Some of you may have seen my previous thread, "Jumpman-Z 4-Car Garage". After construction of my house, my original plan was to build a shop around 30 x 50, primarily to house project cars and work on hobbies. For years, I was able to put it off as my 4-car garage was more than adequate. But thanks to a growing collection of project cars including my wife's car after getting married last year, having a baby, and an eBay business that has significantly expanded and taken over much of my house, my hand has been forced to not only go through with the build, but also to go much bigger. After much thought, I decided to build with a 50' x 60' with 16' walls and 3/12 pitch roof to provide room for an office and loft storage in the future. Also two 14' doors because why not?
This build has been in the planning stages for a few years now, along with some setbacks, frustrations, and the necessary changes listed above, but I was determined to get this accomplished in 2025. I've already made a lot of progress and have been too busy to start this thread up until now, but I'll get everyone up to speed and continue with updates of my progress.
Early 2025
After determining what size garage I wanted, the next decision was choosing construction style and picking colors. Red iron was an easy choice for me, and my preference was weld-up rather than bolt-on. For the longest, I wanted to go with a dark brown building with tan trim and a rock wainscot to match my house. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth the extra cost and lost interest in that color combo. After much browsing, I fell in love with the koko brown exterior & burnished slate trim combo in the example below, as it matches my home's brick much better:
March-July 2025 - Finding a Metal Building and Concrete Contractor
The first step was getting quotes and finding a good contractor. After meeting with quite a few people and comparing itemized quotes for general contractors, I decided that educating myself as much as possible and subcontracting all of the work myself with the exception of the building itself was the best way to go for cost savings.
It took a little while, but after talking with a few metal building contractors, I finally selected one that I felt pretty good about, and placed an order for a weld-up building through Metal Mart. The colors chosen were Tudor Brown and Patrician Bronze, which seem to be an identical match to what I wanted, and as expected, it was a good match for my brick.
At the same time, I got a number of quotes for concrete, and ultimately chose a company recommended by a family member.
This build has been in the planning stages for a few years now, along with some setbacks, frustrations, and the necessary changes listed above, but I was determined to get this accomplished in 2025. I've already made a lot of progress and have been too busy to start this thread up until now, but I'll get everyone up to speed and continue with updates of my progress.
Early 2025
After determining what size garage I wanted, the next decision was choosing construction style and picking colors. Red iron was an easy choice for me, and my preference was weld-up rather than bolt-on. For the longest, I wanted to go with a dark brown building with tan trim and a rock wainscot to match my house. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth the extra cost and lost interest in that color combo. After much browsing, I fell in love with the koko brown exterior & burnished slate trim combo in the example below, as it matches my home's brick much better:
March-July 2025 - Finding a Metal Building and Concrete Contractor
The first step was getting quotes and finding a good contractor. After meeting with quite a few people and comparing itemized quotes for general contractors, I decided that educating myself as much as possible and subcontracting all of the work myself with the exception of the building itself was the best way to go for cost savings.
It took a little while, but after talking with a few metal building contractors, I finally selected one that I felt pretty good about, and placed an order for a weld-up building through Metal Mart. The colors chosen were Tudor Brown and Patrician Bronze, which seem to be an identical match to what I wanted, and as expected, it was a good match for my brick.
At the same time, I got a number of quotes for concrete, and ultimately chose a company recommended by a family member.
You are so lucky that you don't have to deal with the frost line and impending snow, ice and freezing rain like I am.
)
Everything will be covered with plywood, so it's not that big of a deal.
. I did look at some lighting plans from other garages and though. Also, these are adjustable from 100W to 200W, and can be switched between 4000K, 5000K, and 6000K. I already knew I wanted 200W and 5000K settings, but having the option to change later is nice.
