New garage for tractor and equipment

[ultrarunner]

Some of the old time dairy barns here have a 4' concrete block wall around the perimeter... always thought it would be more durable and less subject to damage than wood or meta.

 

[plowhog]

3L,

I usually don't mention costs or prices on this forum because invariably a few others chime in to say they paid one fourth or one third of what I paid, LOL. Or that I badly overpaid. Let's just say costs are not cheap on the West Coast.

But, I think all the concrete work came out to be about $9/ft. Mid- $40,000's for 24inch footings on the perimiter, 3,600 ft of concrete, five inch thick slab with rebar, two 60 ft by 8" thick four foot high retaining walls, and a 12' apron on the outside so I can park my motor home outside in nice weather. I think it was about 100 yards of concrete total just for the footing and slab.

I did a concrete driveway and approach last year which was about $5k in concrete work and $5k for permit, dirt work, and a new culvert.

I had a *lot* of dirt work done for the garage. More than 300 yards of material removed, all backfilled and compacted, three 250ft +/- trenches for water, power, septic, a fourth trench for the 400a panel upgrade, etc. It got a little more expensive when the plumber decided he wanted a home run of the 1 1/4 line from the well.

Plus the excavator builds the driveway (future) and grades with new road base apron areas around the building plus drainage. All combined the dirt work and concrete were similar costs ... about $100k combined. (It was competitively bid but I didn't choose the lowest bidder. Paid a bit more to go with the best of each trade.)

OK, time to throw the tomatoes, LOL.

 

[ultrarunner]

Nothing is cheap in the West when it comes to construction and materials.

I had a bid to replace a wood deck with steps... the property management company took it upon themselves to get it for me... $79,000... just about keeled over.

For the money you will have something for a lifetime that will provide daily benefit and improve property value.

 

[plowhog]

Price for construction is high, no argument. I added to that cost with a 5" slab instead of 4", wall and roof insulation, 4 in 12 roof pitch, eaves, gutters and downspouts, lots of roll up doors, 50amp electrical for two RV's, outside parking apron, internal fans and heaters, and a small office/bathroom.

But, I guess things are also relative. My neighbor wants to add a stick framed garage similar to mine. But he also wants a small apartment of less than 1,000 sq ft as part of it. His bid was triple what my total investment will be for a completed metal building.

 

[EddieWalker]

Looks like a nice pad. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!!!

As for costs, it's crazy how they vary around the country. When I moved from the SF East Bay 15 years ago, a friend was building new homes for $300 a square foot. These where nice homes in the Hayward Hills with views of the Bay, but most of it was dealing with permits that required a fortune in engineering stamps, and then an absurd amount of concrete. If I remember correctly, he said that some of their footings had to go down over ten feet!!! Here in East Texas, you can get twice the house for a third the price!!!

I just paid $120 a yard for concrete. 15 years ago it was $80 a yard, and there where half a dozen concrete plants in the area. Now there are three, and they are all owned by the same family. They bought everyone else out, closed down half of them and run the others. Prices went up dramatically. Now there are two other companies competing and prices have leveled off.

 

[ultrarunner]

Looks like a nice pad. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!!!

As for costs, it's crazy how they vary around the country. When I moved from the SF East Bay 15 years ago, a friend was building new homes for $300 a square foot. These where nice homes in the Hayward Hills with views of the Bay, but most of it was dealing with permits that required a fortune in engineering stamps, and then an absurd amount of concrete. If I remember correctly, he said that some of their footings had to go down over ten feet!!! Here in East Texas, you can get twice the house for a third the price!!!

I just paid $120 a yard for concrete. 15 years ago it was $80 a yard, and there where half a dozen concrete plants in the area. Now there are three, and they are all owned by the same family. They bought everyone else out, closed down half of them and run the others. Prices went up dramatically. Now there are two other companies competing and prices have leveled off.

My neighbor added a new 3 car garage to his home on the lever and in front... 32 pier 18-21 feet deep... said he had 100k in the piers, permits and engineering... as mentioned it is flat ground.

My home is directly across the street and I have nothing... just on grade... the difference is all the seismic requirements.

 

[fried1765]

There is a Del Webb community development in NW Reno, NV that has thousands of homes. (Somersett) Two thirds of those homes have been sold to CA residents fleeing to Nevada ....

Just too expensive to live in the land of "fruits & nuts"?

 

[EddieWalker]

My neighbor added a new 3 car garage to his home on the lever and in front... 32 pier 18-21 feet deep... said he had 100k in the piers, permits and engineering... as mentioned it is flat ground.

My home is directly across the street and I have nothing... just on grade... the difference is all the seismic requirements.

I forget exactly how far he said he had to go down. I typed 30 feet originally, and then thought I must be remembering it wrong and changed it to over ten feet to make sure I wasn't exaggerating. The other thing was how much strapping they have to do from the foundation to the roof. Solid metal that is continuous from a certain depth down into the foundation, to a point on top of the rafters. On a two story house with 9 foot walls on the first floor, that was something like 30 foot long straps. And it took A LOT of them!!!!!

 

[ultrarunner]

The entire design/purpose of foundations has changed drastically.

For eons the purpose of a foundation was to hold up the structure above.

In California this has changed so the purpose is now to hold down the structure to the earth.

The changes are a boon to companies such as Simpson Strong Tie... can't build anything stick here without metal...

It does give me pause... maybe during a quake the entire neighborhood will flock the neighbors seismic 3 car garage... my home built in 1957 has nothing...

The drilling was done by a huge excavator... and the spoils were crushed rock... the load of steel cages and parade of concrete trucks to fill the holes was impressive.

On the flip side... my brother set a slab earlier this year for a sport court... really a shop later.

The footprint is 30 x 40... he got a little carried away and ended up with a minimum 10" thick slab and much more around the perimeter... strongest Sport/Basketball court I have even seen... an no one is allowed to park on it!!!