Stand Alone Shops?


bushwacked

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Regional costs vary quite a bit.   I had a 2 1/2 car garage (about 24 by 24) built at my old house for about $13,000, including demo of the old building and a new concrete pad.  It was 2x4 construction with vinyl siding and asphalt shingles, and I did a steep pitch on the roof so I could have storage in the attic area (I was planning on building a music studio up there but never go around to it).  

 

Not insulated, very basic electrical.  To insulate, drywall, heat and get a 100amp sub would add about 5-7K, so all in would have been about $20K.   I don't know anything about pole barns or tin buildings, I don't think building codes and HOA around here would allow for such structures.  My old town was very restrictive about utility service to an outbuilding, plumbing was a no-no because they didn't want them used as rental apartments.   

 

Here is a picture from the side facing the house.

 

attachicon.gifgarage.jpg

 

that's a killer looking building for that price. 

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One thing for sure. Once you build your shop you'll wish it was bigger! I built my 30 x 40 shop six years ago and am now cramped for room. Of course most folks don't have 1/4 of their shop dedicated to lumber storage like I do. I built mine to match our house. Same cypress siding stained the same color. A good looking building will increase your property value.

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Bushwacked-

 

Here is a rough list of what is typically needed after you pay for the building to be erected. This is assuming you go with a pole barn.

 

 

Permit costs-

Stone, Wire Mesh, Plastic (site prep)-

Concrete-

Electrical Service and Panel-

Lumber for girts, ceiling and window boxes-

Insulation-

Electrical wire, outlets, boxes, lighting fixtures inside and out-

Vapor Barrier-

Partitions and interior doors-

Interior wall finish (plywood, drywall etc..)-

Trim-

Paint-

Heating and or Cooling-

Tool Rental for anything you may not have Including Lifts, Ditch Witch, Scaffold-

 

Be realistic and add everything up that will cost you money after the building is up. A box of framing nails for a nail gun can be a $100. dollar trip to home depot. It's usually all the incidentals that add up. Estabubba is right on when he says double the cost, I got away a little cheaper because I have great connections and happen to work in a tool room.

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Bushwacked-

Here is a rough list of what is typically needed after you pay for the building to be erected. This is assuming you go with a pole barn.

Permit costs-

Stone, Wire Mesh, Plastic (site prep)-

Concrete-

Electrical Service and Panel-

Lumber for girts, ceiling and window boxes-

Insulation-

Electrical wire, outlets, boxes, lighting fixtures inside and out-

Vapor Barrier-

Partitions and interior doors-

Interior wall finish (plywood, drywall etc..)-

Trim-

Paint-

Heating and or Cooling-

Tool Rental for anything you may not have Including Lifts, Ditch Witch, Scaffold-

Be realistic and add everything up that will cost you money after the building is up. A box of framing nails for a nail gun can be a $100. dollar trip to home depot. It's usually all the incidentals that add up. Estabubba is right on when he says double the cost, I got away a little cheaper because I have great connections and happen to work in a tool room.

Thanks for the list that is very helpful! I will start researching all of that as well.

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Great list by Janello. Just to clarify I would say minimum of 50% of building cost to finish the rest and that's if you do most of the work yourself. So if your building was 20k then 10k+ to finish it.

Oh, and figure a 6 pack of beer per 2 gallons of paint - it's just that painful!

Ah gotcha.

Lol that's a lot of beer!

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Just going to toss my 2 in here..

If you're seriosly considering pole construction, why not do it yourself?

Hire out the concrete and do the rest yourself. Over 1/2 the cost of those buildings is the labor. They're not hard and go up fairly quickly.

I have a 30 x 50 that I got completely shelled in and ready of inside work for 6k. Yes, it took my 6 weeks of nights and weekends but, I think it''s built better than a pole building company would do, I learned a lot, and I saved a bunch of monney in the process.

So, what did I get for 6K? 30 x 50, concrete done, electrical roughed in (100 amp service from house to building), water and sewer roughed in, 1 roll up door, 1 man door, and 1 window. It's also sheeted with OSB, house wrapped, and then covered in metal.

