Noob here - please educate me on garage cost.

[silversilvia]

We are looking at moving from the suburbs out to a little farther away from town. We are looking at places with some land and I want a workshop so i can be like all the cool people here that I drool over their out buildings.

I am looking at some places that already have workshops and some without. I would like to be able to put a price on these. For example if I see a place I like but doesn't have a building vs a more expensive place with a building. Maybe it would be wiser to buy the place without and add on that later.

So my question is there a price per Sq ft. Installed I can use for a metal building, work shop, insulated and powered with concrete floor? the price range here would be for me to not lift a finger to be a fair comparison. I would like to know for a bare building as I can figure out all add ons myself.

I did a similar deal when I looked at places without fences in town and I added some money for lf of fence to be installed. Or unfinished basements but I am not sure about out buildings.

Location is middle of Kansas.

 

[LB-1911]

We are looking at moving from the suburbs out to a little farther away from town. We are looking at places with some land and I want a workshop so i can be like all the cool people here that I drool over their out buildings.

I am looking at some places that already have workshops and some without. I would like to be able to put a price on these. For example if I see a place I like but doesn't have a building vs a more expensive place with a building. Maybe it would be wiser to buy the place without and add on that later.

So my question is there a price per Sq ft. Installed I can use for a metal building, work shop, insulated and powered with concrete floor? the price range here would be for me to not lift a finger to be a fair comparison. I would like to know for a bare building as I can figure out all add ons myself.

I did a similar deal when I looked at places without fences in town and I added some money for lf of fence to be installed. Or unfinished basements but I am not sure about out buildings.

Location is middle of Kansas.

A place "without" also requires additional due diligence on your part - easements & setbacks - size & height restrictions - if on septic you'll need a reserve area.

If your looking in the same county checking with the AHJ ( Authority Having Jurisdiction) City / County Bldg /Permitting Office prior to purchase rather then after is a step to consider.

You don't want to find out after the fact you can't build what you want where you want.

 

[silversilvia]

A place "without" also requires additional due diligence on your part - easements & setbacks - size & height restrictions - if on septic you'll need a reserve area.

If your looking in the same county checking with the AHJ ( Authority Having Jurisdiction) City / County Bldg /Permitting Office prior to purchase rather then after is a step to consider.

You don't want to find out after the fact you can't build what you want where you want.

And a lot of that does scare me. For example there are 2 places I am looking at 1 place is 70k more but has a very nice modern detached 4 car garage. I say it's worth the 70k but hard to know. I know someone says when u build a house adding a garage when u are consteucting it is under 20k but after wards it may be more.

 

[jives]

Someone will come here and tell you they built theirs for $15psft.
I did not. You will not.

More true than not. Ours will come out to about $60 sq ft. for 1350 sq ft. Partly built by others, finished by us. Do not be swayed by the advertisements of $20 sq ft. That is to have the lumber or steel dropped on your driveway, and they are the cheapest part of the job.

KNOW zoning for the area. Permits, building restrictions. . .Arrrrghhh!

 

[bczygan]

If you are looking for a rough idea, then you will have a rough answer.

If you want a more accurate answer, that you can count on, then you need to do some work, or have some work done for you.

There are 2 tools you can use.

One is to appraise the value of what is built.

The other is to estimate the cost to build.

Used together, you can determine if an existing property is a better deal than building new.

To be accurate, both things must be complete and detailed, based on your location and the present time. The level of detail will determine the level of accuracy of your final results.

Figure out if off the cuff answers on a national forum are good enough for you, or if it is worth your time and effort to get more accurate answers.

If it was me, I would be at least asking locally, what costs and values are for the present moment. Without going to an appraiser, a RE agent can counsel you on values. And local builders can give you a range of prices to build something you show them. Both of these are subject to movement over time. And with the present economy, both are probably headed up.

IMHO, you are usually better off buying something built to the nines, and ready to use, especially right now.

 

[Onewolf]

It will almost certainly cost you significantly more to build a detached structure than to purchase a property with an existing similar detached structure.

