Estimate garage costs?

[Bertram65]

I am thinking of having a small garage built, I was thinking 20'X40' with little or no loft, on a slab, T111 siding no insulation or covering on the inside walls, nothing fancy, double swing doors on one end 12' high by 16' wide. I looked at the steel buildings on-line but I do not think it would fit in well with my house. I know a couple builders in the area and was going to give them a call to get an estimate. What should a building like this cost? One of my friends thought $40 a SF was a reasonable estimate, seems high to me that would be $32K. Anyone have any ideas?, I am in MA.

 

[TPCDrafting]

Do a stick count and materials list. Call the local lumber yard and get prices for each piece. Total up your materials cost and multiply it by 2. 5. That should give you a rough idea of what the structure (above ground) will cost to have built. (keep in mind, the contractor should be getting a bit of a discount at the lumber yard) The foundation and slab are seperate. If it is completely free standing (not attached to any other structure) the foundation and slab can be monolithically poured. That is if the soil conditions allow, your local building dept. will be able to tell you. A monolithic slab of that size around here, excavated, formed, poured and back filled would cost in the $4k to $6k range.

I base this analogy on my architectural and construction experience.

 

[Rebel_Horseman]

$40 a sf is way high. A building like you described should cost anywhere between $10 and $20 a foot depending on the different variables. Local builders are good, but I would highly recommend a company that specializes in this type of construction or at the very least does this on a regular basis.



Brian [><]

 

[BarryG]

Several years ago we had a detached garage built to match the house. It was a victorian 24x24 with a 12/12 roof and the fish scales etc etc. It came in at about 21. 00/sf including the concrete work and an additional 18x20 concrete pad for additonal parking. Not near the same size but much more detail work.

 

[Bertram65]

Thanks for the responses gives me a better idea of where the price should be, next step will be going to town hall to see what hoops I have to jump through to get a building permit.

 

[E7mack96]

Tell 'em its for ag use ( storing tractors, ect. ) and there will be less hoops.