Garage Cost to Build From Garage Plans

Once you have decided on garage plans, you'll be wanting to have some notion of what it costs to build a garage. Practically everyone encounters this problem at some spot in the garage building process. Attempting to solve this puzzle is not easy since everyone has different issues.

Look at the following list, most of these items will influence your garage expense:

* the intricacy of your garage plans
* quantity of garage building labor you intend to do yourself
* your cost of living
* the number of bays your garage plans possess
* have you chosen apartment garage plans

More than just these items can change your garage cost, garage building materials can fluctuate significantly with time. There is often a significant difference in the garage cost of a straightforward 1 car garage vs. a 2 car garage with a loft or apartment. In the first situation there are not any equipment or utilities necessary and in the second instance there are several costly fixtures along with finishing materials necessary, such as lighting, trim, carpet, etc. These variations between garage plans make it a challenge to have a garage building cost estimator that is accurate in every possible scenario.

Each area in the country may have different prices assessed by the contractors in that specific area. Our exploration did not present any dependable values in the United States Government figures for the cost of building a garage, however there's respectable data for the cost of building a new house in various areas of the nation. Comparing the house building cost data provides us some relative numbers that may be used for comparison. This data on house building cost is from the United States Census Bureau. New homes typically cost in 2008 the subsequent prices per square foot:

* South $79.64
* Midwest $87.99
* Northeast $117.91
* West $111.72

The cost of construction is lowest in the Southern U.S. so that is going to be the basis for this discussion. Using the cost of construction in the South as the starting point:

* it costs 10% more to construct in the Midwest
* building costs are 48% higher in the Northeast
* West is 40% more expensive

The area of the country where you live has a big impact on the amount you can expect for your garage cost. Just as an illustration, a garage that costs $15,000 to build in the South could cost about $6,000 more out West. Differences between the cost to build a garage in a city can also differ significantly versus the cost to build a garage in a country area. Taking into account some of the other garage cost information we located, there would seem to be a consensus that garage cost ought to be in the vicinity of of $35 to $45 per square foot. Something else to think about, in the years between 1965 and 2009, house construction prices increased more rapidly than general inflation in 26 of those years. In the past 10 years:

Housing Price Index - HPI, Consumer Price Index - CPI
In 2000 the HPI increased 4.40%, the CPI increased 3.4%, the HPI increased 29.4% more than the CPI
In 2001 the HPI increased 5.00%, the CPI increased 1.6%, the HPI increased 212.5% more than the CPI
In 2002 the HPI increased 2.50%, the CPI increased 2.4%, the HPI increased 4.2% more than the CPI
In 2003 the HPI increased 5.10%, the CPI increased 1.9%, the HPI increased 168.4% more than the CPI
In 2004 the HPI increased 8.40%, the CPI increased 3.3%, the HPI increased 154.5% more than the CPI
In 2005 the HPI increased 7.40%, the CPI increased 3.4%, the HPI increased 117.6% more than the CPI
In 2006 the HPI increased 6.00%, the CPI increased 2.5%, the HPI increased 140.0% more than the CPI
In 2007 the HPI increased 0.90%, the CPI increased 4.1%, the HPI decreased -78.0% versus the CPI
In 2008 the HPI decreased 3.50%, the CPI increased 0.1%, the HPI decreased -3600.0% versus the CPI
In 2009 the HPI decreased 5.00%, the CPI increased 2.7%, the HPI decreased -285.2% versus the CPI

In the construction industry it's either really good or really bad. Throughout the major building period up until about 2007 housing prices handily crushed the CPI, but once the home industry went downhill between 2007 and 2008 the HPI withstood a big blow.

The Housing Price Index is not the perfect indicator to employ when trying to evaluate the Garage Price Index (our term), however it is perhaps the best measurement device we've got..

It's probably safe to assume that the $34 to $48/sq. ft. garage cost is for basic garage plans, not garage apartment plans. Garage plans that are more complicated, including garage apartment plans, will be much more costly and will start getting in the vicinity of the cost per square foot to put up a new home. When your garage plans start looking more like a home than a garage, then your garage construction price per square foot is going to be approaching the cost per square foot to build a new home. One more assumption in these figures is that a building contractor is building the garage, and not you. Clearly you could lower the garage construction cost if you did some, or all of the work yourself.

Conclusion - Using the Southern area of the United States as the starting point, the garage cost to have a builder construct a garage for you should be between $34/square foot for plain garage plans and $80/square foot for more complicated garage plans with living space and all of the amenities. The Northeast is a lot extra, costing upwards of $118 per square foot for garage apartment plans, and about $48 a square foot for simple garage plans. Obviously, the only means to really know your garage cost is to get proposals from garage builders in your vicinity. Any time you are taking on a project of this scope it is best to get no less than three bids. Building material cost differences weren't discussed in any detail in this paper, we will try to have more on that in an upcoming paper on garage cost.

My Garage Plans by TRC, Garage Cost/Garage Building Cost Estimator, http://www.my-garage-plans.com/Garage-Build-Cost-Estimator