Thoughts on this garage / driveway estimate?

[dockdoc]

House has a carport that is incorporated into the roof structure of the house, in the front. We'd like to enclose that and add an extra bed / bath, which would also give me an opportunity to build a detached garage.

That garage can be max 24' wide, and 26' deep.

In order to put the garage behind the house, caddy corner to where the carport is now, we have to extend our concrete front driveway into a semicircle back out to the street, with a little off-shoot that goes along the side of the house and back to the backyard at the garage site. The part that runs along the side of the house will be gravel instead of concrete.

This is basically a no frills 2-car garage that will match the main house in terms of trim/siding and overall style. Hip roof with attic storage.

TOTALLY realize that this is very geographically variable, but wondering if anyone 1. knows the Charlotte / NC area and thinks this is reasonable and/or 2. is this reasonable in ANY market? Seems quite high to me.

Here's the initial estimate I got, granted without formal plans:
Total cost: $110,000
Permits / planning / engineering: $2800
Foundation / site work (includes grading the 4' slope, reinforced footings, brick foundation, #67 stone 2" deep, concrete slab): $29,000
Framing: $16,500 (1/2 each for materials and labor)
Exterior windows / doors: $4800
Electrical hookup / sub panel: $3700
Electrical fixtures: $4500
Plumbing: $1250
Roof & gutters: $6000
Insulation and drywall: $5000 (I'd likely chop this to save money)
Siding and trim (hardiboard): $12500
Interior trim (again, likely axe this): $1400
Interior paint and finishes (Again, axe): $5000
Driveway (includes adding concrete semicircle in front, approx 1500 sq ft, and a GRAVEL driveway along the side of the house): $17000
Insurance, jobsite stuff, misc: $2000

 

[Saylor1322]

sounds a little expensive to me but Im not 100% sure about the market. I am doing some commercial work in that area though and know it is crazy busy and prices are much higher than Im used to here.

For comparison though Im getting ready to pull the trigger on a 48 x 64 barn in MI with interior water, a rest room, in floor heating, wall and ceiling insulation, 2 tone metal siding, 14' foot walls, 2-12'x13' overhead doors, interior sanded plywood finish, metal ceilings, LED lighting, and an exhaust fan with 2 motorized dampers connected to it. Im looking at roughly 100k right now with it all priced out.

Now your price includes the driveway which mine doesnt so there is that to consider. Also you appear to have a fair amount of earthwork to do and you look like your doing full foundation where my construction is a pole barn construction. However, it does still feel like it may wind up being just a little more than I would expect.

 

[Kaizen]

Making it match appears to be driving price up. Brick foundation on a garage? Or is that the house. 2 inch foundation? There’s a lot going on here. Hard to look at the whole picture


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[dockdoc]

Thanks guys...

Saylor - appreciate that perspective. You're clearly getting a lot more for that $100k hahaha. As you said though, different markets. Appreciate your input!

Kaizen - It's a good point, I'm not sure why we need brick around the foundation, but I'm guessing that because there's a grade change we'll have exposed parts of the foundation (up to 4' in the rear) and they'll use a brick facade to cover up the CMU block. Appreciate that observation, maybe there's an opportunity to save on that.

I'm a little more stuck up about the siding and trim, since this will be so close to the main house I want it to look very complementary. Truthfully the house is mostly brick but we have some hardiboard areas so should still work.

 

[bad_idea]

I'm not too far from you. I built a 30x40x12 stick built with vinyl siding and architectural shingles to match the house last year. I did about half of the work myself and hired the subs directly (no GC). I paid MUCH less than that.

$9900 - 6" concrete slab with cinder block stem wall two rows above grade
$2700 - Tie building into driveway and pour a sidewalk to the back door - approx 900 sq ft.
$2500 - Shingled 6/12 roof with architectural shingles and ridge vent.
$500 - Install soffit vents and aluminum wrap trim.

Those are the prices off the top of my head I remember. Colson Concrete out of Hertford did my concrete work. I am very happy with his work and would recommend him.

 

[GMCGarage]

To me is sounds 2x too much, but it could be the area. Are all 3 of your quotes that same amount??

 

[ToddMcF2002]

I have land in Mooresville and construction is HOT so prices are pretty up there. One reason my land is still vacant!

 

[mike93lx]

I don't think it would cost that much where I live, 1 hr west of Boston.

Only getting multiple quotes will give you an answer though.

 

[dockdoc]

To me is sounds 2x too much, but it could be the area. Are all 3 of your quotes that same amount??

That's the only quote I have so far. I want this builder, in particular, to do the second part of the job (really the main part) which is tastefully enclosing our carport into a bedroom/bathroom. He built the house, I'm really happy with the work he's already done, so I don't even plan on getting other estimates for that work. Figured he'd just do the garage too, but if he's going to be ridiculously high I may bid out the garage part separately.

I have land in Mooresville and construction is HOT so prices are pretty up there. One reason my land is still vacant!

Nice - yeah Mooresville seems a popular spot these days!

