Delivering a pre-fab garage

[kmacht]

They delivered my garage yesterday. Or should I say, one guy delivered the whole garage yesterday in under 2 hours. I was a little leery when only one guy showed up with this huge truck towing a 50’ trailer but they have this delivery system down to a science. The trailer actually tilts and pushes each garage section off the back. They put wheels on the back corner of the structure as it is sliding off and then put blocks under the front when it drops off. They then use a tractor type machine to lift it off the blocks and tow it into place. The little tractor could tilt, turn, tug, and shove the building any way he needed it. Below are some pictures:

The pad extension that we poured a few weeks back.



The truck pulling up to the house


Sliding the first section off


Hooking it up to the tractor (notice the wheels in the back)



A bit of a tight fit going up the driveway


Backing the first section into place


First section installed

 

[kmacht]

Sliding the second section off the truck


Jogging it into place


Almost there


Both pieces in and level


They are coming up on Wednesday to do the rest of the work. You can see the two outer sections of the upper floor folded down on top of the garage. These get hinged up and then they finish the roof between them. The 6x6’s that you see between the doors and through the center section of the garage all get cut out. Those are just there for shipping purposes. The only thing they messed up on was the color. We originally chose the green color but then decided to switch to have it match the house. They updated the invoice for the switch but never told the guys out in the shop building it. They are going to re-paint it tomorrow as well.


Keith

 

[99SVT]

now that is pretty cool!!

 

[zman]

Who's is it? I'm looking now.

 

[willymakeit]

Looks good. The pictures makes it look like there is a butterfly roof on it ? Ive worked with multistory panelized structures. I beleive this will be the future of building.

 

[kmacht]

It is from Horizon Structures. They are out of Pennsylvania but will delivery anywhere in the country. Their website is www.horizonstructures.com. I can't say enough good things about them. It has been an absolute pleasure dealing with them through the whole design/build/delivery process. These guys work hard and have a thing for good quality materials and construction methods. I can't find a single warped or cracked board in the whole garage and everything looks to be perfectly straight and true. The only negative experience I have had with them was having the garage painted the wrong color. To their credit though, it was an honest mistake, they called ahead of time to let me know what happened, and they were very adamant that they wanted to make it right and would do whatever it took to get it re-painted the right color. To me that is the sign of a good company when they admit their mistakes before you are even aware of them and then do everything they can to make it right.

Keith

 

[kmacht]

It is a gembrel style roof with a steep pitch on the first outside section so I can have a full size workshop up there. The two outside sections flip up on hinges and then they build the center section on site. Here is a picture of what the inside of the upstairs will look like when done.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Interesting! I've never seen prefab garage sections like that before.

 

[bazzateer]

That's brilliant!

 

[930dreamer]

That is very cool, keep the pics updated.

 

[blue dog]

If you dont mind me asking? what does something like this cost by the sq. ft.?
How long from when you ordered it, did it arrive?
Looks great, keep us posted on progress.

 

[930dreamer]

20X20 basic was priced at $25,000.

 

[kmacht]

Not sure where you got the 20x20 basic price as that seems high unless you are doing vinyl siding or live on the other side of the country. Here is the breakdown of what I ordered. I live in CT so it was about a 6 hour drive each way for them to do the delivery.

The base price of the garage including delivery for a 24x24 with a gembrel style roof was $20,345. This includes wood siding, no floor (concrete), 8 windows, solid garage doors, a 36" man door with 6 lite window, architectual shingles, shutters, gable vents, a staircase, and a finished 2nd story floor. The walls are 2x4 construction and the roof is 2x6. From that price I upgraded the 2nd story floor joists from 2x6 to 2x8 for $115, added windows to the garage doors for $40 each (+$80), had them paint the trim and siding to match the house colors for $100, got a credit of $95 for removing one window and going to a solid door, got a $120 credit for not having shutters since I want the ones that match my house, and got a $300 credit for making the purchase during the Carlisle PA spring car show.