 

[PAToyota]

It is really hard to give a square foot cost without knowing more details, but you’re almost guaranteed to spend more to build something than buying it already there. Estimating a square foot cost for new construction depends on a bunch of factors - local labor rates and construction costs, size of the building, what is being put in, etc.

Just getting someone to do all the permit and preliminary work and get out there is going to cost a certain amount. So when that is all added to a square foot cost your cost per square foot is higher for a smaller structure than a bigger one. Similar for the labor - particularly for stuff like excavation. You’re paying a certain amount just to get them out there. Once they’re out there, it makes less difference if they’re out there for six hours or sixteen. If you’re doing something huge that is going to keep them occupied for significant time you’ll get better deals too. It costs them more to do eight one-week projects than to do one two month project.

About the closest you’d get for an exact comparison would be for a pole building. The manufacturers will be pretty good about being able to tell you that a AA’ x BB’ building will cost you $$$ to build. You can compare that to what someone wants with a property that already has one.

Do you have any contacts in the construction field? Your best bet would be to find an estimator for a local contractor and pay him his hourly fee to go around with you to look at a few places to give you estimates on what it would cost to build such a place. An afternoon might cost you a few hundred dollars, but I’d bet he could give you a pretty reasonable guess on construction costs for the places you’re looking at.

 

[toomany]

I'm having a 30x36x14 pole barn put up this summer. Contract is for $19,195. That's the permit, ground work, building, cement floor and labor. No driveway leading up to it or electrical...I plan on doing those myself.

Now, after it's built does that mean my property value will go up an equal amount? No...In fact it may not even change. Both of my parents were appraisers (45+ years between the two of them) and I've been on 1000's of jobs with them. More often than not an out building will have very little added value to the property. Most people could care less about them. And if you try to add it to the value it's hard to find comps in the area usually.

Keep that in mind when looking at potential homes. Buy it for the house you're living in...not the shop you will spend some (little in comparison) time in. It will certainly be cheaper to find a place that already has a shop built, but don't settle for a house because of it. And don't get over excited about a property that has a nice shop and pay too much for it either.

 

[always hopeful]

You have lots of good thoughts to a rather pie in the sky question. You might look at rental places that provide storage. See what they charge per square foot. When trying to figure how large a space to build, "Build the biggest thing you can fit on your lot. It'll end up being too small before your very eyes."

 

[Falcon67]

>Someone will come here and tell you they built theirs for $15psft.
LOL - I did, but my method doesn't meet the OPs stated requirements

>the price range here would be for me to not lift a finger
I would think you'd end up with two separate prices - one for the slab/foundation and the other for the building. Unless the building contractor acts as a GC. Metal buildings are fairly easy to price. Slab foundations can run from $5~20 sq/ft or more depending on location, workloads, cost of concrete/labor/permits/etc/etc

 

[silversilvia]

Thank you all for taking the time to post. I will take your guys advice at using 60-100 per Sq ft while at the same time emailing a GC on price to build one. I think you guys are probably right where it would be a better deal and less headache to get one with it already on the property.

 

[bczygan]

Thank you all for taking the time to post. I will take your guys advice at using 60-100 per Sq ft while at the same time emailing a GC on price to build one. I think you guys are probably right where it would be a better deal and less headache to get one with it already on the property.

From the above, it sounds like your thinking gives the kind of emphasis to the price, that the seller would.

To a seller, the garage is worth what it cost him.

To a buyer, the value is negligible or even a negative.

THAT should be your stance and attitude!

Your attitude should be, "Sure, it has a giant and wonderfully appointed garage, but all I need is a nice house for my family, so I'm not giving you much extra for that."

Call it a negative.

Claim it adds unneeded property taxes, by being so big, when all you need is a place to park a car.

Say it takes up the space on the lot that your kids could use for a play area and blocks the sun, so you can't garden.

Tell the seller that it isn't ideal, but since you like the house, the area, and the local schools, you'll just have to put up with it.