 

[dockdoc]

Appreciate that... looks like we're both in NC but you're a good 5 hours from me, so not sure the prices are totally comparable, but still everything points to this quote being way too high. Clearly I'll have to shop a couple other bids.

I'm not too far from you. I built a 30x40x12 stick built with vinyl siding and architectural shingles to match the house last year. I did about half of the work myself and hired the subs directly (no GC). I paid MUCH less than that.

$9900 - 6" concrete slab with cinder block stem wall two rows above grade
$2700 - Tie building into driveway and pour a sidewalk to the back door - approx 900 sq ft.
$2500 - Shingled 6/12 roof with architectural shingles and ridge vent.
$500 - Install soffit vents and aluminum wrap trim.

Those are the prices off the top of my head I remember. Colson Concrete out of Hertford did my concrete work. I am very happy with his work and would recommend him.

 

[rieferman]

The numbers you list didn't shock me too much overall. The two that jump out at me are the site work and the concrete drive/gravel driveway.

Site work (grading a 4' slope for example) can really add up quickly depending on your site. But perhaps you can manage the grading sub yourself rather than paying General Contractor markup on that item. Might be worth checking into. (edit: I don't mean that you do the grading... I mean that you hire a separate sub contractor to do grading... multiple bids)

And concrete... again, no reason to run that through your GC. Get multiple bids on that piece.

The other numbers passed eyeball test for me based on pricing from my former life in construction sales/project mgmt.

 

[akpingel]

+1 for the CLT market being super hot. For what its worth I have a buddy that just had his shop quoted 92k by the folks building his house. Sorry I dont remember the size but comparable... maybe slightly bigger but I dont know about concrete.

 

[dockdoc]

The numbers you list didn't shock me too much overall. The two that jump out at me are the site work and the concrete drive/gravel driveway.

Site work (grading a 4' slope for example) can really add up quickly depending on your site. But perhaps you can manage the grading sub yourself rather than paying General Contractor markup on that item. Might be worth checking into. (edit: I don't mean that you do the grading... I mean that you hire a separate sub contractor to do grading... multiple bids)

And concrete... again, no reason to run that through your GC. Get multiple bids on that piece.

The other numbers passed eyeball test for me based on pricing from my former life in construction sales/project mgmt.

Thanks that's super helpful! Great point... and to the GC's credit, the concrete stuff was what he was the least certain about. He's actually bringing his concrete / foundation guy out to the site to try and get a better estimate (hoping he's WAY off on that one).

Suggestions for how to find contractors for concrete / foundation work?

+1 for the CLT market being super hot. For what its worth I have a buddy that just had his shop quoted 92k by the folks building his house. Sorry I dont remember the size but comparable... maybe slightly bigger but I dont know about concrete.

Thanks - yeah sounds like geography plays a big roll. TONS of construction here, housing market very very hot... Which makes me wonder whether we're headed for a bubble burst and I should hold off on this.... Hard to say right?

 

[getbent4x4]

$15-20k job otd the for a steel frame steel shop. most come with gutters no windows. with parking pad in front. plumbing not sure as u dont have plans written out. I presume it's just a small sink and toliet.

 

[ptt49er]

I'm just a little south of you in Rock Hill. Currently building a 30x40 with the majority of the work being done by myself (only concrete/block done by others). Got a 15' wide room in the attic trusses, I'll have $40k in it without any finishes on the inside. So if the rough rule of twice material costs is true you're probably not far off - especially if he's a sought after builder.

 

[rieferman]

Suggestions for how to find contractors for concrete / foundation work?

A call to your nearest concrete plant might turn up a couple recommendations you can look into. They know who they send trucks out to regularly, so it can be a good place to start.

Interestingly... my asphalt paving guy that I already knew/liked gave me a good concrete professional recommendation recently. He said they team up to do concrete aprons > asphalt driveways a lot, and he specifically thought this one fella was really good to work with. That guy ended up doing my sidewalks, so I was happy with the recommendation.

 

[jpcjguy]

Richmond, VA - 48x30x12 with the following:
no windows
1 man door, 2 9x10 insulated carriage doors
2x6 walls, footer and 2 block above grade
4" 4000 psi concrete with 6" at lift pads
3' apron in front
architecture shingles to match house, 1' overhang all around
16' scissor truss
32' attic truss (8/12 pitch) with 40psf live load in room (2' raised heel to drop ceiling to 10ft)
gable end framed for exterior door at room truss for future external staircase
louisville big boy pull down ladder in non lift bay
rough-in for 1/2 bath
no electrical except pvc rough in
$57k - about 39 sq ft - some of the quotes were 90k+!!! Tough market right now ....

 

[elvee]

I think that quote isn't too far out of line based on your location. I am in Atlanta, which is now pretty similar for building costs. There might be 10 to 15% fat in there but that is about it. For reference, doing a reshingle on a 1000 square foot bungalow, with some decking repairs, was over $6K four years ago. Just had that same house painted (exterior) and it was $3000.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Just guessing because I don't know specifics about electrical, insulation etc. I'm also not familiar with your area. Nothing really looks like it would be far out of line.