All told it came out to $20,125 for everything including delivery. I did my own concrete work, fencing, pulled permits, etc and that was another $2700. I'll be done for just under 23k.

I'll have more pictures to post on Thursday. They are supposed to do all the rest of the work tomorrow.

Keith

 

[kmacht]

I forgot to mention the lead time. I ordered it back in april but wasn't ready for delivery until this week. Since I had to do the demolition work on my old garage and pour and cure the concrete it took some time. It takes them 10 days to build the garage at their factory from start to finish. The total lead time depends on how busy they are when you order. When I ordered back in April I could have had the garage 10 days later if I wanted. The summer is their busy time with alot of deliveries so if I ordered now I would guess it would take a month or maybe a little longer before they could deliver it. They will probably be ready for you before you are ready for them.

Keith

 

[930dreamer]

20X20 basic was priced at $25,000.

Sorry I checked again it was $14000 delivered basic 20X20 to 79121.

 

[HappyWifeHappyLife]

Thanks for the pictures! I would have to see it to believe it.

WHere did you get it?
Do they have a website?

 

[gmhill33]

Sliding the second section off the truck


Jogging it into place


Almost there


Both pieces in and level


They are coming up on Wednesday to do the rest of the work. You can see the two outer sections of the upper floor folded down on top of the garage. These get hinged up and then they finish the roof between them. The 6x6’s that you see between the doors and through the center section of the garage all get cut out. Those are just there for shipping purposes. The only thing they messed up on was the color. We originally chose the green color but then decided to switch to have it match the house. They updated the invoice for the switch but never told the guys out in the shop building it. They are going to re-paint it tomorrow as well.


Keith

That is pretty cool and it looks great too. Thanks for sharing the pictures, I look forward to seeing the rest on Thursday. Again, thanks for sharing and looks great.

Gary

 

[kmacht]

Re: Delivering a pre-fab garage (now finished)

As promised, here is the update. The garage is now done, painted, and finished. Four guys came out yesterday and completed the whole garage in about 10 hours worth of work. Keep in mind this is on top of the 6 hour drive they had to get to my house and another 6 hour drive they had to do to get home. They put in a 22+ hour day. About the only time I saw them not working was for a short lunch break. Every other minute they were doing something. I never once saw someone just standing around. Imagine what the construction industry would be like if all companies and employees were this dedicated to their craft.

The day started off with them lifting up each side of the roof.
Here is the left side going up. It took just two people to lift it and one to brace it.


Next they lifted the side wall in place. This too was hinged and just lifted up.


Next came the right side.


And finishing off the right side front wall.


Keep in mind that it has been less than an hour since they arrived at this point.

Next they framed up the right and left side of the roof peak. The framing was already done
and just placed into position and nailed together.

 

[kmacht]

At this point it was just a lot of painting and all the finish work left to do. I didn’t take many pictures since
I wanted to try and stay out of their way while they worked. They put the sheathing, tar paper, and shingles
on the peak of the roof. They built the inside stairway railing, installed the man door, cut out the 6x6 boards from between the garage doors and the inside bracing, put up the final trim pieces, and then spent A LOT of time re-painting the whole thing to match the house. Here are some pictures of the finished garage.




Here is the inside. You can see the staircase they built towards the back. This can be custom made in any configuration you want.


Here is the second floor. The picture doesn’t do it justice. There is a ton of space up there. The ceiling is also nice and high as I can’t even touch the 2x4 cross beams by the peak.



All I can say is that these guys were awesome. Who would have thought that you could have a garage delivered, finished, and painted in less than two days. Had I chosen to build it myself instead of going with this company I am sure I could do it for less money but I really don't think I could have even come close to their quality and craftsmanship.

Keith

 

[kmacht]

Thanks for the pictures! I would have to see it to believe it.

WHere did you get it?
Do they have a website?

