Anyone had Experience with PreFab Garages? 

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo) 01/18/2019 at 13:34 • Filed to: None

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So I went and looked at that house that I mentioned yesterday. I haven’t been inside as I’ll have to wait to go with our realtor for that(we lucked out that our preferred realtor has dibs on this listing), but the house is vacant so I drove down the driveway today, and yesterday just to get a feel for it, and measure commute times.

I love it. its on a quiet road, and on an 1/4 mile driveway on top of that. You cant see a single neighbor from the house. The property is much more hilly and varied than I thought which is a good thing. There is one MAJOR downside tho.

There is basically no garage. There is an old shed which the listing claims is a 2 car garage, but that is a lie. its a 20x24 shed with a sliding door, and its in rough shape, bad enough that I wound’t want to store a car in it. it would be a nice lawn equipment storage place tho. This would be a down grade from the 24x24 garage we have now which we FINALLY got a powered door on last November.

So I did a bit of research into prefab garages. It seems like the road I’d like to take. I’m wondering have any of you taken that route? any helpful tips, companies you’d recommend, or things to avoid? One thing I absolutely would love to have in a garage is a concrete floor, AND a central floor drain for clean up. I think I’d go for spray foam insulation wise.

for anyone curious who “cheap” things are in northern Wi. This house is 5 minutes from one town and 15 from another bigger one. It’s 1800 sq/ft, has 3 bed 2 bath, it is only 3 years old, and has 15 acres of land. all that and it’s currently listed at 179,000. Which our realtor says is too much, and I’d agree because it doesn’t have a useful garage.

Also my FIL just sold a house that is 30 minutes out of town, and 5 minutes from a village* , with 10 acres, an attached 3 car garage and a 30x60 steel shed. The house was 3000sq/ft, and 5 bed, 2 bath. He sold that for just under 240k.

point is northern Wi is cheap.

*a village is a spot on the highway with 2 bars, a church, and a gas station that closes at 7pm. 

AestheticsInMotion > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 13:59

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I really need to figure out this whole telecommuting thing...

Hope you get the property! Oppo rally meet? 

Sovande > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:00

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I would be sure to check the price difference in a pre- built vs a stick built garage.  There are calculators that will give you a rough idea on material cost of each.  

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > AestheticsInMotion 01/18/2019 at 14:00

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you bet, give me 2 years. 1 year to get into the house, and ano ther to get the track groomed.

lone_liberal > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:05

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I didn ’t even know that floor drains were  possible anymore. They aren’t legal some places because too many people dumped oil down them.

vondon302 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:09

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Grass roots motorsports did an article on prefab garages a year or 2 ago. I can’t find it right now but it was pretty good. Also with all that land and no neighbors I’d look into the recycled shopping container garage.

http://containertech.com/creative-uses/why-shipping-containers-should-be-your-next-garage/

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Sovande 01/18/2019 at 14:10

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from what I’ve read prefabs can be half the price, but yeah I’ll need to do more research .

there is always the option of a mix of the two. which seems the best DIY option. lay out the main support posts, have the concrete foundation laid, and the use prefabbed walls and trusses

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > vondon302 01/18/2019 at 14:11

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I don’t think my wife would like that idea aesthetically. I have a feeling swift NO would be here answer. ALtho i suppose you could still ad wood or vinyl siding. 

punkgoose17 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:12

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Rally Track was my thought when I read:

I love it. its on a quiet road, and on an 1/4 mile driveway on top of that. You cant see a single neighbor from the house. The property is much more hilly and varied than I thought which is a good thing.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > punkgoose17 01/18/2019 at 14:13

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https://oppositelock.kinja.com/design-my-rallyx-coarse-1831838797

vondon302 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:19

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But honey it’s so cheap.

Or some creative landscaping.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:24

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I’d be shopping for a 747 fuselage for my future garage.

Sovande > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 14:25

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I built two large steel prefab buildings at a job years ago. I think they were 60x100. Basically we handed the slab plan to a concrete company and they poured the slab with the embeds set per the plans and then we craned the beams into place and tightened the nuts. It was not hard other than the fact that it was a huge building and there were only two of us working. Obviously since it was so large we had to rent a scissor lift in order to hang the siding and put on the roof.

I did a quick calculator and the material cost for a 24 x 3o stick built with one 10x8 door (it wouldn’t let me select two) was about $8000. I am not sure if that included the slab. A prefab shown on Google was about $9000 and obviously didn’t include the slab. Further, the cost per sqft for a stick built was shown as about $40 for an attached and $70 for a detached building.

The main thing I would be concerned with were I building a garage would be scope creep.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > vondon302 01/18/2019 at 14:29

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the more I think about it the more I like it. I found some 40ft containers for as little at 3k. You have to call for shipping costs tho, but say its 3k for each container, thats 12k for the structure, and two side walls. Plus you get two 8x40 sheds! I think I could do the rest of the building myself with help from family. Altho I suppose you’d need a crane to place those 24ft roof trusses.

