Looking to build a 4 car garage/polebarn. 2 wide, 2 deep, not finished inside, pretty much bare bones What are some cost effective options? I'm getting quotes 30-35000. I know lumbers high, is that reasonable? Any cheaper kits?
Building a shop/garage options
- Thread starter mopar440
- Start date
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
My 24wx30d garage with 10ft walls cost $37k when it was built 9 years ago. Bare bones inside.
Doesn't sound unreasonable, for a quality metal pole barn. The advertised kits I've seen, the price they generally list for is an inferior metal, and are not including installation generally.
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
I don't see a square footage on there? 2 wide x 2 deep could be 20 x 40 or 28 x 50, big difference.
Pole building, wood frame steel skin or steel skeleton , steel skin?
Doors? Windows? Interior Height?Floor included? Too many variables to answer the question accurately.
For today's times it sounds like a good price assuming 20 x 40 , 10 ft ceiling, wood frame, steel skin, no windows , 1 man door, 2 7 x 7 garage doors, no gutters, electric, floors.
Materials are high in today's world.
Size is pretty open at this point, leaning 20x40 ten foot ceiling tho. Maybe I can find a used one and move it? Lol
A 20' x 40' metal building installed runs $15-25K around here depending on options (concrete slab, major grading and wiring not included)
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
Everyone will tell you go as big as you can, then go bigger. They're all correct. You say you don't need it, but you will in 5 years.
A 12 ft ceiling will enable you to install a lift but, heat rises. With that ceiling it will take longer to heat and you will have heat. Maybe not now but even if it's a propane heater, you'll be getting a heat source.
20 x 40 will fit 4 cars with walking around space. What's your intentions ?
Intention is a lift to work, 1 long time storage, one project, and one spot for other work
stubs300
Senior Member
I'd round it off to 30 X 50, seems to be a more standard size from what I've shopped.
2 cars side by side with 20 feet isn't going to leave you a lot of room on either side of the car to really open the doors if needed. Been there, done that, NOT FUN at all! Especially if you have a shelf unit on a side wall. Just something to think about. Good Luck
Thanks for the heads up!
Great day when I built my shop I wanted 50x100, but zoning wouldn't allow where I wanted to put it. I guess the fire truck driver can't backup. So I built a 40x60x16 I've had 8 cars in it and I still can work on stuff, if I packed them tighter than I could fit more. The cost was around half a hundred that included concrete, a pad in front of the doors, two 14x10 doors, man door two windows. Not included were electrical and ground work. The reason for the 16 foot high and big doors was future RV storage. I forgot about gutters that cost 500.00 more. When you have one built check their bond, if in a high water area make sure that they put the additive in the concrete. also gutters. Just my two cents
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
That's why I was asking. 20 ft is two cars wide tight with door space on each side. 40 ft long is two c bodies front to back with wiggle room. A truck with an 8ft bed and 1 C won't fit.
You will at some point have cabinets and work space. If you are planning a lift then likely a compressor and maybe a press. 20 x 40 filled up quick.
Look at the numbers and go big. Stubs is correct ( it kills me to admit it) 30 x 50 sounds like what you want..
From experience, 12 ft ceiling was perfect for a lift. Include eves ( soffit ) on your building for water runoff, at least 12".
If you go with single garage doors go 8 ft wide, 8 ft high and run the tracks to the ceiling height. Side mount garage door openers. 6" 4000 psi floor at least for your lift location ( include remesh). Include your roof trusses to have attic / storage capabilities.
None of this is cost saving but you will need or desire it.
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
I added gutters 12 years after I built mine and wished I hadn't. The snow load and leaves were brutal.
I like and agree with Dave's suggestions above. The only thing I would change is the door width. 10' x 8' is a minimum, and I'd bump it to 12' x 10' if I was building. I have two 10' x 7'6" doors on my 32' x 32' garage. The width leaves a little wiggle room when a vehicle is in the door way, but at 7 1/2 foot I only have an inch or so between the top of my truck or Jeep and can't get my tractor inside without folding the ROPS.
