Cost of building a garage?
 

Who here has built a garage at their house? I am looking to buy another house and it may not have a garage. I'm wondering what the cost might be to build a 2 car garage, including pouring the concrete floor and cladding it in siding like Hardiplank or something of that nature.

I'm in the Washington, DC area (Northern Virginia). I have looked around some at prefab garage buildings, but would like to hear about your experiences.

i was looking at erecting a 34' x 60' pole barn w/ a 4" concrete floor and that was going to be around $19k. we bought a place w/ a large garage instead so i never had to follow through on what all the expenses would be, like insulation, wiring for electric etc...i was w/out a garage for 16 years!!! now i'm just trying to get some heat in that place and it will be sweet:D

More considerations...
Insulation for roof and walls?
Heat A/C if northern VA this may be important.
Wall covering. Do you have to meet fire code?
Electrical service. 200 Amp or what?

I once had a book entitled, " How much does a fish cost?" It was to give to clients who ask " How much do your services cost?" The price of a fish varies from a simple goldfish, to exotic tropicals, to tuna fish in a can or Mahi Mahi served at a fancy resturant etc. It went on for pages showing all the different answers to the initial question.

The more details you can give regarding finishes and installed systems/ equipment, the more realistic will be your estimate. Many jurisdictions will not allow the use of prebuilt wooden sheds as garages because the floor is not fireproof.

I'm looking to pay someone to build the structure including pouring the concrete pad, put on the siding and roof, doors and windows. Then I will finish the rest myself as I have the money to do the remaining things. It looked like the prefabbed ones were about $13-15K delivered and erected, not including the concrete work. That was for a 24' x 24' building.

I have, or actually added on a 24 x 24 space onto the existing 12 x24 and put a 2nd story over all that. I think the 2 nd story really added to the cost. I remember the slab being around $3,600. It ended up being 5 inches thick, but was planned for 4 inches thick. I think I spent over $30K on it. Lumber was a bit high, when I biult it. I remeber 1/2 OBS sheeting going for $15/sheet. I did insulate and dry wall, plus put in another 200 amp service box. Basically, I built a small house. I also had my whole house reroofed, and resided. I did the siding myself. I help on the roofing, more as a goffer. I also had three doormers. One of the harder parts was matching up to the original house/garage.
A neighbor built a 30 X 36 or such garage during the same time. I think it was around $36K in materials, without the land. His is two story, but he used trust. He also, put a footer around to build on, and then had the concrete floor poured latter. I can't say weather on is better than the other. He did his own roofing, I helped for half a day. It isn't that hard, but I had dormers, with adds a lot to the complexity.
Tom

Oh, that's right, the price I was quoted included a second storey with several dormers. If I have the money, I would like to have the house resided with HardiPlank to match the garage.

Our HOA has pretty strict codes regarding adding structures such as a garage. Homes in our area are brick-faced, so the garage has to also have the identical brick veneer. I think that would put the cost of a two-car unit around $12K...without insulation, electricals, or drywall!!!

Most of the places I've looked at did not have HOAs like the neighborhood I live in right now. I have no problem with doing it that way. I'd want the house and the garage to be the same style, meterials, etc. on the outside. I'm all about aesthetics, baby!

My biggest problem is space. I want to live in Arlington. Finding a house there with a garage or space to build one is extremely expensive. I'll let you know how this all plays out.

Contact The Swede. He built a garage at the old house he bought in / near Minneapolis, and clad it in hardi board.

I know he posted about it when he had it built. You might find the posts if you're good at the search function.

Concrete around here is about $80-$100 a yard, wood is cheap, cheap windows are about $180 each, I'm not sure what shingles go for per sq off the top of my head but its not to bad.


Garage doors are also expensive, if you get fancy ones. The ones I use are about $650 installed.


You could spend anything from $15k-$50k+ for a detached two car. Depends what you want. If its attached to the house with living space above it the cost will rise a bit. By doing that your going to need to insulate and rock it, along with heat and electrical.

Our garage is 30x50. It's a combination carport and 2 door garage. I designed it to be extra wide to accomodate my truck.

It's stick built, 2 story and everything including grading, slab, construction, roofing, etc... was around 34k. I'm putting in the insulation and drywall as well as electrical.

I'm pretty sure I posted this before but here you go:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71...c/PC310029.jpg

Someday. Someday.

Evan,
That's a sharp looking building. I am guessing, its 50 ft. with the carport overhang. I remember concrete being $65/sq. ft, when I did mine. I think it went up to $75-$80 over the winter months. That was about 5 years ago. I biult with 2x4's, 16 on center (OC). I might think of going with 2x6's and 24 OC. That is what the codes around me allow. The 2x6's would allow thicker insulation. I have a 10 pitch roof. It really puts a strain on your legs, putting the roof sheeting on. I also used a beam and joist. I think overall, that added greatly to the cost, and time. I have about 460 sq ft on the second floor. Also, watch on what size windows you use on the 2nd floor. Mine were just to small. So, I couldn't use it as living space. Therefore no closets.
I used 3D architectual shingles on mine. They were about $25-$30 per bundle or square. I think regualar shingles were $12-$15 at the time. When Katrina hit and gas prices went up, regular shingles were $25-30 per bundle or square. I remember $1600 for shingles, tar paper etc, and $2000 for labor.
$3600 for the slab, was labor and cememt. The $4500 quote was also for labor and cememt. It they use boards to form the slab, make shure they pull those boards out and take them. Termites like bauried boards for food. Next step is your garage.
Tom

Tough question as no two are the same and/or if any scrounging ability is present. All I am aware of is my 24x28 add on garage cost more than I originally expected for just a garage. I have to think with someone else errecting a minumin of 25k. A lot will depend on the local building codes as well.

Yeah, Evan, I remember seeing yours before. You have a really great garage. I like that overhang, too.