door" one standard man door? The coravent batten material is under $1,000 for a building your size and can be installed by one guy in a laid back day. You could cut the cost of the roof in half by going with quality shingles. There's no electrical plan provided so no way to judge the electrical portion. The smart vapor control membrane may be redundant depending on the sheathing. A conditioned space is worth insulating well. You may be able to achieve equal or better insulation performance at a lower price by choosing a different insulation material.

That per square foot cost buys finished living space in many parts of the country but building costs are very local. Shop around and see what you come up with before signing anything and be sure to visit some of the other work sites that are in process and finished. Overpaying for shoddy work hurts a lot more than paying a lot for quality work.

 

[LOW1]

$200 plus per square foot for a garage?

 

[WisJim]

I had a 24 by 40 shop and garage built starting just as covid hit, all pre-covid prices, and it cost me just over $60,000. I used pole barn steel for walls and roof, sheathing is 7/16 waferboard, but it has attic room trusses, a stairway to the attic, and spray foam insulation. I did all of the electrical. It is divided into 3 areas, a small single car garage, wood shop and metal shop plus upstairs, and I hired the drywall for all of it. Your roof is more expensive than mine, and I saved on the electrical, but my insulated slab was about $10,000 of the total. I think your quote might be high, but I thought mine was high at the time.

 

[magallanas]

$200 plus per square foot for a garage?

that's what I thought!!

 

[Renegade1LI]

Ouch! I have a buddy got a price for a 1600 sq ft ranch in El paso. Price includes the lot with 3 car garage, 275k. I'm currently putting together an estimate to build a new house, 16-1800 sq ft on land i own with 2 car garage. I'm right around 200k. So sounds like you need to shop around more,rule of thumb is get estimates.

 

[regguy1]

I'd make a couple feet deeper, at least 26'

 

[loganb]

To me...doesn't seem that out of line when digging in....a lot we don't know

20% is ******* in site prep and slab...we have no idea how much work is required there and if that is a fair number. How far does concrete have to come, how sparse is labor, how much excavation is required for that slab etc

Exterior sheathing in CDX plywood with self adhered WRB? I know that all markets have different standards, but CDX plywood with a fully self adhered weather barrier for a garage/shop is not normal in most markets I'm familiar with. OSB sheathing with a Tyvek or similar sheet type WRB or ZIP Wall (or similar from LP) would be more common

Scissor trusses are more but I'd also go with them...and they're not that much more

Wood fiber insulation is likely a premium, but you've got a factory not terribly far away in Maine I believe. 5/8" drywall is also a premium vs standard 1/2"...possibly code....possibly your preference?

All in all...looks like a very loaded building with a lot of allowances, so if the price is too high start dialing in on the exact options

 

[kngelv]

I just built a 24' x 24' with a 12' ceiling. The first thing you should do is go to a local lumber yard with the plans and see how much it would cost you to buy the wood. Ask around for a carpenter and see how much just to frame it. Then get estimates from a reliable sider and roofer. This gives you a baseline for the building cost. Also get estimates from a garage door company plus figure the costs of windows and anything else. Come up with a plan and get an electrical estimate. You should also get estimates from concrete installers. I broke down all the separate costs to figure out what it would actually cost me if I was my own contractor and hired/purchased everything. Once you have this you will be able to understand if the initial estimate is accurate or outrageous.

James

 

[kngelv]

Per my above post here was my rough cost for my build just south of Detroit. I used the info I gathered to negotiate with a builder I liked and paid the same as if I had farmed out the build to various contractors. The concrete was done separately by a company that just does concrete. The garage build cost $27,000 for a 24' x 24' with a 12' ceiling. It was 2" X 6" walls, vinyl siding, nicer dimensional shingles with full soffits and a ridge vent. For concrete I paid $26,000 for 1100 square feet of broomed 6" concrete, 576 square feet of troweled 10" concrete, a 520 square foot stamped patio with steps, two sidewalk squares and a 8' x 12' front porch. That's $53K for a completed building with one man door and no windows. Further costs were $5K for a 16' x 8' R-18 insulated door with windows and a commercial grade jackshaft opener to reach the 12' ceiling height. I overdid the electrical a bit and material costs were a little over $2K for a 100 amp sub-panel and numerous outlets. I'm an electrician so that was contractor cost at the supply house. Insulation was self installed R-23 Rockwool wall batts and R-60 blown cellulose in the ceiling at about $3K total. I did 1" x 8" pine tongue in groove boards walls and ceiling at about $4.5K also self installed. That's $67,500.00 for a completed building that's 16' shorter than yours with a few less man doors and one less garage door. But I have 2' taller ceilings vastly more concrete and much nicer walls. I could build three of my garages and still have over 10K left over at your price. In other word s that's a high price even in the Catskills. Good luck.

