DIY or Tuffshed?

[nebben]

Greetings y'all!

I'm on a shoestring budget for a new garage. I don't have $30k to spend, or even $20k really.

So if my expectations are absolutely too high, please lower them .

First of all, our lot is very narrow: 50 feet. Our house is pretty much right in the center of the streetside part of it and the driveway runs from the street, next to he house, and to the garage. Right now, our old 1car garage is literally right on the property line, extending about 14' into the lot, directly behind the house by about 18 inches from the house's roof. The garage is many decades old and made of cinder block that is now in mediocre/poor condition. The roof is constructed of wooden trusses and a dented metal roof with many holes. The floor is a cracked concrete slab.

Both my girlfriend and I have cars and will never have anything larger to park than a Ford Taurus (No Expeditions or Tahoes in here!). Because our lot is so narrow, we value what view we do have out of our back window, and want as narrow a garage as possible. I've marked a rough area in our yard where a 20' wide structure would go to, and I don't think I'd want to go any wider since it will literally run halfway through our yard. Our yard is deep however, and a 22' deep or more is possible for a workbench and/or storage. We're not into hoarding much stuff, so huge swaths of storage isn't necessary. Our neighborhood has mostly original 1car garages that hardly anyone uses, and some 2 car units in similar layouts as what I'm thinking of.

Sooo....

We've tackled a lot of DIY projects in and around our house since moving in a year ago. I'm moderately competent at electrical, framing, demolition, drywall, insulation and digging dirt . My dad and dad-inlaw are also somewhat competent at this sort of stuff.

I wonder what sort of quality/material differences I would see between a TuffShed type structure and something that is built by a GC? What about DIY? I know that material costs can vary widely based on location, but as a general rule, will a small 20x24 garage built on a level location be much cheaper DIY instead of having TuffShed come out and put it together? I've heard they're extremely quick...but I just wonder if there is a catch somewhere to their advertised prices. Is DIY going to be cheaper at all if only the concrete is subbed out and we do all the labor for remaining stuff ourselves? I'm not thinking of a 400amp electric connected, 14' concrete walled, 20 dumptrucks worth of work here.... just a 20x24 building that I can eventually add drywall to, eventually wire in for electric and park cars and tools in.

Thoughts?

 

[Lyaec350]

If you're hoping to use the back as a workbench area then probably 24'+ is necessary... My garage is 22' front to back and with some shelves on the back wall my ext cab shortbed truck is bumper to the shelves and about 6" between the rear bumper and the door... really tight.

 

[kbs2244]

My first concern is the lot line.
If the present garage is “right on the lot line” I am willing to bet we have to get a permit for an “addition to present structure.” Usually that means that one or two walls of the old structure must remain. Otherwise you are subject to the current setback rules.
Don’t be too concerned by this. Around here I have seen 10 foot x 12 foot weekend fishing shacks turned into 2 story 2000 square foot year around homes with this loophole in the building code.
Most often you get a 2 to 5 year exemption on a property tax increase, then the hammer drops.
After that, 20 foot wide by at least 22 deep is the min. For side by side parking and room for a work bench in front.
A double car garage door is 16 feet wide and you need some room to open the doors. Most cars fit into a 18 foot to 20 foot length. (Geo to Town Car)
Measure what you have now. Think about what you may want in the future.
Decide if can work on the cars with the big door open. And then decide on how deep.
In my experience 24 feet deep is the min. depth for working under the hood with a closed door.

 

[ryaninmichigan]

I build garages and barns for a living and I can tell you based on the online pricing for tuf shed I could build the same thing buy all new tools to do it and still pocket money $5000. That is around here though. If you are Cali that price might be ok.

 

[nebben]

So in Michigan, labor excluded, your materials cost for a 20x24 two car garage including slab , minus electric, is near $6k? Is that often typical (the final price of an assembled structure is 1/2 the material's cost, and 1/2 the labor cost)?

 

[ryaninmichigan]

labor is as a base line materials x2. 6k is close without going throught the numbers. structure woudl be somewhere between 4-5k then crete.

 

[jamm]

Good luck on your garage. I would suggest that you build as big as possible if you are planning on staying in that house for a while. Don't scrimp on depth. Nothing ***** worse that having to open the garage door to get around a vehicle.

I just had a 26x42 built for under $16K in Kazoo, MI. That included dirt work and concrete. I'm doing the electrical myself (got a buddy who's an electrician) and got a super deal on three 9'x8' insulated garage doors that a neighbor ordered and then couldn't use. It has 10/12 scissor trusses in the center bay to accommodate a lift in the future. Be sure to plan out any storage options you may need in advance. It is pretty easy to have the trusses adapted while being made rather than doing it as an after thought.

 

[Yotaforce]

I just finished my 30x40x12 and I'm still way under 20k. I did everything except the concrete. I found that there are alot of steel building manufacturers with typical 20x24 buildings at a great price. If you can run screw gun, work with nuts and bolts, climb a ladder, you should be able to do it yourself no problem and save alot! Good luck!