 

[mmack66]

In before CNGSaves asks A/S/L.

 

[justanengineer]

JMO, but $60-100/ft2 is pretty ridiculous for any "normal" size garage. If I was quoted that I'd be doing my best to make sure everyone's aware that the contractor's a crooked *** bc everywhere Ive lived thats a finished new house cost, not a new garage cost. Given "no lifted fingers" and wanting a decently nice stick-built, insulated, heated/cooled, drywall finished I'd expect to be in the $30-40/ft2 range most everywhere, maybe $40-50/ft2 in an expensive major city. If you were willing to do the finishing yourself you can get it down to $15-20/ft2 pretty easily. Something else to keep in mind is the correlation between size and price. As size goes up $$$/ft2 comes down pretty quickly for the basic building, sadly the finishing goes up almost as quickly as does the monthly maintenance/heating bill. I know many folks with nice 6000+ft2 farm shops that were <$10/ft2, but required $30k+ to insulate and finish. As mentioned above, the real value of anything beyond a 2-3 car garage is questionable, Ive known many folks in cities will to pay for a decent garage but few folks want anything more.

 

[Thumper68]

My son was talking to me about doing an addition to our shop (He was drawing out floor plans to locate equipment, elec and dust collection runs) So I did a bit of figuring on costs to build the addition and came up with $35 a sqft finished. That is complete with in floor heat, attic trusses spray foam insulation and 1 over head door.

The only part that would be jobbed out would be the concrete, so figure close to $70 sqft if it was turn key.

 

[Stuart in MN]

In before CNGSaves asks A/S/L.

From the original post:

Location is middle of Kansas.

 

[Stuart in MN]

A Google search on "cost per square foot to build a garage" turns up a number of sites with answers in the $35 to $45 per square foot range, assuming standard construction methods, regular materials, no custom features, unfinished interior.

I'd say for estimating purposes that would be your bottom line, but most likely it will be quite a bit more when all is said and done.

 

[gtae07]

JMO, but $60-100/ft2 is pretty ridiculous for any "normal" size garage. If I was quoted that I'd be doing my best to make sure everyone's aware that the contractor's a crooked *** bc everywhere Ive lived thats a finished new house cost, not a new garage cost.

Yeah, that smelled funny to me, too. My wife's step-grandfather builds houses, and when we were talking a couple weeks ago he told me $70/ft2 was about right for a basic house, up to $100/ft2 for a decent "nice" house.

Given "no lifted fingers" and wanting a decently nice stick-built, insulated, heated/cooled, drywall finished I'd expect to be in the $30-40/ft2 range most everywhere, maybe $40-50/ft2 in an expensive major city. If you were willing to do the finishing yourself you can get it down to $15-20/ft2 pretty easily.

I'm going to wind up paying $20-25/ft2 for my shop doing everything but the pouring and finishing of concrete myself (that cost $1.25/ft2). That includes a week of Bobcat rental plus all of the required tool purchases, building to hurricane wind requirements and HOA appearance requirements, and better insulation than the house.

 

[65bam]

Here in Kentucky I just had a 30x40x12 and built. I put the insulation wrap all the way around and had the concrete poured by the same contractor. I also had a wall framed to separate my shop and garage and had him do some grade work. the cost for that was 18,000. I supplied the garage doors (3) and did the electrical my self and I am finishing out the walls with OSB and metal ceiling.

I had extra cost because of the grading here at my place. I had to add 210 tons of gravel that cost me about 3500. So when I get done I will have about 25,000-27,000 in it and I cannot be more pleased with the results.

 

[silversilvia]

Thanks all who posted. Just to be clear on my intent. We are moving out to a place with 10+ acres and a part of my dream home in the country has to have a workshop at the end. So it's a must MOST places I am looking for has them so I am trying to account for the places that don't as I don't want to pass a nice house with a nice property at a lower price just because it doesn't have a shop yet. My preference is to have it already there ofcourse. This thread gives me a lot of info and definetily some points to think about and hopefully in august I'll be able to make a garage build post like everyone else!

