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Old 04-03-2021, 10:38 AM   #61
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.... The contractors are scared of the material prices.
When we rebuilt our house in 2011/2012 we paid for materials separate from labor. The contractor's bill each month would include copies of all the bills from the lumber yard that he used related to our build at his price plus an amount for labor for the month for him and his helper. We had a maximum amount for labor for the whole build and they met it just as they were finishing the project.

If a contractor is giving you a fixed price estimate then he is likely to be conservative with respect to materials cost so he doesn't take it on the chin.
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Old 04-03-2021, 10:48 AM   #62
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My wife and I built our own 24'x28' detached garage in 2001. We did all the work ourselves, except for the interior concrete slab. Total cost was $13K. That included a 2' high perimeter stemwall foundation, with 8' high walls (resulting in just under 10' of headroom). Full electrical and insulation, with a large storage attic. Pictures of our progress at:

2001 - Building Our Garage

Even if you double the materials costs, and double again for labor, that should put you around the $52K range today. If you're not insulating or finishing the interior, I would think it would cost less. There's not much to a garage.

If you choose a monolithic slab (footings and slab are one pour), make sure the siding overlaps the slab by at least an inch or so water doesn't come in from outside. That said, I would NOT choose a monolithic slab. For one it puts the wood siding and framing too close to the ground. Second, if you have snow/water run off from the cars, or if you wash down the garage floor, the framing and/or sheetrock will get wet inside leading to rot, mold, etc. Having a perimeter concrete foundation raises the siding/sheetrock off the ground, and increases the headroom inside the garage.

I did not put any foam board insulation under my slab. I knew I wouldn't be spending a lot of time in the garage, so it was an unnecessary expense. If I had the extra money it would have been nice, but I don't miss it. On the upside, on a hot summer day it stays in the 50's-60's in the garage from the ground contact.

I chose fibermesh reinforcement in our floor slab instead of rebar or wire mesh. 20 years later and only one tiny hairline crack (visible, but can't feel it). The finishing guy didn't like the fibermesh, but I'm glad I made that choice.
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Old 04-03-2021, 11:35 AM   #63
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....If you choose a monolithic slab (footings and slab are one pour), make sure the siding overlaps the slab by at least an inch or so water doesn't come in from outside. That said, I would NOT choose a monolithic slab. For one it puts the wood siding and framing too close to the ground. Second, if you have snow/water run off from the cars, or if you wash down the garage floor, the framing and/or sheetrock will get wet inside leading to rot, mold, etc. ...
Never a problem for me... my 24x28 monolithic slab has a center drain so all the water heads away from the outside perimeter towards the drain. The OCB that I used for the inside walls might get wet if I'm hosing down the garage floor and am sloppy about it, but if it does get wet it dries quickly. IMO if your inside walls are getting wet it is more due to poor design/drainage and not because you have a monolithic slab.

For the outside it also isn't an issue as the land grades away from the outside walls, even at the garage door in that the driveway is a slight incline to get into the garage.
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Old 04-03-2021, 01:11 PM   #64
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Never a problem for me... my 24x28 monolithic slab has a center drain so all the water heads away from the outside perimeter towards the drain. The OCB that I used for the inside walls might get wet if I'm hosing down the garage floor and am sloppy about it, but if it does get wet it dries quickly. IMO if your inside walls are getting wet it is more due to poor design/drainage and not because you have a monolithic slab.

For the outside it also isn't an issue as the land grades away from the outside walls, even at the garage door in that the driveway is a slight incline to get into the garage.
Interesting, I haven't seen a slab with a center drain (not that I see that many). Usually it's a flat slab sloped slightly to the doors, with no drain. Your drain probably works fine for runoff from the vehicles (probably better than the long slope to the door), but I would still want a bit of a curb inside for washing down the floor. Just my personal preference.

As for exterior, I don't like seeing wood any closer than 12" from the soil, even if there are gutters and the ground slopes away. There's still a bit of splash back that can rot away the siding over time, or make it dirty at the very least. Of course, there's no reason you couldn't have a taller monolithic slab that gives you that clearance from the ground. Most of the slabs I've seen are rather shallow with only a few inches between dirt and wood, most likely for cost savings. I have seen people add a course of brick or blocks on top of the slab to gain the extra clearance.

