The plans we originally started looking at, before we met with an architect, had a detached garage with a portico connecting the garage to the house. After doing a lot of number crunching and thinking, we decided that a garage that matched the house wasn't practical for our wants and needs. First off, a 2 car garage was going to run us about $30-40 THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Holy cow. On top of that, we really wanted the garage to be able to house farm equipment, lawn mowers, etc. as well as serving as a shop and garage for our daily drivers.
We were thinking of something more like a 4 car garage. Most 2 car garages are about 20x20. We decided on 24x40 as a reasonable space for our needs.
We started looking at prefab buildings, semi-custom metal garages, and finally settled on a pole barn type garage with Cleary Buildings. Cleary is a bit smaller and less expensive than Morton, which is the most famous brand of pole barns. Pole barn construction is really neat. They start with a level dirt surface, drill in where the wood/wood composite posts will go, set a pre-poured concrete block, then set the post on that. So, basically the structure is self supporting. That saves you the cost of having to pour a concrete footing which would have run about $3500 for our size if we had gone with a metal frame building. So, the set the posts and start framing the building. It has a truss roof and metal roof and siding. Our garage will be crimson and cream. Boomer Sooner! We will have a double garage door in the from and an single garage door on the back for the lawn mower. There will be a person door facing the house. The neat thing about post frame buildings is that they build the frame inside with a 2x8 lip around the lower edge. So, it is basically its own form for pouring concrete! After the building is up, we will just have out concrete flatwork guys come back out and pour in the slab. We will do a rebar reinforced 5" slab to prevent any buckling or cracking.
So, the site prep will be done by our excavator when he is already out to dig the basement. That should cost about $1000. Then the building will be put up and should only take about a week. That will be $16060. The slab will be about $3100 and will be done as soon as possible before it starts getting cold and freezing! So, once the basement is dug and the foundation is in, we will know an exact location for the garage. I am hoping the garage will be done while we are giving the concrete foundation some time to cure. Hopefully the garage will be complete by the end of October.
We have decided to build the garage sooner rather than later for a few reasons. First, we wanted a storage space where we could lock building materials up overnight. Second, we are currently renting a storage unit in town while we try to sell our house. I'd love to move our stuff and not have that monthly expense. Third, if we can get our excavator and concrete guys to do the work while they are already out there, it will save us a little money and save them some time.
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