James

 

[Natty Bumppo]

With the heating/cooling unit you're approaching a quarter of a million dollars for a wood shop? A quarter of a million dollars. For that price...for a wood shop...you better be Norm Abrams. Insane.

 

[Notgrownup]

Holy bat **** crazy. That’s the price of a house here. Garagemahal.

 

[Rc_Guy]

I'd make a couple feet deeper, at least 26'

Probably round up the price to $300,000

 

[billconner]

Construction in NY is high, and the Catskills is heavily influenced by NYC. I think it would be tough to have a house built under $500 sq ft there so $200 for a finished garage does not seem out of line. (Houses are over $1000 sq ft in NYC. ) Finding someone you'd want that can start before next spring is also very hard.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Location, location, location. You paying a premium for where you live and the contractor is socking it to you hard ... especially, if he knows that you know nothing about construction. It would not surprise me to see in the end, alot of that stuff replaced with a cheaper line of products and play on consumer ignorance.

Something like this;

Allowance for entry door: $4,000

Tells me alot.... contractor is fishing for a sucker in my opinion.

 

[racecougar]

What have your other estimates come in at?

 

[PCustoms]

Something like this;

Allowance for entry door: $4,000

Tells me alot.... contractor is fishing for a sucker in my opinion.

Don't forget the $3500 fuel allowance...

 

[kbuhagiar]

Okay, newbie here. I realize prices have soared since Covid, and I should brace for sticker shock. I received an estimate for a garage (mainly to be used as a woodshop) I will detail below, nothing super special here. It is a 40x24, plans are attached here. Thoughts and advice would help. I have a friend who will install a larger air-to-air heating colling unit, so add on another $8k to the below price. Here is what the contractor outlined:


TOTAL: $213,223

Location, location, location. You paying a premium for where you live and the contractor is socking it to you hard ... especially, if he knows that you know nothing about construction. It would not surprise me to see in the end, alot of that stuff replaced with a cheaper line of products and play on consumer ignorance.

Something like this;

Allowance for entry door: $4,000

Tells me alot.... contractor is fishing for a sucker in my opinion.

I feel your pain.

We deal with that same ******** here in San Diego County all the time. Building costs in general are higher down here, and we live in area with mostly $2M+ homes. The first estimate to expand our garage (from 800SF to 1600SF) was $360,000. Second estimate was a little over $90,000 which was more in line with costs down here. Same thing happened when we got an estimate to repaint the exterior of our 3400SF house. Three estimates ranging from $12K to $37K.

These days everyone has access to Zillow/Redfin real estate apps and Google Earth, and contractors use these tools to determine where to fix the price when formulating an estimate, before they ever set foot on your property.

My only advice would be to get at least two more estimates, although it may make no difference if all of the local contractors are in cahoots with each other.

 

[1/4atatime]

This is absolutely insane pricing! Must be nice to have deep pockets. 18k for electric I did all the electrical in my garage myself for $1,800. My entire building is like $35k maybe close to 40k by the time it's completely finished and that was for a 28x28 with a concrete slab and front pad that required 98 yards of fill dirt, and 42yards of concrete. Finishing cost includes all the electrical, lighting, floor coating, insulation, wall covering, and paint which I'm doing myself. My advice get more quotes and build it deeper. Your spending that kinda money going 26ft or even 28ft won't make much of a dent.

