building a shed/garage

ash_18x

i know this has probably been asked a hundred times but i was wondering if anyone could give me a rough price guide for a shed of about 18ftx20ft, it will have a door at the front 8ftx7ft, two windows on the side of 4ftx4ft. it will have a slightly sloping roof and thats it really. we got a builder in last night to give us a quote and he said he will get back to us by the end of the week but to be honest we think it will cost alot now.
When it comes to this kind of thing we havent a clue, he was on about two rows of 4inch blocks and all that. To be honest we are totally daunted by it now! I suppose we will just have to see and then see what other options we have, its only to store a car in it!!

timmer3

does it have to be block built? i've seen some beautiful timber sheds for a home office or garage etc, and i'm not talking about those flimsy slatted sheds you can get in homebase/woodies etc.
if you are handy you could do a lot of the work yourself. could be drylined and insulated if necessary.
a more cost effective option would be to build a 2-sided car-port which generally does not require planning permission. comprising of 4 posts in the ground with a basic roof and some sort of wooden panelling, couldn't be too difficult or expensive to build?!!

ash_18x

timmer3 wrote: »

does it have to be block built? i've seen some beautiful timber sheds for a home office or garage etc, and i'm not talking about those flimsy slatted sheds you can get in homebase/woodies etc.
if you are handy you could do a lot of the work yourself. could be drylined and insulated if necessary.
a more cost effective option would be to build a 2-sided car-port which generally does not require planning permission. comprising of 4 posts in the ground with a basic roof and some sort of wooden panelling, couldn't be too difficult or expensive to build?!!

thanks for that, i have been looking into those steel sheds this morning, they are way more reasonable, i would say we will end up going down this route. its only to store a car in and you can get the sheds now with the anti condensation barrier on them so it seems like a better and less hassle free option.

Carpenter

ash_18x wrote: »

thanks for that, i have been looking into those steel sheds this morning, they are way more reasonable, i would say we will end up going down this route. its only to store a car in and you can get the sheds now with the anti condensation barrier on them so it seems like a better and less hassle free option.

Hi
You can always buy a steel shed and sheet it on the outside and it would look good (and nobody would know its steel )

ash_18x

Carpenter wrote: »

Hi
You can always buy a steel shed and sheet it on the outside and it would look good (and nobody would know its steel )

thats true, thanks for that!

pmcf

Hi ash im looking to do the same as yourself building a garage for the car ddi you find the wooden of metal garage cheaper than going the buiding one with blocks ?

ash_18x

pmcf wrote: »

Hi ash im looking to do the same as yourself building a garage for the car ddi you find the wooden of metal garage cheaper than going the buiding one with blocks ?

ya, you can get the steel/pvc/aluminium (cant remember exactly what they are!) for around the €3k mark for a 20ftx13ft, and they all have anti condensation barriers so no drips or condensation on the car. there are actually a good few arouns and the most of them travel to you and put it up for free providing you have the base ready.
here are some links for them...

http://www.easytow-trailers.com/garages.htm
http://www.shanettesheds.ie/vintage_car_storage.aspx
http://steeltechsheds.com/index.php?page=special-offers

i think we will buy off easy tow trailers as there are close to us and we are going for a look at one of them this evening. Steeltech sheds have good offers!

niceirishfella

They are fine looking sheds from easy tow!
I have one like that - very good shed.
Make sure the frame is galvanised or at least well painted to resist rust.
Also ask about what gutter optionsd they have - rain water can tend to drip down from the roof and then into your shed on the concrete. Haggle hard for a cash deal too - set your price and don't allow them to set theirs.
Note - you'll need a concrete pad to put it on and get your water/electricilty service ready for it.
If you are like me and think aherad, I even got it cable out from my house to tie it into my house alarm and I ran cat5 calbe too to provide boradband/telephony going forwards just to have it cos ya never know and it costs feck all.

davgtrek

Dont forget you will need a concrete base/floor for these steel sheds and its pricier than you may expect. could be 1-2k. Throw some insulation board under it and also make sure you bring an electricity supply out to shed via the base also.
future proof it as much as possible. I'd also go for a bigger shed if you have any room. I built a new house and got a steel shed a few years back.
Now i wish it was bigger to have space for briquettes, gardening stuff , DIY stuff etc.etc recession and all that you'd be doing more yourself in future etc.

make sure all hinges are stainless steel and that the locks are at least brass.

