newbie to construction need some advice on quotes

[maroon88iroc]

Ok guys I admit it I need some help from the pro's!

I am a young guy, 24, HUGE into cars. I Graduated college, got a good job, bought more toys and need more space! I dont know much about construction, but I have been learning as much as I can, as I really enjoy the mechanical side of things. I have a 30x40 shop that came with the house that we purchased two years ago. It is a very nice shop, fully insulated, wired, heated, and open (not soo much with all my junk). When we bought the house I thought I would never need more space... well I started moving a few cars in and tools and needless to say it fills up VERY fast.

On to the building: As I said it is a 30x40 with a slab installed in front of shop. As you see in the pics the concrete slab has a sloped portion at the very front. Measuring the slab from the shop to the end of flat concrete (before slope) is 20 feet deep and 40 feet wide. I have been getting quotes on getting this covered. The shop looks pretty dingy in the picture but this was from when we first bought the house and before I cleaned things up a bit.

what I am getting quotes on: See the sketch I quickly drew up in Microsoft Paint for a visual.. I want to cover the entire 20x40 ft concrete pad with a lean-to style 1 pitched roof at 12 ft on the high side (shop side) and minimum of 10 ft on the front (street side). If you are looking directly at the shop from the front you see the two 10x10 doors on the 40 ft wide wall. From the far left edge of the building all the way up to the beginning of the opening of the door on the right is 25 ft wide, I want to close that section in (25ft wide and 20ft deep) and also add one 18 ft wide garage door on the front. the space to the right of this closed in portion with be open but covered with the roof structure.

I have received 3 quotes so far. the first quote

quote 1: $9800 and the builder will use pre-engineered metal trusses (like a bar joist style) and stick build the rest. This is complete construction and material price. But it includes no insulation, no sheetrock, no electrical, no power garage door opener

Quote 2: $6300 for materials for a red iron steel structure to cover the entire 20x40 concrete pad. This would include all materials delivered to my house for $6300 total. This is also only for the structure and roof, no walls, no electrical. This option is not exactly what I am wanting, but it is from the same manufacturer that my building came from and I could probably install this myself. And add walls and garage door later.
Quote 3: I got a ballpark of $12K just to stick build the structure with roof, no walls or garage door. This builder said he would use special ordered wood beams to span the 20 foot away from the shop.

Like I said I do not know much about construction but I was really expecting to pay between 5500-7000 for this addition. I got a quote from another contractor to install a fully enclosed 30x40x12 shop (just like I have now) for $16,000 and that includes delivery, installation, concrete slab, insulation, a man door, and one 10x10 door. I have almost two acres and have enough room to add another 30x40 shop so with the way quotes are coming in now I am thinking about just building another 30x40 for 16K before I spend 10K just for a lean-to. Can some of you with more experience than me in this situation give me some advice or insight on what I should do or tell me if these quotes seem high to you?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Welcome to the site! First question is where do you live - construction costs vary quite a bit around the country. Second thing would be will you need footings for the front corners of the new addition? It will depend on what the frost line is in your area as well as local codes. Also, the slab itself may or may not be thick enough to work as a building foundation.

 

[jack stand]

Yeah, ^ location? If you do not have a big snow load, the 20' span is not a big deal at all. Wood "I joists" will do that easy. Steel/wood framing can add some $$. Going all wood is much more common place and should save $. As for your local pricing, it's a simple basic job that dozens of guys in the area should be able to price out, just try to get a set of plans or at least a detailed description so that everyone is bidding the same thing!

 

[ConCretin]

Take the knowledge you've gained and perform additional research as necessary to determine the systems and materials that you want. Get some professional design help if needed. Develop a detailed scope of work and then go out to bid. This way you'll be able to compare prices and determine your best value.

With that said, I'd pick a contractor based on reputation and comfort level rather than price.

 

[cyamaha2007]

Id build to the left or right making the building longer not deeper. I think that would be the best addition for the money. I have 2 buildings on my property and hate not having them connected. Its a pain if i need something out of one while im working in the other. But i couldnt spend that much on a lean to either.

 

[maroon88iroc]

I am in middle GA so we get virtually no snow at all.

I have showed each contractor exactly the same thing that I want done. The difference is some want to build it different than others. I havent got all my quotes in yet so I do not have alot to compare to.

You say "get proffessional design help if needed" how would I go about doing this? I would love a drawn plan that shows the type and size of materials needed to build the structure. If I had something on paper with that much detail I could probably build the thing myself, the fact is that I just dont know enough about the materials and what would be the best design.

The slab is also somewhat of a concern but out of all the contractors I have had come to look at the project only 2 of them mentioned anything about the weight of the structure on the slab but both said it shouldnt be an issue.