Cheapest Way to Build a Garage ?

[Pulphook]

It's garage time at last after 20 years. 2 cars, splitters, brush cutters, deck umbrellas, power washer, tires, etc... some upstairs storage, about 28X28, unheated, uninsulated, slab, not steel. 2x4 is fine.
She wants it cedar shingled like we did with the house.

Options:
Stick built
"Kits" from lumber shops
Pre Manufactured

Suggestions ?

[OntarioAl]

May I make one suggestion.
Go with at least a 10 ft. ceiling
The three options you list are based on time  and of course $$
Stick built most time consuming may or may not be cheaper than a garage package.
Pre manufactured is going to be the most $ but ready to use quickly
Cheers
Al

[AZ_builder]

Pole barn style is fairly cheap. 3" drill pipe from the scrap yard for poles and beams. Manufactured truss's and sheet metal.

[mike_belben]

Pole framed.  


If there was anything cheaper the south woulda figured it out by now.

[AZ_builder]

Just re read, you said not steel, sorry. Still a wood pole barn is pry the cheapest

[Bruno of NH]

Wooden pole style with perlins 2' oc with plywood or boards then wood shingles.
Attic storage truss.
Or kit from LaValley/Middleton building supply.
Your in Maine?
They are right across in NH

[Pulphook]

Wooden pole style with perlins 2' oc with plywood or boards then wood shingles.
Attic storage truss.
Or kit from LaValley/Middleton building supply.
Your in Maine?
They are right across in NH

Possible pole style IF it can look nice for the boss.

BTW: most of Maine is no where near N.H. From my Downeast ( think Bar Harbor area ) . N.H. is at least 3+ hours south and west . ???
Used to live just south of sloburb Nashua,NH  " Live Free or %$#@& ".

Maine has kits from Hammond Lumber. Has anyone built using a lumberyard "kit" ?

[Southside]

You would never know it's a pole barn from the exterior once finished, and 3 hours is not all that far, it used to be a 2.5 hour drive through two mountain passes to get to a Wal-Mart for us. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   What tools and assets do you have available to you? How much experience do you have building? Can you cut the lumber and poles off your place?


 First 2 bays before I added another bay. On the right end, next to my old hay barn, I have added a work bench with a RAS which is real handy.


 Final build with 3 bays. This is a pole bran I built for storing lumber that is a little over 12'X62' and about 12' high at the low end. Each bay is over 18' wide so I could stack 16' lumber in there. I have since added shelves on all interior walls. 

   The uprights are locust poles from my property and squared on the mill. The lumber includes all my initial practice sawing. Some is not real pretty but all is fit for purpose. Headers are 2"X12"X20'+. Trusses are 2X6 and on 16" centers. 

  Roofing is used corrugated metal from a barn salvage/tear down project in the next county. Total cost including the roofing is about $600 or less.

   I set my poles in the ground about 3' deep since it is not on a slab but it would not be hard to use some brackets or make them with short pieces of angle iron anchored into the slab.

   This provides pretty close to the amount of space you describe FWIW and for cost estimating. Good luck.

[newoodguy78]

If you're on a budget cedar shakes aren't a place to save money...labor for installation is the killer. I've put up 100s of square...they ain't fast

[mike_belben]

Tin is fastest wall. 

[Jack Lilley]

Use 6x6 hemlock from Parker Lumber in Bradford to frame the perimeter walls, space them 7'oc other then where the doors are. Place a 6x6 around the top of the wall, frame the roof with rafters, strap the walls with 2x4's, sheath with 1x12 pine board & batten from Parker as well, whatever for the roof. I built my barn this way, solid, inexpensive construction. I strapped my roof then osb and metal, works great.

[78NHTFY]

This is how I did it--Winter was coming, had to move fast. Ordered panelized construction of 28 x 28 (2x6 walls) structure.  4 week delivery time.  Meanwhile, excavated with my back hoe. Built concrete pad onto sand with 4' foundation walls.  Panels delivered by truck with crane (LaValley/Middleton). With one other guy, attached first floor wall panels on 1st day. Second day laid flooring joists (2 x 12) and underlayment.  Third day, 2nd flr delivered next day and all walls installed. 4th day installed all roof joist and finished 3/4 of roofing 5/8" sheets.  5th day finished roofing and nailed on all pre-primed fascia and drip edge.  6th day finished install of all roof shingles.  On the 7th day I rested, a LOT! ;).  Lots of options on how to do it, but if you're in a hurry this warrants consideration.  It was fully weatherproof in 6 days. It then took me 2 years to finish the inside..... :-[.  Good luck with your choice. (I did go with the 10' ceiling too).  Enjoy the pics.  All the best, Rob

 

 

 

[Bruno of NH]

I too have put on 100's of squares of wood shingles.
It's not fast or cheap as said above.
That's not far for LaValley/Middleton they go all over New England. 