Also most steel sheds companies will have a choice of colours ( if you can wait a while longer ) rather than having to go for the typical mushroom/brown colours. You can get black roofs and gutters/downpipes and get all the rest of the shed then a colour you like but keep the corner flashings and door trims the same colour. ( they often match the roof and make it look like a steel shed from argos etc. )

make sure they bring the downpipes down and throw the water onto your driveway or other hard surface so it drains away etc.

If its a big shed then consider a double doors at front and a side single door at back so it could be compartmentalised later on if you wanted.

good luck

p

ash_18x

thanks for the replies, we are going down to look at them shortly so i will ask all of this!
i was after thinking of the concrete base too!
thanks!

niceirishfella

The good news re; concrete bases is that for cash, you get the readymix and a bloke to pour it, and screed it cheaper than you would have had been able to for years!

yop

Whats the life span on them sheds I wonder??
Also how resistant to storm are they?

How are they attached to the ground?

niceirishfella

Outlast you and me if maintained properly.
As resistant as any concrete shed if anchored to the ground properly, and yes, they should be bolted to the ground.

pmcf

ash_18x wrote: »

ya, you can get the steel/pvc/aluminium (cant remember exactly what they are!) for around the €3k mark for a 20ftx13ft, and they all have anti condensation barriers so no drips or condensation on the car. there are actually a good few arouns and the most of them travel to you and put it up for free providing you have the base ready.
here are some links for them...

http://www.easytow-trailers.com/garages.htm
http://www.shanettesheds.ie/vintage_car_storage.aspx
http://steeltechsheds.com/index.php?page=special-offers

i think we will buy off easy tow trailers as there are close to us and we are going for a look at one of them this evening. Steeltech sheds have good offers!

Thanks for the advice and the links ash im going to look at a few next week

pmcf

was in B&q today and they have shed for sale there i seen one there im interested in its 10ft by 15ft and only £999 its way cheaaper than any quotes ive gotten so far just thought id let ya know.

ash_18x

got the quote off the builder last night, he said we would be looking at €7500 and thats without a door :eek:

think we will be going for the aluminium ones, we took a look at them last week and they look good. the one on display was up for 7 years and it was still like new! they have stainless steel hinges and teh frame is fully galavanised. It all looks good.

we must just get a base sorted now!
could you get readymix loads for an area that small?

niceirishfella

ash_18x wrote: »

could you get readymix loads for an area that small?

yes, you can buy readymix by the metre.
get the guy who's going to do your base to specify the amount of metres you need.
Then call the concrete co and haggle like hell for cash, they'll drop their pants thats for sure.:D
Factor for your services,water and electric.
Make sure the water drains well off the base and not in under your shed.

ash_18x

niceirishfella wrote: »

yes, you can buy readymix by the metre.
get the guy who's going to do your base to specify the amount of metres you need.
Then call the concrete co and haggle like hell for cash, they'll drop their pants thats for sure.:D
Factor for your services,water and electric.
Make sure the water drains well off the base and not in under your shed.

thanks for that! i was thinking you could buy little loads like that, the builder that quoted us last night said you couldnt!
might put up a gutter or two on it, might be worth it. thanks again for the advice!

hop2it

yop wrote: »

Whats the life span on them sheds I wonder??
Also how resistant to storm are they?

How are they attached to the ground?

as a shed builder myself i can say 40 plus years no problem most sheets have a 10 to 15 year warranty on they and thats for argi use ie.(covered in **** ) a good frame (box iron ) will see most of us in the ground the sheds themself's shoult be raw-bolted to the concret base i would also advice the op to leave the base till he has ordered the shed as some manufactors only make shed's to set dimensions and make sure that the floor is higher than the plint so water can not run back in also look out for pedestrain door , roof lights, non drip roof sheets and of course p.v.c. coated steel