San Diego building costs?

[Vintage Veloce]

I'm getting quotes on my upcoming build. 525 sq ft, 16 foot roll up door, one man door, attic trusses for a small attic (must crouch), redwood siding, top quality asphalt shingle roof, lots of electrical, fully finished inside and out.
I've been rather surprised at the cost. I know I'm in the city and in California and so it will cost more... but still.
Anyone else here build in San Diego or in a California coastal city and care sharing the cost per sqft?

C
(I'll say what I am being quoted later, but I don't want to bias the comments yet.)

 

[sublimate]

$100,000 for that

 

[blacksporty]

I think sublimate is a little low, I know someone that wanted to enclose a small dog kennel area on the side of the house, with 3 small kennels about 12 x 15. Was quoted $35k.

 

[JBjunior]

I think blacksporty is a little low. I know someone that asked for a quote for a 12"x18" birdhouse, for materials that included 1 2x4, 6 galvanized nails and one lag bolt, he was quoted $22K.

 

[Ray-CA]

We built a 28x30 in La Mesa, complete for about 78K.

Our builder charged $50/hr/man and we bought material.

You're welcome to come see it and if you want a GREAT contractor, I got one!

Ray

 

[JSmiley]

I think it really depends on what all you are doing. New slab? How think? What kind of construction and tie in? New drive to access the garage? New electrical service to the garage? What kind of roof? Insulated?, T&G?. So many small things add up so quickly. I would get at least three quotes from different contractors. Have you already passed permitting with a full set of plans?

 

[jbwilkins]

So Ca (SD specifically) is not cheap to build in......my cost for a finished home (not a direct comparison) is in the $70-$130 a sq ft range, it all depends on the 'level' of the home.....Now I work for a production builder building 200-300 homes a year in SD so our costs are probably a lot cheaper than someone just building 10-15 garages a year....and the redwood siding is $$$$$.....

For comparison, our cost in Phoenix are in the $40-$55 a sq ft range....

 

[Cyberbear]

As I've done in the past, you can easily determine material costs by doing the math yourself after calling material suppliers for prices. Do the same with concrete by checking with at least three concrete contractors in your area. Stay away from the big one stop shop contractors with high over head costs you end up paying for. I've seen contractors who mark up the materials, and again you pay for that.
I've always used subcontractors for my shop buildings, the last being 2400 sq/ft. Also, order and pay for the concrete and building materials yourself, that way you know everyone is getting paid and you won't have to worry about liens from the suppliers. I ran the jobs as Owner/Builder and took care of all necessary permits and inspections. Small garages are easy to do and it's not difficult, or expensive, if you do your homework. Many contractors charge what the traffic will bear.

 

[Falcon67]

I think blacksporty is a little low. I know someone that asked for a quote for a 12"x18" birdhouse, for materials that included 1 2x4, 6 galvanized nails and one lag bolt, he was quoted $22K.

I'll bet 80% of that was permits.

 

[barks]

As I've done in the past, you can easily determine material costs by doing the math yourself after calling material suppliers for prices. Do the same with concrete by checking with at least three concrete contractors in your area. Stay away from the big one stop shop contractors with high over head costs you end up paying for. I've seen contractors who mark up the materials, and again you pay for that.
I've always used subcontractors for my shop buildings, the last being 2400 sq/ft. Also, order and pay for the concrete and building materials yourself, that way you know everyone is getting paid and you won't have to worry about liens from the suppliers. I ran the jobs as Owner/Builder and took care of all necessary permits and inspections. Small garages are easy to do and it's not difficult, or expensive, if you do your homework. Many contractors charge what the traffic will bear.

Charging what the "traffic" will bear is popularly known as a free market part of capitalism. A willing seller and a willing buyer establish the price.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

For the record, FWIW.
To follow up, the lowest quote I received, for a:
525 sq ft, 16 foot roll up door, one man door, attic trusses for a small attic, redwood siding, top quality asphalt shingle roof, lots of electrical, fully finished inside and out: was about $100/sqft. Without the electrical or finished interior it came to about $80/sqft.
After a lot of research, this sounds in line for the area (frighteningly). I received three other quotes for more, some MUCH more. Yikes.