[47sawdust]

Hey Rob,
What's that panel doin' stuck up in a tree? ;D
X3 on Lavalley they are what all lumberyards should be.

[Pulphook]

Some nice ideas. But, due to the ledge here poles are out. Unless you guys have some spare C4 or Semtex around for blasting the pole holes. ???
We did the shingling for the house, just takes time. Real pro construction, no.

[OntarioAl]

if you decide to use poles you can bolt the to your slab with metal brackets.
cheers
Al

[thecfarm]

I would put a good base under it and have the base up in the air. I have seen too many garages that water will come into the garage. Mine has to sink about 6 inches to have that problem. Wide doors too. I hear the smaller doors are cheaper line. Yea,until you rip a mirror off. We're saving money now!!!!

[btulloh]

Poles don't have to be set in holes.  Better to fasten them to to poured footers anyway.

[Bruno of NH]

Pin the ledge and pour footers for the poles to set on.
Built a beautiful house on Mascoma lake on the exposed ledge over looking the lake 20 years ago and added on to it twice.
Never moved a bit it's a cool looking place.
Built it for my uncle.

[Pulphook]

Poles don't have to be set in holes.  Better to fasten them to to poured footers anyway.

Yes, but those poured footers need holes. Now to blast into ledge .........???
We are talking some $$$$$. As example we had to blast out ledge to make a french drain around the rear of the place. If those of you mil people recall "fire in the hole" , you'll understand. Was big $$$$$ for the expert skill, for the hiring mats over the holes, for the liability insurance....you get it. Mandated to videotape ( then technology ) each blast.
Maybe she doesn't need that garage : : :.
So, stick or kit ?

[AZ_builder]

So is no house in your area on slab with footers? Or is that just part of the house cost, to blast?

[thecfarm]

We had to blast for our bedroom. With no close neighbors,we just let it fly. ;D Things was going good and that was the last corner. Than I heard the gonk,that did not sound good.   But did not surprise me any. I wanted the house in a certain spot. I got it in that certain spot. Even if I had him dig 10 feet over,would there be another gonk?? Cost money to have him dig more too. Might just as well call the Big Boys.  

[Old Greenhorn]

"If those of you mil people recall "fire in the hole" , you'll understand."

Thanks Pulp, this line brought back a memory I had nearly forgotten. When we bought the house we now live in, I had taken a day off work to get a little organized the first week we were here. I didn't know any neighbors except for one who wanted to tear my head off at the time (that's another fun story). Anyway, I was out in the garage storing stuff under a workbench and poking around in the new place and I heard somebody holler "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!" across the road, now this is rural here, but semi-residential, and it took a few seconds for me to realize what I had heard, (I said to myself "Did he just say...?") and as I began to straighten up, that charge went off and I flinched pretty hard when the ground shook, so hard that I whacked the back of my head on the bottom of the bench and nearly knocked myself out. Turns out they were blasting away ledge to create the drop road to go from one step down the the next for a skid road. Given that my new relationship of 3 days with this neighbor (he was the one that wanted to remove my head) was not blossoming yet, I decided to not go over and see what they were doing.  ;D
Ironically, I am on that road just about everyday now and maintain it for the new owner, 30 years later.
Thanks for the memory.

[newoodguy78]

If you want fast like Rob and Bruno said go with a kit. As a builder I prefer stick built, but don't care for customers with the mind set that it will be as fast as a kit. It won't. Stick built allows you to adapt to various unforeseen site conditions I.e- out of square foundations and such, it happens. 
Just my opinion but as long as you can deal with the water coming across the top of ledge and attach to it properly there's  nothing more stable to build off, just try moving it  :D. I have seen pole buildings put on ledge with success.
You might want to take a look at the building Jeff put up I can't remember what thread it's in but I'm sure someone can point you in that direction.
I have heard decent things about lavalley for what it's worth