How much to budget?

[993James993]

I've been planning a 22x22 detached garage for several years now. I've given lots of thought to every detail and finally have a design that I am happy with.

For those of you who have done this, and who do this for a living, how should I go about budgeting for this 484 sq foot structure? I know that this varies regionally.

So far I have come up with the following numbers:

Concrete slab (single pour, with partial stemwall, to include all excavation, form work, etc.) $7000.00

Lumber (2x6 24" OC) $1000

Garage door (Overhead brand, installed) $2300

Windows/Door (5 all wood windows, wood door) $3500

Roof (7/12 pitch hipped roof-corrugated steel roofing including labor) $3000

Electrical (Including two panels and all labor) $3000

Siding $2500

Drywall $600

Paint $600

I will do most labor myself, with the exception of the concrete, roofing and electrical. Does my $23,500 budget seem realistic?

Thanks for your advice!

Jim

 

[Piper]

I think you look pretty close Jim. The only "what if's" are with your excavation. I'm in the process of a 32 x 24 right now. Last week when we were excavating for the frost wall we found old logs, stumps and big boulders. Needless to say my frost wall is now almost 11' (when it should have been 4). You have to plan on the unexpected. So, I'd round up your estimate to say $27,500. just to be safe. Always nice to overestimate and then come in less as well.

Good luck!

P

 

[Gary S]

I don't know what materials cost in your area. I built my 24x48 4-stall garage (1152 sq ft) in 2004. I did all the work myself including the excavating with a rented Bobcat, and the concrete work. My cost for materials and equipment rental came to around $12,000. This included the wiring, insulating, and inside finishing of the walls.
If you do all the work yourself, you should be able to get by a lot cheaper than your budget. From what I'm seeing, most building materials are cheaper this summer than they were back in 2004.

 

[brownbagg]

now double it

 

[boiler7904]

Not knowing where you are, the numbers seem reasonable for the midwest but could be way off depending on where you're at.

$1000 for lumber seems low - way low if that number includes trusses or rafter and ceiling joist material. The OH door header alone could be a couple of hundred dollars depending on what it is and how long.

For a complete budget, there are a few other things to consider:

Building Permit Cost - In my town, it would be a little under $200 based on your total budget number of $23,500. I think their formula is something like a $25 application fee, $20 for first $1000 of valuation, and $6 for each additional or partial $1000. Missed or failed inspections add $50 or $75 per trip.

Dumpster / Disposal Fees? You probably can't burn the debris or throw it out with your household trash. A lot of towns are starting to mandate recycling of construction debris.

Does the electrical number include the service (either from the utility or the existing home)? Paying someone to trench and install conduit / wire can get expensive.

Misc. Hardware? Nails, Screws, Anchor Bolts, Simpson Hardware adds up quickly

Insulation?

A/C or Furnace? Installing a flue after the fact through your new roof will not make you happy. Will a furnace require a gas line or propane tank?

OH Door Operator?

Attic Hatch / Ladder?

Driveway?

Gutters & Downspouts?

Landscape / Lawn Restoration?

What about tools and accessories that you'll need to buy or rent to build the garage? Include some money for saw blades, drill bits, drywall lift rental, etc. Better to plan for it and not need it than try to scramble and not be productive when you have time to work on the building.

Don't forget a contigency line in the budget. Once you have the money in hand, take 15-20% and forget you even have it. There will be things you want through the project but there will end up being something you need to finish the project. The needs will consume that 15-20%. If there is money left at the end of construction, you can always pay in advance on your construction loan (if you have one), buy storage or other equipment / tools, save it, or invest it.

Good luck with the project and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Where you live, do you need a French Drain (curtain drain)? or anything like that?

Don't forget a vapor barrier.

If you plan to install a lift, maybe now is the time to have an engineer design the foundation where the lift will be.

Insulation & Sheetrock?

Ducting for HVAC even if you currently do not plan to install HVAC. It gives you the option later to add it. Or maybe radiant heat if you are in a place that requires it.

If it were me, I'd add a sink, maybe a urinal, and maybe run ethernet cable to the garage. And cord for a wired telephone. And run some speaker wire behind the sheetrock (assuming you are rocking it) for tunes. What the heck, put some coax in for TV.

Finally, you may want to prewire for a home security system (motion detectors, cameras, stuff like that). Then you have the option of putting it in later.

 

[ddawg16]

My 20'x25' two story garage has cost me about $30K....of which 10K was for the foundation....because it was 2 story....there were a lot of extra costs....

I would think twice about those 2x6's at 24"OC......as you will find out, 16 is the magic #....and for several reasons.....not to mention that you are just not going to save that much by going 24OC.....it's ok for roofs....but not walls....

And how ever long you think it will take....triple it.....

