Garage/driveway - cost check

[70runner]

Followup to post I made couple weeks back, hillside garage. Contacted 9 construction companies in area (N. San Diego county), 2 responded, only 1 has been proactive with bids and dialog. Work and quotes listed below. Given location, do these quotes seem reasonable?



Build 36'x24'x12'-14' steel garage with retaining walls cut into slope: approx $200K (does not include cost of steel structure)
*grade/site plan, foundation/retaining wall engineering plan, permit processing
*grading/excavation (soil moved to area on property)
*retaining walls, waterproofing, soil compaction with 4' concrete walkway around structure
*foundation, with additional depth for 2 post lift in center bay
*power supply from house to garage, approx 100ft, 2 outlets/wall, single light at door
*erect owner supplied steel structure (MD Barns kit)

Driveway: approx $50K
*demo current 3200 sqft asphalt driveway, replace with 4", 3000psi concrete driveway (broom finish)

 

[CombatNinja]

So....if I understand this correctly, you're looking at $275,000 for a 24' x 36' metal garage. No, that does not sound reasonable to me on any level. You are in excess of $300/sq. ft. with those numbers. For a metal shell with a couple of outlets. Hell no.

 

[Snapped-off]

Wow

 

[kbuhagiar]

Unreasonable IMHO, but I am not surprised based on the responses I have gotten on my garage project here in SD county. It is nuts out here, and I think the contractors feel they are holding all the cards.

All of a sudden my $150K estimate for my garage expansion (approximately 40' x 16' x 14') doesn't look so bad.

 

[olytdi]

This is a difficult question to answer. What I can do is give some comps on some of what you are seeking -- this in the Salish Sea area of western Washington.

My 36x36 pole construction shop with an attached 36x12 carport (12 ft walls, 16 ft ridge, 1728 sq ft total) cost about $45K just for materials (trusses, dimensional lumber, plywood, steel roof/sides, insulation, hardware/fasteners, two installed 10 ft. overhead doors, 4x4 window, man door, and 8 x 12 ft slider.

Labor to erect the structure came to $15K.

Concrete slab(4 inch across 3/4 of the building and 5 inch in the lift bay) including material, labor, rebar, saw cutting = $9K.

My dirt work took 250 yds of gravel. Including site leveling, compaction, equipment rental and labor , that came to about $22K.

Permitting, wetland delineation, public hearing, mitigation plan, trees for mitigation, and bond posted to complete mitigation all came to about $13K.

So, over $100K for a building that would have cost about $60K 3 years ago pre-Covid, pre-supply chain issues, pre-material price explosion, and if there wasn't 3 years of permitting hell to go through.

Just my two 10 ft overhead doors were nearly $8K and 3 month wait time...yes, I shopped around hard...

Hopefully that's helpful.

 

[jack stand]

What do you expect the finished value if you listed it for sale?
Seems crazy high to me also, but most of us have no idea of your CA market. Is this a stand alone project and lot or in the back yard of your house?

 

[Bretny]

You got the "I dont want the job" price. Wait a year when the economy is in the dump and contractors will almost be paying you to build it.

 

[Sladeharrison]

Holy ****, I thought $40k was high for an enclosed 30X50X12 with a 30X20X12 carport on 6" slab was expensive back in October...I'll never complain again. A 24' depth with a 2 post lift is kind of tight...

 

[vrinner]

My 40X60X20 built in 2019, also in SoCal including all the grading, concrete work, retaining walls purchasing the building and construction was about 2/3 your price. So I think for sure costs have gone up. My neighbor recently got a quote from the same guy who built mine and it was too expensive for him to do the project.

On your driveway I paid a bit less than half of your quote for half the size and no demo of old so that sounds about right.

 

[adrenalinejeeper]

This is tough, because that price sounds insane to most of the country, but in Southern California we pay more for everything. It might be a little high, but I don't think it is insanely high.

We did the build into the hill thing as well like we already discussed. While it was a full house, some of the cost can still be used as a comparison. Here were some of our approximate prices pre-covid.

-dirt work (excavation, grading, removal and recompacting) $12,500 (I think this went up and this number was an old bid)
-retaining wall (about 115' total, 6' retaining height, waterproofed, filled CMU, with french drain and surface v-drain) $35,700
-Foundation (29'x65' for 2-story build) $43,350
-Framing labor (not materials, and this was for an overbuilt 2 story house and not a metal structure) $50,000

Remember that a GC will usually charge around 15-20% of the build cost as their fee or supervision fee. If they are handling everything on your project, such as applications and permitting, then you may be paying them to do quite a bit of paperwork on your behalf. A good chunk of your total cost in the bid is probably the contractor's fee.