Only problem if a 9ft ceiling height which would rule out any chance of installing a lift in the future. you need at least 12 feet for a 7ft, 2 post lift.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/18/2019 at 14:31

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that would be dope.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > lone_liberal 01/18/2019 at 14:40

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I have no idea. Also that would absolutely happen.

I know when I was in school for auto tech we sprayed and squeegeed the floor into floor drains every day. mostly this was just to clean up mud and salt, but obviously any accidentally  split oil, coolant, whatever would end up in there.

MUSASHI66 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:07

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Jesus that is cheap. I think you’d pay half a million plus at a minimum anywhere in Colorado for 1/5th the acreage. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > MUSASHI66 01/18/2019 at 15:11

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of course on the flip side my wife and I both have pretty good full time jobs, and our combined annual income is maybe 85 k that’ s pre-tax.

WiscoProud > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:14

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Northern wisconsin is cheap, which is why i continually am looking at hunting land and what not. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > WiscoProud 01/18/2019 at 15:22

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it sure is a popular place for vacation home and cabins. the town 30 miles west of us is about 80% vacation or summer homes.

WiscoProud > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:31

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Not to pry, but

what part of the north are you in? My dad’s side is in green bay, and I’m frequently in the northern Oconto and Forest county areas.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > WiscoProud 01/18/2019 at 15:40

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I’m up in Ashland Wi. About and hour east of Superior, right in the arm pit of the Chequa me ngon Bay. My current house is exactly one mile from the shore of Lake Superior. I work in Washburn and I’ve considered buying a jet ski to ride to work lol.

MUSASHI66 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:41

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Well, we have really good jobs and make about double that, but a new build 1800sq foot house on 1/4 acre lot is $500k. We did find a 36 acre chunk of farm land with no trees and an ancient shitty farm house for $600K ... 6 of this and 1/2 dozen of that, right?

WiscoProud > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:42

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Its been years, but i know Ashland. I grew up in Phillips about 90 minutes south of that. 

vondon302 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 15:54

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I’d of done it already if I had enough room. My last garage cost me 19000 and that was 2001.

I've seen shipping containers go for as little as 1750 plus delivery.

xc90v8/I4 :( > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 19:36

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You wouldn’t even get the garage for that here. The house with that much land would be many many millions

The Snowman > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 19:49

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I bought a metal building all in with slab, electrical,  18' wide door, 24'x41' dimensions I am in it 26 or 27k still needs to be insulated. And that's me doing all the labor beside the slab and steel.

Longtime Lurker > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 21:38

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Concrete floors. A s apposed to what? Dirt?

TheRealBicycleBuck > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 21:44

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If I were up there, I’d look into prefab SIP. Structural Insulated Panels are amazingly strong and since they are basically foam with OSB sheathing, they are super-insulated. I first saw them at the National Association of Homebuilders conference where they built a house in the parking lot. From nothing to dried-in in two days. To prove their strength, they cut one panel in half, supported another panel on the two halves like making a big table, then set a backhoe on top. The panel bent, but did not break.

https://goo.gl/images/7a7vd5

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Longtime Lurker 01/18/2019 at 21:49

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Some prefabs come with plywood floors. Even treated plywood would not hold tip to one winter of dragging in snow and salt 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/18/2019 at 21:50

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That is a cool ideal! 

Longtime Lurker > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/18/2019 at 21:55

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Oh okay, we don’t ever get that here. The weather is too harsh.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/19/2019 at 20:21

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A big thing to remember is how much electrical you want to do. I had a coworker who wanted 120 and 240 oulets all over the place. “i need them here and here and here” Then got the price

Also look up what would be needed for a slab/foundation. 

https://www.everything-about-concrete.com/concrete-slab-cost.html

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/19/2019 at 21:00

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i should clarify. A huge factor for the electrical cost, was running the line from his house. Because of all the 240 plugs he would have needed a lot of heavy duty cable. “these codes are dumb, I just won’t use more than one thing” He is super cheap and the kind of asshole who if he can’t get it his way, he’ll just go around the problem. I think he just ran some some lines himself for 120.

Seeing some of his the shotty work at work , I would never buy his house.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > lone_liberal 01/19/2019 at 21:17

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There is an exception in some areas. They are not allowed to drain out Below ground. They can drain out above ground. 

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > lone_liberal 01/19/2019 at 23:12

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I should clarify the ones above ground are still in a grey area and may not be allowed. 

superdave847 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/26/2019 at 22:56

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I’ve thought about installing one in my tiny space here in St. Louis City. I’m curious to hear any feedback you receive.