 

[TRC51]

Dang.... am I missing something? I am planning a 24 x 30 in NY. I have been quoted $5500 for a full foundation (4ft walls with 12" footers) and 4" pad. Also quoted $500 to dig it. Then quoted a complete building package (every single component down to the garage doors, windows, nails, shingles...everything for $6000 (with tax and delivered). The only part I would be doing is assembling the kit. Granted, I will still need electrical, but that gets my structure up and sealed from the elements for $12K, max (those numbers were rounded up).

 

[Kevin54]

Location makes a huge difference. For a 24x24 package deal from a lumber company you are looking at roughly $4000-$5000. Then the floor you ar looking at, roughly $2000 with a foundation. I built my wifes 20x20, foundation, floor, drain, insulated and drywalled for right at $9000.

 

[993James993]

Thanks for the great replies! This has been very informative and I appreciate everyone's taking the time to give their input.

I did forget to include the building permit ($900.00 with waste water fees.) But I already paid for that.

What I do realize that I left off was the connection fee for a direct service from the power company which is $640. I also forgot the cost of insulation, lamps and light fixtures, door hardware, a stainless steel sink, the cost of the fasteners.

Another big error is the lumber costs. I forgot to include the plywood sheathing.

There is probably that much more that I am missing.

Regarding the drive way, depending on the cost of the concrete I may add it back in. The $7000 was for the foundation. A 12'x20' driveway would probably add another $1500.

Also, I now realize that mentally I have separate budgets for alot of stuff that will be necessary to build the garage but are not part of the garage.

For tools I had in mind a budget of about $2000 but I do have alot of the basic stuff already. Also my garage and tool budgets do not include the cost of the work benches which I want to put in the garage and which I will really need to have for alot of the work in building the structure.

The other item is the cost of adding this to my home secutity system. That could be another thread, but it will probaly add $500 to the total.

I'm really glad I posted. Thanks for all your replies!

 

[Der Bugmeister]

Like they said, a lot of it will depend on where you are.

If you have plans, even basic scale drawings, take copies of them down to the local lumberyards. They'll do a take down of all the materials you're going to need, just tell them the specs you're after for doors, windows and so on. Have them do the roofing material as well.

If you're going with the steel roof and the building is a square, that will make for an easy installation that you could manage yourself.

The take down will give you a pretty accurate idea of what the building materials will run, then you can compare prices for components like windows or sheathing between different sources to get your best price for each.

For the concrete work, there are plenty of online calculators where you plug in the dimensions of your wall or slab, and it will tell you how much concrete you'll need. Remember to add some extra. That will tell you how many yards, and calling the readymix places will give you the cost per yard and delivery fees. If you're going to be using a pump truck, there's an extra cost that can add up real quick.

Likewise with the electrical, you should be able to get an electrician to give you a fairly decent estimate of labour and material. He should also be able to help you design the electrical system.

What are you going to do with the drywall? Mud and paint adds up tool.

Stainless steel sink = plumbing...water in, waste water out. Just cold water or hot as well? Might as well do that urinal as well.

I'd be surprised if the door cost that much, but overall I suspect you've underestimated some and overestimated others so it kind of evens out.

Definitely agree with the comment about 16" centers, and your local code might even require that anyhow.

Home security will depend on the system you have now - does it have wireless capability? If not, you'll either need to run cable out to the shop or upgrade your house system. Talk to your current security company's residential sales rep to see what your options are there. If you are at the end of your monitoring contract, you might find a competitor who's willing to install a new system for no cost, or minimal cost in exchange for a 3 year monitoring agreement.

I did my 30 x 30 for about $27,000 CDN a couple years ago, doing the vast majority of labour myself. It's fully insulated, drywalled, small office space, toilet, sink, 100 amp panel and covered in hardiplank. Had a few breaks on big ticket items, like a friend with an excavator and dumptruck and another with about 90' of tech cable he didn't need anymore.

All in all, a full material estimate for a basic shop isn't too difficult to come up with, and should help take a lot of the guesswork out of budgeting for the planned expenses. Like the other guys say...it's the unexpected **** that adds up!

 

[Kevin54]

For tools I had in mind a budget of about $2000 but I do have alot of the basic stuff already.

I didn't get $2000 worth of tools until after I had my garage completed
You still haven't stated where you are at, but some prices still seem kind of high for a 22x22. I know the price of concrete has went up but $7000 would build a heck of a foundation around here. IIRC for the family room I built (24x24) it was $300 to dig the foundation...never mind, I just looked it up, $350 to dig the foundation, $472.46 for blocks, mortar, and sand, and $393 to lay the block, $40 for the permit. This was for a foundation 4' deep. So for a little over $1000 I had foundation walls.
For my 28x36 garage with a 6' apron on the front and side, I had right at $5000 in it with block foundation 36" deep, backfilled with crushed stone, and floor and aprons poured plus cutting in the driveway.
So again, not knowing location, shop around before making a final decision. Do a search for "garage packages" and you can get a basic price as to what the size of the garage you want will cost you. Then you can modify cost from the basic price. Also with doing a lot of your own work really knocks prices down. A lot of tools you don't need to buy, but you can rent. Or if you know any buddies......... After my foundation and floor had set for awhile and I had lumber delivered, I was bored one evening and told the wife that I was going out and start laying out the walls for the garage. She came out and her and I had two complete walls framed and set in about 3 hours.

