Does accumulating materials to build a garage make sense?

[reader2580]

The main savings will be on the lumber and sheet goods since those are such major expenses. Electrical and hardware I might find a small savings on. Unfortunately, truss prices are what they are and not many deals to find there. Same with metal roofing. If I wanted to do shingles it seems like there are deals to be found.

I am only planning on whatever code minimum is for electrical which I think means one outlet per car stall. Minimal lighting to start. I will move the nearly new 200 amp panel (fed with 70 amps) from my current garage. I am going to dig up the 2" conduit going from garage to house and reuse that. It took me a full weekend to hand dig the last 20 feet next to the house due to all the utilities plus no way to get trencher in there. Not doing that again. Besides, there is essentially no more room for more conduit in the limited space between the window well and my standby generator.

The goal is to get a basic shell built and then finish the inside as I have time and finances.

 

[m6z]

I think I'd focus on getting the plans approved and getting the slab and foundation done before I started buying lumber.

 

[reader2580]

It depends upon how you store things. Many people would lay a few 4X4's on the ground, stack the OSB on it, and throw a tarp over it. All of that ground moisture would percolate up, probably trapped by the tarp. A thick stack of OSB has no way to air out and dry. Used in a building, it's single layer with air around it. I don't like OSB anywhere near the ground, though. I used it for gable sheathing and roof sheathing.

At the time I was building (2012-2015), local lumberyards were about 15% cheaper. I went to the pro desk at HD and asked about discounts for an entire house worth of materials. They told me it would be the same price as it was marked, ie, no discount. I also had a contractor working with me on the ICF part, and he knew exactly where to go to get the best deals on everything. One place was cheaper on sheet goods; a different place for structural lumber; yet another place for concrete supplies, such as rebar.

That makes sense for the OSB. I have no way to store the stuff indoors so I will have to bite the bullet and spend the extra couple thousand dollars to buy OSB for upwards of $30 per sheet when I am ready to actually build.

Nearly all of the small retail lumber yards closed after HD, Lowes, and Menards came into town. There is one in Minneapolis, but they charge a premium compared to the big box stores for lumber and sheet goods. Their specialty is making custom moldings and doors for the old houses all around their lumberyard.

There are a number of large corporate lumberyards around, but they don't seem interested in selling to you unless you're buying a semi load of lumber every other week for a development of houses, or for building large apartment developments. They probably sell more lumber than all of the HD stores in the area combined. Some will sell to a DIYer, but they seem to jack the price way up because they don't want to deal with a DIY person buying small amounts of materials compared to their other customers.

 

[reader2580]

I think I'd focus on getting the plans approved and getting the slab and foundation done before I started buying lumber.

I can't submit plans to the city until I am ready to build. I have already had numerous discussions with the city and have plans 90% done. The drafter just has to flesh out a few details once I decide on exact type of foundation.

My luck and timing is always the worse. I can just see spending several months putting in the footings and block foundation and then by the time I finish that the prices of building materials have doubled from when I started the foundation. I then end up with no garage at all and all of my stuff under tarps and temporary structures for a year or more while I save up more money to buy the materials.

In recent years it seems like building materials are cheapest in late fall. Unfortunately, if I buy at that time of year I would need to store them outdoors until the next spring. It would be very difficult for a DIYer to build a garage over the winter here in Minnesota.

 

[u2slow]

I wouldn't buy that cheap stuff at all.
Buy some proper quality OSB, like made by Huber.

Don't worry... I buy plywood.

If OSB absorbs moisture in a humid environment then isn't it the wrong material for building with?

That's my experience, so I no longer use it.

 

[reader2580]

Don't worry... I buy plywood.


That's my experience, so I no longer use it.

You must be buying either 3/4" CDX or furniture grade plywood if it stays flat for you. I have many scrap pieces of 1/2" CDX around that have more waves than the oceans do. A lot of it I should put in the trash or burn because it is essentially unusable. Quite a bit of it was of it was wavy when purchased, but if you buy a whole bunk of it kept on a level surface it would probably be better.

I used to be a big plywood guy before the last six or seven years of wavy plywood. My custom house built in 2001 was all plywood. I don't think it had any OSB in it. I am trying to save cost on my build, but the difference would be like $600 to go with plywood over OSB at retail prices. I just think today's OSB is a better product than today's plywood.

My brother just moved into a very large custom house he helped build. It ended up open to the weather for a number of months during construction. I bet if he had used plywood that a lot of it would have been delaminating from all the rain. I realized that his house is framed 100% with OSB. No plywood at all in sheathing, roof, or subfloors. The only plywood is in the custom cabinets.