I posted it before but I'll list it again. I bought it from a company called Horizon Structures. Their website is www.horizonstructures.com. If you have questions about what they offer or want to discuss ideas for your garage/barn just give them a call. They are a good sized company but have a nice small front office staff. As long as they are open you will always get a live person on the phone when you call. They don't do phone trees or voicemail or at least I have never gotten one when calling. You can also e-mail them. I have always recieved a response back within 24 hours when I asked questions during the design phase of the build.

Keith

 

[JillS]

Keith -Thanks for the good words. The garage looks great and choosing the custom colors to match the house was definitely the way to go. The end to your story is that the guys' truck broke down on the way back to PA and they didn't get home until after 5:30am this morning! It was a pleasure meeting you and helping you on this project. Enjoy your garage! Jill

 

[kmacht]

Wow. That really does make it a long day then. I knew they were having trouble with the truck when they arrived but we all thought it was just a leak somewhere in a radiator hose. I sent them off with a bunch of filled water jugs to keep it full on the ride home but it looks like it must have been something more serious. Please tell them thank you again from us for all of their hard work. Like I said before, the quality is outstanding and the people you have working there are the best in the business.

Keith

 

[Falcon67]

That is one helluva building for $23K. Very nice!

 

[Rockey]

Very well done! I think the price is right in line with the quality and size of that structure. The amount of headaches alone that you saved yourself from not having to build it and know that it is done right is well worth it. If I had to do my build over I would seriously consider going that route with that company. I'm 3 months into my build and I still dont have the framing done. Yours on the other hand needs about a dozen things before its done...and they all come in 12 ounce cans. Get you some barley soda and drink up.

 

[Keep]

Now that is cool. Thanks for the post.

 

[Dstrompf]

Heres are some pictures of a prefabricated steel building with a gambrel style roof, the building was designed, engineered, delivered, and erected in 30 days.

 

[lgh1157]

I'm bumping this..........

Im blown away by this, looks solid

How does this work if you have a single car driveway and restricted room to the back yard ?

L

 

[Razracing]

Man, that pre-fab garage is just awesome. it's a really great looking garage. Congrats!

 

[grail21]

Kmacht - any more pics of your garage? would love to see some interior shots. Your posts about horizon structures has made me take a serious look at what they have to offer, and since your in the same general area (I'm up near Boston) the prices reflect the closely to what I'd be looking at. Did you end up insulating and sheet rocking the interior? Curious for more details on how it all worked out after almost a year with the building.

 

[Matt M PA]

Nice garage. Mine was built by Stoltzfus Structures..which is the sister company to Horizon. In fact, mine was built largely on site, but was somewhat prefabbed.

I can agree that these folks are great to deal with, it was a really exceptional experience.

 

[EB.Bldr]

That is incredible!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ishiboo]

Very neat, can't believe I didn't see this before. There's a certain stigma associated with prefab/modular homes, but it's long gotten to the point where the framing/rough craftsmanship/etc. is better on the prefab than most stick-builts.

Never seen a prefab building delivered and installed by one guy on a glorified Segway

 

[kmacht]

I will try to get some more interior shots posted soon. The building is holding up excellent and came through its first winter with no issues at all. I really think that at least this company has the pre-fab manufacturing process down. The garage is built more solid and square than I probably would have been able to do if I stick built it on-site. I have done some other additions to the garage such as electrical, gutters, shutters, etc. I have not done any sheetrock or insulation except for the wall facing the house due to fire code. I plan on insulating and sheetrocking at least the second story before the summer. The room up there gets pretty warm with the sun hitting the black shingles we chose.

As for the question of what to do if you have a single driveway with limited access. Your best bet is to take a picture and some measurements and ask horizon if there will be issues. With a 24' wide structure you will need at least 12' of open width to get it up the driveway. The machine they used to deliver it was extremely maneuverable. If it physically can fit I would be willing to bet that they could come up with a way to get it in place.

Keith

 

[SmokeyDP]

Any updates on the interior shots? I'm looking at the same structure you have, but I really wish it was open in the center and you could order a full size door. Either way, that hasn't stopped me from considering them.