Building A Shell Garage.

[warburtonplayer]

I live in VA. I would like to know about how much it would cost me to have a contractor pour a 36x26 slab and just frame the walls trusses rough in the pluming in the loft. I will put the shingles on and the siding. All I need is all the framing done. Any thoughts?

[BHD]

our church decided to pour three Handicap parking spaces in the Church's unpaved parking lot, size was original stated to be 4" thick, 20 x 32, and the person that looked into it said the local Concrete contractor would charge $4200 for the pour, that comes out to about $6 a square foot, (my understanding is local concrete is about $100 a yard), I suggested we pour it our selves and save about $3000 on labor, we up the size to 20 x 36 and 5.5" thick, (about 12.5 yards of cement), we pouring it in 3 sections
and have 2 poured, with one section left to do, it was raining to day,
(I am located in rural Colorado), a good number of years ago I did a lot of building, but am not up on current prices enough to even give a guessament on the building, (ask at your local building center, at the contractors desk, they should be able to give you a working Idea),

[johnk]

I'd say call a couple contracters and get prices. With the economy the way it is now it is quite competitive..

[bal0123]

I agree 100% with BHD, I am in oklahoma and crete is $100 a yard, here you would pay about 4500 for the slab floor and the rest of the contracting work framing, plumbing and so on, you will end up spending around $30,000. Though if you do it all yourself you will save about $22,000 and only have 6-8000 tied up. Think long and hard about the differences in the money that other 22,000 could totally equip your shop or what ever with just about the top of the line state of the art tools.

[Scotty370]

Here's a handy little calculator: Concrete Slab Calculator - The Concrete Network I'm in the same situation and learned that the ready-mix (my son is a driver) runs between $100-$115 a cu yd., and no, I don't get a discount! You didn't say if your pouring footers, sinking post/poles, of just sticking anchor bolts in the slab to tie down your building. Don't over look Amish rough-cut lumber and manpower!! I know the rule of thumb for contractor pricing use to be Materials, times three = Quote!! ~Scotty

[Builder]

Originally Posted by warburtonplayer

I live in VA. I would like to know about how much it would cost me to have a contractor pour a 36x26 slab and just frame the walls trusses rough in the pluming in the loft. I will put the shingles on and the siding. All I need is all the framing done. Any thoughts?

I do concrete flat work starting for $4 or more/sf (I buy the concrete). Price depending on who does the prep work. If I have to rammax, jumping jack a lot of fill, haul & spread stone, plastic, supply & install rebar, wire, etc. it's more. If you do all the prep work, I could do that slab possibly as low as ~$4,000 if it's an in/out job.

To frame a garage would be ~ $5/sf for framing labor, you supply the lumber pile. So a 36 x 26 building I would frame for ~ $5,000 + lumber.

I don't do any plumbing beyond a septic system, RW retention system, etc. so I can't help you there.

[EddieWalker]

As with everything, it's a simple matter of time and materials. You need to be specific on what you want, what materials you want and if there is a time limit. For me, I'd sit down with you and go over every detail, get it in wrighting and then figure it out.

Lumber prices seem to be on the rise right now. Usually, they come down in winter, but for whatever reason, it's up right now in my area. Not bad, just a slight rise.

Shingles are up too. One of the big ways that people get ripped off is in not being specific on what they want for a roof. Clients have told me that they told the roofer that they want a good roof, but didn't specify anything. Short nails, 15 pound paper, three tab shingles are all capable of doing the job, but none are what I'd want on a roof that I own. If you ask for a roof and you get a price that you like, it's very likely that you will get the cheapest materials available. This will get the job done, and it will usually last a decade without any problems, but it will also give the roofer the maximum profit.

A good buildier will give you options and should be able to suggest ways to save a buck here and there.

Eddie

[ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by EddieWalker

Shingles are up too. One of the big ways that people get ripped off is in not being specific on what they want for a roof. Clients have told me that they told the roofer that they want a good roof, but didn't specify anything. Short nails, 15 pound paper, three tab shingles are all capable of doing the job, but none are what I'd want on a roof that I own. If you ask for a roof and you get a price that you like, it's very likely that you will get the cheapest materials available. This will get the job done, and it will usually last a decade without any problems, but it will also give the roofer the maximum profit.

Eddie

What do you like for roofing?

I've done a few tar and gravel conversions to 3 tab shingles... these are low pitched roofs to begin with...

30 pound felt double coverage is how I always start... I never skimp on the paper. Had very good luck with 3 tab shingles... some of the real FHA minimum stuff I used starting out back in 82 still looks real good... of course no snow here.

I also stapled my roofs with Senco staples... at the time it was allowed here...

[EddieWalker]

On new construction, I use T flashing on the edges, then 30 pound paper and architectural 30 year shingles. Then I use 1 5/8 inch nails. The 30 pound paper costs the exact same amount as the 15 paper, but you get half as much. This is the one thing that I really force on my clients. Don't try to save a buck on the paper, it's the most important part of the roof. Then while the 3 tab shingles will get the job done, and I use them if I'm matching a roof or the client insists on using them, I don't like them and would never buy them for myself. They are rated for 20 years, which is cutting it close. I was at a house yesterday with three tab shingles on it that was built 7 years ago. While they were not leaking, a few of them were already starting to curl up. Loosing rock and then curling up is a good sign that they are at the end of their lifespan. They have another five years easy out of that roof, but it's already started to go on them after just 7 years. The architectural shingles cost quite a bit more money, but are also allot heavier and thicker. They have a 30 year warrenty and from what I've seen, they hold up really well their entire life. I don't come across architectural shingles that are curling up and loosing rock like I do three tabs. I can't even think of an example where I've seen them failing from just age and the elements like I can with 3 tab shingles. The other thing is how they are installed. It's faster and cheaper to use staples. The problem with staples is the gun has to be ajusted just right and the installer has to really be paying attention to what he's doing. The problem that I see over and over again is that the staple went into the shingle too far and broke through the shingle. When this happens, it's lost it's ability to hold the shingle in place. A staple has to be snug on the shingle to do the job. When done properly, they work great, but on an entire roof, it's never 100 percent. Short 1 inch nails are another problem that I've run into. They are not long enough to fully penetrate the roof decking. If the shank of the nail isn't through the wood, then the nail will come out real easy. I like the 1 5/8 nails because it goes all the way through the wood and holds tight. While the short nails are cheaper and allow the roofer to make a few bucks more profit, they fail all the time in high winds. Comparing staples to nails, it's allot easier to see if the gun shoots a nail too far into a shingle then a staple and add another nail when it happens. I know of one roofer in the area that hand nails his roofs. He's becoming very popular because of how well this works, and clients are willing to pay a bit extra to get it right. While 90 percent of leaks that I come across on roofs are flashing issues, the other ten percent are from nails, shingles and branches or other objects that have put a hole in the roof.

Anyway, that's my oppinion on shingles.

Eddie

[Builder]

3 tab shingles are junk and they show all bumps & rafter lines after they settle down.

Use dimensional shingles, they look nicer and hide roof deck defects better.