BTW....I went back and read your original posting....even using 2x6 wall studs, you want them 16" on center for strength.

Just for the heck of it I did a search for "Garage packages" and this is one of the first that came up showing the price for a complete package not including foundation. So take the difference in the price of a 2x4 and a 2x6 and add that to it for a ball park figure http://www.westrumlumber.com/garage.html

 

[speed bump]

Take whatever you think it will cost and double it. Then take your time estimate double it and round up to the next higher time unit.

 

[993James993]

Thanks again everyone. I live in southern Arizona. Another indespensible item that I have omitted is termite protection.

As much as I would like to double my budget it's just not going to happen. I am going to follow the advice given and take my plans to at least two lumber yards to get their estimates.

If things go well I hope to have it built by the end of the year. I'll update this thread with actual costs and of course I'll post build photos.

Jim

 

[993James993]

Here is a quick update.

I decided to have a friend who is experienced and very knowledgeable in construction manage the concrete installation. He will also provide most of the labor for the entire build, with me helping. Based on his review, everything will likely run about $32,000.00. This includes $1000 that I had listed as a buffer for miscellaneous items, and $1000 for light fixtures that can likely be reduced. He pointed out some other areas where I can save, mainly related to the materials and the level of interior finish. All in all I think it will run about $30K with labor.

I'm waiting for revised quotes for the roof sheathing and the electrical. If all goes well we should start in the next two weeks or so!

Jim

 

[JohnK007]

Good luck Jim! We'll be looking forward to following your build thread and seeing how you came out relative to your cost estimate above. Keep us in the loop.

 

[nate379]

All depends where you live I'm sure. My Dad put up a 24x26 garage last year and it ended up being right around $10,000 all said and done. 6" slab, 10ft ceiling, 2 insulated 9ft x 10ft doors with openers, 4 windows and a people door. Lights inside and out, same with outlets, Vinyl siding

He contracted out the rafters and also had the roofing done and 2 doors installed.

Left the inside unfinished and did that this year though. Not sure what the insulation cost, but the OSB was $1 sheet.

Around here, 10k would get me a slab and the wood for framing and that's about it.

 

[krooser]

Whew!... $32K for a garage? I'm speechless... around here you'd have a tuff time hitting $12K...

 

[JB740i]

For all those items you'd forgotten, start going to the big box stores every weekend and looking for all the clearance stuff. My wife and I got a ton of stuff for our house and my garage construction that way. And saved a bunch of money.

Things like sinks and door knobs are easy to buy ahead of time when you've found a good price. They always seem to have a couple damaged kitchen cabinets out on the floor for sale cheap too.

 

[jumbo61]

"Windows/Door (5 all wood windows, wood door) $3500"
Seems like a lot for windows and a door.

 

[bucs012]

I just finished a 50x30 that I had built for me. I did nothing.

Garage slab, 2 windows, 1 garage door and opener 18x8, 9 foot ceiling (added $900 to cost opposed to 8 foot ceiling) fully insulated with R39 and R19, 3 service doors, complete ceiling and walls finished off and vinyl siding and shingled roof. I also had him put up 2 walls in a corner to have my 20x15 shop. The shop also has a 6 foot overhead door.
Ran me $36,000.

Electrician wired up whole thing- Ran 200 amp service 150 feet, put in (50) 110v outlets and (2) 220v outlets, and hung 17 lights and (4) ceiling fans for me. I bought the lights and ceiling fans. That ran $3,400

Here it is.

 

[sharage71]

I'm at 8000 right now. No elec, siding, OH door or finishing inside. The only work I didn't do myself was finishing the crete or laying shingles. Should go close to 10000 to complete. TN, MS area

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I think you are going to be unhappy with 22x22. Thats simply not very large. You will be hard pressed to add work benches, tool boxes, and such and still have room to work.

You mentioned two elect panels, Why? In a building of that size, one will be sufficient.

I'm all for quality components, and you didn't say how large the garage door is to be, but $2300 seems high.

As you noted later, you didn't mention sheathing at all, and trusses with be a fair amount also. Something you didn't mention is how high the building will be. You will be much happier in the end if you have more than enough height.

Charles

 

[limeranger]

My original budget started out at $25,000 and somehow managed to make it to $38,000. I tell the wife it's not that bd if you say it fast. $9000 alone was for unforseen dirt work (over 50 loads of fill) and landscaping. It turned out nice but all the things that I kept saying this is good but only a few more dollars and this will be nicer/better added up. So add some just in case/nicer/better allowance in the budget.