 

[dcg9381]

$48,600 for an 800-900 sqft slab? That's my first red flag. Unless they're trenching forever on utilities and really have to do a lot of clearing. That's way above the market here by a huge factor.

But look, this work is very regional. Our manual labor costs here are very different than NY. There is a concrete plant 5 miles away.

Allowances - in my experience - are just "budget money set aside". That is, if you go over the allowance, you pay. If you are under the allowance, you get that money back... But make sure that's clear in the contract.

This is "turn key" so you're always going to pay more.. And that's OK.

Electrical bid should be driven by your specs. IF you didn't provide any, I wonder where that bid came from, short of bringing power in to the building.

 

[magallanas]

What have your other estimates come in at?

This is the only one. We are working with the same guy to build a house in addition to this, which is A LOT. I hate to go with someone else but I feel like I am getting a little bit fleeced with this

 

[mm08822]

18K for electrical is very high!!! All the other points noted as well.

What about dialing this job scope in tighter?
Have the contractor price option 1 and a second one for various details....or all of them.

$4k for a mandoor !!!!

Also you can become your own project manager and hire various trades with itemized specs predetermined.

Discuss these points with your architect for tips.

 

[mm08822]

This is the only one. We are working with the same guy to build a house in addition to this, which is A LOT. I hate to go with someone else but I feel like I am getting a little bit fleeced with this

Protect your ! If there is known competition, pencils get sharpened a little better.

 

[NUTTSGT]

This is the only one. We are working with the same guy to build a house in addition to this, which is A LOT. I hate to go with someone else but I feel like I am getting a little bit fleeced with this

A little bit fleeced ?


The quote says monolithic slab. The PDF shows a footer and full foundation.

Who created the PDF file ? You or the contractor ?


You're working with him to build a house yet, he's charging you for rough grading the site again ? Trenching for utilities ? One trench for power ? $18K plus for the electric in this shop ? House and shop electrical quote combined, yeah I can see that depending on scope of work and size of house.

To each their own, and I understand cost of location, but this to me is red flags everywhere in this bid.

 

[racecougar]

This is the only one. We are working with the same guy to build a house in addition to this, which is A LOT. I hate to go with someone else but I feel like I am getting a little bit fleeced with this

That is a significant mistake. Those costs are way out of line.

I hope you got multiple bids on the house.

 

[Mezz2006]

Ouch! I couldn't fathom spending that on a garage that size. As others have stated, everything in that quote is high. $4k for a man door is insane (unless going full custom wood door). I don't see a price for garage doors listed either, that should be another $10-15k, or based on the above quote $30k.

Speaking of garage doors, I would suggest going with 8' high garage doors.

 

[dcg9381]

This is the only one. We are working with the same guy to build a house in addition to this, which is A LOT. I hate to go with someone else but I feel like I am getting a little bit fleeced with this

So the GC doing this house has a big advantage here. If they are going up together, he's got the crews there, he's got the concrete guys there.. To the GC, this is an "ideal" deal..

Sometimes this won't work for financing - but have you asked if you can do "cost plus" on this structure? It assumes the GC will pass through true costs / receipts - and some of that will have to be estimated, so it's real hard to see both sides of a cost plus deal.

I have added garages/buildings while building a home. It's a lot of work for the GC to have to go back - particularly if he has to amend permits, bids, add material order and coordinate it all. But he's already got his "margin" in the home, I question the margin on this.

The quote says monolithic slab. The PDF shows a footer and full foundation.

Yea, that got me too. If it's an elevated slab with a lot of grading, different an an 800 sqft monolythic slab at $48k. If it's a different design, but on a hill, big retaining wall, have to dig and my opinion might change.

You're working with him to build a house yet, he's charging you for rough grading the site again ? Trenching for utilities ? One trench for power ? $18K plus for the electric in this shop ? House and shop electrical quote combined, yeah I can see that depending on scope of work and size of house.

Well, he will need to trench a line to the shop (most likely) unless they are bringing in a separate meter. But there is no spec on power, so how you bid $18k for a job that isn't defined... That's called an "allowance" - if it's just a budget and you get passed the actual cost.
t there.. Concrete could be done in one pour.