The electrical, driveway and interior finishes seem a bit high. Foundation and site work really depends on how much work is being done and access for machinery.
The plumbing sounds really cheap is it even a basic sink with a drain? I don't see any type of climate control listed, is that included in electrical?

 

[dockdoc]

I'm just a little south of you in Rock Hill. Currently building a 30x40 with the majority of the work being done by myself (only concrete/block done by others). Got a 15' wide room in the attic trusses, I'll have $40k in it without any finishes on the inside. So if the rough rule of twice material costs is true you're probably not far off - especially if he's a sought after builder.

Hey thanks you're pretty close by!

Honestly the more I think about this the more I'm considering doing the work myself as a project. The money saved might be the only way I can afford to do the other project that I can't / won't do myself.

Would you recommend your concrete guy?

 

[ptt49er]

I would use a different guy for a shop pour - he'd done good work for me before on side walks and a drive way expansion but the floor is not flat (too many highs/lows) as i would like for it to have been. In all fairness though, I didn't outline expectations.

I'll dig through my quotes and see if I can find the names of the other guys that came through. I wish I had gone with one of them - I think it would've ended up cheaper in the long run.

 

[dockdoc]

Just guessing because I don't know specifics about electrical, insulation etc. I'm also not familiar with your area. Nothing really looks like it would be far out of line.

The electrical, driveway and interior finishes seem a bit high. Foundation and site work really depends on how much work is being done and access for machinery.
The plumbing sounds really cheap is it even a basic sink with a drain? I don't see any type of climate control listed, is that included in electrical?

Yeah agreed, I'm hopeful the concrete work (Driveway, foundation) will come out more reasonably at the end of the day.

Plumbing is just to run a water line out to a bib, no sink. No climate control - I'd not have HVAC.

I would use a different guy for a shop pour - he'd done good work for me before on side walks and a drive way expansion but the floor is not flat (too many highs/lows) as i would like for it to have been. In all fairness though, I didn't outline expectations.

I'll dig through my quotes and see if I can find the names of the other guys that came through. I wish I had gone with one of them - I think it would've ended up cheaper in the long run.

Thanks, appreciate if you do find any more info.

 

[rust in the eye]

Did someone give you these figures with a straight face?
That's $176 sq ft! for a %^*%^&% a garage? You can buy land AND build a very nice home for that price.
Garage slab ought to be 4" min.
Your figures are nuts high and whoever suggested a 2" slab proves they don't know what they are doing.
Just for comparison; A recent garage and renovation project that involved a 1100 sq ft 5" slab with footer and formed foundation along with another 30' of foundation wall ran ~ $22k including excavating and all materials.

 

[469 runner]

I'm not far from you near Winston Salem. I am getting ready to build a garage. This will be stick built. Bricked to match the house and cement driveway about 100' long. 10' walls. Quite a bit of site preparation will be required with some tree removal and grading to level. My builder is coming in at about $75 per square foot. Mine will be 42 X 36, just signed contract, comes about $112,000. This includes all electrical, insulation and drywall. Turn key.

I built one myself years ago. It was a long process and I am much older now. The money is there so realizing one can't take it with us....

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I'm down the road in the other direction toward Greenville and had a contractor quote me $20K for a 24'x24' detached with 6" brick stem wall, 4" floating poured floor, 9' ceilings, 6/12 trusses on 24" centers, dedicated electrical service with separate meter, exterior matched to the house with stone work on the front, white trim, painted hardie siding, two 2.5'x4' single hung windows, 36" man door and 16'x7' overhead garage door.

This did not include insulation, hvac or drywall and very little electrical and lighting. It also included no parking pad or driveway extension to the garage.

 

[joes169]

I'm not even remotely close to your area, but I can't imagine the earthwork/footings/frost walls/concrete floor costing anywhere near $29K for a garage that side. Even with the current crazy/busy economy, that portion would probably be about half of that with 48"deep block walls here.

 

[mikec35]

I'm down the road in the other direction toward Greenville and had a contractor quote me $20K for a 24'x24' detached with 6" brick stem wall, 4" floating poured floor, 9' ceilings, 6/12 trusses on 24" centers, dedicated electrical service with separate meter, exterior matched to the house with stone work on the front, white trim, painted hardie siding, two 2.5'x4' single hung windows, 36" man door and 16'x7' overhead garage door.

This did not include insulation, hvac or drywall and very little electrical and lighting. It also included no parking pad or driveway extension to the garage.

Does this guy go to NC? If so can you pm his info? Thanks

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I'll call the former HOA management co. to see if they still have his number, I lost it at least 7 months ago. The first folks that put a contingent offer on what is now our house couldn't sell their's (thus the contingency) quick enough and our only contingency was passing home and termite inspection. The first folks already planned what they wanted to do, got HOA approval and nailed everything down with a contractor. When I called him, he said he would honor the same price but ultimately we didn't move forward as I wanted as much free room in the backyard as possible for the kids to play.