The appearance of prefab garages has improved over the last several years so that a wooden single-car prefab garage kit can look just as good as a site-built garage. The range of costs to build a garage may feel intimidating since the price quickly increases with each change or addition. A crumbling foundation, rotting wood, broken garage door, or undersize space are reasons to consider building a new garage.
In some cases, a garage may become structurally compromised during a natural disaster or another unfortunate incident. A professional can inspect the garage to determine the extent of the damage and decide the best course of action. A structurally compromised garage is a safety hazard that should be addressed as soon as possible.
Homeowners might want to expand their garages to hold extra cars, create a workshop, or park recreational vehicles. A professional contractor who can determine how to extend the space properly should assess the situation.
Expanding or doubling the space typically costs the same as building a new garage. Rebuilding an old garage gives homeowners an immediate investment return of almost 80 percent on the project.
Building a new garage is a multilayered project from foundation to roof. Prebuilt garage kits are a useful and cost-effective way for a homeowner to install a new garage with relative ease since all the sourcing, measuring, and cutting are done ahead of time.
If building a traditional garage, a skilled DIYer could tackle tasks such as framing, drywalling, or painting. Still, most jobs are best left to professionals familiar with electrical wiring or roofing, for instance. Making one mistake on a roof truss, building a crooked wall, or installing electrical wiring improperly can have severe consequences.
Hiring professionals is the safest way to protect your investment in building a garage. A general contractor has a skilled team or set of subcontractors who are comfortable with every aspect of a new garage project. Qualified contractors are familiar with local building codes and best practices, and they are also insured against accidents.
In many cases, a warranty could also be available to homeowners. Using professionals to plan and build a new garage is a good investment as they can access more resources to complete a polished project.
Most of the money-saving opportunities are in the planning stage—choosing the size, exterior, and extra features. Consider these ideas for how to save money on the cost to build a garage:. Finding a professional that you trust can make the project flow smoothly and avoid stress. Referrals are a great way to find a trustworthy builder, so start your search by asking family and friends who they might recommend. With a few leads in hand, narrow down your choice by asking the following questions:.
Homeowners can face many questions and concerns when choosing to start a big project like building a garage. Here are some frequently asked questions about the cost to build a garage. The cost to build an unfinished garage varies by project, depending on what tasks the homeowners can capably complete on their own or are willing to live without. An unfinished garage typically costs only a small percent less than a finished garage, but the rates vary by region.
A foot-byfoot garage can hold two cars. Sources: HomeAdvisor , HomeGuide. Disclosure: BobVila. You agree that BobVila. All rights reserved. Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY. Leave garage building to the pros. Get free, no-commitment estimates from experts near you. Find a Pro. It is also a finicky material that even professionals can mess up.
So, vet your contractor before signing a contract. Framing is the structural process of building a wooden framework for your walls and roof. Framing holds up the roof and ensures your garage will withstand harsh weather, foundation shifts, and anything else you can throw at it. This part of a new garage build can become quite costly quite quickly.
Of course, if you have cinder block walls or concrete poured walls, you will not have the added cost of wall framing, unless you want to drywall the interior of your garage. Most detached and many attached garages do not have drywalled interior walls since the space serves a more utilitarian function.
Garages can have fully finished walls, unfinished drywall, or another application. Most homeowners choose unfinished cinderblock, unfinished poured slab, or finished drywall for their garages.
Leaving drywall unfinished can result in moisture issues, and the drywall holds up better when mudded, sanded, and painted. The price varies based on the paint type, the height of your garage, and labor cost. For a cleaner appearance and more visually appealing garage, you will want to insulate your ductwork.
Insulated ductwork pairs well with finished walls. The price of windows and doors highly depends on the style you select. For windows, you also have to factor insulating strength into the price. Electricity-free garages do exist, though. So, if you want lights and to be able to open your garage door when you pull it, be sure to budget for running electricity to your new garage.
This price changes based on the size of your garage, distance from your home, and the current state of your breaker box. Having plumbing in a garage is not necessary by any means, but it can prove to be quite convenient. If you want a garage sink, to have your washer and dryer in the garage or a fridge with an icemaker, you will need running water.