 

[Bodj Built]

This is tough, because that price sounds insane to most of the country, but in Southern California we pay more for everything. It might be a little high, but I don't think it is insanely high.

We did the build into the hill thing as well like we already discussed. While it was a full house, some of the cost can still be used as a comparison. Here were some of our approximate prices pre-covid.

-dirt work (excavation, grading, removal and recompacting) $12,500 (I think this went up and this number was an old bid)
-retaining wall (about 115' total, 6' retaining height, waterproofed, filled CMU, with french drain and surface v-drain) $35,700
-Foundation (29'x65' for 2-story build) $43,350
-Framing labor (not materials, and this was for an overbuilt 2 story house and not a metal structure) $50,000

Remember that a GC will usually charge around 15-20% of the build cost as their fee or supervision fee. If they are handling everything on your project, such as applications and permitting, then you may be paying them to do quite a bit of paperwork on your behalf. A good chunk of your total cost in the bid is probably the contractor's fee.

What part of Ventura County are you in? I have a lot in Moorpark that I was hoping to build on, but current costs are scaring me away from that at the moment.

 

[adrenalinejeeper]

What part of Ventura County are you in? I have a lot in Moorpark that I was hoping to build on, but current costs are scaring me away from that at the moment.

Replied to you privately, neighbor.

 

[CombatNinja]

The weather out in Cali must be like heroin to you guys. No way I could take living there, but to each their own.

 

[dcg9381]

I think that's way high too. You've likely got someone breaking this into a bunch of smaller jobs and adding margin to all of it.
You'll do a LOT better if you can break this up and deal with the individual subs directly.

> foundation/retaining wall engineering plan, permit processing

Do this yourself. It's mostly leg work with the foundation engineering needing a soil sample. An engineered foundation plan doesn't cost that much, but the engineers need to know what is under it.

From there, I'd break it out into these parts:
1) Building foundation (I'm assuming this is a weld up building) and maybe driveway (if the price is right)
2) Pick your building kit
3) Find your building assembler/installer (you can often get recommendations from the kit suppliers).

 

[racecougar]

Holy ****, I thought $40k was high for an enclosed 30X50X12 with a 30X20X12 carport on 6" slab was expensive back in October...I'll never complain again. A 24' depth with a 2 post lift is kind of tight...

You have someone willing to build a 1500 sq ft enclosed building, a 600 sq ft carport, and pour a 2100 sq ft 6" thick slab for $40k? Is it a tubular-frame, carport-type building with no power/water/insulation or something?

 

[Sladeharrison]

You have someone willing to build a 1500 sq ft enclosed building, a 600 sq ft carport, and pour a 2100 sq ft 6" thick slab for $40k? Is it a tubular-frame, carport-type building with no power/water/insulation or something?

Enclosed pole barn. I wired it myself due to the outrageous quotes I received from electricians (between $6 - $7k!). No water or insulation...I'll see how the summer goes.

 

[rzims]

This seems high to me, but I'm up in No Cal. I'm putting in a 32x30 metal building and pouring a concrete pad.
My building is fairly basic but had some upcharges from the standard kits
Building - 30k (square tubing not red iron)
Engineered drawings - 1.5k (I'm in snow load area)
Permits - 2k
Concrete pad - 15k
Wiring - est is about 5K (will be T/M)
not including interior finishes I've budgeted 50k and it looks like it will be tight...

Also, my pad is fairly level with only a 3" side to side slope to be graded and no additional flatwork/paving

 

[tdkkart]

So....if I understand this correctly, you're looking at $275,000 for a 24' x 36' metal garage. No, that does not sound reasonable to me on any level. You are in excess of $300/sq. ft. with those numbers. For a metal shell with a couple of outlets. Hell no.

He's in California, it's the price you endure for........something?

 

[racecougar]

Enclosed pole barn. I wired it myself due to the outrageous quotes I received from electricians (between $6 - $7k!). No water or insulation...I'll see how the summer goes.

I'd say you received a fair price, particularly if this was in the last year or two.

 

[Hooked]

Enclosed pole barn. I wired it myself due to the outrageous quotes I received from electricians (between $6 - $7k!). No water or insulation...I'll see how the summer goes.

The awning on the end is something I regret not including on my workshop along with a lean-to along one side.

I won't comment on the cost question since my build was 10+ years ago and we did most of the construction ourselves.