Just my 2..

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TIODS, I always see that suggestion in these type of threads, but seriously how is a normal person supposed to learn to do these things? If you're a guy with an office job that knows nothing about construction, how do you even get started? I mean I would take your six weeks just reading books and online trying to get even a sense of what I needed to know and do. It seems completely impractical.

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Hi all, first post.  This is my experience. My shop started as “snow roof” that covered a single wide mobile that we demo’d when we bought the property.   It is 18’ x 70’.  I got 3 bids to make it a pole barn and all of them came in at 23K give or take, for walls, 1 standard overhead door, and 1 man door with a 4” pad.   That is around $18.00 a square foot for an unfinished building. That sounded really high.  So except for the concrete pour and overhead doors I have done everything else myself, and while working at my real job full time, I am now year into the build and I have just under 14K into it. That includes permits, electric, plumbing, the insulation is almost done and I am hanging the osb.  I figure I have about 3K left and I will have a shop/garage with a 6” pad, 2 custom roll up doors, 1 barn door, and a man door, 7 windows and plumbing (hey I am 62 yrs old and have needs).  No matter what I am going to come in at less than 17K, $ 13.00 a square foot, for a shop that is ready for shop furniture.

The only downside to not having contracted this out is I would now be working “in” my shop instead of working on my shop.

Bob

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TIODS, I always see that suggestion in these type of threads, but seriously how is a normal person supposed to learn to do these things? If you're a guy with an office job that knows nothing about construction, how do you even get started? I mean I would take your six weeks just reading books and online trying to get even a sense of what I needed to know and do. It seems completely impractical.

I agree with both you and Kev. There is always a balance between saving money (DIY) and hiring it out. Now just because you hire someone doesn't mean it will be done right. I've build 2 sheds and have done concrete work before so I'm sure with a lot of research I could have built my building and did the concrete. That said I went with companies with decades of experience and I'm so glad I did. My building alone took a crew of 4 experience guys 8 days to build. These guys took their time, and being an anal engineer, I went out there each evening checking out everything they did. 

 

I think with any parts of a project like this, if you're confident you can do it, and want to save money, then do it yourself. Just because you have the skills to do certain pieces doesn't mean you have to. Some people might do it all themselves and some might contract it all out. In the end, it's your money, and having your dream shop is all that matters.

 

That said, telling some software dude to build his pole barn himself is like telling a newbie woodworker to build a Maloof rocker for his first project. Would you want your 89 year old Grandma sitting in that rocker? 

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I agree with Mike. I could have done all the work on my shop myself, but at 65 my wife and right hand man convinced me to have the framing done.

I will do most everything else like Kev, there again I have been doing construction/maintenance work since I was 12 years old. I really sympathize with folks who have not had the training to even change a light switch.

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One thing for sure. Once you build your shop you'll wish it was bigger! I built my 30 x 40 shop six years ago and am now cramped for room. Of course most folks don't have 1/4 of their shop dedicated to lumber storage like I do. I built mine to match our house. Same cypress siding stained the same color. A good looking building will increase your property value.

Keggers got any pics of your shop?

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I had a couple things going for me.  I built it in 2009, basically the bottom of the recession, builders were working cheap just to keep going and material prices were down.  I also used a company that specializes in cookie-cutter garages (Danley's garage world), they must have built 90% of garages you see facing a chicago alley and they have this down to a science.  Adding the windows, the red door, the overhang on one side, and the contrasting trim really makes it look more like a custom job.  But at its core it is just a stick built box.  

 

Talk about no work, My house burnt down in May of 2012 when I went to get the permit to tear it down and rebuild, I was the the only permit for a new home construction in Delaware County in Indiana. I demo'ed the old and dug and laid the new basement, I hired a framer, a drywaller and a electrician, (non were actual contractors) the rest was all self performed, it took 2 years to get 99%. I say that because its never finished till you're buried.

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