We're in Fairfax County and recently had 3 contractors give us estimates on converting our one car carport to a:
a. One car garage and
b. Two car garage
The first estimate came tonight, $39,600 for a one car or $62,500 for a two car.
We also had a new roof and some other E36 M3 as a separate estimate and those were reasonable, so I am fairly confident the contractor is being straight up with us. it still did not stop my eyes from bulging 
Has anyone else had recent estimates for similar work?
Go post and beam and have the Amish build it. Seriously. A friend hired three Amish guys who came over to Connecticut every Monday morning and went home on Friday. They built a post and beam barn/garage. Huge, beautiful, cheap. It's a showpiece. And I think it was closer to twenty grand.
I am just getting started house hunting in roughly the same area and YIKES! guess I just scratched building a garage off the list as a possibility.
Apexcarver wrote: I am just getting started house hunting in roughly the same area and YIKES! guess I just scratched building a garage off the list as a possibility.
Build your own house. You can do it. I did.
Woody wrote:Apexcarver wrote: I am just getting started house hunting in roughly the same area and YIKES! guess I just scratched building a garage off the list as a possibility.Build your own house. You can do it. I did.
Not entirely sure one simply builds a house in the DC area. That is, unless you want to go to PG county, MD, which my wife refuses to do. Looking into it, PG county seems a bad investment, but we might have to come around based on budget. Seems like you need almost a half mil (well, >$400k) to get a decent place with a two car garage (which is absurd!)
To anyone chiming in on this thread, please be aware that DC region is its own kind of special.
As far as my wife and I, we are going to be looking for a place with an easy-ish commute to SE DC. We currently ride Metro and hour and fifteen each way for work every day.
I will be following this thread with interest as I am looking for as much info as I can to figure this thing out!
$100 a square foot for a garage? I'd call that stupid high.
A quick google search says garages should be closer to $30-$40 a square foot. So a 25X25 should be more like $25K.
Pricing doesn't surprise me for that area. I live ~50 miles north of there in MD. Couple years ago I got quotes for a 25x30 12' wall garage. Quotes ranged from 35 to 40K.
In reply to fifty:
Pretty sure that's the "I really don't want to build a garage for you" quote. Get more quotes. Eventually you'll find a contractor who doesn't mind a bit of filler work. The other option is to be your own GC and hire a contractor to do the foundation and then frame the rest yourself.
Thanks y'all! I appreciate the input. Toyman - the cost per square foot puts it in perspective for me - the 2 car garage comes to ~ $120 / sq. ft. My wife is a civil engineer - for a reality check I'll have her run that number by the fellas at her work to see what they say.
For reference, the purchase price of our house 2 years ago was $290 /sq. ft. The house needed a new roof and updating.
I did look at Amish roadcrews to build a standalone garage - I may still pursue that option since we are on a corner lot and have 1/3 acre of land to play with - I could easily put a second driveway in.
$290 per SF??
Wow.
That price has the cost of the lot baked into it though. Still stupid expensive.
Actually, $290/SF isn't too bad around here...
We build brand new in very nice neighborhoods for more like $90 per SF INCLUDING the lot.
How nice of a garage do you want?
Bouncing all over the south I have never, ever, seen prices like the DC metro areas pull. $240/sqft. For a run down E36 M3 hole.
Everything points to this being another bubble. I predict the day after the elections when people know they are fired.
Flight Service wrote: Everything points to this being another bubble. I predict the day after the elections when people know they are fired.
I don't think so. What's keeping prices so high? Household income is among the highest in the country, and military housing stipends (a big source of rental revenue) are also among the highest.
As long as employment in the military and Federal government remains stable, the prices aren't going to change.
For comparison, I built a 40x20" fully insulated with spray foam and fully wired and plumbed for gas for just under 50k. That was sitting on full 4' footings and using infrared heater tube.
What all are you getting from the quote as far as wiring and finish?
fifty wrote:Flight Service wrote: Everything points to this being another bubble. I predict the day after the elections when people know they are fired.I don't think so. What's keeping prices so high? Household income is among the highest in the country, and military housing stipends (a big source of rental revenue) are also among the highest. As long as employment in the military and Federal government remains stable, the prices aren't going to change.
True, but they have been climbing and outpacing inflation and government job growth (which is actually down). I am not the only one that thinks this either.
Prices don't seem that crazy to me for the area.
I don't think its a bubble. Things there are expensive for a reason.
Prices aren't any better in NYC/SanFran. I'm a little surprised that anyone expects DC to be much cheaper.
Also, things took a dip in '08 of course but are just now back to where they were before the bottom fell out, and are continuing to rise.
While a 2% loss in value sucks... its a lot different than a 'bubble'.
Almost Half of Homes in New York and D.C. Are Now Losing Value - Dated September 3rd, 2015
I am not proposing doom and gloom, I just think it is like anything rebounding, it will over shoot before it comes back down to it's true amount. Decaying oscillation of price if you will, but there has been a 20% increase in prices since Q1 2014 and no significant changes to fuel the costs. No major change in government size or industry to cause supply or demand to change.
DC is expensive.
The DC Real Estate Market Just Had Its Best July in a Decade This even beats the pre-bubble stuff.
You have a raising price, with equal number of homes on the market, yet average home cost purchase is almost stagnant.
Bubble I tell ya, a bubble.
Give a more real example, average home purchase price around here is low $600k. Been that way for years now. Yet the cost per sq ft is up about 20%. Why?
There was a massive, sustained influx of people into the DC area attracted by a secure job market after the recession. That influx is now slowing down . A lot of construction started in response to that, but obviously it's out of sync with the job market (you can't complete a 25 storey apartment overnight) , leading to a short term increase in supply.
Supply / demand IMO.
Anyhoo, I've sent an email to an Amish contruction crew in PA. I'll give them a call if I don't hear back in 24 hours.
In reply to Datsun1500:
Damn... That sounds better than I was expecting. I want/need something about the same size, although with a smaller garage door and I would only want a bare minimum of electrical installed (would rather do it all myself). I wonder if his contractor does work in PA...
20 x 20 is tiny... is that considered a 1 car?
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