Has anyone ever used a prefab/modular garage?

[ebasista]

I'm relocating to KY in about a month and am going to need to get a second garage.

I don't have the time to do the whole thing myself, and the cost appears to be much cheaper than having it done onsite.

Does anyone here have experience with a Modular/Prefab garage, the kind that they truck a stick built garage to your slab?

The site at pmodular.com is one firm I'm considering for the job, but would love to hear if some of you guys have gone this route? I'm looking to do a simple 24x24 two car garage to be used as my shop.

 

[Rigmaster]

No experience with a prefab garage, but we just built a house that was prefab, or as they prefer to say "offsite stick built".

You'd be hard pressed to tell that it was anything but a stick built house now that it's done. The only real giveaway is the center "marriage wall" where the 2 main halves of the house come together- but that's only visible from the basement and the attic, if you pulled up the subfloor.


Highly recommended for speed of construction and the cost was good too. I can't say we saved a ton of $$ over stick built, but we definitely saved some.

 

[rsanter]

we looked at doing one where I worked at one time.
the smaller garages that can truck out in one unit, a slightly larger one can be split on two.
any bigger and they either bring the seperate walls out as flat modules or they do all the framing on site for you.

often if you have a prefab company near you, you can get the walls built for you and delivered. of course if you had 4-6 friends come over you could frame and stand the walls in just a few hours. if you get a crane out there to put the roof trusses up you can have the roof framing done in a few hours. hire a roofer to install the sheathing and the roof and then het the siding installed and you have a sealed building

bob

 

[Matt M PA]

While I'm not sure how far they can deliver one....check out these.

http://www.mysheds.net/garages.asp

The double wides are nice. The two-story garage is awesome...and might be the trick for you.

There is a video on the page that shows the different garages too. In fact, my custom garage build is featured in the video. (I did the videos)

I'd only ask that you mention me if you contact them....they do GREAT work.

 

[chaingang]

At my last house I had a Bullock Gararge built. It was 24 x 32 and was a prefab unit. Aside from the grading and concrete work they completely built it in one day onsite. I was laeving for work at 6:30 AM when they showed up and when I got home at 4:30 PM they were completely done and gone. The walls are prebuilt, sided and windows everything already done. They just stood them up, set trusses, decked and shingled it. That quick! One thing I really liked was they built on a monolithic slab with a raised 6 inch curb. Not sure if they are still in business and what part of the country they are in. I am in GA. I never had any problems with the building at all. Cost 20 years ago was $6700 including concrete. Yea that *****. I got 12 grand in concrete and block work for a 36 x 32 now.

 

[Rigmaster]

I found a video of our house being "set" on the prefab basement walls (Superior walls).

Thought it might interest some of you.

(sorry for the weird edit and funky music- this was a free video that was done with some pics I took that day)....



http://www.muveemix.com/player.php/62708-1

 

[Frank Elson]

http://www.nucrete.co.uk/index.html

lots of companies like this in the UK. many of them are far too small of course, but they all do extra large ones.

 

[fotoflojoe]

No experience with a prefab garage, but we just built a house that was prefab, or as they prefer to say "offsite stick built".

You'd be hard pressed to tell that it was anything but a stick built house now that it's done. The only real giveaway is the center "marriage wall" where the 2 main halves of the house come together- but that's only visible from the basement and the attic, if you pulled up the subfloor.


Highly recommended for speed of construction and the cost was good too. I can't say we saved a ton of $$ over stick built, but we definitely saved some.

Same here. Four years ago, we built a modular home. Tore down a dilapidated cape and put up a colonial on the existing foundation. Some aspects were a real pain, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

No garage though, there was an existing detached two-car that we kept.

 

[ebasista]

Thanks for all the responses.

Is anyone from the KY/TN area that can respond about local prefab builders?

I'm not afraid to do a build myself, but timelines and other priorities make it worthwhile to farm the job out to a prefab co (I'm not willing to pay a contractor unless they are competitive). It sounds like they put together a quality product. Now its just a matter of getting a competitive quote with delivery.

Concrete work on the other hand will have to be local and can't skimp on the money there.

Anyone have thoughts on putting a simple building and the effects on that on an existing concrete driveway (assuming no footers)? Not saying I want to go that route, but I'm just looking at all the different houses out there.

Thanks

 

[dirrty dan]

I recently purchased a "Tuff Shed" garage from Home Depot (in Baton Rouge) to replace a shop that was destroyed by hurricane Gustav. I bought the 20' x 20' and so far I am very happy with it except as always, I wish I had purchased larger.