Having a single zone unit is another option if that is the case. Construction often goes perfectly as planned. You may run into an issue with the unavailability of materials, long labor times, or other issues.
If cost is a factor, you could always stick to a 1-car or 2-car garage. When having a garage built, the biggest cost factor will ultimately lie in the materials you choose. If the lines will touch the building you will need to talk to your electric company about raising or moving the power lines.
Take care as well to avoid falls, and always have someone else around while you are working so they can help in an emergency. Be safe. Now that all the trusses are racked and ready, take one of the end frame trusses the ones with the vertical slats and start at the top plate at one end of the garage.
In my case the gable ends were E and W walls so I started at the E wall. Toe nail the truss to the top plate as best as you can. It can also help to nail a 2x4 from the lower sheathing to the truss to hold it up or you can hold it while some other people install the second truss.
See sketch. Take one of the normal trusses and toe-nail it in on the first 24" mark on your top plate. Then take a long 2x4 and nail it to the bottom stringer of the trusses so that it ties the two installed trusses together. Do the same on the top slanted surface. See the sketch to get an idea of what I mean. The toe nailing won't really hold the trusses so you need to tie them together temporarily until you can get the sheathing on.
If you have someone working on the rafter ties in advance you can set the trusses directly into them without having to toe nail. But with a power nailer, toenailing is a breeze. Continue installing the trusses as described until you have them all upright and square. When nailing a new truss to the 2x4 used to tie them together, make sure and measure so that you maintain the 24" spacing at the bottom as well as the top of the truss.
While the trusses are being installed, have someone install the rafter tie hangers from below. Use joist hanger nails for this job. These nails are thicker and made is a different way so that they are strong in shear and will bear the loads transmitted from the roof to the framing by the metal hangers. Click here to see the kind of hangers I used to tie the trusses to the top plate. A photo of them installed is also below. As we move towards sheathing the trusses, be careful not to trust the trusses for support.
If you are falling, grabbing one will probably bring it down with you. The trusses are not really stable until the sheathing starts tying them all together and to the gables. So take care with the first few sheets and stay on the top plate until you get some nails into the sheathing. Once all the trusses are tied to the top plate and spaced properly you can start work on closing up the roof.
The tails on the trusses are probably too long for the eaves you have planned. You can cut them off now of wait until after you have sheathed the roof. I think it is easier to cut them plumb before sheathing so I would trim them first.
Next, start at the bottom corner of one slanted face of the roof and nail a 4'x8' sheet of OSB to the trusses underneath. Be sure to have the OSB with the textured and lined side up so you don't slide off the roof and so you can see where to nail. When positioning this first piece of sheathing, you will want to overhang the gable end as pictured. Once you get the whole roof sheathed you can trim this to the desired overhang.
When sheathing, the seams between panels must meet on top of a roof truss, so you may have lots of overhang. It may be helpful to cut some OSB sheets in half to limit the overhang since you must also stagger the seams in the panels as pictured. Nail into the truss every " or so using the 8D nails by hand or with the nailer.
When you start on the second row of OSB panels, stagger the seams like in brickwork and install H-clips between the abutting panels between the trusses. See the sketch for details. The purpose of the H-clips is to provide flexural strength by tying the panels together where they are not supported by the trusses underneath.
Work your way up the roof towards the peak. Once at the peak you will have to trim your OSB panels so they stop at or before the peak. If you are installing a ridge vent, you should leave about When the roof is completely sheathed this will leave a slit about " wide running along the peak for ventilation.
If you are really serious you can stop this slot a foot or so from the gable. Since I am lazy and was covering the gable ends with trim I ran the slot all the way. Repeat the sheathing process on the other side, removing the 2x4s from the top surface as you go. You can leave the interior 2x4 bracing or remove it before you sheathe the gables. When both sides of the roof are sheathed you will need to get out your chalk line and snap a line along the slanted edges of the roof and use a circular saw to trim the gable ends of the roof deck to the proper overhang.
