Garage Out-Fitting Costs?

rambos_ride

Hi All!

I looked at a property yesterday that has me intrigued and scared at the same time!

3 combined lots of about 1/3+ acre, 1050sq ft house (nothing special here at all) but has a 2400sq ft shop!

The shop is an awesome space (60x40) less than 10 years old and in very nice cosmetic shape - but has no real wiring, no lighting, no heat, and no insulation in the walls (the roof is insulated).

The building has eletrical service to it - but the previous owner who died 3 years ago had started cobbing together an office or bathroom so the work is not permitted or very good for that matter!

Anyone have some ballparks on what it might cost to get the 2400 sq ft "storage space" functioning as a shop?

My gut is thinking it would be $7500-$15000 for electrical, insulation, sheet rock, paint, compressor, airlines, lighting and heat.

Unknown

rambos_ride wrote:

Hi All!

I looked at a property yesterday that has me intrigued and scared at the same time!

3 combined lots of about 1/3+ acre, 1050sq ft house (nothing special here at all) but has a 2400sq ft shop!

The shop is an awesome space (60x40) less than 10 years old and in very nice cosmetic shape - but has no real wiring, no lighting, no heat, and no insulation in the walls (the roof is insulated).

The building has eletrical service to it - but the previous owner who died 3 years ago had started cobbing together an office or bathroom so the work is not permitted or very good for that matter!

Anyone have some ballparks on what it might cost to get the 2400 sq ft "storage space" functioning as a shop?

My gut is thinking it would be $7500-$15000 for electrical, insulation, sheet rock, paint, compressor, airlines, lighting and heat.

How high are the walls? Can you put in a drop ceiling at 10 to 9 feet except where the lift will go?

Are you going to put in a paint room or build a seperate space?

Are you going to do all the work yourself? Are you going to do the bare minimum at first or outfit the way you want before moving any cars into it?

Do not forget the floor.

Sheet rock may be the cheapest but maybe not the most durable. Look into Handi Plank or some other type of concrete panel.

Do you need plumbing and sewer hook up?

I am not an electrian, but at one time a friend was trying to get 440 3-phase into his garage. He wanted it because the he said the monthly bill would be a lot lower. The electric company would only do it if he operated a business out of the building.

Unknown

Just want to say I sure like your idea of a place to work on your toys. OH,,and a place to sleep & eat also..LOL.Shop size does matter !!!!! Good luck, Ron

[Deleted User]

ive been todl with no major hurricane damage down south this season that building supplies are quite reasonable. copper wire however is another story.

wish i had a $ per square foot number to give you. concrete floor, about $120/yard ? do you need to heat your garage ? consider in floor heat. it can be operated with a water heater, i guess i don;t know where you are.

great idea, what a great shop size.

davidh

rambos_ride

Just got back from a different part of the state looking at other houses...this one with the Humugous garage is looking better all the time!

SRCraftsman2 wrote:

How high are the walls? Can you put in a drop ceiling at 10 to 9 feet except where the lift will go? Side walls are at least 12ft. I doubt a drop ceiling would work with the type of construction.

Are you going to put in a paint room or build a seperate space? Paint Room? What's that? (see I'm already starting to practice for the fire inspectors! ) With that kind of space I think I'll have me one of those - probably home built - a woodshop, and sheet metal shop all under the same roof! I may never sleep in the cabin!

Are you going to do all the work yourself? Are you going to do the bare minimum at first or outfit the way you want before moving any cars into it? Sure, I'd do as much as possible but probably need help with the electric.

Do not forget the floor. The floor is already concrete and in nice shape. I'm not one for painted floors in a working shop and it would just add another 2500 to the bill!

Sheet rock may be the cheapest but maybe not the most durable. Look into Handi Plank or some other type of concrete panel. I was thinking this would be good on the floor level so you could wash the floor out without worrying about ruining the dry board,

Do you need plumbing and sewer hook up?This is suspect..The lot with the house/cabin is on sewer, the lot with the shop has septic, the last lot has an "illegal" RV dump into the septic tank on the shop lot!

I am not an electrian, but at one time a friend was trying to get 440 3-phase into his garage. He wanted it because the he said the monthly bill would be a lot lower. The electric company would only do it if he operated a business out of the building. 3 phase is nice but not really needed for what I'll be doing. The power useage might be lower but paying business rates may not be. The 3phase equipment is a bit more expensive and harder to find - then you still need to drop it down to have 110/220 if I'm not mistaken...

Unknown

here's a great place to hang out if you're setting up shop.







http://www.garagejournal.com/

rambos_ride

I decided to go ahead and make and offer today... so now we'll see what happens...

[Deleted User]

I wired my shop in three stages...first was getting a box wired in and conduit run for the basic circuits (four 8' fluorescents, 30 amp RV and one 220V circuits, plus three 110V 20 amp outlets and a motion light). Second stage was wiring up the new bathroom (one 110V and one 220V circuit) Third stage was the door opener for the 12'x12' door, two more 220V outlets and four additional four-outlet 110V boxes. The fourth stage will involve four more 8' fixtures, two four-footers, two switches, two more motion lights and four more four-outlet boxes.