You'll need to have the slab poured yourself (or they'll do it for you for additional $$). Tuff Shed wanted $3,100.00 for the slab, I had it done for about $1,800.00. After my man had the form built Tuff Shed came the next day to inspect the form before we poured. They waited about three weeks for the slab to set and then came out and built the garage in two days (his trailer wasn't large enough to bring the roof with the walls). The following day a different contractor came out and installed the garage door. The Tuff Shed rep was very helpful and attentive during the entire process. I don't know if this is because she was new or if this is the norm for Tuff Shed.

The price for this after a $500 rebate was @ $7,100.00. I didn't let Tuff Shed provide anything other than the building, one entry door and one garage door. I think that their add-ons are too expensive. For instance, they furnish the building with a primer coat of paint. If you want finish painting they'll add @ $800.00. They want about $250.00 for each window installed. I can buy the same window at Lowes for $58.00 and install it myself. I also wired mine myself and I have no idea what they charge for that.

I'll post a couple of photos as soon as I can.
Feel free to PM me if you would like any more information or opinion.

I can't attach any decent photos with the KB limit on BMPs. If you'd like to see photos of the building send me a PM and I'll be happy to e-mail those to you.

 

[uparms]

One thing I found is that most of these pre-fabs are 2 12s or 2 14s put together and they all end up with a supporting wall in the middle four feet wide, one at the front and one at the back, so you don't end up with a wide open garage. May not be a problem for some, but is a car maneuverability limitation for others.

I like big GMs.

They do offer great speed and value as well as some good looks.

 

[Dustoff 35]

I'm in northern Kentucky and built a garage with panels fabricated off-site at the local truss manufacturer. I'm very happy with it. Check out my garage build thread below.

 

[zman]

bttt. as I'm looking at the pmodular stuff as well. Looking for something closer to NC though.

 

[mackrmnn]

bttt. as I'm looking at the pmodular stuff as well. Looking for something closer to NC though.

These guys are in PA.

http://www.horizonstructures.com/garage_landing.asp

 

[cheap bastard]

My home was built last year by Turnkey Homes near Milwaukee. They did a great job and for the $$ you cant beat the quality or speed. They did build the attached 22X22 garage and 18X45 shop on site, though. They could have been panelized at the factory, but there were time constrictions in their facility. Yeah, they were busy last year.
After your foundation is ready to go, it will take one day to have a building that is weather tight. You could even go with SIPs if you want effective climate control. In KY. that may be a waste of money. though.

 

[Matt M PA]

Horizon Structures in PA are based in the same place as the folks that built my garage, Stotlzfus. In fact...my garage is shown on both of their "Built on Site" pages.

 

[luvair]

I have and it served my purposes very well. Of course there are various qualities of prefabs, and need to have a solid foundation for stability and drainage.

 

[imok]

I have a 22' x 24' Bullock prefab garage built in 1997. Cost about $10k including an extra 20' x 24' driveway extension. It arrived on a flatbed truck about 5am and was completed by noon. They are out of business in Georgia.

Charles

 

[ebasista]

I should probably update this since its alive again.

Had a 24x28 stick built with slab for about 11,000. Can't complain.

 

[kmacht]

I'll be the third to recommend horizon structures. I have one on order with them that is coming in about 2 weeks. They have been one of the easiest companies I have ever dealt with. I took a ride out there to PA (same week as carlisle swap meet) and was very impressed with their setup and operation. Any changes, tweaks, etc are no problem for them. Their prices aren't too bad. I ordered a 24x24 with a 2nd story (gembrel roof). It came painted to match my house, included garage doors, a side entry door, 8 windows, gable vents, staircase to the 2nd floor, 2x8 construction on the 2nd story floor, and a bunch of other features as standard. All said and done it was a little under 20k including delivery and setup. A single story 2 car garage was alot cheaper if that is what you want. They even went as far as to call my local building official to make sure they had the correct wind and snow load calculations for the building. The structure is also free standing and is built on pressure 6x6's. I am putting it on a cement foundation but it can also be put on just a gravel base and they supply a wood floor for it. I'll try to post some pictures once the building arrives.

Keith

 

[Alcohol]

Here in Illinois I have a company that is called Coach House Garages,,,they are pre fab Amish built,,,,After the concrete crew was done,,they showed up at 7am and by 2:30pm,they were on their way home with my 24x32 garage done. Very good quality and quick.

 

[KansasCityGypsy]

Forgive me for reviving a very old thread, but I'm interested in similar option in the Kansas City area. We are looking to build a 2 car detached garage. The only local option I've seen so far is Tuff Shed, but I'd like to do some price and satisfaction comparisons.