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
... bigger is always better. I was trying to give minimums, you are correct. My experience was my door for my conversion van . Plenty high but not wide enough. I had to fold the mirrors in to get it in and even then it was tight. After the van was gone any car in there was tight, even the newer Challengers. That door was 7 wide x 10 high.
mr. fix it
Old Man with a Hat
My son is looking to build an out building in the back of his place
I told him to expect $40-50k while his wife had approved a 10k
there’s a bit of a gap between the two
I told him to expect $40-50k while his wife had approved a 10k
there’s a bit of a gap between the two
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
I built my shop on the slab of my old house, which was totalled out in a tornado in 2003. The slab is 63' x 38, which is an odd size, granted; but utilizing that saved my nearly $20K in concrete (at '03 prices, double that now). Plus, where my old patio was in front, became a carport/patio, which is 12' x 24'. The building is angle iron, with steel corrugated walls and foam insulation. For what you are wanting, I'd go with a 30'x40' at a minimum. After I had the shop built, I was still having the new house built adjacent to that, so I had a 34' fifth wheel TT, four cars, two tractors, and a lawn tractor inside. Plus tools and parts. Oh, and I had a bathroom built where the old one stood, so that is a 3/4-bath. And I have two BIG shelving units in one corner for all my heavy/big parts. No lift, even after nearly 18 years. That may change very soon.
I can park my '66 Imperial and my '66 Coronet end-to-end, with the roll-ups at each end, with one inch between the car bumpers and the doors, and about four inches to squueze myself through the car bumpers, parked nose-to-nose. The third roll-up is powered, and I can get five smaller cars, or four larger cars or pickups, (along with the tractor and mower) in that space and have decent room to work and manuever.
My Dad and I did the basic wiring, with four 220V circuits and several 110V circuits. I still need more lighting! I have two overhead doors in front and one in back (one has a power opener), two windows and two walk-in doors. Ceiling height is 14', with 12' doors. We utilized bits from the old house where we could, so one window, the bathroom door, and the 200A breaker box were all used in the shop build, as well as my heavy industrial shelving. It is NOT air conditioned or heated, so I can't simply walk out anytime to a 60* workspace, like some here have. Two BIG floor fans for the Summer, and one big propane patio heater for Winter. It is what it is.
Plan your shop for what you do now and for anything you can figure the future holds...including resale value added to the property.
Total cost for the building and doors was $33K. Wiring materials was another $3K. The bathroom build was $5K. So, $41K in 2003. In 2021 dollars (not including the slab!) is $60K. Add concrete, you are another $30K min to build my shop again.
I don't plan on moving anytime soon.
I can park my '66 Imperial and my '66 Coronet end-to-end, with the roll-ups at each end, with one inch between the car bumpers and the doors, and about four inches to squueze myself through the car bumpers, parked nose-to-nose. The third roll-up is powered, and I can get five smaller cars, or four larger cars or pickups, (along with the tractor and mower) in that space and have decent room to work and manuever.
My Dad and I did the basic wiring, with four 220V circuits and several 110V circuits. I still need more lighting! I have two overhead doors in front and one in back (one has a power opener), two windows and two walk-in doors. Ceiling height is 14', with 12' doors. We utilized bits from the old house where we could, so one window, the bathroom door, and the 200A breaker box were all used in the shop build, as well as my heavy industrial shelving. It is NOT air conditioned or heated, so I can't simply walk out anytime to a 60* workspace, like some here have. Two BIG floor fans for the Summer, and one big propane patio heater for Winter. It is what it is.
Plan your shop for what you do now and for anything you can figure the future holds...including resale value added to the property.
Total cost for the building and doors was $33K. Wiring materials was another $3K. The bathroom build was $5K. So, $41K in 2003. In 2021 dollars (not including the slab!) is $60K. Add concrete, you are another $30K min to build my shop again.
I don't plan on moving anytime soon.
Last edited:
sixpkrt
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2013
- Messages
- 2,343
- Reaction score
- 7,159
With our near future plans of leaving Illinois and relocating to Tennessee, I've been searching property with existing pole barns and have found a few that would've fit the bill for what I was looking for, but the properties with existing pole barns in TN are selling quickly. If fact, everything in TN is selling quickly! We may just buy a piece of land and build.
Agreeing with what others have mentioned, go bigger than with your first thought.
When I bought my building with the shop space being 27x45, I thought I'd never run out of space, but it filled up pretty quickly.
Been checking the prices on 40x60 pole barns online to get a ball park number of the purchase and construction costs.
40x60 Metal Building | Steel Building Kits include Free Delivery and Install. (eversafebuildings.com)
Agreeing with what others have mentioned, go bigger than with your first thought.
When I bought my building with the shop space being 27x45, I thought I'd never run out of space, but it filled up pretty quickly.
Been checking the prices on 40x60 pole barns online to get a ball park number of the purchase and construction costs.
40x60 Metal Building | Steel Building Kits include Free Delivery and Install. (eversafebuildings.com)
Similar threads
