Morris Minor Owners Club

Anyone had a garage built recently? Or built one yourself? Im trying to get some idea of the cost of a decent size double garage. Constantly getting wet while working has got boring, as has losing car covers every windy morning, no matter how much they are tied down they always get blown off the car. A garage is needed soon...

Make sure you go for a single double width up and over door and not 2 single width doors.
My double garage cost about £35000 but it did include an extra bedroom with ensuite above and a dining room alongside.
If you can get a pit built in and an RSJ over to take the load of an engine hoist all the better. Don't forget to include space for a workbench and plenty of shelves and storage space so you don't have to keep your spare gear boxes in the bedroom.

Good advice, that sort of money is out of my league though! That must be one nice workshop.

mine cost me the price of the base and roof,the walls were free
i serched the local free adds and found 2 prefab garages free to the dismantler over all cost around £400/500
then when you have built you go round with expanding foam to fill in the gaps and vouala a damp free warm garage

I believe 'warwick buildings' do good ones. I built an additional wooden garage (from scratch) with a tiled double pitched roof at the rear of my house about 4 years ago - 18 x 14 for about £2.5k all in. I think it is a bit warmer than the brick garage attached to my house.

Pete

built a 13ft x 20 ft wooden garage with 7 ft high doorway inc roof felt for £650

oh yes mine is 18ftx20ft

Definitely worth doing (I have very fixed views on the storage of cars). When I moved in, there was a shabby 20 X10 concrete pre fabricated garage in place. As a single, it was a good size and I was grateful to have it - it was better than no garage. Quickest will be something pre fabricated, whether concrete, wood or metal. Given the time of year, this may be important.

Naturally the best will be a cavity built garage with a tiled roof but at a cost. Mine is built of rendered block under a slate roof and apart from the block work, was self built, during the late Summer & Autumn of 1993 (Still a few finishing touches to be added, even after all these years). I think it stood me in at about £4000 (Plus the alarm) and it measures 26 X 18 feet internally.

A pre fabricated one was not really an option for me, as space was defined and the sizing multiples didn’t really suit me. I remember looking at the Marley range and being impressed with some of their better models.

I think steel has the advantage of strength but can tend to be cold and prone to condensation unless lined. Wood does not suffer in this way but is not so secure. Before mine was finished, things tended to “Sweat” under certain conditions (Often a mild damp spell following a cold snap) but this was cured when the ceiling went up.

One of the biggest things was when I laid on the electricity supply. Then the garage really came alive.

With regards to doors, roller shutter are my favoured option. They are secure and they don’t intrude into the garage. If you ever wanted to put in a Hamer car lift (http://www.hamercarlift.com/) or similar, an up and over door could be in the way. I’m not saying roller shutter doors look the nicest and they can rattle in the wind, but they are very effective doors. Mine operates on a chain with gears and despite being 13’6 wide is easy to lift.

Finally, don’t go for something too low and build the biggest you can fit into your space – you’ll always fill it. If you have to build the ground up a lot to build the garage, consider a pit.

Currently working mine out, waiting for cost on block etc, i will then/should be able to give you a cost /m2 or square foot. it should be worked out by the weekend

I had a quote to build mine from thermal block, it was £4k just for the block work. That doesn't include the foundations or the roof windows etc.

In the end I did it myself with a timber frame, timber cost me £1k for all the wood. Front will have a brick face, and the other walls will be rendered. I've not insulated it yet, and it's warmer inside than my house! That's with 3 windows, double front doors & 1 side door.
Size is 9m x 4m.


Wood can be just as secure as block, if built correctly.

Hi

Mine cost around £18k its 60x40 and steel portal frame with block walls and a fibre cement roof

taupe wrote:Hi

Mine cost around £18k its 60x40 and steel portal frame with block walls and a fibre cement roof

That's a warehouse, not a garage!

taupe wrote:Hi

Mine cost around £18k its 60x40 and steel portal frame with block walls and a fibre cement roof

Wish I had that much space

Thanks for the advice folks. Open storage is ruining my cars, covers are a waste of time, Ive lost too many of them to the wind and thieves. There is no substitute for indoor storage.

