Pre Manufactured Shop Options

[OverkillYJ]

Hello. I currently have a 500sq ft shop in Philadelphia with an in ground lift, bathroom, its own electrical service, everything, as seen in this picture I took last night. Due to the fact I have kids, and the crime around here is getting insane, I am fleeing this city and moving to the woods. I found a spot with 3 acres, but no shop. So I need to build a new shop.

I am looking at pre manufactured shops, VS building from scratch (considering concrete blocks). I need to insulate it, have a floor strong enough for a lift, and am looking at about 1000sqft minimum as my target size. I have $50k put aside for this project, and I have the property for it under contract. Being able to fit lifted trucks and Jeeps through the door is important.

I see some places will deliver a shop and put it together with a warranty. I assume they would tell me how I need to have the foundation done before they come. I am concerned with the quality of their work and the structure. I also see I can assemble some building from different companies myself myself, and I am fine with that if they are good quality. I am going to install a furnace, so I do not want something too leaky. Also not sure how much a heated floor would increase costs, or if that would mess with the strength required to support a 4 post lift. I will be in SouthEast PA, so it does get cold, and is snowing as I type this.

I know nothing about this subject besides 2nd and 3rd hand info I have gathered over the years. I would really appreciate any pointers and recommendations you guy have. I have been working with my hands my entire life, but I have never dug a foundation myself. I also assume I will want to have rebar in the foundation. I am in good shape and have cash and access to credit. I plan on staying at this property for at least the next 20 years. If a major storm hits I want something that will old up, keep the heat in in the winter, heat out in the summer. What should I do? What will be the best, what will be the most cost effective, and is my budget going to be enough?

Thanks

 

[ericm]

Check with the local agency having jurisdiction (city or county if you're not in a city) for the requirements for that property. It can range from no permit needed to requiring geologists and engineers to get a permit. You may also need to deal with the power company if the feed to the property needs to be upgraded.

Even if there's no permit needed, you'll want to build to code for resale and personal/family safety. The AHJ will have adopted one of the national codes from a certain year, and then may have added more on to it. Many now have web sites where you can read their codes.

You will also want to talk to contractors soon if you're not doing it all yourself.

 

[speedracerfx]

You're going to need to up your budget. A pre-fab carport style building is going to run you $30k for 1000 sqft, and your concrete is going to run you about $15-20k on the low end. The you're going to need funds for permits, stormwater abatement (if your township requires it), insulation, electrical, HVAC, etc, etc. Also, if this is your source of income, don't go with a carport style building. They all promise short lead times, but it's a lie.

 

[yeldogt]

Don't wory Mayor Kenney has it under control ... crime is transitory -- all will be well.

Other than a metal building or the board and batten guys -- not sure what else you woudl be talking about.

 

[serk2021]

I'm building a 30x45 gambrel style garage. I started with $50,000 I'm sipping into another savings I have and I'm doing all the work except the concrete
$20k on concrete
$20k+ on lumber
$7,500 for a well
$3,000+ doors and windows

 

[kelpaso1]

15-20K for a concrete floor? WOW! Never knew it cost that much.

 

[kelpaso1]

Another sarcastic guy

WTF is with the snide remark? I didn't know a concrete floor would cost this much.

 

[speedracerfx]

15-20K for a concrete floor? WOW! Never knew it cost that much.

Cost is going to vary depending on your location, of course. OP is in SEPA, as am I. In 2020, I had a 896 sqft monolithic pad for my building poured (5" thick, 5500psi w/fibermesh, 12" turned down footer with rebar around the perimeter), 896 sqft driveway extension (4" thick, 5500 psi w/fibermesh), and a 112 sqft pad (4" thick, 5500 psi w/fibermesh) behind the building poured. So a total of 1904 sqft. Cost me $23,500 (including all the dirt work), and that didn't include the 2" foamboard insulation underneath the pad (I think I paid about $1200 for that) or the material for the vapor barrier. And that was the low quote I had by a guy who did it as a side job. I had one yahoo quote me $12k higher.