 

[Augus7us]

Me personally, I would wait until you are six months out and then start buying. So much can change in a year and a half you may not even want to build it then. Who knows.

I'd spend the next 12 months watching material prices. Maybe pickup something early if some crazy deal came up on craigs list that you know you could flip if you didn't need it. Otherwise wait and watch then order it all at once and have it delivered. I couldn't imagine the shape my back would be in if I loaded and unloaded all the stuff I needed for just the interior of mine.

 

[reader2580]

The one thing that is unlikely to change in the next 18 months is inflation and the size of my paycheck. If I get a pay raise at all this year or next it won't even be close to the current rate of inflation.

 

[u2slow]

You must be buying either 3/4" CDX or furniture grade plywood if it stays flat for you.

Its 1/2" exterior grade sheathing plywood; always douglas fir. I don't buy a whole lot a time, and it gets installed in short order. The sheet or two I sometimes keep on standby stays flat - I keep it inside.

 

[reader2580]

Its 1/2" exterior grade sheathing plywood; always douglas fir. I don't buy a whole lot a time, and it gets installed in short order. The sheet or two I sometimes keep on standby stays flat - I keep it inside.

Mine is all inside in my heated (and air conditioned) basement shop. I have no idea what species. I just buy it at Home Depot or Menards depending on what other stuff I need to buy. (They are a block apart.) Some of it is even BCX and still likes to curl.

 

[u2slow]

My Home Depot doesn't carry the good fir ply sheathing or fir lumber. I get it from the local lumber yard.

 

[m6z]

I can't submit plans to the city until I am ready to build. I have already had numerous discussions with the city and have plans 90% done. The drafter just has to flesh out a few details once I decide on exact type of foundation.

My luck and timing is always the worse. I can just see spending several months putting in the footings and block foundation and then by the time I finish that the prices of building materials have doubled from when I started the foundation. I then end up with no garage at all and all of my stuff under tarps and temporary structures for a year or more while I save up more money to buy the materials.

In recent years it seems like building materials are cheapest in late fall. Unfortunately, if I buy at that time of year I would need to store them outdoors until the next spring. It would be very difficult for a DIYer to build a garage over the winter here in Minnesota.

Is there a time limit once the plans are approved? Are you trying to build this mostly yourself and paying out of pocket? If so, I'd think the sooner you get started, the better.

 

[4x4Pete]

Wooden materials are better to purchase all at once. You can negotiate a better deal when ordering all the materials at once. Then specify delivery intervals as needed. Framing first, then sheeting, then siding, etc.... It worked for me I had everything I needed when I needed it and nothing laying around getting warped or damaged. I built a 32' x 30' 12'5" ceiling, 4/12 roof, 2' eaves, framed 2x6, sheeted with 1/2 osb, roof deck 5/8", sided with knotty pine board and batten, insulated and drywalled. Mostly everything ordered beforehand and delivered as requested. Except wiring, lighting fixtures, and windows/doors. I started digging for the slab on August 11, exterior complete by October 20, interior drywall and finishing done by December 15. This was the summer before covid so I'm not too sure about availability of materials now. I think it saved me time and money on my build. Good luck with yours its a great project!

 

[NUTTSGT]

When you get ready to purchase sheet goos, make sure to shop around and explore all possibilities.


When I built the addition last year, I found Zip sheathing for. $2-3 more a sheet. Granted I had to buy their tape but it was money well spent.

 

[reader2580]

Is there a time limit once the plans are approved? Are you trying to build this mostly yourself and paying out of pocket? If so, I'd think the sooner you get started, the better.

My goal is to have 95% or more of the money in the bank before I start. I think I can meet that goal by Spring 2023. Paying as I go is not going to work that well on $1,000 per month. I save $1,000 per month towards my garage every month. Sometimes I can find a little more to set aside.

The building department at the city could only tell me that you have to make progress every 180 days (six months). I asked if there is a hard limit and she didn't know and the department head was not there. I did talk with the building official about getting a permit to do the foundation and a second permit to do the rest of the build. That was before I decided to tear down the current garage.

 

[u2slow]

I got burned on the 6month permit thing later in the build (ran out of funds). Inspector gave me notice to pay another $400 to keep the permit open. I never paid and I never saw him again. I guess we agreed to disagree!

If I'd waited until I had the money to build, I still wouldn't have a shop. A HELOC worked nicely for me.