One other advantage of keeping the interior slab separate from the perimeter foundation is if it settles or cracks. I hope I never need to, but theoretically I could have my slab torn out and replaced with the garage in place.
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Old 04-03-2021, 02:35 PM   #65
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My 26'x26' slab has 2 floor drains, which would be to catch drainage off 2 cars, one each side. My floor also was cut in half both directions, so that if heaving or movement would occur, it would "break" on that cut line. No issues after 12 years.
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Old 04-04-2021, 09:27 AM   #66
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Just for comparison, we had a 30 x 30 ft pole barn garage built in 2018 (in the US Midwest). Two vinyl windows, one man door, no insulation, and metal siding and roof. This is what I spent:

Site excavation: $2,000
Rock: $570
Permits: $400
Slab and garage build: $24,700
Garage doors: $2900
Finishing (shelves, electrical, lighting, workbenches): $3680
TOTAL: $34,250

I'm extremely happy with it. At this point I don't think I'd do the garage differently.
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Old 04-05-2021, 06:30 AM   #67
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I have a friends who's father had a 2 car garage built around 3 years ago. I think it cost him $45k, didnt include electrical, drywall or insulation. Just the slab, walls, roof, shingles and siding. They got taken to the cleaners.

Kicker was, the person who won the contract subbed almost everything out. He did the foundation, subbed out the slab. The walls came pre built, so they set them in place and bolted them down. Trusses were put up, roof on in two days, then some siding and windows. The contractor who "did" the work make $10k+ for making a few phone calls. WHat a racket.
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Old 04-05-2021, 07:18 AM   #68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainsoft View Post
My wife and I built our own 24'x28' detached garage in 2001. We did all the work ourselves, except for the interior concrete slab. Total cost was $13K. That included a 2' high perimeter stemwall foundation, with 8' high walls (resulting in just under 10' of headroom). Full electrical and insulation, with a large storage attic. Pictures of our progress at:

2001 - Building Our Garage

Even if you double the materials costs, and double again for labor, that should put you around the $52K range today. If you're not insulating or finishing the interior, I would think it would cost less. There's not much to a garage.

If you choose a monolithic slab (footings and slab are one pour), make sure the siding overlaps the slab by at least an inch or so water doesn't come in from outside. That said, I would NOT choose a monolithic slab. For one it puts the wood siding and framing too close to the ground. Second, if you have snow/water run off from the cars, or if you wash down the garage floor, the framing and/or sheetrock will get wet inside leading to rot, mold, etc. Having a perimeter concrete foundation raises the siding/sheetrock off the ground, and increases the headroom inside the garage.

I did not put any foam board insulation under my slab. I knew I wouldn't be spending a lot of time in the garage, so it was an unnecessary expense. If I had the extra money it would have been nice, but I don't miss it. On the upside, on a hot summer day it stays in the 50's-60's in the garage from the ground contact.

I chose fibermesh reinforcement in our floor slab instead of rebar or wire mesh. 20 years later and only one tiny hairline crack (visible, but can't feel it). The finishing guy didn't like the fibermesh, but I'm glad I made that choice.
Outstanding job!
If I was in need to have a garage, I still would tackle the project. I might have it shingled by someone else but would love to do another build.
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Old 04-05-2021, 07:38 AM   #69
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I have a friends who's father had a 2 car garage built around 3 years ago. I think it cost him $45k, didnt include electrical, drywall or insulation. Just the slab, walls, roof, shingles and siding. They got taken to the cleaners.

Kicker was, the person who won the contract subbed almost everything out. He did the foundation, subbed out the slab. The walls came pre built, so they set them in place and bolted them down. Trusses were put up, roof on in two days, then some siding and windows. The contractor who "did" the work make $10k+ for making a few phone calls. WHat a racket.
I built my 24' x 28' garage entirely myself other than subbing out the slab. I had friends help move the trusses in place and put on 90% of the roof and wall sheathing which took a day. I secured each piece with 6 or 8 nails just to hold in place to maximize the help. I spent the next day putting in the rest of the nails and filling in smaller pieces that didn't get done.

At the time (late 90's) it cost about $10k. It took me about a month but that included a lot of down time and days off....had I worked 8 hour days it would have taken a couple weeks.

Lesson learned: 2 weeks of DIY labour saved me $10k after tax money. At the time it took me almost 4 months to net $10k at my job.
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Old 04-05-2021, 10:11 AM   #70
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Never a problem for me... my 24x28 monolithic slab has a center drain so all the water heads away from the outside perimeter towards the drain.