Also I am getting a feeling that garage addition (adding 2 more bays onto a 3 car) vs a separate workshop may carry different price/sq ft?

 

[Chevy-SS]

As others have stated, it's gonna cost more money than you think. Lots of little extras get in your way.

IMHO, it'd be best to find a place with existing shop that was more or less what you wanted, and maybe all you have to do is add heat or a few wiring circuits and a new door, etc. - versus building new from scratch......

Good luck!

-

 

[silversilvia]

From the above, it sounds like your thinking gives the kind of emphasis to the price, that the seller would.

To a seller, the garage is worth what it cost him.

To a buyer, the value is negligible or even a negative.

THAT should be your stance and attitude!

Your attitude should be, "Sure, it has a giant and wonderfully appointed garage, but all I need is a nice house for my family, so I'm not giving you much extra for that."

Call it a negative.

Claim it adds unneeded property taxes, by being so big, when all you need is a place to park a car.

Say it takes up the space on the lot that your kids could use for a play area and blocks the sun, so you can't garden.

Tell the seller that it isn't ideal, but since you like the house, the area, and the local schools, you'll just have to put up with it.

I like that way of thinking

 

[Scott r c]

I self performed the plumbing and dirt work on my shop. If I had hired everything done, it still would have been only 35 a sq ft. And that's a fully insulated,heated and cooled, power everwhere and full restroom shop, with coil up insulated doors.

 

[ky-mike]

I had Morton Buildings quote a 30X50 with 12' wall height. Exterior4' wainscot of cultured stone and cement board siding (board and batten look), one 16' and one 8' garage door, a man door, 4 double hung and 3 fixed transom windows, insulated and interior walls finished. Basic electrical. Total was about $110,000. Similar quote for a stick built, but without interior finished came to about the same total. That is about $73 per SQFT. More than I want to spend on a barn/garage. Likely to scale back to 30X40 and contract out electrical on my own (saves GC markup).

 

[Thumper68]

Just be clear, I have to agree with Duckface.

A finished shop is very little difference from a finished home, all the same materials are needed if you are doing it right.

The shop I built for my uncle last fall.
Build thread here.

came in at $29 a sqft, we shopped out the concrete but all the rest was done by me with no labor cost.

I really don't know where you guys are getting your numbers from unless you aren't adding in all the little stuff that you just picked up.

My shop built in 2006 finished 1200 sqft was $35 a sqft and I didn't job anything out and my permit fee was only $75 in most areas that fee is a percentage of the total estimated finished cost + a separate permit fee for elec and plumbing.

Then add in the cost of stamped plans, survey and site access and the numbers go through the roof.

 

[tallgrass1951]

I just finished mine in the last 30 days. I live in Derby, KS so close enough that the costs should be similar. 22x22, 9' side wall, 1-16 ' door, 6 windows, 4" slab w/12x32 footings, 1 3' walk door, 200 amp electrical panel, frame construction. I did not do a thing as far as construction. My total cost was about $17,500 or 36/ft. I had to look to find subs that did good work at a reasonable cost. This included have the exterior painted. I wired, insulated the interior, and put up OSB on all of the interior walls myself, but the material cost is in the $17,500.

 

[justanengineer]

Many of you are confusing your barely adequate, I'll do the satin paint and insulation and drywall later, one uninsulated manual door places that you built most of, with what the op asked for.
He asked for a garage like the finished ones. .

It's $100psft to play the way I interpreted his post.

Shall we call it the differences in either area or the differences in folks willingness to part w/their money? $100/ft2 would be a royal rip on this side of the Mississipp considering houses usually start ~$60/ft2 to build here and $100/ft2 would be pretty nice quality. Heck, in urban Indiana if youre willing to settle for living in a ~2500ft2 3br2bath copy of your neighbors' home in a decent subdivision like most $100k/yr earning middle-management you can get $55/ft2 of house here with some decent fixtures/finishing and the postage stamp of land its parked on is free.