I used about 4". This measurement depends on your plan for finishing the gable ends. Since this is a garage you can keep it pretty basic and just nail up a painted 2x4 or 2x6 if desired. The title says it all. Relax and take a load off. Crack open a cool one, you have earned it. Double fisting encouraged. But having come this far, there is no reason to quail at the prospect of falling to an ignominious end while trying to catch a sliding hammer.
In the following sketches, the sheathing is not shown on the structure because I was too lazy to draw it, your garage should be sheathed before roofing. Get to it! A word about roof pitch. Premade trusses and roofs in general are rated by their rise over a fixed distance, usually 12 feet. Let me tell you that unless you are a planning a loft over the garage or are a huge stickler for detail and want your new garage to match the pitch of the existing house, then do yourself a favor and go with a lower pitch.
Additionally, local building codes often limit the height of accessory structures and a steeper pitch can push you over the limit so that you will need to secure a variance permit which will require approval by people who don't like to give variances. This advice would have been helpful during the planning and purchasing phase, but like those tests where the first instruction is to read all the instructions sometimes the devil is in the details.
OK, before we begin roofing, you will need to switch your tool belt to the "roofing' configuration pictured below. The key differences are that now you only need roofing nails and staples, you will want to switch blade styles in your utility knife, and it can be helpful to have a cat's paw for removing nails without damaging shingles.
Contrary to the photo, it is helpful to have two utility knives for roofing, one with a standard straight blade for cutting roofing felt and a hook blade for cutting shingles. Another note, I only had a framing nailer for my project and shingled by hand. Hammering the roofing nails by hand is not too bad since the nails have a big head, are shorter, and not that many nails are used. You may want to track down a roofing nailer however, especially if it is really hot out.
Surprisingly, a black felt covered roof is not top on any lists of summertime hang out spots. With the garage below fully framed and sheathed, the roof sheathed, and the eaves and truss tails trimmed, we can begin on covering the roof. The first step is to get your D-style drip edge and haul it up on the roof.
Use nails every " or so. Cut the metal drip edge to length with a pair of tin snips, which will also come in handy when installing vinyl siding. On the slanted gable ends, be sure that the sloping drip edge overlays the horizontal drip edge so that water does not get channeled under the drip edge and cause rot. Also, if you plan on putting gutters on your garage, then you will want to use a different drip edge style on the lower, horizontal edges.
This is called gutter flashing or fascia or something. You will find it in the same place as the regular drip edge at your local building supply center. After the edging is installed all around, get a broom and sweep the roof to remove any sawdust, nails, or other junk. This helps the ice and water barrier stick to the roof deck, improves traction, and protects the roofing felt from damage. Then you want to unbox your ice and water barrier and install it along the lower edge of the horizontal sides of the roof.
Strictly speaking this ice and water barrier is only really needed if you heat your garage and you live in a cold climate with snow.
Heat escaping through the roof melts snow which runs down to the eaves which are cold and refreezes the water. A dam forms and water builds up and can penetrate the roofing material. The membrane seals nail punctures and prevents water infiltration. If you live in a snowy climate this barrier is cheap insurance against water damage so I installed it anyway even though I don't plan on heating the garage. Peel the protective backing off the barrier as you go.
It helps to have two people. You can pop a few staples through along the way to help hold it in place as you press the sticky side down to the roof. Working this close to the edge may be easier for you from a ladder. You want the ice and water barrier to stick to the drip edge but not completely overlay it. Repeat the installation on the other side of the roof. It is OK to have a seam in the barrier, overlap cut edges by a foot or so and press the adhesive down firmly.
Take care when installing to avoid air bubbles. Next get the rolls of 15 black roofing felt AKA tar paper and start rolling it out parallel to the ice and water barrier.
You should overlap the horizontal seams by a good 6" inches, do not make any vertical seams if at all possible. Cut the roofing felt with a utility knife and make sure that it overlays the drip edge somewhat but doesn't hang all the way out beyond it.
Roofing felt is cheap so don't be shy. It should be noted that all seams in your roof should be made such that the uphill layer is on top of the downhill layer. Use a hammer tacker or stapler to staple the roofing felt to the roof. When tacking the sheets in place, measure to make the roofing felt layers are as horizontal and parallel as possible. If you do so, then the lines printed on the paper can be used for guiding shingle placement.
