Garage extension, a little steep...

[Deschodt]

Asking for your opinion here on a garage extension...

I currently have a 2 car garage, which is fairly narrow. My house is deep but narrow due to lot constraints, I could not drive on each side of the house, there's only a 6ft easement on each side. I have this useless patio as you can see in the ugly drawing below, which exists because there used to be a tree there, but a hurricane took care of that for me ;-)

My thought was to have the A/C units relocated to the side of the house, have a wall built extending the garage (in dotted red), a flat roof there that could be used as a terrace and the upstairs windows turned into french doors to access the terrace. Net-net: My wife gets a terrace, I get one more garage spot + enough room for a little shop space or storage. It would not be quite wide enough for 2 more cars but therefore very comfy for one car... I don't have #s with me but the length of that patio is about 1.3 car, and it's almost 2 cars wide but not quite ;-)

I asked the guy who built the house for a quote, I want your opinion on price. The house is well built, all blocks. He'd have to:

- Built a block wall (dotted red) and a flat roof, according to him cover it with fiberglass and tile, and a railing.
- dig out the patio floor and repour concrete
- relocate the A/C units
- punch a one-car-sized hole in the back of my garage wall, where a water heater pipe and a few electrical cables might run.
- close up 3 windows currently overseeing the patio with blocks, drywall, repaint.
- turn 3 upstairs windows into a french door to access the top of the garage, aka the terrace - that's easier, just remove a few blocks and reframe a door instead.
- Paint was included...

Estimate: $40000. Ugh... Admittedly, there is some work to do here. But I was expecting about 30% less based on previous conversations with people in the business...At this price, if I do this, I don't need the extra space anymore since I cannot afford to put a car in it ;-)

Just wanted to check with you if I'm unrealistic before I waste another contractor's time for another quote. It could be me. (I'm in FL if that matters)

 

[GarageEnvy]

My initial thought is that it's a bit high but with remodel work, your contractor may be allowing for some contingencies. Also, not knowing how the house is framed and what type of structural support you'll need when punching that hole is a variable. I don't have any solid information on the cost of block wall construction other than in my area block wall fencing is about $85 per linear foot. We don't have any hurricane requirements on our glazing but even a relatively cheap french door install is $1,500 is professionally done. In my area you'd be at least $1,000 for demo and dump. About $1/sf is common for drywall in my area. You didn't mention anything about repouring concrete to create a level floor and I don't have any numbers or experience with a flat roof/terrace construction. Renovation work is almost always more expensive than new construction.

 

[Deschodt]

Shoot, I forgot to mention drywall and electrical, but that is just a few extra outlets. I did mention repouring the concrete ("Dig out the patio floor and repour concrete")... When I list it like that, it does sound like a lot of *work*. I guess I was dissapointed because his off the cuff estimate was initially 1/2 of that, and I was figuring $30K myself to hedge things. I think It'd be a lot cheaper to build something from scratch, and out of wood, but I just don't have the room.

I'd be less hesitant if I didn't know that will add zero value to my house and raise my property taxes ;-( Ugh....

 

[W650Mike]

For that amount of money I'd get several more quotes and let the contractors know that you intend to get alternate quotes. Some may be busy and quote high, while others may be a little more hungry. Check recent references (and BB) for scheduling, overall satisfaction, etc.

 

[brownbagg]

its a normal price because they are in buisness to make money, you could do it yourself around $8000, a little more if you included everything. there a lot of weekend work there that you could do but exspenvie to hire out. paying someone to lay the block will be $2-3 a block plus material. concrete $100 a yard. then rebar, sand ,motar, demo. french door, detail.

figure all your material then triple it and that will be a cheap price

 

[6768rogues]

I don't know where you are, but in my neck of the woods that would be considered as a high price. I would shop around and if a better price is not out there, try to do things like painting yourself. Avoiding an entire trade will save money.

 

[ddawg16]

The price seems high...but I see a bigger issue....

What rooms are those windows for? If bedrooms, I think your going to have a code issue....someone else please correct me if I'm wrong, but every bedroom must have two egress points...typically a door and a window. Additionally, most buiding codes require bedrooms to have x amount of minimum natural light.

If you plan to do this without permits....good luck selling the house and hope you don't get caught.

If those are not bedrooms...then I guess you would be ok....or you might need to plan on putting a door way from that room into the new addition.

Back on price....retrofitting tends to cost more than new construction....I would suspect the work involved in tieing into the existing wall for you roof joists is more work than just building a wall.

But still, I would think $25-30K would be a more realistic figure.

 

[Deschodt]

Thank you all for the advice. Windows are not an issue, facing a corridor and living room. Permitting was included in the price, I would not risk a pricey addition without a permit, especially in Tampa where you can't even cut down a tree without triplicate forms.

Here's a google earth view that might be better than my ugly drawing..

I am glad you agree with me about pricing, I'm not trying to be cheap but I think that's doable under $30K. Maybe less because I can definitely paint, tile, and do drywall, so mostly it's the structural work that I need farmed out.

 

[digdug18]

If you can't get it all done at once, I'd farm it out yourself. Act as the general contractor yourself and get it done that way, you can then decide what you want where, and what projects your going to tackle yourself to reduce costs.

 

[Deschodt]

I got another quote from a friend's friend, who's giving me a better feeling too, seems more knowledgeable and picked up on things the other guy did not. Low 30s... Not substantially cheaper, but 15-20% maybe. That includes slightly more work, as he thought of other potential code violations the other guy did not (such as a way to block easy roof access to the terrace above the garage, required by code).

We're doing a detailed bid now, and hopefully I can have my own little build thread soon ;-)

 

[Cryptic1911]

That seems way high to me

 

[yellowdartdave]

Flat roofs increase the odds of standing water and rot a lot. Esp in Fl.

Put a somewhat pitched roof on it and then build the terrace on top.