Considering building new garage

[Mesozoic]

My wife and I have come to terms with the fact that I am a major gearhead and my obsession with automotive tamperings will never stop as long as I'm physically able. That being said we are therefore considering building a garage behind our home to capitalize on a significant portion of our 1/2 acre lot which is completely unused. The garage would mainly be a storage area for 2 of my 4x4s, 1 motorcycle, and several mountain bikes. I have a workshop in an existing 3 car garage that is attached to the home, so leaving that as is. Being a 1st time home owner (of 5 years now), I am relatively clueless regarding the process of accomplishing this (and with spending as little money as possible).

Since I'm very budget minded, I'm considering a pre-fab structure or erecting a metal framed structure myself, with help from some friends who have done this to their own property. The alternative would be a framed stucco structure that better matches the residence. Does any one have any tips and/or thoughts regarding the benefits of either structure?

 

[matt_i]

In general, sticking with like decor of the home will add to your property, especially as you get farther toward residential areas. Way out in the sticks, metal buildings are just fine.

I think its around $30-50 per sq foot for a middle of the road space. One really has to guard against poor materials and cut corners, despite budgets. They will cost more later on to fix.

In your area I'd highly recommend air conditioning!

 

[Modoc]

research the garage gallery for ideas. as the previous post suggested stick with the decor of your home. Do you have a HOA? or CC&R's to comply with? that can be a major factor of what you can and can't do. Having said all of that look into pole buildings, they can be finished to look like "framed" or "stick built" structures at about half the cost. Tucson definitely want A/C if you are going to spent any time in there 8-9 months out of the year. Maybe swamp cooler?

Cheers

 

[Cyberbear]

When I was ready to build my last workshop, I too considered a metal building, which at the time seemed to make sense financially. Living in an arid rural area I began thinking about the pros and cons between stick built and metal structures on my several acres of land, and how best to utilize the contractor skills in my area.
I soon found that while several companies offered attractive pricing on building kits, no one could tell me what I needed for a proper slab and foundation w/o consulting a civil engineering firm and paying them to design what I needed, especially since my local building dept. could furnish no info. about that type of building, this meant additional cost, of course. I then discovered metal buildings are very hot and cold during those times of year, and cost a lot to insulate, plus no body here knew how to properly erect such a building. I also heard about the problems with water condensation inside a metal building and the constant roof leaks, and difficulty hanging or installing floor or wall cabinets or benches.
These and more negatives caused me to abandon the metal building in favor of a stick built, stuccoed 2400 sq/ft structure that the local contractors had extensive experience with. This was back in 1995 and there have been no issues to deal with, other than minor maintenance needed to touch up the painted roof trim. The problems caused from cutting financial corners remain long after the money is spent. Whatever you decide, do it well and do it the best you can afford.

 

[Modoc]

^^^^^

Well stated cyber, I don't like metal buildings personally, for all the reasons you stated. I also don't like pole buildings with metal siding and roofs. I have a pole barn-barn for the horses that we had built in 1994. It is a quality built building and have had the contractor do other projects for me over the years, before he retired. Here's my complaint, we live on the east side of the cascades high elevation, so there are large temperature swings. What happens over time is the building expands and contracts, this cause the screws to work loose had then you start to have leaks in the roof and side panels start to come loose. Every few years when I'm home I spend a couple of days going over the building tightening screws. I'm planning on replacing the roof with a composite roof like on the house.

 

[astroracer]

Pole barns can be built with wood siding and roofs also. Mine was built in '85 that way. T-111 siding and shingles to match the house. This was taken in '05 right before I added onto it.

It was later resided along with the addition with vinyl (no mantenance. to match the house that was sided with the same vinyl.

Insulated and drywalled on the inside, it is comfortable out there with the thermostat set at 52 degrees.