Building garage in two stages issues?

[Twitchy15]

Do you think there would be any issues if you built a garage in two stages.

We need excavation and a structural engineer for a retaining wall plus garage pad. Also maybe bring electrical and gas line to pad.~20,000

Building garage ~25,000+

Would there be any downside to building a garage like this or should it all be built at once?

[mikephoen]

Hmm... might be time to have a garage sub-forum on CP.

[PaperBagger'14]

If only we had a thread about building garages over a 3 year span...

Totally bugging you, there may be issues with water getting into the concrete, freezing and expanding. I'm no concrete guy but I would do some reading on what others have done.

[speede5]

The downside is you will have a bunch of money invested in a pad that may never become a garage, because life happens.

Also you will stare at the pad longing for the garage and your yard will be unsightly until it is finished.

The concrete exposed to elements is another issue, for one season it probably would be fine but at 20K is not worth the risk. Look at how well concrete sidewalks etc hold up. if the only thing that gets on it is snow it should'nt pose a problem, best to keep it clear though, and if you get salt or any corrosives on there you will have issues. So if you do it don't park on it as tempting as that might be.

If you can only afford the pad put the money away until you can do the whole thing is my advice. If you have enough for the pad use it as a downpayment to get the bank to add the rest to your mortgage.

[nik-]

You should talk to Fuzz. He built a garage in 463 stages over a five year period one summer.

[puckedoff]

There was someone on here that commented before that the pad will be really slippery when wet if you do plan to use it as a parking pad.

Depending on size, I think your estimate for building the garage on the finished pad is way too high. You could likely build a shell, put siding up and your door on for less than $10K (for a 24' x 24'). That way you could still use it but finish thr inside later.

[Twitchy15]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

There was someone on here that commented before that the pad will be really slippery when wet if you do plan to use it as a parking pad.

Depending on size, I think your estimate for building the garage on the finished pad is way too high. You could likely build a shell, put siding up and your door on for less than $10K (for a 24' x 24'). That way you could still use it but finish thr inside later.

The rough quote I got for a basic 24x24 garage with pad and retaining wall ~8 feet high was $45,000.

[rain_e]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

There was someone on here that commented before that the pad will be really slippery when wet if you do plan to use it as a parking pad.

Easily solved by putting up a warning sign:

[Lubicon]

Do building permits expire? If so would there be any risk the municipality not granting the second one when you decide to continue with the build?

[Fuzz]

Ah yes, permits. They do expire, I can't remember if it was 6 months, or a year. You have to pay to keep them active.

[puckedoff]

^ I believe they do expire but can be extended (for a fee of course).

I would price out a garage package quote for your lumber, roofing and doors/windows and siding and see what the actual incremental cost is to slap up a shell on top of the pad. I suspect that more of the cost of the quote is the concrete or finishings in the garage. If you are going to pay 80% of the cost for 10% of the benefit by doing the pad only, then you may want to just bite the bullet and at least put a usable building on it.

I built a garage around the same time as Fuzz (inspired by his thread) and the cost was closer to $25K all-in with ~$10K being the concrete work.

[powderjunkie]

Not a construction guy, but seeing the pre-fab development in Sunnyside spring up overnight makes me wonder if it would be a good option for a simple structure like a garage?

[stang]

I’d just save up and do it all in one shot. Permits are easier, and no risk of it not getting done.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Not a construction guy, but seeing the pre-fab development in Sunnyside spring up overnight makes me wonder if it would be a good option for a simple structure like a garage?

Where's the pre-fab development in Sunnyside?

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

Where's the pre-fab development in Sunnyside?

Corner of 4 Ave and 7 St NW. One of those long-time empty lots (presumably not originally zoned or something?). Walk by it often...can't recall the name. Walk by it often (though sporadically)...one day a bunch of pallets had been delivered, another day some low concrete bases had been poured, another day it was a full blown structure (still with lots more work to do of course).

I don't imagine it's that much cheaper/faster than the traditional route, but I could see how it might make a lot of sense for a garage, when the first step is already a concrete pour. Again, not being a construction guy, I could just imagine that the overall process might be preferable from a labour standpoint for winter/rainy cities.

[Fuzz]

I bike past it every day, That's not prefab, I'm pretty sure they used ICF for one wall only. The rest has gone up traditionally.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Corner of 4 Ave and 7 St NW. One of those long-time empty lots (presumably not originally zoned or something?). Walk by it often...can't recall the name. Walk by it often (though sporadically)...one day a bunch of pallets had been delivered, another day some low concrete bases had been poured, another day it was a full blown structure (still with lots more work to do of course).

I don't imagine it's that much cheaper/faster than the traditional route, but I could see how it might make a lot of sense for a garage, when the first step is already a concrete pour. Again, not being a construction guy, I could just imagine that the overall process might be preferable from a labour standpoint for winter/rainy cities.

It's significantly faster.
The process is obviously front-loaded, but once production lines are established, the amount of work on the front end drops pretty steeply.
The prefab manufacturing is more costly, but the money saved on both time on site and skilled labor typically more than makes up for it.

Plus the construction of prefab components is done in a facility where quality can be checked/standards are more closely enforced.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I bike past it every day, That's not prefab, I'm pretty sure they used ICF for one wall only. The rest has gone up traditionally.

I took another look, and they are using ICF's just for the firewalls between units. So there are a few of them.

[EldrickOnIce]

They is no risk to the concrete being exposed to the elements, as long as you aren't salting it.

But yeah, either wait or bite the bullet and borrow to do it all at once.