JME in my travels, but most ~900 ft2 garages come in ~$20k for a basic box, stick built structure on a slab, shingle roof, vinyl siding over plywood/osb, often a single 16'ish door or a 16' and a 8', 2-3 man doors, and a half dozen basic windows, unfinished/uninsulated/unheated/unpowered otherwise. Speaking in round numbers I'd guesstimate $2k for drywall and paint installed on 4 walls and the ceiling, $2k for insulation, $1k for heat, $1k for electrical and lights, and $1k for the usual non-industrial epoxy. Thats $27k/900ft2, $30/ft2 with excess built into each. Even at $37k/900ft2 bigger city price thats only ~$41/ft2. No, I didnt include anything overly fancy like a bathroom or ridiculously expensive geothermal/radiant heat setup bc realistically MOST of us dont get into those. Needless to say, lifts, cabinets, and other items that fill the garage also not included.

Some things many of you fellas need to realize is that 1. a good contractor isnt shopping at nor paying the rip-off prices for box-store **** quality supplies nor are they 2. nearly as slow as you are with their work, so theyre not nearly as expensive to hire as you think. Folks often think theyre saving a ton of money DIY'ing everything when in reality the material and time savings often more than make the difference on the larger jobs. Also, when you start changing a standard plan, even if its simply to move a door or add a cheap window the cost starts going up quickly, nvm when you add in the ridiculous options like bathrooms, industrial grade epoxies, geothermal or radiant heaters....then the price increases ridiculously fast. Spec houses/garages are all built identical for good reason.

 

[sublimate]

Man, I would have been ecstatic if my garage build had come in as low as $100/sqft.

 

[silversilvia]

I just finished mine in the last 30 days. I live in Derby, KS so close enough that the costs should be similar. 22x22, 9' side wall, 1-16 ' door, 6 windows, 4" slab w/12x32 footings, 1 3' walk door, 200 amp electrical panel, frame construction. I did not do a thing as far as construction. My total cost was about $17,500 or 36/ft. I had to look to find subs that did good work at a reasonable cost. This included have the exterior painted. I wired, insulated the interior, and put up OSB on all of the interior walls myself, but the material cost is in the $17,500.

Thanks for posting. So sounds like you spent 72 per Sq ft with half of that being finishing with you own labor?

 

[ddawg16]

I spent about $30/sq ft

But I did all the work except for demo, foundation and stucco.

2-story.....

The link is in my signature.

No idea how much it would have cost to pay someone to do all the work.

 

[TTA89]

I had 3 contractors provide quotes on a 26x26 detached garage in Southern NH and they were all pretty close. With them doing all the work I was looking at 50-55K and that didn't include any insulation, drywall, heating, cooling, driveway work. Not worth it to me.... If given the choice I'd buy something over building unless you can do it yourself (I can't).

 

[David C]

I completely agree with ducks face. Re-read his first post. Nothing more need be said in my opinion.

You can get a cheaper price but it will be missing significant components to a completed usable structure.

I am just completing my own 24x48 garage shop. I contracted site prep, foundation-slab, framing, I did all work for exterior and interior finishes, wiring, plumbing. Not including my labor cost is near 100/sq-ft. I included costs for milling wood I felled for siding and trim wood from my property.

I appreciate justanenginers point of view, not saying he is wrong, just that the costs he experienced are not applicable here in N California.

 

[JimR1998]

I'm in the Philly suburbs and a new 800sqft garage will cost $4300 before I can put a shovel in the ground. $1000 permit, $3300 engineering fee for stormwater, grading, and site plans. That doesn't include a building permit which is roughly 2% of the final cost.

To some it may sound like robbery but I don't think it's out of line with most of the other towns around here.

I was told I could eeek by with something in the mid-40's but it would be totally unfinished on the inside and plain on the outside. Driveway not included.

 

[Catadj78]

It all depends on what you are willing to do yourself.

