[John151]

I am in the market for a detached garage for toy storage. Wife says it must look like the house (even though it will be 100' from the house) which precludes a pole barn I believe.

Nothing fancy on the inside - cement floor, no sheet rock, no insulation, no plumbing, no HVAC, no electric (too far from house to be affordable). Two 16 x 8 overhead doors.

Anyway, are there rules of thumb for cost per square foot for this sort of project?

 

[CADplans]

Anyway, are there rules of thumb for cost per square foot for this sort of project?

My rule is if there is no electricity, the building has zero value to me.

I gotta have lights as a minimum, 100' for electricity can be as little as $100.

Oh, yea, what does the house look like, that controls the cost,,, :dunno:

 

[TUDOR]

No insulation? No electricity? TWO 8'x16' overhead doors!!

I absolutely have to agree with CADplans on this.

If you are going to the trouble and expense to have it match the house, the insulation and underground cable are trivial costs that upgrade the resale value (and usability) all out of proportion to the dollars spent. Delete one of the doors to pay for them.

 

[royalton10]

You are short changing yourself with no electric. Your expense of having the garage look like the house will have minimal resale value without the electric.

My detached garage is about 100 feet from house, 125 feet from panel to panel. I put in conduit for electric, another for phone, another blank conduit for later. I used #4 wire for 60 amp panel. My goal was to do it right the first time so it would not have to be redone later on.

Plan for the electric, put it in when able. You are going to get tired of stringing extension cords to build the garage.

 

[KellyfromVA]

I've been shopping and planning for something similar, just with power and not only for storage.

My wife also insists on the external garage looking like the house, so steel and pole buildings are out. But to your question; Prices can vary widely, depending on how much site-work needs to be included, what hoops needed to be cleared for permitting, what type of floor/foundation is used, built on site or prefabricated. My current budget plan for a 30'X30' stick-built on concrete floor, vinyl siding (matches the house), composite roof, two roll up doors, one man door, and four standard residential windows, 10' ceiling, 200A electrical, comes in around $30K. You can go the prefabricated-wood floor version over a gravel pad for less, but it won't look like your house, other than color if you paint accordingly.

 

[Cat385B]

$40-50 per square foot if everything is hired out, $20-30 if you're providing the labor.

 

[3v0]

I would talk to your wife about it having to look like the house. Maybe a bit of landscaping will make her happy. Not only does it cost more to build but it will need to be painted and shingled just as often as the house. For the most part steel buildings are maintenance free.

Occasionally you can find an all steel building that has been ordered but never delivered at a good discount.

If you will be doing any work in there think about using polycarbonate panels in the roof for natural lighting. They make a huge difference. My 40'x40' shop has 3 clear panels in the shop area and it is awesome.

 

[JD400Texas]

A building without electricity is a shed. I agree with Royal, at least lay in the conduit for whatever size panel you plan to install later. I'd also run a water line myself and put in a septic type drain so I could wash my hands there at least.

I'm planning on building a building next spring...with the help of some friends to work the concrete and erect the building I'll save quite a bit of money. I'll trade labor with them on their future projects. I plan to use my 400 to pull the 15" plow and cut in for the water and electric line (at least I won't have to dig the first 13" or so to get them 18" deep.

 

[455Olds]

I hate to say it, but I'm with your wife on this one. If you can swing it, spend the money and build it nice if at any time down the road it's going to be a shop or anything other than cold storage.... otherwise, a pole barn is perfectly fine... but man I love mine and I'm glad it is what it is.... 5-foot frost walls, slab, stick built, scissor trussed, insulated, and OSB interior "paneling". Exterior is sided and shingled to match the house.

It is certainly not the cost effective way to go... but man is it comfy. Add heat (which I'm still working on), electric, hot and cold running water, and a bathroom, and it's pure heaven out there. My wife and I barely see each other anymore... :sidelaugh

All that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a pole barn, or slowly adding all of the above creature comforts over time... except electric... I can't see building anything without running power to it immediately. Think lights, garage door openers, power tools.... you will want one or all of the above down the road.... guaranteed.

 

[larrybl]

About 6K for my 18' X 24' Man Cave. Would have been less if I hadn't tried to do the concrete floor my self. The rest was built by me.
Wood frame covered with tin siding.
6' concrete porch.
One 6X8 roll up door
One 3X8 walk in door
Insulated with 5/16 plywood paneling and plenty of peg boards.
Ceiling is insulated with aluminum covered foam panels.
100A Service, I placed the shop within 20' of the house meter.
Water is provided via 5 gallon gravity fed sink, and separate water fountain.
Kenwood surround sound system, complemented with VCR, DVD, DTV Converter for the Antenna TV, 42" TV.
A/C is provided from a small 5K window unit, and a 12K indoor vented unit
Heat is provided from the same electric 12K indoor unit and augmented with a portable 8K propane unit.
Shop holds my three GT's, and has space to work on a 4th.

 

[Tractor-Holic]

You can still build a pole barn,and make it look like the house too...once the poles and girts are up,the walls and roof can be made to look like a gable roofed home instead of a barn or shed..

I like pole construction,no costly poured concrete foundation,it is strong,cheaper, and easier for the average person to do than stick built--the roof can go on first too,making a dry platform to work under while constructing the rest of it,it isn't a must to have a concrete floor or slab (though one is highly desireable)--they go up quickly--the hardest part is getting the holes dug,renting a post hole digger or tractor with one is the best way..unless your lot is ledge or cliff,it shouldn't be too hard to get the holes dug..