 

[mm08822]

I would say you are at step 1.
Meaning:
You have a vision of what you want generally speaking.
Your have a swag of a price since all details are an open book at this time.
Need construction material details defined (architect) and made part of the drawing package.
Need construction details: e.g.: compaction details, max lifts, vapor barrier, insulation, rebar/mesh, prime/paint, soffit/ridge/gable vents
Basic electrical: panel location/size, recepts, lighting - inside/outside, switches.......

Gutters, leaders, underground piping to manage water, aprons, sidewalk/stoop, grading topography, how far out from building

All of these specs become an estimating tool for the contractor and a checklist for you the owner/cash cow. This keeps the nebulous details at bay so you get what you want.

Once you have the details locked down, move onto step 2: get references and bids back from the positive references. (See their work)

 

[1/4atatime]

Ouch! I couldn't fathom spending that on a garage that size. As others have stated, everything in that quote is high. $4k for a man door is insane (unless going full custom wood door). I don't see a price for garage doors listed either, that should be another $10-15k, or based on the above quote $30k.

Speaking of garage doors, I would suggest going with 8' high garage doors.

8' garage doors are awesome that's what I have on my building (10' is even better if it doesn't look out of place on the building which it shouldn't since it's 24x40) I wish I'd gone 10' but 8' looked better on a building my size.

 

[Skooterj]

2 week telehandler rental? To install 13 trusses and sheath them? 2 days, tops.

Slab seems way expensive. Even with concrete at $200 a yard.

Just for reference, I built a 24x30 myself for less than $25K. And that was outsourcing the shingles and all the concrete work. Its not finished inside yet, so another $5k for that. Probably around $40/SF. Less than $50/SF for sure. But I also did most of the work. So I would still think under $100/SF to have it built.

 

[Codyboy]

18K for electrical is very high!!! All the other points noted as well.

What about dialing this job scope in tighter?
Have the contractor price option 1 and a second one for various details....or all of them.

$4k for a mandoor !!!!

Also you can become your own project manager and hire various trades with itemized specs predetermined.

Discuss these points with your architect for tips.

My 2400 sq ft slab with rebar was $25,200, $10.50 per sq ft.

The electrical contractor wanted $20k for my building which did not include the feed to the building. I told him no thanks.

The two mandoors on my shop will be $3000 roughly (1500 ea.) but there's two of them. Fiberglass thermatru with 1/2 lites and extra wide 8" jambs.
but for one door at 4k? Good grief. UNless it's a fancy entry door like for a house , I can't see it.

Here in Texas you cannot be your own GC if you're getting a loan. They won't allow it. Not sure how other places handle it.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Find a different contractor! That quote has way too many loopholes in it. The way I read it, he is quoting a charge for the door openings but not including the doors which are to be installed by someone else and he is not specific about the number of doors. When I first researched building a shop, I ran into the same type of quotes which are more a test of "do I have a sucker I can get rich off of". To get a realistic quote, you need drawings and materials lists.

 

[Skooterj]

My 2400 sq ft slab with rebar was $25,200, $10.50 per sq ft.

The electrical contractor wanted $20k for my building which did not include the feed to the building. I told him no thanks.

The two mandoors on my shop will be $3000 roughly (1500 ea.) but there's two of them. Fiberglass thermatru with 1/2 lites and extra wide 8" jambs.
but for one door at 4k? Good grief. UNless it's a fancy entry door like for a house , I can't see it.

Here in Texas you cannot be your own GC if you're getting a loan. They won't allow it. Not sure how other places handle it.

When I built my house in Indiana, my bank wouldn't let me act as GC. I had to pay a guy like 10% to put everything under his business even though I did almost all the GC work. He did have a list of subs for me to access and he came by about once a month to make the bank happy with the progress. Being my first house, he was actually a little helpful. But I wouldn't need him a second time.

 

[1/4atatime]

When I built my house in Indiana, my bank wouldn't let me act as GC. I had to pay a guy like 10% to put everything under his business even though I did almost all the GC work. He did have a list of subs for me to access and he came by about once a month to make the bank happy with the progress. Being my first house, he was actually a little helpful. But I wouldn't need him a second time.

