Pre-Fab Metal Garage

I'm considering putting up one of those pre-fab metal garages you can spec out online and have the company deliver and install. I live in NJ and plan on pouring a 12" reinforced slab with footers as a foundation.

Anyone have any recommendations for a specific company? There are a bunch online who will deliver and install but a reference would be great instead of just a random internet gamble.

Size wise I'm looking around 25'x50' with 12' side walls. From what I have found so far the price varies from $13k-20k depending on options. The space would be used for vehicle storage and a work shop.

If anyone has done this can you give any advice? I work for a general contractor so I'm fairly comfortable dealing with it just wondering if there is anything in particular to look out for.

 

4 - 6” concrete slab should be more than significant.

More reinforcement versus more concrete would be to your advantage.

My recommendation would be to put radiant heat in the floor as you only have one opportunity to do so.

As for a builder… sorry can’t help you there.

 

I second the radiant heat, only make sure you insulate underneath. There's two types of foam, one with a low load rating, the other with a high load rating. Pink and blue, I forget which is which. I've seen some buildings like what you're looking for, without the slab insulation. There would be four feet of bare lawn all around the building after a snow.

 

With all that said.... yes insulate under and outside on the vertical as well. 2'' EXP blue board. Do your homework.. it's well worth the investment over time. Next topic would be the heat source. I went with an on demand propane wall unit. Again...do your homework.

 

Reconsider the height? A full size trailer is 13'6" tall so 14' doors.......

 

I was the General Contractor for GE Appliance Park for damn near 25 years. I poured enough concrete out there to construct a sidewalk to the moon. And the deepest we ever poured was an 8" slab because it would have major forklift traffic carrying dies that weighed tons. I bid a runway project at UPS once and if I recall it was 12"...for a fucking runway!

Dude, like the advice above...a 6" slab is damn near overkill. Why pay twice as much for something you don't need?

 

The nice thing about a metal building is once the doors are closed cell phones become paperweights. Enjoy

 

my experience as an inspector of such structures... the plans are master repeats with pages of every configuration. The crews that assemble are not exactly skilled tradesmen
Go with larger tubing (3") and some kind of gable vent fan. Those things arent energy compliant i.e. they leak air like crazy...which for a garage wont matter.

 

Thanks for all the feedback it's appreciated. This is a bit of a unique situation since I am considering buying a .25 acre residential lot just for this building so it would have to meet residential building codes, basically it would be one building with a very large garage and a small bedroom/bathroom/kitchen. It may not work out but I am weighing the options and trying to put together a budget to see if it's feasible.

The lot has existing water and sewer connections but I need to bring in power and preferably natural gas as well. The lot is right on the street so it's not a long distance for the utility runs.

Concrete slab thickness was just a guess, if the building code allows 4" thickness with perimeter footing that would be fine by me. Insulated slab is part of the plan, radiant heat would be nice but it all depends on the cost. I was thinking of an instant hot water tank for domestic hot water and natural gas heaters (similar to this https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680936_200680936) to avoid installing a boiler. A/C would be a Mitsubishi Mr. Slim mini split.

Insulation is key and I assumed the build quality is not going to be top notch. I would include heavier gauge tubing in the build out.

This space isn't for commercial purposes just a place to store and work on bikes and park some vehicles so I assumed 10' tall garage doors would be sufficient.

 

Hasn't been my experience.. but maybe the ones I spend time in are made of different metal?

 

is the lot just by itself (infill) or can it be annexed to another close by that you own?
If you came to apply for a permit... our policy would suggest constructing as an accessory building. Add your utilities/bath after you've had the slab inspected. Never let it be known its an auxillary living space.

If you start adding living space to storage structures...it adds lots of egress, energy, mechanical, and fire safety code considerations.

 

Didn't think of going that route (accessory building), good idea. I need to speak with my town's permit/inspection person to understand what my options are.

The lot is by itself and it's about a mile away from my current house. This is in a decently populated area (small town) and while my current property is large enough the layout doesn't really suit adding another structure.

 

I'm assuming you'll want a lift for automotive work - you'll need at least 12'6" inside height under the framework and any insulation material and support. The lift companies say 4" of high strength concrete (5000 psi) is good for mounting. On mine, we dug out an additional 2-3" of material under the concrete where the lift was going to get some additional thickness locally, just for insurance. Also, consider at least one floor drain, maybe 2; difficult to clean a floor that size without washing it down, plus you may want to wash a car or motorcycle or two indoors in some situations. Depending on the zoning or what you can get by with, you can drain the floor into a dry well.

 

I was thinking about installing a two post lift for automotive work. If I do go the pre-fab metal structure route I would spec 14' side panels which would give 16'-6" +/- peak height.

Agreed on the floor drains.

 

If there's a 1% chance you'll end up with a toy hauler / camper in the future (heard rumors at the GNF ), do some looking at heights before building. Mine is 12'6" tall for reference.

 

13'6" to the max height (without special permits) for road going vehicles (like my TH'er). This requires a free space opening of 14' to the bottom of any obstruction. Significantly more if you anticipate getting on the roof indoors. I wish I had built my pole barn 16' high to the bottom of the trusses.....

 

Let's just say I'm considering my options

Man by the time this thing is done it's going to be 20' tall!

 

Quonset hut.

 

surprised nobody said 25x50 won't be big enough... it sure wouldn't be for me if I were building.