 

[John151]

Great discussion!

I am about to pull the trigger on a contract for around $37 per sq ft. We are working on options for electricity. There is a power pole right by the new site, but not sure the electric company will allow a second feed (additional meter?). Also getting bids on running a line from the house. My concern here is tearing up the yard. Not sure wide the trench needs to be, or if they can use one of those horizontal boring machines.

I have increased the height of the garage doors to 9' and the walls to 10' for future usage. I have no interest in water as I already have an attached garage and a basement (i.e. don't plan on spending much time in the new garage).

Here is a photo of the attached garage that the detached garage must match and the backyard that I don't want to tear up.

 

[455Olds]

The power company's business is selling electricity... they will supply another meter if needbe.... they did for me anyway, and I suspect most are the same... though they may have install costs.

If they won't, just remember that grass is cheap and grows fast... directional drilling (as I assume you were referring to) is not cheap. Sure it's fast, and you gain instant gratification, but it will be far more costly than a simple trench and direct burial wire.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Whirly]

years ago I worked for an electrical contractor.. under ground service wires (110 & 220) had to b 2 feet deep.. we used a 4 inch wide trencher..

 

[royalton10]

john151.....Congratulations on the new build that is about to happen. You have been doing your homework. The trenching can be done in a short period of time. If you are able to get the conduit in and covered up quickly you can get the dirt brought up by the trencher back graded and seeded pretty easily.

The one thing I did not do but thought about after the fact was to put some yellow warning tape in the trench below ground level. I did my trench in September and had the grass growing in a few short weeks. This is getting past the ideal time to seed grass, at least for central Ohio is late August through September.

Good luck on the build. My back garage has grass and no gravel driveway. I just have to access it when it is frozen or not to wet. Now that I have a hitch for my gx335 I can pull it out at any time and keep the truck out of the grass.

Have fun with the new build. Sounds like you are making fast progress and hopefully you can get it under roof shortly.

 

[johndeere]

I have a 48x80x16 Pole barn as many call it.We call them machine sheds out her on the farm.Because thats what it is used for.To store farm machinery.It sits about 100' from my grain storage bin.That has power and a dawn till dusk light.

I also put my truck in this building every night.It was built last winter.It has double sliding 14'x16' doors. Opening is 28'x16.No concrete floor just gravel.

No electricity yet and I really do not miss it.Because it has sky lights and the pole light helps at night.I also added 2 Harbor freight solar lights that kick on as soon as I walk or drive in.Gives me just the light needed to close the sliding door and get to the entry door.

As for power for tools.Drills, impact guns,even stick lights and flood lights.Mine our 18v battery pack tools.If I need power I run an extension cord from grain bin or house.Thats in seldom cases to plug in a block heater on engines or to charge a battery in a piece of machinery.No farming in the winter.Strictly a grain farm.

I have a different building for my work shop.So no electricity in this machine shed slash pickup truck garage is not really needed.This is a more then $80.000 building with all the sight prep drainage,gravel,etc actually real close to $90.000

Would be different if it was a heated shop.But its not so for now no power.That Harbor freight solar light works great for putting my truck in at night.Good power tools I have mostly Milwaukee and even there top of the line 1/2'' impact gun makes a air impact obsolete.

Eventually I will more then likley run power to my machine shed.But if it was a neccesity it would already have been done.Also when I need a shop vac out there.I just start up my generator and plug it in.

 

[John151]

Received good news today: the power company will run a line from the pole to the garage no charge to me (they will run 100' free of charge).

Just need to get a few details from the zoning/inspection folks, and then a bid from the electrician for outlets and lights, and we can pull the trigger.

 

[TUDOR]

Check the fine print for your billing. Most power companies have a minimum KWh charge for a service, whether you use that much or not.

In the long run, it's usually cheaper to pull a 100 A underground service off of your house panel to feed the garage if you don't spend several hours a day in the shop.

 

[Obscured_by_Clouds]

Guess things have gone up.

Mine is 24 x 30, stick built, vinyl siding, shingle roof, single roll up door, one pass door, one window, full concrete floor. Total price was under $6K in 2000 or so.

I added the wiring after they were done. Added a second pass door a few years ago.

 

[DJ in WV]

Received good news today: the power company will run a line from the pole to the garage no charge to me (they will run 100' free of charge).

Just need to get a few details from the zoning/inspection folks, and then a bid from the electrician for outlets and lights, and we can pull the trigger.

Congrats! The power company here will do the same. 100' maximum for a drop lead. Any further away and they require a pole to be set, at $1500 per pole. I have a service on a power pole for a mobile home lot I rent out. When it was unoccupied a while back the meter charge was $5 per month.

Guess things have gone up.

Mine is 24 x 30, stick built, vinyl siding, shingle roof, single roll up door, one pass door, one window, full concrete floor. Total price was under $6K in 2000 or so.

I added the wiring after they were done. Added a second pass door a few years ago.

Yeah, I'm still in a bit of sticker shock with the price of just materials now. I just dropped $40 shy of $1000 for a four inch slab the same size as yours. My local Lowe's is selling R-13 for a bit over $13 per roll and runs it 20% off on occasion. OSB is running almost $8 per sheet. It's unreal.