I am building 1600sq ft at less than $13 a sq ft w concrete and electrical but j am doing 95% by myself. Zero help. CNG is absolutely right. The little things kill you. It was going to be less what I thought when I started.

 

[tallgrass1951]

Thanks for posting. So sounds like you spent 72 per Sq ft with half of that being finishing with you own labor?

No my total cost was $17,500/484 sq ft = $36/sq ft. The only thing I did was install the insulation, OSB, and inside wiring and the material for those is included in the $17,500.

 

[Thumper68]

It all depends on what you are willing to do yourself.

I am building 1600sq ft at less than $13 a sq ft w concrete and electrical but j am doing 95% by myself. Zero help. CNG is absolutely right. The little things kill you. It was going to be less what I thought when I started.

I just read through your build thread, very nice shop you got going.

However you are cheating on your $13 sqft, not everyone has access to free heavy equipment, a close to level site and a shop dog to do all the heavy lifting.

What are you paying for a yard of concrete around here just that would be around $3000 for a 4 inch slab, and for a shop that size I would be going with 6 inches and grade beams bringing the cost of the concrete to around $4500

No offense but I think your finished cost is going to be more in the $35 to $45 a sqft range. Unless of course you are not doing anything on the inside other than a few outlets and lights.

My shop has over 2500 feet of wire, 40+ outlets and 15 light fixtures, 6 220 connections, sink, shower and in floor heat, r-19 walls, r-38 ceiling and I was lucky to come in as low as I did, by shopping around for the best deals and doing everything myself.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I just built a 28ft x 30ft 2-story 2x6 stick-built detached garage, in southeast Michigan, with 10ft ceilings downstairs, poured floor, Hardie board siding, architectural shingles, Anderson windows and heat for under $40K.

Square footage is about 1300ft, which puts it at about $30ft sq.

 

[Catadj78]

I just read through your build thread, very nice shop you got going.

However you are cheating on your $13 sqft, not everyone has access to free heavy equipment, a close to level site and a shop dog to do all the heavy lifting.

What are you paying for a yard of concrete around here just that would be around $3000 for a 4 inch slab, and for a shop that size I would be going with 6 inches and grade beams bringing the cost of the concrete to around $4500

No offense but I think your finished cost is going to be more in the $35 to $45 a sqft range. Unless of course you are not doing anything on the inside other than a few outlets and lights.

My shop has over 2500 feet of wire, 40+ outlets and 15 light fixtures, 6 220 connections, sink, shower and in floor heat, r-19 walls, r-38 ceiling and I was lucky to come in as low as I did, by shopping around for the best deals and doing everything myself.

I dont have exact numbers yet but dont think its going to be anywhere near the 35 range.

I dont get to work on it everyday but I havent updated the build in a while.


The concrete guy quoted me 4k for 5" and two aprons. I have a lil more dirt work inside as well as plumbing before I can get it poured though and I have paid right at 10k for the building itself minus the 2 10x8s so far. About (est) 2k for misc so far.

I do plan on covering the walls and putting an office in the shop but thats not included in the 13 nor the driveway (rock) est at 500

 

[C2 Turbo]

$100+/sqft for a detached garage probably would be in San Jose, CA coz in KY you can easily get a good detached garage for under $30-40/sqft

 

[UncleJoe]

In my search for property like you described her in Eastern North Carolina I came to the conclusion that on any property with a value of $250K + or - the prescence of a workshop added very little to the cost. I have seen two homes of very similar age, style, size and the one with the workshop was maybe $10,000 more and the shop was a very nice 2 story 1500 sq ft shop. I saw many examples like this.

I came away with the strong feeling that if you can buy a home with a workshop already in place you are way ahead on the money. Even if the shop is not exactly what you want it is most likely cheaper to remodel or add on to the shop rather than to build new.

The other issue to consider with land that has a home and a shop already on it, you are getting the shop as a part of your mortgage and not having to go finance the construction of a new shop and deal with the bank on that project.

Of course the house has to be right but if I am looking at 2 properties and the homes are equal I will lean toward the one with the shop already built. All things being equal