Continue laying layers of roofing felt up the roof until you reach the peak. Since we are using a ridge vent, we want to trim the felt so that it does not obscure the slot for ventilation. If you have any protrusions in your roof for lavatory vent stacks, chimneys, etc you will have to cut holes in the roofing felt for them as well as do any needed flashing.
I'll let you figure that out, because you should have planned a hole-free roof. Repeat the process on the other side of the roof. With the roof felted, it will withstand some light rain in a pinch but the best plan is to push through the whole roofing project in a single sprint if at all possible. See the sketches below for clarification on the layers involved in the roofing. Shingling is by far the hardest part of roofing and can be hellish in the heat and sun of summer.
Add to that the itchy fiberglass and general abrasive nature of the shingles and you can be suffering like a simonist or sorcerer in the 8th circle of Dante's Inferno.
All complaining aside, once you get the hang of it and take care in maintaining a straight line of shingles it is not all that bad. There is another good reason to avoid shingling in the heat besides comfort. In the hot sun the shingles get soft and can tear when you carry them or walk on them. Also the adhesive on the bottom will begin to bind the shingles together before you have them in place which can be a pain. So shoot for a cloudy day in the mid 70's if you can.
I used regular 3-tab shingles for my garage since the matched the house. The process is similar for architectural style shingles. The first step is to stick down your starter strip over the roofing felt and ice barrier. The starter strip is like a shingle in roll form without tabs and keeps water from the tab cutouts from reaching the roof deck. Roll the starter strip out while peeling the backing and nail it down every foot so near to top edge.
The overhang is also important to allow water to drip into gutters if you install them. See the sketch for more info. There are several methods for shingling.
The easiest is to snap a line up the sloped roof in the middle, equal distance from the gable ends. When beginning to shingle, you will start at this centerline and move out towards the edges, staggering the shingles like the OSB panels so that the cuts in the tabs are offset a half tab from the course below.
This allows two people to work out from the center towards each gable. You can also start by cutting a shingle in half leaving 1. This method can result in fewer measured cuts since if you keep everything square you can cut a bunch of shingles in half in advance and only have to measure the far side.
This assumes your roof is square to begin with, so the center method can result in a more even look for the beginner. If you start from a corner, one person can move horizontally while the other builds up and diagonally as the first person's progress allows. Each shingle may have a different recommended "exposure" or amount of the single below that shows when overlaid correctly by the upper shingle.
Whatever the exposure, you can use that number to snap chalk lines across the roof after you have the first course of shingles nailed down. Measure up from the top of the first course this exposure distance and snap a line. Measure from this line another exposure distance and repeat snapping lines until you reach the peak. If your lines are not parallel to the peak then you have a problem with the squareness of your roof, the lay of your first course, or your line snapping.
In any case, you want the shingles to be parallel to the peak at the top so you can cheat the shingles as you go without it being too obvious. If no exposure distance is available from the manufacturer, you can put a nail in the top of the tab cutout of the lower shingle and let the top shingle rest on the nail to get a consistent exposure. This can lead to wandering rows as the shingles aren't exactly machined to aerospace precision. You should put 4 nails in each whole shingle. Nails should go right above the cutouts that define the tabs, far enough up so that they are not exposed and just below the adhesive tar strip.
You want to put the nails in deep enough so that they don't stick up and tear the overlaying shingle but not too deep that they tear through the underlaying shingle. The nails should go in straight so that the heads don't cut into the shingles. If you mess up, use the cat's paw to pop the nail without damaging the shingle and try again. If the shingle gets damaged, remove it and use a new one. Start shingling as shown in the sketch and work your way out from the corner or from the center.
When butting shingles together on the same course, try to space them so that the resultant cutout resembles those on the middle tabs. When you get to the gable edge, measure and trim a shingle with your utility knife, using your speed square as a guide. Cut from the backside and use a scrap shingle as a cutting pad.
If your cut shingle ends up with a tiny tab strip you can put another nail in or use roofing cement as needed to hold this piece in place. Be sure that no nails are exposed to the elements as this will provide a route for water to get to the roof deck. As shown in the sketches you can proceed with whole shingles working towards the edges and upwards diagonally until the bottom courses meet the gable ends.