Everything is in conduit. In fact, I have a separate meter just for the shop.

dwardo99

I might have said this before, but I was pretty much in your situation when I bought my house - I bought a garage with an attached house. It's a great garage and there are a lot of things about the property that are good, such as an excellent location, and did I mention it was cheap? That being said, I spent last winter renovating my rental house so I could sell it and I now have some appreciation for what it takes to improve a property. I'm thinking of starting on this one this winter and I realize now that this house need LOTS of work, and it's not work I enjoy. You might want to consider resale value and what it will take to upgrade whatever the house is, as opposed to buying a decent house with a place to build a garage. Remember, when it comes time to sell not everyone will be swayed by the Garage Majal. Just my .02.

MikeWA

rambos_ride wrote:

Hi All!



I looked at a property yesterday that has me intrigued and scared at the same time!

Dan, where is it? (Just the town name- wondering if you'll be a neighbor, so I can borrow tools and mooch beer regularly). Sounds like a great shop "project"- you're probably fairly close on your estimate if you hire everything done, but you can come in considerably lower if you do a lot of it yourself, and its not really very difficult. First thing will be to get an electrician to visit, and tell you whether you need everything in conduit if its not a commercial shop. I'm an amateur, and will tackle "wires through the studs", but probably would get a pro to do conduit, if you have to have it.

essexcoupe3131

A big garage is awesome, I have a garage that came with a house we now keep adding to the house thats not small, they used to build sets for tv commerials in it 12' feet clear of the rafters and 18' to the roof apex this 1 is 2500 square feet no three phase but you always can get a inverter to change it over from single to 3 phase, only 3 cars but room for lots more and great for partys, have metal halide lights and looking for a cheap hoist so I can get the ride on out of the way LOL

ESSX28-1

Mike

there was a Hoist at the recent Chch swap meet for $2500 . I only wish I had room for it.

Dave

Unknown

Dan I bought a shop for my business about 2 years ago. Its 4000 square feet with a 13 foot ceiling. It has one door 12 by 12. I have 2 air compressors hooked together both are 5 hp with 60 gallon tanks. Most of the shop is mine to use but I built 2 bays on one end which I rent out and that pays my mortgage. I still have 3000 sq. ft. for myself, a minor part of which I use for my hvac business the majority is for my cars. Tomorrow I am moving in a 4 post hoist that I purchased used and am looking forward to using this winter. Any wiring that I do on the shop I use bx cable which is the flexible metal stuff with the wires inside. I put a ceiling hung radiant tube style heater in it a year ago for energy efficient heating. As for the rest of it I am slowly purchasing my tools a little at a time. I have a mig welder on gas, a cabinet blaster, a floor style drill press, oxy-acetylene outfit, an A frame with a chain hoist on it for pulling motors, couple of engine stands, etc. etc. I do not regret buying the shop as it has virtually doubled in value in the 2 years I've owned it. I must say tho that although its a good sized building, that even has a mezzanine for storing parts ,that it filled up quick enough. I think a shop or garage is never big enough or just fills up to 90 percent on its own some how...lol. Any way I just wanted to encourage you to go for it..you wont regret it. my 3 cents...Jim

rambos_ride

rambos_ride wrote:

I decided to go ahead and make and offer today... so now we'll see what happens...

Thanks all - great stuff and makes me more determined to get a place with a shop!

So heres the skinny -

This place has been empty for 3 years, the grounds haven't been maintained and the house is dated and needs all appliances. The shop as outlined doesn't have wiring, lights, heat. Since its an estate sale the sellers don't have to provide disclosure of stuff like un-permitted electrical..

Anway I figure I throw out a lowball offer and then try and negotiate a price I offered 30k less than the asking price with the agreement that I would take the property "as is" unless inspection uncovered a major structural problem with either building (basically my only out as this would void my ability to get financing anyway...) - their counter offer was the FULL listing price :mad: and I was willing to negotiate and go higher but with the work/$$ needed to get the shop running and no budge on the price at all from the seller what's the point?

I don't wan't something for nothing - but I want to walk away feeling like I got a good deal and still have enough left over for the shop!

Tommorrow My agent is going to subtly point out the benefits of my
"as is" offer again and my reluctance to stay in the game with no give at all from the sellers when there are other properties I am interested in.

If they don't blink I think I'll let this property pass and go for my second choice for the same price...between the garage on the house and the detached shop about 1500sq ft of space, 1.5 acres (3x the other property) and the house was recently remodeled and has AC for next summer. The shop is all setup with insulation, wiring and heat and just needs a compressor...just a different area to live in...

Sorry - I'm venting about buying a house on the Hudson forum...but it will be the future home for the 49 and source of many posts to come!:rolleyes: