ᐅ Prefabricated Garage – Concrete or Steel? Which Is Recommended?
Created on: 6 Sep 2021 16:39
C
Chloe83
Hello everyone,
We need a garage for our planned house. A masonry garage is out of the question due to the high costs. We have now contacted several manufacturers of prefabricated garages and have already received quotes.
Garage dimensions: 3.51 x 7.00 m (in the rear part a storage room will be created, we will do the partition ourselves)
With sectional door, electric, and a door to the garden.
We have received offers ranging from about 8,000 to 15,000 euros for precast concrete garages and steel garages with a precast concrete look cladding.
Now my question is: What do people usually choose here? Does it have to be a precast concrete garage, or is the concrete-look steel garage completely sufficient? It will be built on a strip foundation, if that is relevant.
I would appreciate any experience or advice. Thank you very much!
We need a garage for our planned house. A masonry garage is out of the question due to the high costs. We have now contacted several manufacturers of prefabricated garages and have already received quotes.
Garage dimensions: 3.51 x 7.00 m (in the rear part a storage room will be created, we will do the partition ourselves)
With sectional door, electric, and a door to the garden.
We have received offers ranging from about 8,000 to 15,000 euros for precast concrete garages and steel garages with a precast concrete look cladding.
Now my question is: What do people usually choose here? Does it have to be a precast concrete garage, or is the concrete-look steel garage completely sufficient? It will be built on a strip foundation, if that is relevant.
I would appreciate any experience or advice. Thank you very much!
I have a 9m (30 feet) long double steel garage, where we also use the rear area flexibly for storing garden tools, children's toys, bicycles, car accessories, tools, and so on.
The main reason was, among other things, that we don’t have 6m (20 feet) of width available. In this respect, steel garages are of course much more flexible and space-saving.
Our steel garage is built on a U-shaped foundation and is paved. At the beginning, we had moisture on the floor. Whenever I placed something down, the paving underneath would be wet afterward. During that time, I also had some tools rusting. However, this issue gradually resolved itself.
For dripping water from above, manufacturers usually offer a coating. I have a friend who has a steel garage without this coating and told me that during unfavorable weather conditions, he occasionally has drops on the ceiling and on his car. But you can count those days on one hand.
From my point of view, moisture can escape much better with a steel garage than with a precast concrete garage.
Where you do need to think a bit more, in my opinion, is when you want to attach things to the walls (electricity/hooks for garden tools, etc.).
An advantage of concrete garages, in my opinion, is that concrete garages likely filter out temperature extremes much better. Cold beer in summer is only possible with a fridge in a steel garage 🙂 and in winter, it freezes inside. I have no idea what the experience is like with precast concrete garages in this regard.
The main reason was, among other things, that we don’t have 6m (20 feet) of width available. In this respect, steel garages are of course much more flexible and space-saving.
Our steel garage is built on a U-shaped foundation and is paved. At the beginning, we had moisture on the floor. Whenever I placed something down, the paving underneath would be wet afterward. During that time, I also had some tools rusting. However, this issue gradually resolved itself.
For dripping water from above, manufacturers usually offer a coating. I have a friend who has a steel garage without this coating and told me that during unfavorable weather conditions, he occasionally has drops on the ceiling and on his car. But you can count those days on one hand.
From my point of view, moisture can escape much better with a steel garage than with a precast concrete garage.
Where you do need to think a bit more, in my opinion, is when you want to attach things to the walls (electricity/hooks for garden tools, etc.).
An advantage of concrete garages, in my opinion, is that concrete garages likely filter out temperature extremes much better. Cold beer in summer is only possible with a fridge in a steel garage 🙂 and in winter, it freezes inside. I have no idea what the experience is like with precast concrete garages in this regard.
Musketier schrieb:
In this regard, steel garages are obviously much more flexible and space-saving. A classic construction clearance garage allows for an internal width of 290 cm (115 inches), while the concrete version offers 282 cm (111 inches) – from my perspective, this difference is rather marginal. With the R129, you might notice the "difference" more than with the W124.
Musketier schrieb:
One advantage of concrete garages, in my opinion, is that they are likely to buffer temperature extremes much better. Climatically, I am most satisfied with pumice concrete—just for storage, mind you. Cars ranging from Opel to Ferrari have never had any issues with steel.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Musketier schrieb:
Where, in my opinion, you need to think a bit more carefully is when you want to attach something to the walls (electricity/mounting for garden tools, etc.) That is also a topic on its own. We are planning to prepare for an electric vehicle charging station in the garage, obviously with high-voltage power.11ant schrieb:
A traditional building code-compliant garage offers an internal width of 290 cm (114 inches), while the concrete version is 282 cm (111 inches) – from my perspective, this difference is rather minor. With the R129 model, the "difference" might be more noticeable than with the W124. If there isn’t a beam at door height in the way, the difference between internal and external widths in our steel garage is almost negligible. Unfortunately, we only had 5.40 m (17 ft 9 in) external width available. Due to the double usability of the center aisle for getting in and out and the much thinner external wall, each car ultimately has a bit more internal width than a standard 3 m (10 ft) concrete garage.
Of course, generous is a different matter.
11ant schrieb:
Climate-wise, I’m most satisfied with pumice. For storage, that is. Cars from Opel to Ferrari have never complained about steel. Ultimately, cars are made for outdoors. A carport especially makes things much more comfortable in winter. Everything else, whether solid masonry, precast concrete, or steel garage, is pure luxury just for the car.
If you want to use it for storage or frequent DIY work, the requirements for the garage’s exterior shell increase.
Chloe83 schrieb:
That’s another topic to consider. We are planning to prepare for an EV charging station in the garage, obviously with high-voltage power. If I summarize your thread history, the main advice I can give is to choose a smaller model from the general contractor’s catalog, as I see potential regarding floor space. Attempting to resize the project after the initial offer rarely leads to satisfaction in the long run. A “city villa” patched together with a garage you’re hoping to save on and various other extras postponed for your next pay raise (EV charger, canopy, etc.) will always look disappointing compared to the original plans. Better to have a mid-range model with leather seats than a luxury model on steel wheels. It’s not as if the house will become too small. If you’re hesitant to take this apparent step backwards, at least opt for a metal garage, as it can be replaced more easily and affordably. Skip the concrete-look finishes on it. Or even better: omit the garage altogether and just get the shed part of a carport. This way, you keep the trash bins and winter tires out of sight, and the cars remain outside. You can also combine this with the smaller house model—comfortably without a concrete slab under the roof trusses.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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