StaffsMoggie wrote:Open storage is ruining my cars, covers are a waste of time, Ive lost too many of them to the wind and thieves. There is no substitute for indoor storage.

That last sentence sums up the strong views I referred to above and I agree 200%.

I can never understand why people give many £000s for something and then leave it outside all the time. As an example, someone in my street bought an Audi TT and parked it on the pavement. He had room to build a garage but chose not to do do. I suppose the rest of us couldn't see the Audi if it was hidden away . Another neighbour demolished a pre fabricated garage, in what appeared to be good order and continued to park the car in the same spot, only in the open air . Whether they used to fill the bath with coal I can't say but it wouldn't surprise me.

My next door neighbours have a fairly new cavity built double garage, with electric door and tiled roof. For a while they used the new garage but now its full of flower pots and junk, whilst the car is usually left on the road.

Best pair are the ones who live near my parents. I think they see themselves as much older versions of the Beckhams. The lady of the house has an MX5 (I don't think they've had anything like it before) which is usually left abandoned on the car park in front of the house. If they go away, it is then put in the rather small garage......so any would be burglars know the house is empty . The amusing bit is that no matter what time they get back, one of the first things they do is get the MX5 out . Are they extremely vain, extremely stupid or both? Why not leave it in the garage and have a glass door on the garage ?

Do you, or any of your friends, have, any of the skills needed for this project?
These include design and technical drawing.
There is some good software that could help. Google sketchup is a free, easy to use package.

A days hire of a mini digger will do the trench for the foundations, X square yards of concrete from a mixer lorry will pour them with a bit of shovelling and levelling create them.
None of it is rocket science but you can make things easier and cheaper if you fit the dimensions to standard sizes (Roof joists, doors and blocks) or stuff you already have like double glazed windows.
These can be picked up cheap because if they don't fit, for what ever reason, what can be done with them?

There is a housing estate being built in a field on my way to work.
Loads of pokey little houses that grow like mushrooms .

I've helped my father fit a slate roof and worked on building sites doing all kinds of stuff helped my brother in law plumb and rewire the house I live in now and build the house he lives in.
It's quite hard and dirty work but rewarding too *
Subcontract out the bits you don't fancy ( like a builder will) and do what you can yourself.



* Except plastering or rendering, it's an art and I'm hopeless at it.

Interesting points there. I agree that its surprising how few cars are garaged now. I know several people who have converted their integral garages into rooms or just pile them full of junk while their expensive car sits out in the rain. Having said that, have you seen the size of the so-called garages sold with new houses now? I doubt wether anything bigger than a Longbridge Mini would fit in them. No wonder there are cars parked outside all of them.

I have plenty of space to build my garage once I have got rid of the derelict asbestos single garage in the back garden, thats another problem.

I spent $560000 on a double garage with automatic doors, an airconditioned workroom and a toilet. Apparently there is a 4 bedroom house attached to the side according to my missus, but I can't say I've been in there much.

ferret76 wrote:I spent $560000 on a double garage with automatic doors, an airconditioned workroom and a toilet. Apparently there is a 4 bedroom house attached to the side according to my missus, but I can't say I've been in there much.

I have plenty of space to build my garage once I have got rid of the derelict asbestos single garage in the back garden, thats another problem.

I have been told by a pal that you may find a local roofing company that may take it for a fee as they normally have a skip for disposal of this type of waste, so could be worth a try.

Kevin wrote:

I have plenty of space to build my garage once I have got rid of the derelict asbestos single garage in the back garden, thats another problem.

I have been told by a pal that you may find a local roofing company that may take it for a fee as they normally have a skip for disposal of this type of waste, so could be worth a try.

You can take it your local dump for free, you just need a permit from the council, and you have to double wrap it.