Not allowed by code here. They have to slope the floor 1/4" per foot towards the garage doors. This is in case there is a fuel leak from a car that it won't pool inside the structure.
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Old 04-05-2021, 10:21 AM   #71
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An HVAC alternative might be to use a PTAC unit like they use in hotels. They're very inexpensive and come in sizes plenty enough for a garage. Best thing is the easy installations--put a jacket thru the wall, slip the unit in and plug it in.

I had a PTAC unit in a 16' x 32' den, and it would cool the room from hot to 70 degrees in just a few minutes. Saved me big on a/c and heating because I'd keep it cut off completely during work hours.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:44 AM   #72
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Not allowed by code here. They have to slope the floor 1/4" per foot towards the garage doors. This is in case there is a fuel leak from a car that it won't pool inside the structure.
While I believe you, it sounds like a pretty daft reason to disallow center drains.... how often does a gasoline leak of that severity happen? Never in 50 years of cars for me.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:45 AM   #73
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An HVAC alternative might be to use a PTAC unit like they use in hotels. They're very inexpensive and come in sizes plenty enough for a garage. Best thing is the easy installations--put a jacket thru the wall, slip the unit in and plug it in.

I had a PTAC unit in a 16' x 32' den, and it would cool the room from hot to 70 degrees in just a few minutes. Saved me big on a/c and heating because I'd keep it cut off completely during work hours.
^This.

We had a screened porch connecting our house to our garage. We had it enclosed and converted it to a playroom for our grandkids using a PTAC unit for heating and cooling. It has worked great and, like Bamaman, we only run the unit when we want to use the room.
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:22 PM   #74
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While I believe you, it sounds like a pretty daft reason to disallow center drains.... how often does s gasoline leak of that severity happen? Never in 50 years of cars for me.
Yeah, gas leaks are rare. But a sloping floor helps when the car is soaked with rain water or when there's snow melt.
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:37 PM   #75
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But a center drain is even better because the rain water and melt drain to the center rather than to the garage door with the risk of getting wicked up by the exterior walls if the exterior walls are on slab.
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:51 PM   #76
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But a center drain is even better because the rain water and melt drain to the center rather than to the garage door with the risk of getting wicked up by the exterior walls if the exterior walls are on slab.
You're in Florida so center drains are probably a lot more common than areas with a winter climate.
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:53 PM   #77
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No, the center drain is in my garage in Vermont.
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Old 04-05-2021, 01:01 PM   #78
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While I believe you, it sounds like a pretty daft reason to disallow center drains.... how often does s gasoline leak of that severity happen? Never in 50 years of cars for me.

Agreed, but it is probably aimed at more that fuel leaking from a car. Depending on your use, gasoline and other flammable stuff could be stored, and leak in a garage.

So where does your drain go? Into public sewer system?? I would be surprised of that were allowed anywhere....
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Old 04-05-2021, 01:11 PM   #79
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But a center drain is even better because the rain water and melt drain to the center rather than to the garage door with the risk of getting wicked up by the exterior walls if the exterior walls are on slab.
I agree that a center drain makes sense, but my floor slopes to the main door and at the edges, it slopes away from the walls. Basically, it funnels everything out the door and keeps it away from the walls just like a center drain does. Either the floor channels water properly or it doesn't. Doesn't really matter whether it's channeling it to a center drain or out the door.
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Old 04-05-2021, 03:22 PM   #80
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Not allowed by code here. They have to slope the floor 1/4" per foot towards the garage doors. This is in case there is a fuel leak from a car that it won't pool inside the structure.
I recall asking about a drain for the garage, and I got the same response as to why they can't do it.

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While I believe you, it sounds like a pretty daft reason to disallow center drains.... how often does s gasoline leak of that severity happen? Never in 50 years of cars for me.
Lot's of things don't happen to an individual in 50 years - the codes are there to reduce the risk of them happening to anyone at anytime. I'm pretty sure I've never tripped a circuit breaker in my home - that doesn't mean we can eliminate them!

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Agreed, but it is probably aimed at more that fuel leaking from a car. Depending on your use, gasoline and other flammable stuff could be stored, and leak in a garage.

So where does your drain go? Into public sewer system?? I would be surprised of that were allowed anywhere....
Yes, people changing oil, oil leaks, etc. The municipality doesn't want that in the public sewer system (or a septic system).

But if you had enough grade to drain it out to the yard, seems that would be acceptable. No difference between that and it draining out the garage door and into the yard.

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