Replies

1. 
   MarkF_ | Feb 08, 2001 05:50pm | #1

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   No takers huh? Any experience with any pre-fab garage?

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   Davo_ | Feb 09, 2001 08:45am | #2

   *Hi Mark.I don't know anything about them. What exactly are they? Are they pre-fabbed wall panels with foam in the middle, that go together quickly, or are they something else entirely different?If you have a foundation, building a single story garage is very easy to do. Use trusses for your roof framing, and stick frame your walls. After my foundation (concrete slab)was in place, I framed my walls in one day; had a friend help me errect them the next day; installed my trusses with more help the third day; had the roof sheathed and shingled by day 5; installed windows doors, and garage door on day 6, and vinyl sided the whole thing on day 7. The only help I had was when errecting the walls and the trusses; rest of work was done solo. Garage is 36 X 24. I later went back and insulated, and drywalled all interior, plus took a few days to set up all my electrical needs. Did this at my own leisure in my spare time. Those "days" that I mentioned before, were mostly after I came home from working my 7-3 shift. They were not 8 hour "days," though a few of them were.In all ( counting everything, including cost of slab, exterior, interior, and a gas furnace that I also installed) the cost of this was around $9,000.If I would have contracted someone to build this, it would have run me in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $20,000.A friend of mine just recently built a 30 X 40 garage on a slab foundation (which he contracted out). He and a bunch of his friends did the framing and the rest (he is a professional carpenter). He told me that his cost was around $12,000 (including the foundation work). His garage was gas heated, partially insulated, had electric, but no drywall was yet installed.How much do these Sturdi-Built jobs run? Just curious.Davo.

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   MarkF_ | Feb 09, 2001 05:58pm | #3

   *Davo,Thanks for piping in. They have a website [www.studybuilt.com] that shows the variety of products and describes the construction. Basically, I was told they can build a 24x36, 3 bay garage with a 15x36 usable 2nd floor, 2x4 construction, t-111 siding on my foundation for $20,000. It's shipped in pieces on the back of a trailer and their crew throws it together, sides and roofs it in about 3 days. After speaking with their sales rep, I've since gotten turned off to them. They "can't" give out any referrals because "they don't want their customers getting hastled". Sounds to me like they may have something to hide. I'm basically a small project do-it-yourselfer. I'd be afraid to tackle something like this on my own. I've since contacted a local guy that will give me an estimate for basically a frame, doors and windows. I'll put the siding on and roof it. Your numbers will be helpful for comparison purposes. Thanks again.

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   MarkF_ | Feb 09, 2001 05:58pm | #4

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   Any comments on them?