At this point you need to start measuring and cutting shingles. Precision is not all that important, so do your best and don't sweat it. Continue up the roof, while hopefully another crew works on the other side so you meet at the peak in short order. You may need to trim the top of the last course of shingles so that you cover all the nails on the underlaying course but do not plug up the ridge vent slot. Use the vent as a guide to make sure that you will be covering all the nails with the vent.
When it comes to installing the ridge vent, follow the manufacturers instructions. The ridge vent is flexible and it is up to you to flex it over the peak and keep it centered. You will also need long roofing nails for putting the cap shingles over the ridge vent. To make the cap shingles you cut the tabs off of some extra shingles and use just the tabs.
Proceed down the vent until you get to the end. The last cap shingle can be put in place with roofing cement. I don't have any pictures of the shingling process since by that time in the project I was in a pretty big hurry to get the heck off the roof.
With the building sheathed and the roof shingled, you will want to put in the windows and doors to complete the illusion of a completed project. Depending on the manufacture of your chosen doors and windows the installation method may vary slightly. The overhead door especially will require you to carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions. Windows are more general. With your opening roughed in and the outside sheathed, take the window out of its packaging and check to see if it fits in the opening.
Better late than never! If the window and jambs fit in, make sure that the space of the opening is not so large that the nail holes in the outer flange don't hit the framing. You will need nails through these holes to hold the window in so if the opening is too big, get some 1x4 lumber and shrink the opening by nailing these strips to the jack studs, header, or saddle as needed.
During install, make sure the window is closed and latched so that the frame will remain as square as possible. Before installing the window, cut a length of window wrap asphalt tape that is about 4" wider on each side than the window opening.
Peel the backing and stick it to the sheathing outside right below the window so that the lower nailing flange will overlay it. With that out of the way, run a good bead of exterior window grade silicone caulk around the perimeter of the window flange just inside of the nail holes. Then with a partner, press the window into the opening and center it. Then put a nail in the top right from the outside of the flange into the framing. Use roofing nails for this job because of their large heads.
The inside person should measure the window frame corner to corner, similar to when squaring the building. If the window is not square, the person on the outside can tweak the left side of the frame up or down to square the window. You should also measure the sides of the window frame for plumb and the bottom and top of the window for level. Tweak it around until everything looks good and then put a few more nails around the flange. Remeasure the squareness and plumb and level before fully nailing the flange.
If your windows have a built in jamb, you can use shims from the inside during the leveling process as well to help get the window in position. Since this is a garage, I didn't sweat this too much. Next you need to cut a strip of drip cap to width and nail it on over the window. This is not needed if the window has integrated J-channels. The drip cap should be trimmed so that it is the same width as the window frame so that it doesn't interfere with installing trim or siding later. With the window nailed in and the drip cap on, cut some more window wrap tape and run pieces up the sides and a strip across the top.
The top piece should be last and should overlap the tops of the drip cap and the side strips so any water will not get under them. The side strips should overlap the lower strip so water running down the window wrap tape doesn't get under the lower tape. If the weather is cold and the window wrap isn't sticking well to the sheathing, you can punch a few staples into it to hold it in place until some hot weather seals it up.
Alternatively you can get a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the tape so it seals to the wall. Repeat this process for any other windows. Entry doors are installed in a similar manner, but may have some variation depending on manufacture. Depending on the door, you may also need to apply construction adhesive or caulk underneath the door threshold or otherwise secure it to the floor or landing.
Sometimes they recommend that you remove a few of the smaller hinge screws and swap them for longer deck or drywall screws that will go through shims and into the framing.
Check for squareness and operation of the door. Install a handle and lockset as desired. Screws should also be driven through the door frame into the building framing and shims on the latching side of the door as well. Cut a strip of drip cap for the top of the door as well, nail it in place and then add window wrap to the sides and finally top if you have some extra around. Otherwise it is overkill. Your garage is mostly weather tight and structurally complete.
Before you can do anything else you need to get another inspection of the rough framing and construction. This should be the second to last construction inspection that you will need to get.
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