You built your own house that's pretty awesome. I'm happy that I have the skilled to do the complete interior of a garage including the electrical. I can't imagine the work and skills needed for a home. As much as I love a diy project not sure I'd tackle that one.

 

[magallanas]

So the GC doing this house has a big advantage here. If they are going up together, he's got the crews there, he's got the concrete guys there.. To the GC, this is an "ideal" deal..

Sometimes this won't work for financing - but have you asked if you can do "cost plus" on this structure? It assumes the GC will pass through true costs / receipts - and some of that will have to be estimated, so it's real hard to see both sides of a cost plus deal.

I have added garages/buildings while building a home. It's a lot of work for the GC to have to go back - particularly if he has to amend permits, bids, add material order and coordinate it all. But he's already got his "margin" in the home, I question the margin on this.


Yea, that got me too. If it's an elevated slab with a lot of grading, different an an 800 sqft monolythic slab at $48k. If it's a different design, but on a hill, big retaining wall, have to dig and my opinion might change.


Well, he will need to trench a line to the shop (most likely) unless they are bringing in a separate meter. But there is no spec on power, so how you bid $18k for a job that isn't defined... That's called an "allowance" - if it's just a budget and you get passed the actual cost.
t there.. Concrete could be done in one pour.

All good points dcg9381.

GC does have a big advantage here if he is doing other concrete work. I do see that the plans had footer and GC wants to do insulated monolithic slab. I would assume footers cost much more...

It is quite rocky soil. I did clear the space of trees last year but it still has some stumps to remove but nothing huge.

When we were discussing house plans, I wanted to go with fairly high end windows and I feel from that point forward all of the estimates have been high. he also

 

[Skooterj]

You built your own house that's pretty awesome. I'm happy that I have the skilled to do the complete interior of a garage including the electrical. I can't imagine the work and skills needed for a home. As much as I love a diy project not sure I'd tackle that one.

I General Contracted the house. I did a little work (Garage doors, porch posts) but sub-contracted almost everything else.

I built my detached. Sub-contracted concrete and shingles. Had a bunch of help from family too. I don't think I would do a whole house unless I had no timeline at all.

 

[1/4atatime]

I General Contracted the house. I did a little work (Garage doors, porch posts) but sub-contracted almost everything else.

I built my detached. Sub-contracted concrete and shingles. Had a bunch of help from family too. I don't think I would do a whole house unless I had no timeline at all.

Ah I misread that still being a GC on a house seems like a lot. Did you find it saved you enough to justify your time spent ?

 

[dcg9381]

It is quite rocky soil. I did clear the space of trees last year but it still has some stumps to remove but nothing huge.

Rocky soil can be "unstable base" - so I get it. You'd have to know typical slab costs in your area to get an idea if this bid is nuts. It's super regional.

He might be "swagging" this estimate also, not sure, you can probably tell by the time taken to turn it around. Here, attached, he has to go back and engineer that part of the slab too.

Ask for a "margin" deal or "cost plus" on this maybe... And again, that may not work if this is financed unless you can cover it in cash.

When we were discussing house plans, I wanted to go with fairly high end windows and I feel from that point forward all of the estimates have been high. he also

Different GCs work differently. When I wanted to "upgrade" the spec windows on my house, I had an "allowance" for those windows. I went and got bids for higher end windows, anything over the "allowance" I was out of pocket on (100-200% more). I specified the exact brand and line of windows. But I know the GC didn't mark up those windows as I got the bid.... Not all GCs will operate this way or let you get involved - because he's responsible for the people that I bring in and any defect can be a ****-show of finger pointing.

My GC "limits" changes in his contract with a "change order fee" clause.

It's really tough to tell if the bids are high without knowing the contractors and local market.

 

[billconner]

Regional cost differences. For my career I worked on the design of public schools. Currently they're near $500/SF in Midwest, more like $1250-1500 in Northwest. In the Catskills I'd be surprised if the house isnt at least $500-600 SF.