 

[billconner]

Find some Amish barn builders.

 

[CombatNinja]

Regardless of what kind of building you go with (steel pre-fab, pole barn, etc), you're gonna need to increase that budget or decrease the size. No way you are getting a slab, building, insulation, and heat for $50K in today's economy, not even from the Amish. And you can absolutely forget about radiant in-floor heat unless you want to really increase your budget.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but this is the reality of 2022.

 

[ycgoat]

Pre-pandemic price. I locked in at $25K installed on my slab for a 30x80 with 10’ walls and (4) 10x10 coiling doors. No insulation, just a metal shell. I bought it through Big Building Direct and it was a Universal Metal Buildings product. UMB installed it. It was not exactly what I wanted but got me the most square footage. It took a while to get them out here and there are lot's of complaints about delays, but considering the pandemic I was not surprised. The building quality is fine but I read the specs so did not have any illusions of what I was getting. One of the migrant workers doing the install face planted because they do not abla safety, which held things up a bit too. I am doing most everything else myself, again because of costs. I made a spread sheet to forecast the costs, which has helped a bit, especially when the first purchase is the land and if on a limited budget like me, it would be easy to spend too much up front and run out of money before completing the project. Also knowing what you can finance and what you have to pay cash for is an important consideration again if working with in a budget.

 

[OverkillYJ]

I have been looking at stuff like this. I am going to get some quotes from different companies this week along with their foundation recommendations so I can get a generic quote to start.

https://www.vikingsteelstructures.com/buy-from-photos/30x40x12-all-weather-steel-garage

I have found less expensive if I assemble myself. Also, I would not build a wood building, lumber is crazy high right now. I would have pallets of concrete blocks delivered if I don't do a pre fabricated building. A buddy is pricing out blocks for his garage, and they are coming in much cheaper than pre fabricated buildings.

The foundation itself I will have quoted if they do all the work, or if I dig it out myself. I am not messing with pouring it, or the rebar, but I have done all the other work for foundations in the past and it does not bother me. I also have no problem renting equipment.

I already have a well, and 200amp service on the property, but I will likely have a 100 amp line put to the shop, which will not be a very far run from the road. I assume the permits and tax will put me over $50k, but I have a buffer to fall back on. $50k is for the foundation and building.

 

[billconner]

A buddy is pricing out blocks for his garage, and they are coming in much cheaper than pre fabricated buildings.

How will you insulate block or do you not need to?

 

[zippyslug31]

Rather than offer speculation, I'll offer up the details of the project that I just finished which sounds similar to what you're describing...

I just completed a 26x30 CF steel building, 14' at the peak, 7.5' on the side walls, with 1' overhangs. The "kit" was engineered, pre-cut components, and trucked to my location - price that I got it for was $13k at the end of 2020. I understand prices have, like most other stuff, sky-rocketed since.
Outsourced the slab - 4" monolithic, with 12" footers all around the perimeter, and heavily rebar reinforced. This came in for a tick under $10k.
Got an electrician to just bring power to the structure (I did all the internal wiring myself) - $4500.

I assembled this myself, so no "labor" cost to speak of, other than a lot of my time - just about 12 months in total, but I mostly had to work on it after the day job and on the weekends. Also had to learn aspects as I progressed through the project. If you plan on DIY, I'd factor in your time and effort (plus tools, of course). This is a shop for the wife so it has more windows than normal plus a glass french door; only mentioning this as it will influence the costs to some degree.

In addition to the items above, there was also the cost of the permits, insulation, some basic plumbing (sink only), inside wall sheeting, and probably 100 other things that I'm forgetting. The total for my project is about $36k.

When I was building this, it felt like the bleeding of cash would never end, but this is actually a damn good deal considering how well the building turned out and how much stuff costs today. I'd be shocked if you could put something up, at today's prices, for under $50k even if you built it yourself. Best of luck.